Three Weeks

It has been three drudgery-laden weeks since my friend left for England. I have not heard from her since she left, so that tells me something right there. LOL
I am still unemployed, so that adds to my misery.
...and my baseball team is choking away the 2005 season. Oh well.

Getting In Shape #7

Today I reached a milestone 20 years in the making. I have this old belt that I wore back in 1985 when I was 185 pounds. It was exactly 20 years ago this month that I flew to California to explore moving out there. I was in pretty good shape at the time.
Now I am 207, so I reckon I have 22 pounds of muscle I did not have back then, or my fat head has grown 22 lbs worth. I will guess the head.

Getting In Shape #6

I don't feel well and I'm kind of depressed because my friend is leaving Wednesday. That will leave me high and dry on three fronts: childcare, companionship and workouts. I am down to 209 this week, having lost 33 flabby,sloppy ugly pounds (15 kilos) since January 1st. I don't exactly know how I lost another pound this week since I backed off an additional day with the start of the kids' school.
I am kicking some butt in spinning class, and will reward myself with a pair of spin shoes this September.
Still no job, but the interview I endured presented an interesting consulting opportunity that could fund the launch of a new business. I really do NOT want to work for somebody else.
On another front, I agreed to teach accounting Weds nights at the DeVry University campus here in AlmostInWisconsinVille.
Stay Positive. Wherever you go, there you are.

Horrors! Job Interview!

Job interview next Monday. After 8 weeks of idyllic rest, I am actually going to see someone about gainful employment. Maybe I will be lucky and like the smell of what their cooking.

Getting in Shape #5

I am down to 211 lbs this week, a total weight loss of 31 lbs since January 1st. I backed off of training one day a week because I felt I was overdoing it.
Monitor your heart rate to help you determine if you may be overtraining. If your heart rate is elevated during rest, or if you have difficulty raising and lowering your heart rate during aerobic exercise, it might be time to back off the schedule.
I also have shed 8 inches from my waist since January, and the benefits of that are huge. My clothes fit again. I have disposed of all my fat guy clothes.
I still want to get down to under 200 by my 55th birthday in December. I seem to be well on my way. My training partner leaves for England on August 31st. It will be an immeasurable loss to me, not only because of the training implications, but I have become very attached to her. She has been a great companion this summer and I wish her all the best.

This Doesn't Look Right

I went to the Big Box store to get some stuff. I swiped my credit card in the machine. I signed for the purchase with the stylus on the device's little screen. The cashier asked to see my credit card. She compared signatures.
"This doesn't look right. Can I see an I.D?"
Flummoxed, I produced my driving license.
"I need to get the manager. None of these signatures match."
"Come on!" I retorted, angrily I admit. "How can any of these signatures match? One is written on paper on a desk and then copied to the license. One is written with a sharpie on a little box on the credit card. Be careful not ot cover the three digit code! The third is written with a stylus and no support for my hand."
She looked again. "Close enough."
I went home.

Hoodwinked!

I mentioned to the Dear Wife that I wanted to fix up the den. Being unemployed at present, I have time to spiff things up around Dustmite Manor. Normally, I avoid servile work at all costs, not only on Sunday, but all other days as well. I can't remember exactly when I last mowed a lawn. My guys do it. I seldom wash my car. That is for the car wash guys. I do not paint. I hate it. I really abhor it.
Naturally DW had to hoodwink me into painting the den. We bought new furniture for it and I moved out all the old garbage, books, computer crap, etc. We picked out paint, and did not hire the painter (who is one of my best pals as well) because DW and Dear Nanny both said they loved to paint and would pitch in to do. Needless to say the furniture is coming in a week and I just got finsihed priming the damn room.
Don't listen to the pimply-faced kid behind the paint counter at Home Depot when he tells you one gallon of tinted primer would be enough to do a 12x12 room. Two and a half gallons later, I finally got the needed coverage. The walls had only the contractor paint on them from when the house was built nine years ago. I knew they would soak up paint like crazy, but I did not anticipate how thirsty they would be.
Today I finished touching up the primer and am ready to begin the first coat, Cottonwood by Ralph Lauren. It will go on two walls and the ceiling. RL Kauai Jungle will go on the other two walls.
DW once more shows me she is smarter than I am. She is gallavanting in Cleveland for a couple days. I am performing servile work.

