The Pugilist

This is how I felt today.

Yesterday, I finished reading Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, and therefore I was feeling pretty manly. There's just something about fishing trips and bull fights that will do that to a guy, no matter how depressing the story line is. But anyway, today I went into town, bought some hand wraps and a jump rope and worked out with the Boxing club. Other than having the grace of toddler throwing a tantrum with the jump rope, I really enjoyed the workout. The old guy who was in charge of the new comers kept trying to make me box with my left foot and shoulder forward in a right handers stance, but I couldn't make myself stay that way and he eventually gave up. It just felt to unnatural for someone as right-hand-retarded as I am. It was fun none the less. The instructor looked a whole lot like Mickey from the Rocky series, and I had a hard time understanding everything he said, but every time he punched the air he said "BOOM!" and I understood that part.

When I got home I was starving so I made a double portion of oatmeal and threw in apple slices, cinnamon, milk, honey, and peanut butter. I know all that might sound a little weird, but I rationalized it away by saying that pretty much all of those things go with one another in pairs, so why not all together? It all ends up together in your stomach anyway....

The boxing club meets on Monday and Thursday afternoons, and I'm thinking about making it a regular part in my schedule. My abs are going to be crying tomorrow, but the burn was great and they could stand to hurt a little bit now and again. It builds character.

In other news, I read the first two books of Lewis' Space Trilogy (namely Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra) this past week, and I have all 400 pages of That Hideous Strength to start and finish, as well as write a paper on, by Wednesday. I'm thinking about reading up on Merlin and his appearance in the book in an attempt to understand Lewis' using the morally vague Celtic wizard in such a prominent role. But we shall see. Before that happens I have a Hemingway paper to crank out before Saturday night and I have yet to form a thesis....