Non-Reading Weekends

 Weekends are not good times for me when it comes to reading. I've reluctantly come to that conclusion over several months. While my weekdays seem to be available for scheduling reading times throughout the day, the weekends pose special obstacles. This is when I watch my sports and other pre-recorded shows from the past week. 

I watch my English Premier League soccer, PGA golf, as well as American Ninja Warrior. The soccer is mostly live or pre-recorded sometime during the weekend. The golf is recorded on the weekends, with round 3 on Saturdays and the final fourth round on Sunday. A caveat here - if I don't get to watch round 3 before the final round on Sunday, I usually delete it unless I know something major happened. Ninja Warrior shows are all reruns since I am just getting into watching it, so I watch them as they are taped. 

As for any other taped show, whether a weekly TV drama or comedy, a TNT movie, or any other show, more often than not they get saved to be watched whenever I have time and/or the urge to watch them. Needless to say, this does require a certain regular schedule of culling the programs.

As much as I try to meet my reading goals I'm afraid they most often fall short. The best I can do is read my fiction books each Saturday and Sunday evening after dinner, though most Sunday evenings I'm watching a couple of TV shows scheduled on Sunday, as well as the Sunday evening NFL football game.

So there it is. Just wanted to get it out there. Hopefully, now I won't feel (so) guilty for not reading on the weekends.

Sports - As a spectator and a Participant

Talking to my brother this morning via our weekly Skype call, I mentioned that live golf had returned to TV this weekend. As I talked about it, Jerry told me that he knew basically nothing about golf. I reminded myself that he wanted to play football in high school, but developed hay fever so bad he had to take shots. He got into music instead which turned out, I think for him, much better.

I asked him if he followed or played any sports; of course, I forgot he was and still is to an extent, a cyclist. He actually worked in a bike shop and became the store manager (of course, he did) before he retired from that career. He still follows the sport religiously.

I followed the Tour de France during the late eighties and nineties with Greg Lamond and up through the Lance Armstrong era. I even had a nice Peugeot six-speed when I was in the Army and stationed in Kansas. But after getting into running in 1978, and crashing quite spectacularly going downhill - without a helmet - I more or less gave it up. I found I was better at running anyway and enjoyed it more.

I eventually sold the bike as I did with my golf clubs - three times. But that's another story.