So … I’d just shredded Jelly Roll (which means I made it down without grievous bodily harm) which left me feeling rather grand, and when I glided back into the chair line there was only one person ahead – a snowboarder with his jacket wide open, shaved head and NO helmet. The lifties didn’t seem at all impressed by this bravado and I’m guessing had said something just before I arrived. I don’t know, but as the boarder started up he turned back in his chair and said to them, “you do you, don’t worry about it,” which also didn’t impress them, and I stood there watching all this and thinking, “what a bizarre little scene I’m witnessing here.”
And while all this is going on an old dude (like way older than me, okay?) slides up beside me and asks, “can I share a chair with you?” Okay, so am I missing something here? Is this some sort of ‘let’s all be friends’ ski custom that I’m not aware of? There was literally nobody else in line, and I’m an anti-social who does not always play nice with others so Bro, I am wholly unprepared to engage in idle chit chat on a chairlift, thank you! Anyway, I politely invited the gentleman to move along and no, I did not ride with him. This whole scenario though, it discombobulated me to the point that I did that one run and went home. Yeah, I was totally rattled. Why? Well, because random friendliness from strangers still totally freaks me the fuck out. Even now, I just can’t comprehend why he would ask to ride with me at that particular time. But he was only being friendly, wasn’t he? I think so, and that makes me sorry for being rude, but then I’m also pissed at this guy for making me sorry for being rude, because I’m not at all sure that I even was rude. Oh my God this is all so confusing isn’t it, and then to top it all off … 2024’s Word of the Year … never even entered my mind. That’s right, not for one second did I consider saying YES, so clearly there is still some work to be done in that regard, but whatever … personal growth is personal growth, right, even if progress seems infinitesimally small. That’s right, we gonna keep this ‘Crazy Train’ on the rails and pointed in the right direction … it’s a New Year, 2025, our best year yet … and yeah we are going to get it on!!! The trick now is to figure out how.
I always say that I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions and every year I go and do New Year’s Resolutions … and NEVER follow through on them (I have a problem with rules eh, even my own). I know right, we all do it, don’t we, and then we mercilessly berate ourselves for not living up to our own oftentimes unreasonable expectations. So like, why even bother then? Well, because we actually care. I truly believe each and every one of us aspires to be a better version of who we are right now and so every year we go through the ritual of making these resolutions and then hoping that through some small miracle we actually follow through. In my case anyway, I always visualize myself a year on from now in this glorious, glowing light of awesomeness, like way more awesome than I am right now eh, and then … yeah … well … everything eventually turns into a shit show and there is no more glorious, glow of anything but hey, I’m still awesome right? And maybe at some point I will try again.
Well, I’m going to try again right now! The first resolution? You got it bitches … “this year I am going to get in the best shape of my life!” OH MY GOD!!! FUCK YA!!! Like you don’t have this as your number one goal for 2025? Of course you do, why wouldn’t you? We all have a bit of that ‘gym Bro / gym Babe’ in us, don’t we, and like seriously, who doesn’t want to be ripped? And you know what else? There are real scientific studies out there claiming that working out and being fit is actually good for you too, especially as we age. Yeah, crazy eh, like who knew, but whatever … !!!
Want to know how I plan on doing this? Okay, so first off I don’t do a 7-day week. My week is an 8-day block. It’s been an 8-day block for like 20 years now (4 x 4 shift) so no point in changing, it works. Secondly, I don’t lift every day. Now, I would lift every day if I could, but I can’t, and it’s not because I’m old okay? I just find that my workouts seem to be much more effective if I have a day’s rest in between gym sessions. Rest is good, right? Train smarter, not harder? Yeah! That’s right people, now where was I? Oh right, 4 gym sessions per 8 days and try and get a day’s rest in between, and while we are at it, throw in a few stretching sessions or better yet yoga – because it’s good for you and you feel good and then life is good and I’m not old, and well let’s just move on, shall we? We shall – to skiing. My rule here is simple: ski every God damned day you can, excluding weekends, because there are way too many people out and about on weekends and anyway, weekends are for watching hockey and pumping iron (but only if you’ve stretched and had a day’s rest in between gym sessions).
