Today's Blog Like Crazy prompt is to list things that I'm currently into. It's a simple idea, but I found that my categories were pretty different from others'. Without further ado,

Watching: After figuring out I was getting overstimulated from watching television while writing, I've started turning off the boob tube. I'm watching less television than I have in a long time, but still manage to keep up with a few programs. Adam and I have been watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Grimm since they started, and are still current on both. They're fun, (mostly) well-written and light. We also keep up with Boardwalk Empire and are looking forward to the springtime return of Game of Thrones.
Listening to: I have no music on my phone thanks to Spotify. About a year ago, my five-year-old iPod went belly up and I haven't been able to spring for a new one yet. Since I mainly used it in the car, it hasn't been worth the money to replace. Over the past few months, I've been jamming out to The Strokes, Foals, Young The Giant, Leagues -- all bands that are played regularly at Octane. My coworkers' tastes in music may differ from my own, but they're pretty darn good.
Planning: One of my goals for this month is to build my blog's visibility and to build a client base for my writing. I have a tentative plan in place of how to achieve both, but it'll take an investment of a good deal of time.
Looking forward to: Thanksgiving. I'm taking some time off to rest and relax and spend time with Adam while he's off work and out of class. It'll be nice to be able to just hang out and not have to worry about so many things.
Reading: Cocktail books. Lots of cocktail books.
Making me happy: My new running shoes are still making me happy and helping to motivate my runs, leading to increased seratonin levels and chemically-induced good feelings. I dig it.

Last week, I took advantage of a sale at a local running shop and scooped up a pair of new kicks. After nine months of using the same tennis shoes for both exercise and work, it was past time. While I was barbacking, I found that I was walking more than four miles a night when we were busy. Combined with about five miles of running, I was logging 18-20 miles on the shoes every week.

It's not surprising, then, that they started bottoming out six months later. As they wore down, my knee pain increased and my ability to run through it wore down. After a week of too much activity in general, my body doesn't handle physical activity well. It's not healthy, and I tend to crash for at least one day each week. The result?

I haven't been running on a regular basis because of the residual pain and fatigue, so I haven't built up the energy or physical addiction to running. Without these incentives, it's much more difficult to run, and a viscous cycle continues.

To give myself an incentive to run, I got those new shoes. Though it was only went a mile, my first run in them was virtually pain free. I'm going out today to get some super sexy restaurant/medical clogs for my bartending shifts to ease the wear on both my shoes and my legs. I'm also going running again for longer time- and distance-wise.

As my dad says, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Getting into distance running is the same way -- it will never be possible for me to run a half marathon if I don't run for shorter spells now. Food, hydration and other elements necessary to running regularly will follow. Once a regular routine is established in each of these areas, I'll be just about unstoppable.

It all began with those new shoes. They might not actually have magical properties, but they're still shiny and I'm not accustomed to seeing them on my feet. Hopefully that will be enough to keep me on my toes.