Third Presidential Debatercize

I know I missed the middle two debates ( I arrived in Hawaii the night of the VP, and left the night of the 2nd Presidential) but here is the game for the 3rd debate, on foreign policy. This game is compiled from various drinking games around the web. The intention is that it is meant to be played for 20 minutes at any point during the debate. You can start at the beginning, in the middle, or do the last 20. It's designed to keep you moving, but not stack up so much that you have to omit things (my first game had this problem). SO here we go:

5 jumping jacks when YOUR candidate says any of the following:
Terrorism
"Dependence on Foreign Oil"
Osama Bin Laden
"In Harms Way"
Troops/ American Soldiers
The Rose Garden
Ambassador Stevens
References Foxconn or Chinese factories making Apple products
Commander in Chief

10 push ups for the mention of the following countries:
Iran
China
Israel
Palestine
Russia

5 squats for the mention of the following countries:
Afghanistan
Libya
Egypt
Syria
Greece
Iraq
Either Korea

1 10 sec plank per instance of interruptions

5 lunges for an obvious lie or position change

5 jumping jacks for a zinger

** Since it is sometimes hard to remember what things are under what category during play, when in doubt, do 5 more of what you just did.

Island Time

First, I'd like to apologize for the tardiness of this post. There was simply too much going on this week for me to have a moment to get to writing this until now. But anyway, here it is now.

Hawaii was amazing and a lot of fun. We spent a lot of time in the water and a lot of time walking. Waikiki is a big place, and the best beaches were a bit far from my Dad's apartment. So, we did a lot of walking and a lot of swimming. We did manage to go snorkeling and boogie boarding. We saw turtles and baby fish. I even saw a humuhumunukunukuapua'a (Hawaii's state fish), though I suppose to most the turtles are more exciting. Pictures are still forthcoming (my dad returned the underwater camera, so he has them) but I do have one of the turtle photos:

If you'd like to see a breakdown of how much exercise I got, I will point you to myfitnesspal (Midna07), as I recorded it all there.

As of my last weigh in, nothing has changed, but that could have been any number of factors, as my usual weigh in time is somewhat difficult to replicate exactly. My measurements are all down though, which is good and in the end the more important number. I care more about my shape than I care about the number on the scale, in the end.

Since returning Tuesday night I have not done much exercise this week (tbh I feel kind of gross), so I might try to get some Wii Fit or mild cardio in tonight or tomorrow. I've also definitely had my last alcoholic beverage for a little while, I've done a lot of drinking (not binge drinking, just one or two a night) since we left for HI, so now that we're back and resettled, it's time to stop. It was good, but the calories are unnecessary now. It's also been a little bit of a continuing party week since one of Jon's friends from Davis has been visiting. Tonight is his last night here so things should settle.

Sugar has also been something I've consumed too much of, but I've been finding that a little harder to cut down on. I have switched to the lighter calorie Cool Lime Refresher at Starbucks, but unfortunately it still brings me above the limit myfitnesspal has set for me when combined with my regular diet (things like tomato sauce and fruits). I also like the refreshers a whole lot more than coffee, so switching to the available stuff at work is out of the question. I'm not entirely sure I can drop the caffeine at this point, but I will attempt to work on generally getting more sleep so that they become less necessary.

We will return to regularly scheduled updates with the 3 categories next week, but for now, here's the roundup of success last week and goals for next week. Because of Hawaii and the spanning over 2 weeks, this week is combined with last week regarding goals and success, so I only get $15, not $30, as I did not properly set goals for this week.

Oct 8 -20:
Goals were: go to dance class on the 8th and exercise in HI
Success: Super success! $15 to shoes! (balance now $50)

Oct 21- 27:
Goals: Presidential Debatercize for 20 minutes (New game setup forthcoming) on Monday, Dance class on Wednesday, (additional walk = additional $5)
Success means $15 more towards shoes!

In short, Hawaii was great, my diet is currently a mess but I'm working on it, and I was successful last week.

[There will be another post coming shortly, tonight or tomorrow, with the details for Debatercize Monday night]

Hawaii Here We Come!

Before we get into the discussion of how freaking excited I am for my upcoming tropical vacation, I need to talk about last week.

So, the original plan for last week was to go to dance on Monday and Wednesday. When I made that plan, I was for some reason thinking the Presidential Debate was on Thursday. Of course, it was actually on Wednesday and directly conflicted with dance class. So that's why I made the last post (which has been of great entertainment to many).

Now, I did actually do it for the first 15 minutes of the debate, with Jon helping me out telling me what I should do when. The requirements certainly stacked up. I ended up dropping certain words or elements because there were just too many. For example I only did 5 jumping jacks after a while because by the time I did 10, there were 3 more things I had to do and it was difficult to keep track of. For the next debate I'll make the lists shorter. It did certainly get my heart rate up and it was actually a lot of fun. The only reason I stopped when I did was because I got drawn in. I stopped at about the point Mittens started changing his entire position, and it became important that I switch to tweeting my outrage (you can go back and read it if you'd like, my twitter is linked above). 

