Does Exercise Help?

            I was told all my life that exercise was important – not to mention fresh air and sunshine. I never paid much attention, as I was always on the skinny side and had sufficient muscles for my daily life. I figured my just-about-daily bike rides to and from school were sufficient, as well as my weekly LARPing in my teens. I was probably right, but who could say for sure?

            My adult life provided far less opportunities for movement, but, again, I wasn’t particularly troubled by that. At least, not in any way I was aware of. Then, a few years ago, my wife decided to start exercising regularly, and I figured it was probably a good idea to join in – I’ve always accepted that exercise keeps you healthy when you’re older, and I figured that if the routines are built at a younger age they’ll be far easier to maintain. We managed to get into a routine of walking three days a week.

            It took a while, but eventually our bodies adapted and came to expect the exercise – just in time for winter. So we pulled out my old Dance Dance Revolution games, and switched to that for the winter months. It worked well, and when spring came we went back to walking. Last year, we even increased the exercise to every day instead of just three days a week.

            Still, while I knew the exercise was healthy, I couldn’t see it having any impact on me. Yes, it was a good established routine, and was making excellent building blocks for eventual old age, but it took up a great deal of time with no visual impact. I didn’t resent it, but I did often wonder if there was much point to it.

            Then various circumstances conspired to make it so DDR was no longer an option for exercise, a month before it was warm enough to start walking again. In the month it took the weather improve, we had no exercise. I didn’t notice any difference at first, but once I did become aware I came to realize that they happened within the first few days. It became harder to get out of bed in the morning and I had noticeably less energy throughout the day. What energy I did have wasn’t used optimally, because my brain wasn’t functioning as well. I even became less enthusiastic about going to the weekly D&D game I run.

            When the weather improved and we were able to get out walking again, all of that reversed within the first couple days – and I was amazed. There were so many little things in my life that had been affected by the lack of exercise – some I’d guessed at the cause, but others I hadn’t even noticed until exercise improved them. For me, it was quite the revelation.

            So, if you ever find yourself wondering if you should exercise – or if there’s any point in exercise – chances are there are a whole bunch of things in your life exercise can improve, though you probably won’t even notice them at the time.

            Besides, it’s good to know that when the zombie apocalypse comes you’ll be able to survive longer.

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Moving with the Times

            As the colder weather moves in, so do we. Some outdoor activities must be cancelled, others can be moved indoors. Such is the case with the exercise routine my wife and I finally got in to this year.

            Some of you may remember me talking about Zombies, Run! earlier this year, which helped Colleen and I get into a regular routine of running. Sadly, that has had to grind to a halt as temperatures drop more and more.

            Exercise is important, though, so we’ve shifted to a new indoor routine! Now, on every morning we would normally be running, we’ve switched to playing Dance Dance Revolution and Just Dance games.

            It’s a good combination for exercise because Dance Dance Revolution is a video game that focuses on foot movement, while Just Dance has an emphasis on arm movement. Together, they provide quite the workout.

            It also turns out to be a good combination for us because each of us is better at one of them. Having spent a summer playing Dance Dance Revolution all the time, I’ve gotten to be quite good at it (I’m a bit rusty after years of not playing. When I was still in practice, I went on a drama department school trip to England and astounded my classmates when we went to the arcade. I was quiet and reserved, so I really took them by surprise when I stepped onto the dance mat). However, for some reason, I just can’t seem to get the dance moves right on Just Dance (I suspect it’s the way I hold the Wii-mote).

            Colleen, on the other hand, lacks my Dance Dance Revolution experience, yet excels at Just Dance. It works out well because, with how competitive the games are designed to be, there’s no point watching how one of us always has a higher score in one game because it will switch when we change games.

            So, the exercise routine will continue indoors. I just feel sorry for my sister-in-law whose bedroom is below the room we’re dancing in.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

A Weekend in Geekdom

            I spent this past weekend selling chainmaille at Con-G, an anime/videogame/geek convention that has been taking place for the last five years in Guelph, Ontario. As a shy, introverted person, I have to say I’m amazed at just how much fun I had.

