We Don't Walk Slow

28 May, 2013

Just Working On My Fitness

By Tom Stortz|2013-05-28T20:45:28-04:00May 28th, 2013|Sports|0 Comments

A new idea I’m going to implement is turning the titles of my posts into some sort of category. For instance, last post had Destiny’s Child Say My Name and this one is Fergie’s Fergalicious. I believe this will be pretty fun in that the titles will most likely be more creative than what I’d come up and you can see if you know where I’m taking them from. Most likely it will only last a few weeks but it’s worth a shot all things considered. Hopefully though you’ll find some relevance in them and I’m not just pulling them out of a hat. Onward to the topic at hand.

After the Broad St Run (5/5) I took an entire week off from exercising. I was pretty pleased in my performance and felt like I earned it. Everyone (well maybe not) should know that it’s easier to lose physical strength than to gain it. Meaning that you’ll lose more from a week off of doing nothing than than what you’d gain from a week of training. Just a theory. Over the past month I don’t have anything to train for and have been lounging around. I’ve attended two weddings which are mostly drinking parties and have been half assed “training”. Today I went to the gym for the first time to try to rekindle some of that performance…

It didn’t work. The old machines I used to go to felt foreign and I had to dumb down all the machines weight and feel like a total pussy in a little boy’s body. I was only able to skip rope for half the time and the perfect push-ups whipped my ass. Even on the treadmill, my go to, (and best place to test performance)(I think the treadmill was integral to my training for the Broad St this year) I was only able to muster up an 18:07 5k. I couldn’t go any further either. Coming from 7 miles at 5:50 on the treadmill to barely able to muster 3 in what is less than 4 weeks should be telling of how quickly hard work comes and goes. Now that doesn’t mean that I can’t get back into shape quickly…

It only takes a dedicated effort and something to train for. I knew that for the month of May I had nothing to do physically that urges me to stay in shape. Now I’ve got Phil’s 5k in July that I’ll have 6 weeks to train for. I think that’s an appropriate amount of time for a 5k training schedule. My idea is to focus on 3-5 mile runs in speed work fashion. I’ll throw in a long run here or there but I’ll train for the race. I’m aware it’s not a prestigious event but I’m not a prestigious person. I’ve ran the course for the past 7? years and I can always look back and compare what I did the year before. That’s the magic of staying in shape and constantly testing yourself. Plus getting that beach body makes sense.

28 May, 2013

Say Your Name

By Tom Stortz|2013-05-28T10:58:54-04:00May 28th, 2013|My Life|0 Comments

Dear Anonymous Messenger,

In the days of cell phones it makes sense to think that you don’t have to introduce yourself when calling someone else. Your name is always displayed on the, well, display. As someone in business who answers the phone quite often, I can’t stand when people don’t say who it is and expect you to know who they are when they first talk. At work we have landlines and it doesn’t display anything which makes every call a mystery. Today I had someone call and leave a message that went like this, “Hey John and Tom, it’s *garble garble* and I need some items. Give me a call back.” No number, name was inaudible (almost comical to the point that it was the only part of the message that was unclear), and I have no chance in hell recognizing the person’s voice. I probably answer 25 calls a day and there is no way I can decipher every person’s voice. Plus you make me feel like an idiot when you know who you are talking to and make me guess who I’m talking to. Anytime I guess wrong, you think I don’t know who you are. So do me a favor, say who it is when you call people. It’s different for people you speak to on a regular basis, but if it’s every so often, just say your name, say your name, say your name.

26 May, 2013

Feeling Cool

By Tom Stortz|2016-10-29T13:30:40-04:00May 26th, 2013|My Brain|0 Comments

I was going through my wardrobe trying to pick something out and I realized that I tend to pick out the same clothes time after time. I probably own about 25 collared, short sleeve shirts and probably only wear 10 of them. Specifically wearing my top 3 over others more often. So I started wondering what makes one shirt better than the other?

The fabric is one thing that stands out. The higher quality the material, the nicer the feel. Unfortunately for me, most of my clothes are all around the same quality level and this rarely comes into play.

The fit is becoming my most important factor. Shirts that are way too big and wear like dresses are immediately out. Others where the sleeves are too short and feel like tank tops also get avoided. I used to like to wear XL shirts because I’d shrink them in the wash, but that seems like the wrong thinking as now all my XL shirts are my least favorite.

The design of the shirt also comes into play. I tend to like either all solid color shirts or with a simple stripe design. Once too many colors start clashing or if they are too bright, I tend to dismiss the shirt.

