"You Look Terrible!"

I was sweating enough to create a puddle on the floor, ending the second of three hours of cardio at the gym when somebody hit me. I open my eyes on the stationary bike to see Emily laughing. "You look terrible!" she said. I took the complement, got off the bike, wiped the sweat, chit-chatted, and got on the treadmill for an relatively easy last hour. She looks terrific, I told her, since she also exercises constantly. I actually do strive to LOOK terrible, since that keeps women off my back, but I can out-press anybody at the gym at 61 years of age (100-pound dumbbell sets, anyone?), plus out-hike most people except true endurance athletes. I am all about function over form. I drive a junker truck and live a low-key but adventuresome life. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

I'm training for a two-week hike in Yosemite, and 3 hours of cardio a day is the minimum. I've been doing 6-hour 14-mile 2500-climb-feet hikes on the mountain on weekends. This weekend was a hot one, reaching 110 degrees, so I went to the gym today. Two weeks of vacation hiking is a long time for daily foot abuse, so I've gotten Nike Air hiking boots to cushion my heels, although they are VERY purple and gaudy, just the way Nike likes them. It's function over form here too.

Yes, life is good.

- © 2011 by Willy

What Makes Us?

"Pressure Makes Us." - Nike ad, World Cup. Is that it? Life philosophy in three words? What about time to enjoy family, friends, a pretty sunset and other?

As a very young man, I had pressure to excel and get the heck out of my bad family situation. Pressure did make me, and I have significantly contributed to technology... and still do. I had ideas as a young man and attempted many, with mixed results. Not having a baseline to compare to, I do not know what kind of unpressured man I would have turned out to be otherwise. The difference from then to now is that lately I have seen more opportunity, have more means and more capability... but take less risk. I suspect that I finally learned what pressure and pain are and thus have modified my endeavors, i.e., I've gotten tired of my head being in a vise. I am more afraid of some things but fearless in others: afraid of intimate relationships but fearless in adventure, whether physical or technical.

What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, and I realized that relationships can kill me.

In summary, and in hindsight, I liked the pressure that made me. Family was a mixed bag and I did a better job of picking my friends, most of which I do still enjoy. I am awed by every sunset that I see, but I enjoy them better when I am by myself. Pressure made me what I am, and I am solo.

So, yes, "Pressure Makes Us," and it IS a life philosophy in three words.

- © 2011 by Willy