Active

My summer has been pretty quiet. I guess that's a good thing. I really haven't been doing too much. But I didn't wanna be too bored at home, so I've been trying to keep myself busy. Since I'm not helping out with the youth ministry volleyball outreach, I wanted to find things to keep myself active.

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I've been taking a PE class over at Solano CC. Moving around really works up a sweat. I've taken classes there in the past, and as long as my schedule allows, I'd like to continue to do so. It ends up being relatively inexpensive (50-60 bucks), and it's for a whole semester. It worked out for me this summer because our HFG is taking a break in July, so my Thursday evenings have been free. Our last class finished yesterday, so I'm gonna have to find something to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays now; HFG should start up again sometime in August.

These past couple of Mondays, I've finally had a chance to take my bike out and ride around. I've ridden around with Grillski and Rio, and we've done Benicia State Park and also the bike trail between Columbus Parkway and Hiddenbrooke. The latter is a pretty tough ride; it's not too long, but there's a good uphill climb. I've done it maybe 3 or 4 times now. I usually park at the fire station (I believe it's closed down now) at the bottom of Ascot and Columbus. Then from there, you head towards the freeway and take the paved trial that goes alongside the freeway. It's a pretty long climb, so it's a pretty good workout. I try and make it a point to not get off my bike to walk it up the hill. Use your gears; that's what they're there for. The goal as you're riding (whether uphill or flat) is to keep your pedals moving at the same pace - not moving too fast nor too slow. And it doesn't matter how fast or how slow you're travelling; keep pedaling at the same pace. Anyway, when you get to the top of the hill on the way to Hiddenbrooke, you're rewarded (or challenged) with this big downhill. But first I'll usually take a break up top for a few minutes, and then take the downhill. Scout the path ahead of you and try and ride as straight as possible. If at all possible, do not use your brakes; just ride it out. Using your brakes on a steep downhill like that can be disastrous. It's quite a feeling biking down the hill, looking to your left, seeing that you're moving pretty much at the same pace as freeway traffic. Anyway, after the downhill is a short uphill, and then you're at the entrance to Hiddenbrooke. From this point, I usually take a short break and then make my way back. Note that the ride to Hiddenbrooke is more difficult (in terms of climbing) than the ride back from Hiddenbrooke. So if you ever wanted to ride just one direction, the ride from Hiddenbrooke to Columbus Parkway would be your best bet.

A couple of Fridays, I've visited the youth ministry volleyball outreach in American Canyon. I'm encouraged to see that the ministry has continued through all these years. This outreach has made an impact in the lives of many. God has used this ministry and this outreach as a tool in the salvation of many, myself included. I'm sorry to say that the level of competition in terms of volleyball is not as high as it's been in years past, but the content in terms of the gospel has never taken a dive; God's word continues to go forth, and the youth ministry has been a great tool in this. Praise God for them.

One other Friday this summer, I had the chance to hit the swimming pool over at the American Canyon Community Center. Nice pool. I guess I was having water withdrawals after being in the ocean and in the swimming pool when I was on vacation in Hawaii earlier in the summer. Anyway, I have to say that I was quite impressed with this pool in AC. It's a big pool, and it's relatively cheap to swim there - $3.25 (or $2.00 if you're an AC resident). Take a look at page 15 of the catalog for the hours that it's open.

On some of the other evenings that I've been free, if I couldn't find anything else active to do and if I had the energy (or motivation) to do so, I'd just hit the gym and go on the elliptical machine for a half or so to work up a sweat. I know... boring, but it gets the job done.

Well, it's Friday now and it's pretty slow here at work. The youth ministry is up at summer camp, so there's no v-ball to watch. I'm not really motivated to go to the gym (at least at the moment), so I think I'll pass on that. You know, I think I'm like the last person in the world who hasn't seen Dark Knight yet, and I'm tired of hearing people talking about it and ruining the scenes for me; I'd like to catch that, but maybe I'll wait to find some other losers who haven't seen it yet either. Besides Dark Knight, another movie I'd like to see is X-Files. (If you didn't guess, it's part of the inspiration for my blog name.) Surprisingly, I think it's gotten good reviews. I'll have to watch that sometime too. Maybe I'll just rent a move and spend a quiet evening at home.

Is my work day done yet? Hello weekend!