Wednesday, September 28, 2011

PING PONG

If you didn't already know, I'm a bit of a ping pong junkie. At my old job, we used to have a ping pong table out in the factory, where I would play with one of my co-workers every day. We got pretty good after a while, and I really enjoyed it. Ping Pong is actually supposed to be a really good workout - about half as good as running for the same amount of time (250 calories/hr).

When I changed jobs, I lost the chance to play, and went over three years without playing at all. I got pretty rusty, and missed playing. At my new job, I have access to a table again, and everyone seems to play at lunch. There are so many of us that we have to play doubles. It's a lot of fun, but I miss the fast pace of the one-on-one games that I used to play. 

I just discovered a community ping pong center about 10 minutes from my house where they have 15 olympic style tables. The center is open to anyone on weekend nights for 5 dollars. I'm excited to give it a try and check it out. I know it's not a workout routine that will change my life, but it would be nice to have some fun and get some exercise at the same time... I also think it will be cool to see some professional players practicing and maybe pick up some new tricks :)

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

LOOSE ENDS

It seems that I've lost my blogging momentum in a big way, but, I'm going to see if I can get started again. Between moving to Seattle for a new job and raising a toddler, I haven't had much time on my hands to pursue other interests, but I am hoping that can begin to change. Over the past year, I've added a few amazing tools to my arsenal. My dad and I completed our build of a custom offset smoker, I built my first meat cave, and bought a brand new Ridgid cast iron table saw. My new additions are really going to add a lot to my fun, but there is a small catch: over the past couple years, I've collected quite a few loose ends. Before I can really get to some new endeavors, I've got a bit of work to take care of. Here is my open ended list to remind myself:
 - Assemble my boat trailer
 - Make a boat cover
 - Make a smoker cover and the last handle for the smoker
 - Build a horizontal fishing rod rack
 - Unpack and organize the storage area
 - Add a padded top to the toy chest
 - Finish and repair fishing rods and clean reels
 - Re-finish and repair rowboat
 -Once all this is finished, I want to organize my garage and build wheeled tool stands for my jointer, lathe, grinder, and air compressor.

When all this stuff is out of the way, I plan to move my interests along with the seasons: fishing and barbecuing/smoking in the spring and summer, and woodworking and baking in the fall and winter. I'm really excited to get going, and I'm going to do my best to keep writing about it.... wish me luck!