What about diet? Okay, so I really have no fucking idea about diet besides laying off the bacon and cutting back on BBQ chips (and those frozen breakfast burritos from Costco – i just gobble those suckers down). Macros? Yeah well look, if I make it through ski season and I haven’t broken or tore anything and we are still hitting the gym (every second day, with stretching sessions thrown in), I’ll start worrying more about my macros and all that other shit. And besides, eating better was NOT one of my resolutions because like seriously, I’m not a sadist! Which brings me to Resolution Two, which isn’t really a resolution at all, but a word – yeah, my 2025 Word of The Year.
LIVE! That’s right, so simple isn’t it? LIVE! I want to LIVE, and that’s not to say that I’m dying (because I’m bloody well not), but ‘LIVE’ for me acts as a reminder to not take for granted this life that I’m living right now, and I think from time to time we all do that, don’t we? LIVE, because it’s rather distressing to witness others around me of similar age, or hearing of others relatively close to my age, dropping dead! I don’t like that very much; it’s another reminder that the clock is ticking.
LIVE (as in ‘live’ in the moment) life ‘LIVE’ (as in “live from New York”) … yeah, LIVE life LIVE, like right now, because right now is a certainty and the future is not. I have friends who I haven’t seen in 10+ years, some of you may be reading this post right now – we need to hook up, hang out, talk some shit, have a little fun again. Not sure how to accomplish this but I’m thinking that it might just start with a ‘YES’ (2024 Word of the Year still in play). None of us are getting any younger, are we? YES let’s do this!
LIVE and let LIVE! I really like this one because it’s all about being judgemental, isn’t it? I used to be very harsh in my assessment of others, especially if they were different from me, and I’d like to think that I’m not like that anymore, but sometimes I am, and I’m not exactly proud of that. And I know better too, because a wise man (my father) used to say to me when I’d climb atop my ‘superior horse’, “Mart, sometimes you’ve just got to LIVE and let LIVE,” which absolutely drove me insane. Without fail, every time I heard those words I’d think to myself, “what the fuck do you mean by that?” Well, he knew exactly what he meant by that, didn’t he, and if I were being honest with myself, so did I. We are all human, hence imperfect, which consequently nullifys the right to judge other humans, even though we really, really want to lol. And do you know what else I’ve discovered over my now elongated time on Earth? Imperfection is the kaleidoscope of colour in an otherwise black and white World. Imperfection is wild and it’s strange and a shit tonne of fun. We need to celebrate imperfection because it makes each of us who we are – unique, wonderful, special. Yeah man, this year I’m going to judge less, celebrate more, and when the ‘Freak Flags’ fly I’m going to sit back and enjoy the show while remembering those words of my father, “Mart, sometimes you just gotta LIVE and let LIVE.”
LIVE la bella vita. Oh that’s so cliché, isn’t it, but it doesn’t make it any less true. For me it is an appreciation of simple pleasures, like sharing time with friends, creating wonderful experiences, slowing down to savour the uniqueness of each individual moment that life presents, and opening my eyes, my mind and my heart to the unimaginable beauty of being alive right here, right now. I sort of mentioned that in the paragraphs above but la bella vita sums it up quite wonderfully, don’t you think?
Okay, so when do we get started? How about tomorrow? Wait, what? Well today I am really busy eh? I’ve had no WIFI for 4 days and there is way too much hockey to watch. Anyway … whatever … significant steps towards self-improvement have been laid out, and you can’t take them all at once, can you? No, but tomorrow I am going to take one step for sure and maybe even two if I’m feeling really ambitious, and this is how I’ll get myself moving in the right direction. Progress won’t be fast though, but I can’t really go fast can I? No I can’t … because I’m slowing that shit down; I have a life to LIVE! YES I do!