            First, I should explain a bit more about these events. Essentially, a hotel (or group of hotels) or conference centre is taken over by a hoard of the strangest (and nicest) people you’ll ever meet. At least half of these people (known as cosplayers) show up dressed as their favourite characters from shows and games – some of them even act the part the whole time they’re there! Others (like my wife and sister-in-law) have a different costume for each day of the event. Various activities are scheduled for these eccentric people, such as panels where people discuss their favourite shows/games or skills related to costume-making or art, gaming rooms for everything from Dungeons & Dragons to Pokemon card games to DDR, cosplay chess (where attendees are the chess pieces), dances and skits. Also always present are the Dealers’ Room and Artists’ Alley where vendors and artists sell their geeky wares.

            It’s funny, really, that this is a gathering from all walks of life of the people who the rest of society makes the most fun of – yet, as I said before, they are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. No one is judgemental; boys dress as girls, girls dress as boys, heavy people dress as skinny characters and no one ever says anything negative to any of them! Everyone is always complimenting each other and it’s very common to see signs declaring “Free hugs!” being worn by people – and, yes, they tend to get a lot of hugs.

(An awsome Ezio from Assassins' Creed)

(This girl made a perfect Sherlock)

            Being a vendor, I got to experience this event in a way that few people do. I stood still and watched to world go past, as it were, because sooner or later, just about everyone passes through the Dealer’s Room. That meant that I was able to see most of the fabulous costumes that people pour so much time and effort into and, even as someone who didn't recognise most of the costumes, I can say that of lot of them are phenomenal. And the people! Every now and then, someone would stop at my table and we’d get talking and joking around as if we’d known each other all our lives when, in reality, we didn't know each other’s names.

            One such experience was a guy who later introduced himself as Wallet. He had come to the Con without a costume and was piecing together an outfit as he went along. He spent quite some time at my table, chatting with me, and ended up deciding to buy a scale flower for a girl he knew. The problem was that he didn't know her favourite colour, so he’d have to come back later so she could choose one.

            Now, during this time, my wife Colleen had been spending a lot of time off enjoying the event. When Wallet returned with the girl he wanted to buy the scale flower for (Angel), I was surprised to find Colleen with them! It turned out that Colleen and Angel had met at an event and struck up a friendship. Not only that, but earlier in the day Angel had been talking to me and showing me a chainmaille bracelet a friend had made her! It was a craziest set of coincidences.

We ended up mashing up a couple of our items so Angel could wear the scale flower (red) as part of her costume for the next day. Needless to say, there were many occasions upon which we encountered Angel and Wallet over the rest of the event, including Angel borrowing a necklace and doing some advertising for us.

            Another experience was someone who took a video of my products and asked me some questions for a video about his experiences at Con-G for his Youtube channel. There were a number of people who kept walking by again and again, finally stopping to buy something when they could no longer resist. Some people came by every day just to say hi and tell me how they wished they had more money. I can’t tell you how many compliments I received on my chainmaille tie!

            Now, all the costumes and friendly people can be experienced by anyone at the event, but what really made the event for me was the other vendors. You can never know it without being behind the tables, but I’m convinced that all vendors are awesome people. From the moment you set up shop, you start talking to the people around you and what you find are a lot of people who are fun to talk to and are happy to share selling secrets and other events to attend. Within a few hours, you’re willing to leave them alone with your money to watch your table while you go get something to eat – and you know you have nothing to worry about.

            All in all, I’m very glad I went to this event. If you ever want to go somewhere where you can truly let down your hair and be yourself, or show of how weird you really are, while surrounded by friendly people who won’t even think of judging you, find yourself one of these conventions to go to.

            Then tell me about it so I can go, too, and sell you some chainmaille.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

 

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.