It Baffles Me...

I've been seeing these little polls make their way through the facebook ranks for a while, and each time it makes me wonder a few things...

1. How many of the 502,091 people (that's over half a million, for those not good at math) who responded to this even know who Carol Anderson (author of this particular poll) is?? There have been many other similar polls, this was just the most recent.
2. If you don't know her (or the author of the specific poll you're answering), WHY do you respond? It can't be that you want someone who isn't even your friend to keep you on her friends list. Think about it people, you're telling someone you don't know not to unfriend you, which she can't do anyway because you're not even on her list.
3. Do you hope that your current friends will see this and not unfriend you? I can't speak for all your friends, but that's not what goes through my head when I see people respond to these. Is your current relationship with those on your friends list so fragile you feel this will save it? Instead, why not try doing things like, oh... I don't know... contacting them? Post on their wall. Send messages. See how they are doing. 
4. Let's say, for the sake of argument, she was on your friends list. If this is the criteria on which she bases her friends list membership, is it a big loss if she drops you? This is right up there with vaguebooking and the "I'm going to post a self-depreciating status so everyone can tell me how great I am" posts. 
5. 8,191 followers. Seriously?? It's that interesting you want to see how it turns out? "I've never really liked Carol, so I want to see how many of her friends want to stay" You have a pool going at work and you've got $10 riding on "I LIKE TURTLES" to come in the top 5?

So, can we all just agree to let these polls die? Resist the urge to click. Stay strong. When you see them get recycled again, just keep scrolling through your news feed until you find something worth reading.

Boo-Yah!!

Come with me on a brief journey...

March 9, 2011 - Jesse gives me my first kettlebell workout. The intro nearly kills me, but I'm still excited to start.

March 11, 2011 - Praying for death. I tried it on my own with a 16kg bell and ended up with oxygen deprivation (seriously) and wasn't really back up and running for two days afterwards.

Aug 29, 2011 - After a great get-away to Kalispell with Dawn and our dear friends, I'm back in the kettlebell saddle and on a workout program with my very own 12kg bell (26.4lb). Jesse swings around 20kg and 24kg bells like they were made of styrofoam and I'm struggling with the 12kg.

Sep 17, 2011 - I graduate to my nemesis, the 16kg bell. This time we meet as equals.

Fast-forward a little (I don't remember exactly when I got the 20kg bell)... I fall off the wagon for a while, then get back on. Then off... then on again. Which brings us back to the present, and this...

That's right, my brand-new 24kg (52.8lb) bell. Twice as big as the one I started with. Within minutes of bringing it home, I was putting it through its maiden voyage, which is why my arms aren't working very well at the moment... I can't make it look easy like Jesse does, but I can give it a run. I believe milestones should be celebrated, so I celebrated with about 25 minutes of various exercises to see where my new benchmarks were. Monday begins the process of trying to exceed those benchmarks and set new ones.

A couple of weeks ago, two people I trust asked me if I was working out (if I didn't trust them, I would've dismissed their comments). My first thought was, "How scrawny was I before???" I really don't see a difference in myself yet, and believe me, I'm looking. I don't think there's a guy alive who doesn't flex in front of the mirror. I feel different; I'm usually more positive when I'm working out regularly and I feel better physically and mentally. But (to me anyway) I don't look different. 

Anyhow... I think the post-workout sweating has almost stopped (although my arms are still quivering . The good news is I didn't need oxygen after this workout!