Learning to be a runner, week 1

OK...I successfully did one mile, three times, and feel OK about it. Pretty good about it, actually. It turns out if you listen to songs that are about 5 minutes long, you can warm up and then run a mile over the course of three songs. That seems to make it not bad at all – run for two songs and then you're done.

I've got a bit of a cold right now, but I'm getting on a train shortly, and headed for a few days off in the great state Commonwealth of Massachusetts (we need a word that rhymes well with commonwealth).

If the lungs hold up through the sniffling, I think we're going to up it to a mile and half Saturday, and see how we feel Sunday.

We'll let you know how that goes.

Opening Day

Winter has defeated me this year, more than any winter since that of 2003-04, when I first moved here.

That year, I was not only unprepared for things like lake effect snow and the perpetual grey that is a Central New York winter, that winter was the coldest the area had experienced since they started keeping records. It was also the second-snowiest.

This year, it just seems like it's been cold forever.

Sunday morning I woke up to bright sunshine and 17 degrees. Fahrenheit.

The Red Sox and Athletics played two regular season games in Japan last Tuesday and Wednesday, but baseball season starts today for real.

It is the day I look forward to starting in late October, after the World Series ends. That irrational thing we call "fandom" always brings me out of my shell when I get to follow the Red Sox day-to-day, but it also signals spring: renewal, green grass, trees blossoming, the chance to get outside at long last.

As Sunday progressed, the sun continued to shine, working the air above freezing. I sat, reading the last 75 pages of The Lost – a long, draining book that had become a metaphor for my winter – and listened to the last of the icicles crash from the eaves onto the roof.

Thursday, I will be at the ball park, covering Opening Day for the Chiefs, Syracuse's minor league baseball team.

They've replaced the Astroturf with grass, though I can't imagine the grass will be up by Thursday. At any rate, I'm sure the field won't be blue (nor will the photos).

It still might be too cold, mornings this week, to ride my bike to work – or even to think about throwing my bike on the back of my car. But sunshine and baseball are both signs that spring is on its way, and I'm ready for it like I haven't been in a while.

Update: Store launches Thursday

Thursday you say? But, Josh, it's Friday...

Yep, right. We went ahead and launched the store last night.

You can buy photos directly from the artist (me!), all from the comfort of your living room. You don't even have to put pants on.

Store drops Sunday, 2 March 2008

We're counting down to Sunday, the 2nd of March. That's the day photos go up for sale – in plenty of time to order for Mother's Day.

More later.

v2.0 update

You may have noticed a slight change in the color scheme. Just a slight one, mind you.

It took a lot longer than I thought it would to figure out how to integrate PayPal seamlessly into the site, but I think I've got it now.

There will be some sort of announcement later today as to when you can expect the store to be up.

Countdown to v2.0

New colors are just the beginning. Better readability? Check. More stuff? Check. Ability to order photos online? Check.

Wait, what?

That's right. Order photos online from JoshShear.com. Coming soon.

GitaGilad.com

This has been way too long in coming, but it's up and ready, baby.

Gita Gilad takes some awesome photos, and she's real creative when it comes to collages and such -- stuff I never would have though of doing, really.

You can now check out and buy her photos online, so go do it, right now!

Unplugging at home

My life has become ridiculous kinds of complicated lately. I've been putting in overtime at work; I'm joining local organizations to boost my civic engagement; I'm doing more Web design and paper editing projects.

In my office job and in my freelance work, I spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen. When I was going home, I was spending more time in front of a computer screen, time in front of a television, and sometimes time in front of both.

I stopped writing entirely, and any time I sat down to write, I'd be distracted by e-mail, blogs, and a football game.

So I unplugged.

I called the cable company, and asked them to disconnect my television and Internet service. And my home phone, but that was secondary.

It's a lot more quiet in my house. I've been reading a lot. And I'm starting to write again – this here is proof of that.

And here's the kicker: I'm being more social. I have to be. I don't need to be online to write a blog post or design a Web page, but if I want to put either on the Web, I do have to be online. And now to be online, I have to go to a cafe. And that means that, even if it's one person, I have to talk to someone. So that's good.

If I want to watch a sporting event, I have to go to a bar that's showing it, and talk to people there.

If I want to watch a television show, I have to go to a friend's house and share it.

I could still plug my TV back in and watch a movie if I want, but I haven't wanted to.

What I've noticed in two weeks:

• My eyes aren't suffering as much strain as they used to
• I have less frequent headaches
• I'm talking a lot more softly and hearing a lot more loudly
• I'm listening to music
• Listening to radio shows and sporting events on the radio, I'm forced to use my imagination more, and that drives creativity
• I'm getting more exercise
• I'm exercising more will power
• I'm sleeping better
• I feel more in control over my body and my mind

Also, I'm saving about $120 a month, which can't be a bad thing, though I haven't had a month without that bill yet (the cable company swears my refund is coming for unused time, but I'm not holding my breath).

And you? How are you these days?