Getting In Shape #4

Down to 214 lbs, a total loss of 28 pounds since the beginning of the year. It helps when you can spend 10-12 hours in the gym each week. I am eating two pretty good meals a day, and having a couple adult beverages each night, so there is room to ratchet down the calorie intake.
I need to check with the ListGod on my sodium intake. He has me chewing salt tablets all day, but I draw the line at his daily sodium enema suggestion.
My workout partner leaves for the UK on August 31 and that could be a major blow to my regimen. Let's see how far I get by 8-31 and worry about next steps when the time comes.

Cubs Lose!

Anyone else hope the D'backs sweep the Cubs this weekend? My hatred of the Cubs and their Lemming Fans is both petty and immature...so?

Gettin In Shape # 3

Okay, don't hate me but I keep losing weight. 216 today. Doing 11 hours a week in the gym. Weights, spin, running. I am also ravenously hungry. 26 pounds gone since the first of the year. 18 more to go. Enjoying a nice Balvenie tonight as a reward.
...or maybe two, yum.

Being Unemployed

There is a funny thing about people watching when you are unemployed. The people are invariably mommies or old folks. I went to the Jewels this morning for some groceries and got the heebie jeebies from seeing all these seniors shuffling around. It was almost as if I somehow got stuck in a parallel universe where eveybody was ancient. Is that what I am going to look like in 20 years? Hope I die before I get old. (That was done by The Who, right?)

Who Did "My Generation?" Who. Yeah, Who?

I am such a music troglodyte sometimes it makes me laugh. The new fangled radios that display the artist and song have been helping me get hip. Up until yesterday I thought "Walk of Life" was done by that Springsteen guy. Imagine my surprise that iit is Dire Straits. duuhh

Get In Shape Update #2

Despite some adult bevvies Friday night, I weighed 218 this morning, another new low. Friday I stayed away from the gym but ran 3 miles. Today was an off day. My heartrate is around 80 right now, so I may have been over-training a tad. I will see what it is like tomorrow after golf.

Get in Shape Update #1

At the beginning of 2005, I had 242.5 lbs packed onto my 6'2" frame. My quack told me to lose weight or die, so I decided to get in shape. The local gym in my hometown has a wide variety of exercise classes. My favorites are Muscle Works/Coreboard and the Spinning classes.

Today I took Pilates for the first time. Now I know why women live longer than men on average. I am usually the only male in Muscle Works, and one of a few in Spinning. Most of the guys at the Club are overweight but they insist on playing raquetball or basketball. A few regulars use the free weights. We don't have a lot of body builder types at all. Some of the guys use the treadmills or stairmasters, but usually they employ incorrect form, holding on the rails.

So far this year I have lost 22 pounds (10 kilos) and about five inches off my waist. My goal is to get to 199 by year end if possible, but no later than next March 26 when we are off on vacation. A secondary goal is to get off this blood pressure med. It's good to have goals.

Harry Potter is EVIL!!!!

Good Christ Almighty! (No irony intended) With all the horrid problems pressuring our world these days, the Catholic Church finds time to blast harmless children's books because their mythologies clash with those of the church.

I am not surprised by this garbage. Liberal Christianity/Conservative Christianity. Islam. No diff. They all require belief in myths supported only by the convoluted logic of 1st millenium thinkers. And Judaism, the root of them, promotes belief in a vengeful interventionist supreme being that continually kicks your ass. I have no use for any of them. Except Mother Mary. From what I know of her, she was pretty cool.

What the World Needs

Another blog! Welcome to Wrong Side of the Saw Kerf, my personally twisted view of the world. I do not know where this blog will take me (well, wherever you go, there you are anyway) but it is a good time for me to start one because I am NEWLY UNEMPLOYED and enjoying the summer.