I am going to give myself the $15 for last week, with the caveat that I absolutely must do it again for the next Presidential Debate, and maybe structure it a bit better. Since I will be in Hawaii for the VP debate this week, I've already decided that it's a drinking game (for various reasons, some possibly celebratory, some possibly to make it hurt less, it really depends how it goes!). It should be pretty ridiculous. Plus, maybe my Dad will play!

My current shoes-balance is $35. $55 to go!

Ok, time to discuss Hawaii and what that means for my exercise. Good things mostly! That's one thing about vacation (or at least my vacations), you get out more and you just naturally do a lot more moving! Getting the exercise in really isn't an issue. 

Since we are not leaving until Thursday, I still have to go to dance class today (Monday). No big, I think I actually have the once-a-week dance down. Twice a week is being pesky though. I will not be able to go on Wednesday because I will be busy packing and prepping the apartment for the exterminators who will be coming through the building while we're gone. Their timing is somewhat convenient but also inconvenient since it adds extra work just before and right after our vacation, but at least our apartment will remain roach-free. Other people in our building have reported them. Jon thinks he may have seen one once, but I haven't ever, and I'd like it to remain that way. Anyway, exterminators and extra work aside, no time for dance on Wednesday.

But never fear! We are going to Hawaii and we are going to be a block from the beach and the ocean. Swimming is a thing I am going to be doing a lot of. Boogie boards are packed and ready, and I am so excited to hit the surf. I'm somewhat worried that my pale skin will burn forever, and I do not expect to get out of this vaca completely unscarred, but I am going to try to help it as much as I can. Tonight I'm planning on making friends with some self-tanner lotion. Also, thank goodness I have been living in California for a year and have at least a little color. My Oregonian pale from college is gone, not to say I'm still anything but a baluga, but I do perhaps have some natural defense from the cruel day star. Also sunscreen. So much sunscreen. 3 different types of sunscreen. Yep.

So this weeks requirements are simply that I go to class tonight and that I get my ass in the water sooner than Sunday. I think I can manage that :)

I'm not bringing my own laptop, so I do not expect to be writing a new blog entry until NEXT Wednesday after we return. It may even be as long as next Thursday before I get around to it. So, I will see you all then!

The Debate Exercising Game

Normally I don't like to bring politics up on this blog, but they are a pretty big part of my life. I care a lot about the policy decisions being made in Washington, and I an very excited to vote this November. In that spirit, I have come up with the following.

The first Presidential debate is tonight (9 eastern, on every news channel and streaming on the internet). Unfortunately it coincides with what would normally be my dance class time. So, because I would like to watch the debate live, I can't go to dance. Bummer! It's alright though, I have a solution.I make it a game.

Imagine a drinking game and a TV show. Every time some specific meme or theme is mentioned in the show, you drink. This will be exactly like that, but with exercises. Here's the breakdown:

[This debate is limited to Domestic Policy, so all keywords etc are domestic policy related]

*Starred items indicate time override. If one of these things happens, whatever other exercise has to be stopped and replaced with this. Any additional exercises incurred during the starred exercise are ignored.

Key words - 10 jumping jacks per mention

• Workers
• Average american household/ family
• Healthcare
• Jobs (5 per, since it will come up a lot)
• Taxes
• Military (veterans included)
• "Government spending spree" 
• Massachusetts
• seniors
• young people
• small businesses
• entrepreneurs
• private sector
• millionaire
• billionaire
• Reagan

*Big Concepts - 25 lunges per invocation

• The American Dream
• Obamacare
• Romneycare
• Medicare
• 47 percent
• Math
• Education

*Unexpected, but possible, Big things - jog in place during their discussion, the whole time

• Women's issues (covers abortion, contraceptives, PP etc.)
• Marriage equality
• Citizens United
• The 99% (or the 1%)
• Climate change
• Immigration
• Net neutrality

Romney gaffe - 25 high knees
Obama gaffe - 60 count plank

Romney "zinger" - 60 count plank
Obama "zinger" - 25 high knees

Obama interrupts Romney - Run in a circle left
Romney interrupts Obama - Run in a circle right

*Enthusiastic cheers or boos from the audience - reaches for the duration

Statistics/ Numbers -
in the millions- 5 crunches
in the billions- 10 crunches
percentage - 10 lunges

5 Push ups if:
Either candidate addresses his opponent in the 3rd person
Compliments opponents personal life or family
ignores a question by addressing the audience
argues with the moderator

Obama says:
Let me be clear - 10 reaches
References Bain - 5 lunges
Blames Bush - 10 jumping jacks

Romney says:
Plan to create 12 million jobs - 12 crunches

*Anyone goes over time - plank from when their time ends until they actually stop


I have no idea how I'm going to log this, but I'm pretty stoked to try it out!