The collar is an overlooked part of a shirt. The collar for me almost determines whether or not I’ll like a shirt. It can’t be too high, big, or the buttons in front can’t look stupid. It must fold nicely.

The most important deciding factor of wearing clothes is if they make you feel cool. It hardly matters whether you actually look cool or not, the point of clothing is to make you feel cool. Feeling cool comes from all of the points above fitting into one shirt. When the fit, design, and material all come together, you can feel good about your attire.

22 May, 2013

Mike Tyson Petrified Me

By Tom Stortz|2013-05-22T19:29:56-04:00May 22nd, 2013|Sports|0 Comments

In 1995 I was 13 years old and specifically remember watching all the Pay-per-view (I used to think it was paper view) boxing matches on Saturday night. JC would order the fight, have a few buddies come over, and we’d hang out and score the rounds. This was when boxing was at one of its high points with great fighters like Julio Ceasar Chavez, Ricardo Lopez, Felix Trinidad, Evander Holyfield, and Lennox Lewis just to name a few. However, there was one fighter that stood out head and shoulders above everyone else, that was Mike Tyson. When I was younger I didn’t understand his life story but in recent time I’ve read his bio, watched some videos and now have some background on Iron Mike. As a kid, my only knowledge of him was that he was released from prison and punched harder than anyone else. A scary dude.

In 1991, he was convicted of rape against 18 year old Desiree Washington and sentenced to jail for 6 years. He was out in 4 and started his comeback in 1995. This video shows a bit about his training for the Peter McNeely bout which started the point of his career that I remember.

In 1999, after crushing a bunch of tomato cans, he met up with Evander Holyfield. I’d watch each of his 4 fights leading up to this huge event and was scared for his opponent each time Iron Mike got in the ring. I remember hearing someone tell me that Mike’s favorite punch (other than knocking Robin Givens across the room) was trying to knock a person’s septum through their brain with an upper cut. So with this thought in my mind, I honestly thought I had a chance of seeing someone get killed.

The Tyson-Holyfield fight was taking place with Tyson as a 25-1 favorite and Holyfield being “over the hill” at 34 years old and was coming back from a threatening illness. Once the bell went off I thought that Mike was going to kill this guy or give him a heart attack. Here’s the video and the first 10 seconds had me mortified. I sat there pale white like Casper, fearing for Holyfield’s life. Amazingly, it never happened. Holyfield was the tougher fighter, took everything Tyson had, and ended up winning the fight and essentially ending Tyson’s career. Tyson’s next fight was a rematch that ended with the ear-biting episode which is possibly the most bizarre event in boxing.

I can’t remember at any other point of my life being more fearful of someone dying. After watching Sam’s post about the 17 year old who was diagnosed with cancer and didn’t have much time, these guys probably felt the same way.

21 May, 2013

Quality Counts

By Tom Stortz|2013-05-21T22:17:49-04:00May 21st, 2013|My Life|1 Comment

My post count has been low the last few days. Mainly because I’ve doing rather than writing. With Laura’s wedding, some golf, and now JKash’s wedding, I haven’t found the time to sit and put some effort into posts. This makes sense though because in past years I would have recapped every little thing that happened in the past few days and thought that I was making a quality post. With almost 1,500 posts in the books, I have to keep up with what I believe is improving the blog. This doesn’t mean that Laura’s wedding wasn’t one of the most important things in my life, it means that I’m not a person who signs up for a marathon and has my camera out as I cross the finish line. My goal in life isn’t to get material for this blog so other people can enjoy what I have to share. A better approach, for me at least, is to make the most out of those events WHILE THEY ARE HAPPENING. So as this blog has developed, I’m trying to put more thought into the quality of the post before I just post it.

All that being said, my schedule will free up after Jon’s wedding and I should be able to concentrate on coming up with quality posts. Good posts aren’t created while your in the doing phase. They happen by coming up with a good topic and then filling it up with meaningful points and facts / ideas to back them up. Why do you think the rapitiude guy only posts once every 2 weeks? So moving forward I may be producing less posts, but hopefully better posts. I do have a feeling the new Arrested Development episodes will takeover the blog…

19 May, 2013

Missing Cat

By Tom Stortz|2016-10-29T13:30:53-04:00May 19th, 2013|My Brain|1 Comment

17 May, 2013

Gel Haircut

By Tom Stortz|2013-05-17T08:13:58-04:00May 17th, 2013|My Life|0 Comments

I don’t wear my hair with gel. I honestly can’t even remember the last time I have gone out with gel in my hair. Back as a little kid I used to mess around with my Mom’s mousse and spike my hair up and then think cracking it was the coolest thing. It’s not that I don’t think gelled hair can look good, it’s just not for me. My thought is that it is was trying too hard but considering all the ladies I pick up, maybe I need to try a little harder. I was thinking I should go with the feathered look.

