FItness is...

made up of two words: "Fi" and "tness".

Really?

No.

But it's funny. What is fitness? Is it lifting weights? Is it running, bicycling, swimming, roller-skating? Is it eating healthy? Is it eating what you want and then sweating it out later at the gym?

The point is this: Fitness isn't just one specific thing. It's many things and has just as many evolutions in meaning to the people that pursue it. I would venture a guess that a good majority of the people have at least one aspect of their life that they would like to be more "fit" in doing. Find what works for you. Get a trainer. Join a running club. Cycle to fight breast cancer.

"Do what moves you...literally." That's a Chris-ism regarding fitness (tm).

Inspiration

Sometimes we just need to know that everything is "OK".  Not just okay, but that the world isn't as bad as what we may see on the news or hear on the radio.  Sometimes we just need to catch a glimpse of something good going on somewhere by complete strangers and know that they are more representative of the whole human race than a troubled war zone in whatever country you pick.  With that, I give you Free Hugs.



You don't need to go around hugging complete strangers, but maybe today, let a few people know how great they are...

A Taste of Greece

When I interned in Washington D.C. there was this Greek restaurant down the street from where I lived. I had never had Greek food before and fell in love with it! Now several years later, I'm living in San Francisco and for awhile now have been craving some delicious Greek food. About two months ago, as luck would have it, I was in Pottery Barn and the lady helping me had a great Grecian accent. I took this as an opportunity to find out about any good Greek places in the City.

Tina (that's her name) told me of this great place in the Marina on Chestnut St. The place is called Mezes and it's amazing! The atmosphere is wonderful. It's the perfect place for a casual, yet intimate date or a group of friends. The food is perfectly proportioned and worth every bite! Gladys and I had a great time.

One of the best things...when Tina told me about the place, she told me to tell Nico (the owner) that told me about the place. Nico was very appreciative and as a show of it, gave us a free dessert. The evening was fantastic...a perfect date night.

ACE-ed it!

For the past month or so, I've been more-or-less putting my attention and free time towards getting certified as a personal trainer. I'll be honest, I was a bit taken aback by the sheer amount of information there is to learn to be even the most basic of personal trainers. Nevertheless...as of last Friday, I am now certified through the American Council on Exercise (ACE) to be a personal trainer.

So now...let's get to it!

The Best Night

I went to see Colbie Caillat and John Mayer in concert the other night. AMAZING. Everything about that night was perfect. It was the type of summer evenings where the temperature is just right. You don't need a coat, the stars are out, and there's good people all around.

Colbie Caillat was fantastic. Super chill and just cute. Not cute as in looks (which she is), but cute in personality and stage presence. I've loved her music the moment her first single came out and she keeps the great songs coming...

Then John Mayer came out. I like the stuff you hear on the radio from him. It's good. The lyrics get you thinking, the music is catchy but not mainstream common, and there's something in his voice that's just casual and calm -- like you could listen for hours. That's what you hear on the radio...in concert, he rocks! If you don't know, let me tell you now, as a performer, as a musician, as a songwriter he is flippin' amazing! He did blues covers, he did rock covers, he did his old stuff, his new stuff and a bunch in between. He blew it away.

We had a great time. Oh, who's "we"?


...us.

He'll put a boot up your...

The other night my cousin and I went to see Toby Keith in concert...and it was awesome! Montgomery Gentry opened for him and got the crowd up and moving. I'd seen Montgomery Gentry's videos before and thought I had a good understanding of their dynamic. Not so much. These guys (stoic picture aside) are a couple of fun-loving jokers that know how to turn it up.

Then Toby Keith came out and did his thing. I wouldn't say he's a great musician or even puts on a great performance. But his songs just get you right in the sweet spot and gets you on your feet. Also, he's fiercely patriotic and really stirred up some good emotions in the crowd.

It was good time all around.

My Mosaic

This was fun. A friend of mine put this on her blog and I thought it was a fun experiment.



here's how it works:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers. (make the mosaic have 3 columns by 4 rows)

the questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food? right now?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favourite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favourite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your blog name?