Monday, April 9, 2012

Getting Off The Road Part 1

Hi! I'm Jake!

Tomorrow, I have a 16-hour drive back to Austin, Texas. I have been on the road this time for exactly 2 months. In that 2 months, My life has changed drastically. I have a new business model for my comedy career. My days of driving around the country aimlessly are done. Also, I just got engaged to the love of my life! I have a lot to be thankful for.

Today, though, I want to focus on how thankful I am that I am getting off the road this week. Here are 3 Things I Am Thankful For because I'm Getting Off The Road:

1. I'm thankful to have more quality time.
We all have the same amount of time each day. However, I have been spending a whole bunch of my time sitting in my car or sitting in planes. That's not living!  That's sitting! This year, January through April, I've already spent 240 hours just sitting en route somewhere. That's 10 days of my life that are now gone!  I've lost time!

This week, I am thankful because I will have time in Austin, Texas, one of my favorite cities on the planet- nay, in the universe!

When I'm at home, I can create a schedule that includes time for writing, performing, reading, exercising, & eating tacos.  When you properly control your schedule, you can find balance in your life.  I am thankful for that.

2. I get to eat right.

When you are en route & you need to eat, you can't exactly go to the kitchen & fix something healthy.  You're either speeding to your next gig or at the mercy of airport food vendors. So, I've been eating cheaply made- yet inversely expensive- travel food such as:
  • $10 sandwiches & $15 burgers at the airport. Ridiculous! I can make a sandwich for less than $2. 
  • $20 at Waffle House?!?!?!?   How is that possible?  I don't know, but I spent $20.57 at Waffle House today!
  • Pepperoni slices, cheese slices, lunchmeat slices, & dried banana chip slices.  Yep.  That's what I packed for my drive home tomorrow.  That's probably really healthy for me.  I wonder why I am constipated.
Travel food is expensive food.  It's also not the healthiest food. Just so I can enjoy my trips, I have to pack a bottle of Immodium A.D.  When you drive to work, do you have to plan for diarrhea?

So, starting this week, I will be grocery shopping again.  My groceries cost less than $20 per week. My food is healthier.  I can eat it on my own schedule.   I am thankful for that.

3. I get to exercise right.

Speaking of healthy, all this travel has interrupted any semblance of a fitness schedule.  I used to be lean.  I used to lift weights, ride my bike 30 miles 3-5 times a week, climb mountains (in Colorado, not Texas), & run on the treadmill.  But, I am a traveler now, not an exerciser.  

Sure, I tried to use hotel fitness rooms, but I worked a lot in the Midwest on this trip. Believe it or not, the Midwest hotels don't always have a fitness room!  I know; It's unbelievable!  It's true, though.  People in the Midwest are fat. Hotels don't give you a fitness option because they want to help you blend in.

Starting this week, I will be in Texas for 3 weeks.  I can get back on an exercise regiment.  Muscle tone, lung capacity, endorphins, & self-confidence are coming back! I'm sooooo thankful for that.  So is my gut!



In summary, I've lost time, but because of a poor, expensive diet & a lack of exercise, I've gained a 25-pound gut!  Starting this week, all of that is going to change.  I am thankful to get control of my time & my health again. 


I am also thankful you read this entry.


Bye! I'm Jake!

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