New Year’s Resolutions? Oh, Yeah, Those…

It’s been nearly six months since New Year’s… and in typical INTJ fashion, I have not forgotten about those pesky Resolutions.

1. Lose inches. 
   Since committing to a strict diet about a month ago, I have already lost about 10 pounds, and continue to shed weight by the week.  I can finally fit back into the clothes I wore when I first interviewed in the big city; in fact, they’re actually a bit large now.  Logging everything I eat in a public online profile has made me accountable for my nutrition decisions; knowing that anyone and everyone will know that I had six Oreos for dinner makes me think twice about eating garbage.

   I’m most proud of how I’ve stepped up my fitness routine, however.  Realizing that I averaged just two taekwondo classes per week during my first year and a half with my school, I made a vow in February to start attending every class I could, only skipping when I absolutely had to work late and couldn’t make it back home in time.  As part of that, I even go to class on Saturdays now.  The extra practice is paying off: at the last promotion test, Master Song commented that I had improved since the last time he saw me!  Last but not least, joining the New York Road Runners made my goal of running the NYC Marathon a lot more tangible and real, and incorporating running into my life has probably been my favorite accomplishment so far this year.

What Happens After You Optimize? Re-Optimization, Of Course.

INTJ Strengths

• Not threatened by conflict or criticism
• Usually self-confident
• Take their relationships and commitments seriously
• Generally extremely intelligent and capable
• Able to leave a relationship which should be ended, although they may dwell on it in their minds for awhile afterwards
• Interested in “optimizing” their relationships
• Good listeners

INTJ Weaknesses

• Not naturally in tune with others feelings; may be insensitive at times
• May tend to respond to conflict with logic and reason, rather than the desired emotional support
• Not naturally good at expressing feelings and affections
• Tendency to believe that they’re always right
• Tendency to be unwilling or unable to accept blame
• Their constant quest to improve everything may be taxing on relationships
• Tend to hold back part of themselves

Wow, does that describe me or what?  Only two slight modifications:

1. Move purported “Weaknesses” to “Strengths” section.  Since when is the quest for perfection a weakness? If you disagree, come a little closer and taste my perfect sidekick.
2. Believe it or not, I have been known to accept blame.  I mean, I’m rarely wrong, but if I am, I’ll admit it, since you have to fix mistakes in order to achieve perfection.

As Long As This Ice Doesn’t Melt / I Know I’ll Stay Alive

It is soul-crushingly hot in NYC.  Even in the shade, it’s unbearable.  I have never enjoyed summer weather (or any weather that is not snow), but days like this underscore exactly why heat is so commonly used as a metaphor for anger.  Best of all, at night when it “cools down” to the mid-80s (with 50% relative humidity), it’s still hot enough to merit a local heat advisory and keep me from my favorite anger outlet: a three-mile run through my neighborhood.  I cannot WAIT until this wave passes and I can start training again.

In the meantime, this is how I am coping:

1. Grande half-caff iced coffee, taken black. 
   Con: It will vaporize within 4 blocks unless you suck it down really, really fast.
   Pro: That momentary brain freeze will feel euphoric.
2. Aveeno Continuous Protection Sunblock Spray, 70 SPF.
   Pro: Honestly the best sunscreen I’ve come across in a while; very light, easy to apply, not greasy or irritating, and odorless.
   Con: Since I can’t see or feel it on my skin, I’m not sure how to confirm my suspicion that it just melts off my skin as soon as I step into direct sunlight.

I Am, Like, So Totally California

Disclaimer: I STILL have never been to California.  (This may be remedied as soon as July or August, when I am tentatively planning a trip out to the Left Coast.  In my dreams, I fly out to Seattle to visit Jess #1, and then spend an awesome week on a rented motorcycle, driving down the coast towards LA–via Portland and the Northern California redwood forests and the San Francisco Zoo–to visit Jess #2.)  In any case, though, you came here for a quality story based on actual real-life events, not a list of my vague summer plans.  So, onward.

I first read about the existence of date shakes in National Geographic.  They had an illustrated sidebar about regional American food specialties, and I noticed that in addition to a variety of foodstuffs I was intimately familiar with (Beef on Weck, Coffeemilk, Kringle), there were some peculiar delights I had not tried.  One of those was a California treat, the date shake.

I’m not really sure what else besides sitting in front of this pinned-up article for more than eight hours a day inspired me to actually make my own date shake this week, but I decided I had a craving for one.  In fact, I’d never actually eaten a date prior to this week.  Mom would occasionally bake date bread for Grandpa on Father’s Day or his birthday, but I am pretty sure I never ate any of that.*

Based on some half-hearted Googling and a quick search on Seamless Web, I determined that there were really no reliable date shake vendors in NYC (kind of surprising, actually, given how many other California trends seem to get imported).  Instead, the minute I finished up at work, I booked it to Whole Foods to pick up vanilla protein powder (thick and frothy without the saturated fat of ice cream) and dates, which were not available fresh, to my chagrin.  (Not that I would really appreciate the difference at this point… I just heard the fresh ones were good.)  I settled for the dried, pitted variety, billed on the plastic container as “Nature’s Candy.”  This was a promising slogan.