Prologue

Over the years, I’ve worked harder and harder to find meaning in life. But the more I've looked, the more I’ve wondered if I was going about my search the wrong way.

I've been looking for meaning through experience, but I think now that I've always had it backwards. Life will never be defined by extravagant experience, but about finding extravagance in common experience. So for 2009, I'm going to focus less on living large, and focus more on living well. Each month I'll start a new month-long project (like trying to run 3 miles faster than George Bush), to find uncommon results from common experience. Each project will involve daily activity, so every day of 2009 you can check my progress on the monthly projects and see what I discover.

None of these projects will cost much—in fact, I think most will be free. So if you're looking for a year uncommonly rich, you can join me. There's no membership required, just participate and comment if you want. Either way, get ready for a year I hope is unlike any other.

Epilogue

I stumbled across the finish line, but I manage to complete 8 of the month-long projects successfully. Blogging is now over at Wonderfam!

It's September, and September was a …

A Month of Accomplishment (about)

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Forcing myself to finish something (about)

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The cruel joke of aerobic workout classes

Written by Nathan on January 22, 2009 at 11:33 pm from A Month of Resolve.

Every day at the YMCA I walk in past a large classroom that hosts all sorts of workout classes. Sometimes it’s yoga or pilates, but often it’s some strange aerobic class involving loud dance-friendly pop. The way this particular Y is setup, every man heading to the locker room must walk past this classroom, which is lined with mirrors. There are no doors, so there is no practical way to avoid at least seeing the classes in progress.

After years of on-and-off membership I’ve decided that a majority of those classes were designed just to embarrass the participants. I cannot fathom any normal reason such a volume of grunting and groaning such ever be publicly encouraged, least of all from people in form-fitting cloths, surrounding by mirrors, over-lit by the hard glare of fluorescent lights. Why these people sign up for the classes, I’m not sure. But having witnesses mere moments of a uniquely awkward class this afternoon, I’m resolved to keep my eyes out for hidden cameras.

Oh yeah – I biked again today. I wanted to run, but my left calf has taken to continually aching and with freezing temperatures I don’t want to spoil what few remaining chances I have to run a fast 3 miles.

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