I decided to get a haircut before the wedding to look as sharp as possible. I went to the same place I’ve been going to for the last 20 years and they had 4 of their regular barbers cutting. In my last 50 visits to this place, I’ve never have the female barber. This wasn’t anything intentional, she just wasn’t the first available person when I got there and I never seek out a barber. As luck have it this time, I got her. I could tell she was nervous at first because with so many visits and so few cuts, I could get the feeling she thought I avoid her at all costs. To top that off and add additional pressure, I told her this was for a wedding and that I needed to look good. So we talk about weddings, her travels, and other normal topics of conversation (she talked too quietly that I sometimes could only pick up 65% of what she said but it wasn’t atrocious) and as we get to the end she asks if I want to gel up my hair. I tell her that I usually keep it casual and after some debating she talked me into it. What do you think?

16 May, 2013

The Noobest

By Tom Stortz|2013-05-16T12:09:32-04:00May 16th, 2013|My Life|1 Comment

In my entire bar career I’ve never even seen an 8oz glass. Within Sam’s first year he was able to find a glass at a bar that quantifies ineptitude. It reminds me of Buster and his juice. I sort of understand the idea of not feeling like drinking a full beer but why you’d pay more for less and considering it’s only 8 oz’s of liquid, man up. People make fun of a 10 oz goblet that has high ABV, everyone will certainly ridicule the guy with an 8 oz glass. This picture should bring a smile to your face and give you a picture of a little guy ordering a little glass.

16 May, 2013

Changing Education Paradigms

By Tom Stortz|2013-05-16T01:04:09-04:00May 16th, 2013|Videos|0 Comments

Wonderful video. My mind wasn’t mature enough to understand a video like this until now and it excites me to watch other videos from the group. These types of explanations can strike you different ways, at different times in your life. I may have agreed with the video 5 years ago (I’m aware it was made in 2010 but it’s a hypothetical point) but now I comprehend and see where the teacher is coming from and what direction he sees would be an improvement. The idea of conformity and teaching EVERYONE a specific way probably is not the best method in 2013. Everyone is unique and can grow and develop different ways. I’ve always been somewhat of an in the box thinker and I believe the education process teaches that. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve dismissed the ideas of conformity and doing what people expect, and have started to use my brain to make life happen the way I want it to happen. Breaking out of “the way it should be” mentality is necessary to do something that fulfills you. The biggest change for me now though is the empowering feeling I get from watching a video like this. 10 million people watched this video but how many of them will make an impact? The key difference between the 1% and everyone else is action and doing. Everyone can watch and nod their heads, but doing something about it is a completely different ballgame. This obviously doesn’t apply to just this video and education, but life as a whole.

I thought the young kids and attention drugs was spot on too. “Medication” is such a joke in this world and doctors profiting from prescribing drugs is the real motive behind this epidemic. I also thought the divergent thinking segment was fascinating when you think that kindergarten children are better at this than adults. I use a paper clip as an ear wax remover…

15 May, 2013

Breaking Down

By Tom Stortz|2013-05-15T20:39:46-04:00May 15th, 2013|My Brain|1 Comment

This has been an interesting week to say the least. So everyone knows, anytime someone says something is “interesting”, it’s because they can’t come up with a better descriptive word. Interesting essentially means nothing. That being said, I’m trying to kick start my life back into a normal person and I’m struggling along. After puking my guts out on Sunday, I think I strained a muscle in my stomach and now anytime I take a shit and push, my right shoulder starts bothering me. Couple that with my body feeling dehydrated and not working out for 10 days straight, I feel about 10 years older. I was able to get some miles in the last 2 days and after taking it moderately easy last night, I’m starting to return to form.

If you haven’t noticed, which I’m sure you haven’t, anytime I crank out a post like this, it’s because I don’t have any real material so I have to recount the past few days of my life to get something on the website. In terms of content this isn’t great, but I know it’s better than nothing because nothing is the worse form of output. I won’t be posting much in the next couple days because Laura is getting married and I’ll be a part of the celebration of holy matrimony. Work has been extremely busy as well which has been keeping me occupied. I’ve been getting a ton of good blog ideas that don’t make it to press but that’s ok because they are all being stored in my brain which will eventually poop it out. Keep returning because good content will be coming.