Carbonboy's Blog

Yes, treadmills have been around since, no doubt, before I was born and I never cared for them - until I got my workout room at the Westin in Rotterdam. That was $398 a night! Yet that combo of a good treadmill and a private room worked so well I immediately bought one when I returned to Piney Point. One problem - no room for it, well, at best very little room for it. My Bowflex and weight cage took up pretty much all of my small 3rd bedroom. I managed to squeeze in my new Bowflex Treadmill, but it sure is cramped. The only solution is to buy a bigger house and I'm thinking about that, in spite of the housing meltdown.

Given summer is here, the whole point of the treadmill is to avoid the heat and humidity, which won't leave until October. So, well, I'm using it, and I have not regrets, cramped as it is. Let's hope it works, and does not become a rack to hang clothes like the weight cage did for a time (it is perfectly suited for both).

No travel plans for the moment, with Los Angeles off in the distance - but I could get a call any day to depart about anywhere in the world. I hope not.

Russia Crushes Netherlands 3:1, Moves to Euro 2008 Semi-Finals

My last night in the Netherlands and it ends in defeat! Yet as my emotional attachment is fleeting, I'll likely loose interest in the sport, as I do without about any sport. But it was truly fun to experience this while here on this assignment. It's actually a good time to leave as I won't have to face the folks I have been working with for the last few weeks on Monday. But it is, after all, only sport and the "agony of defeat" is not fatal.

I'm sitting again in the Air France Lounge waiting for my connection to DC. The weather is perfect in Paris. I wish I had reason to miss my flight and remain in Paris for a day or two. But I need to get home.

My work here was also a failure, not any fault of mine, but a setback to the program. I'll have to return shortly to repeat the effort. And I have a bit more work scheduled in Italy. I bet it will be hot in Southern Italy. No matter, as the repressive summer heat has hit Piney Point as well. I'm glad I was born after air conditioning was invented!

Two for Two - Superb Dutch thrash France

Goals by Dirk Kuyt, Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder helped the Netherlands reach the last eight as Marco van Basten's team beat France 4-1 in Berne. It was another superb display by the Netherlands, winners of this competition 20 years ago, only four days after their fantastic 3-0 win against Italy. I am starting to like this sport!

So it seems the trend is fairly predictable for me: at home I eat healthy, workout in my home gym and walk or jog on a daily basis; on the road, I eat too much, consume more wine than I should, have good intentions about working out, and walk only to explore the local areas. Thus, the perpetual quest to regain my fitness to an optimum level is either impeded or reversed. Why, well it takes a certain burst of energy just to get to the hotel fitness center, and I just don't like to sweat in public.

The Westin in Busan, Korea sold memberships to the locals, so it was always full of Asian men, many with body odor and bad breath. Korean's are very fitness conscious and seem comfortable in crowded areas.

Here in Europe, there is really no excuse, as the fitness centers at the Hilton, Crowne Plaza and now the Westin are pretty much vacant. But still it takes that moment of decision to change and head down to the fitness center on a daily basis. After an exhausting day, it is in fact much easier to head up to the executive lounge for free drinks and snacks!

Enter the Westin Workout Room. I'd like to personally thank the guy (or girl) that came up with this idea. Its perfect for me and I have missed only one night on the treadmill due to a slight cold. I started at 30 minutes at 7 km/hr. I'm up to 50 minutes in an automated cross-country routine. I start my workouts right when the first evening Euro 2008 football game starts. No need to wear a shirt that would be drenched in sweat within ten minutes. In fact there is no need to wear anything at all, but that is perhaps "too much information."

There's only two rooms set up as workout rooms here in the Rotterdam Westin. I wish there were more - everywhere. I simply emailed the hotel in advance requesting the room, and even though they were booked, the hotel came through for me! They bribed the guests out of the room with an upgrade to a suite.

I'm here for one more solid week and I'm betting maybe a 2 kilogram loss over my weight as I arrived. I feel a bit less guilty about the $450 nightly cost of staying here (well it's actually 249 Euro, but tack on internet and parking and factor in the exchange rate and wow - I am glad this is not on my personal credit card).

Dutch thrash aging Italians

I returned to Rotterdam today and I hate to say it, but travel now to Europe has become routine, even mildly annoying. I can’t believe that I’m saying that.

Perhaps the foolish fact that I walked out of the house, all ready to get to the airport early, only to grab the rental car keys only. I had to call a locksmith from my neighbor's house, who's only option was to drill out the lock. Yet I managed to get to the Air France Lounge fifteen minutes before boarding. The “heat index” was a mere 110 degrees F when I arrived at Dulles, adding to the delight of travel adventure.

There was good news: no waiting at the AF check-in counter and I got past all three security checks without any one of them wanting to look into my carry-on bag, with the two Nikons, the Canon HD with the assorted maze of wires, chargers and batteries. I sat next to a pleasant Indian (as in India) woman who worked for the World Bank and was headed for some god-awful third-world place, making my destination the Westin in Rotterdam seem like paradise. I ask her if she missed Wolfowitz (Bush’s fallen neocon), and she just laughed.

Well, the two weeks home at home did little to set the mood for being on the road again. First the $1880 solution to my Mazda truck problem was unexpected, but I did mange to give away that ugly camper top, and the truck, after a much needed detailing, looks pretty darn good for being ten years old.

It required new rear brakes, as the old ones literally rusted shut in the airport parking lot. Add a new battery with the 100K service check and the total damage (with car rentals and taxis) peaks about at $2K. But given I’ll only put a few hundred miles on it a year in the future, it was well worth the price, as I did not wish to do my part to aid the ailing economy and buy a new truck.

Then there was the semi-continuous band of severe thunder storms passing through Piney Point, granted I am not complaining as the Midwest and South are always harder hit (people die). But one nearby lightening strike zapped my thermostat. Bottom line: $140 service call plus $300 for a new programmable thermostat.

So, why again am I complaining about being on the road again? No gas cost, no Amazon addiction to feed, no food cost and I can do no more damage to my house, car and truck while I am gone. I feel better!