as i have shared previously i have been dieting for my trip down south. my goal was to take progress pictures and i had hoped to diet myself down to 160 lbs.
when i start a diet things appear to be go along swimmingly and suddenly i'd hit a plateau. the first time i stalled, i made a slight dietary adjustment and increased my cardio by five minutes and that worked. the second time my weight loss stalled i added yet another five minutes to my cardio and again i was successful.
i started my quest at 170 lbs and i was pretty damn pleased to be weighing 161 lbs. last week from thursday through to sunday. there was no cheat meal, there was no variance in diet but my weight did go back up to 163 lbs. is the sudden weight 'gain' a reflection of my stress levels? it could be because yesterday morning i was able to don a pair of jeans that i can't wear any other time of the year. basically i keep them in my closet to have something to wear when i get lean.
basically, i've lost a couple of inches of my mid-section, i can see a lot more definition when i train and i have lost anywhere from seven to nine pounds.
on to other news. in late july i went for a ride out in the country on my bike and to my shock and horror the bike stalled. luckily i was able to get her going and what should have been a 2 hour ride turned into a 5 hour trip as the bike stalled several more times. when i was able to get the bike into the shop they told me that the tank lining was breaking down, getting into the fuel line and plugging the jets. since the tank had be coated or lined twice previously they suggested that it was time to replace the tank. i attempted to take the bike out on short trips while i waited for the replacement tank but she was just too unreliable.
by late september it was time to start thinking about winter storage and as much as i love jade, i just couldn't fathom going through the expense of storing what was essentially a 400 lb paperweight. so after a lot of deliberation, soul-searching and bouts of guilt i realized i was bike shopping. i found an 2006 ninja 500, essentially the same bike just several years younger. jade is a 1993 ex-500. if i remember my kawasaki history correctly the ex-500 was renamed the ninja 500 a couple model years later.
i am purchasing the '06 from a bike dealership and unfortunately they had no trade interest in my '93. everyone suggested i try to sell the jade on kiijiji but as i don't have a winter storage options at home, private sale is not a viable option. consignment sale at my bike shop would cost me $250 plus 10% of the sale price. no sale? i would still owe them $250 for winter storage. so i looked into bike salvage.
the guy at the bike salvage place started talking about possibly buying jade, fixing her tank issues and re-selling her to someone else. i was excited by that plan, the knowledge that the old girl could bring some joy to someone else really eased my mind. they just needed to bench my bike to assess her value, to see all that they needed to 'fix' and what kind of shape she was really in.
the call came last night it seems that the v.i.n stamped into the bike frame was altered to match the v.i.n on record. what does that mean? it means that someone who owned the bike before me made the switch. since i am the fourth owner of that bike it could have been done at any time in the bike's history. was the bike stolen? i don't know and i guess i will never know. clearly buying used bikes off of other riders is not the way to go and from now on it will be dealerships for me. sure i will pay a bit more than i would with private sale but at least i would not find out something like this.
so there has been a little bit of drama in my life of late but then who among us doesn't have a little drama from time to time.
i will see you when i get back!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
some suprises are nasty
payday is friday and i leave for my vacation next week thursday. you can imagine my displeasure at learning that work intends on holding on all payables until after the end of their fiscal year. which basically means i won't see a pay cheque until november. i am willing to bet those fawkers hold off until the second pay period in november.
when i got the email appraising me of this situation i was so angry i went out to the parking lot to cool off for a while. since it was not the first time they've screwed me over like this there nothing was 'cooled'.
and to add insult to injury i got to sit there while they handed out payroll statements to the full-time employees.
it is probably not much of a suprise that i did not finish out the day. i spent so much time internalizing my anger and frustration that i gave myself a headache.
i was at the gym a earlier this evening and even that hasn't been able to calm me down.
tomorrow is gonna suck.
when i got the email appraising me of this situation i was so angry i went out to the parking lot to cool off for a while. since it was not the first time they've screwed me over like this there nothing was 'cooled'.
and to add insult to injury i got to sit there while they handed out payroll statements to the full-time employees.
it is probably not much of a suprise that i did not finish out the day. i spent so much time internalizing my anger and frustration that i gave myself a headache.
i was at the gym a earlier this evening and even that hasn't been able to calm me down.
tomorrow is gonna suck.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
body by slinky??
It's Slinkyit was back day and i was at the gym loading my bar between sets of deadlifts when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye i saw a female gym member. the woman in question appeared to be crawling along the gym floor.
It's Slinky
For fun it's a wonderful toy
It's fun for a girl or a boy
It's fun for a girl or a boy
the crawl to the locker room is something you would expect to see from someone who have done one hell of a leg workout. someone who has left it all on the gym floor and has no other method of forward momentum than by dragging their lifeless carcass along the floor.
this woman however was crawling on purpose. she started off in a plank with her socked feet hooked behind the lip of a 35 lb. plate. she would then drag the plate under her hips, from there she would walk forward until she was back in a plank position before repeating the drag. she covered a fair bit of the gym this way and i have to admit i had to stop what i was doing to watch in disbelief.
i do understand that a lot of folks have lost interest in traditional training methods and are drawn to crossfit and boot camp training styles. i would like to respectfully mention that they do have gyms that specialize in and are set up for those training styles. dragging yourself along the floor in a traditional gym turns you into a hazard. if i had stepped back for any reason i would have tripped over her. which more than likely would have had me knocking myself out on the sled press machine behind me.
the slinky lady comes to the gym with her gear-head boyfriend who is responsible for things she does on the gym floor. he sometimes comes to our gym wearing a t-shirt with personal trainer emblazoned on the back. i have to tell you nothing scares me more than watching him train when he has that shirt on.
i am convinced the boyfriend is a few fries short of a happy meal. that or mommy didn't play with him enough. he isn't happy unless he is training in the most obnoxious manner of all. we are talking about needlessly slamming the weights and screaming as if he was being castrated sans anesthetic on the gym floor. i know that he does it all simply for the attention because if you watch him you will see him toss himself to the floor lay there for a few seconds then pop his head up to see if anyone is looking before crumpling back onto the floor. almost as though he is suffering from an attack of the vapours the likes of which any plantation era southern belle would envy.
later while i was attempting to pick up a 45 lb. plate that some jug head had left on the floor not even six scant inches away from the hook it should have been hung from. 45's can be tricky to pick up if the plate doesn't have a natural lip, you sort of need to use your feet to nudge the plate up enough to get your fingers under it, preferably without crushing your fingers. which can happen as sometimes the damn plate will slip before you have established a firm hold.
there wasn't a lot of space between the plate loaded machine i was using and the delt machine beside it. if i am between the two machines struggling with a full plate that takes up a good portion of available space. suddenly there is sara slinky and she is powering her way through the tiny gap. just then a little pink thing goes sailing through the air. it seems her headphone wire caught on the handle of the machine and was ripped from her head.
i had to laugh.
now i can't say for certain that girlfriend was trying to intimidate me but if she was... somebody should tell little precious that i am the last person she mess around with.
it took quite a bit of searching but i finally found a youtube video of the exercise. notice the lack of people, equipment, weights and the like in the area where the exercise is performed.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
ring the alarm
a couple weeks ago, on the radio, they started talking about one of the world's hottest peppers. this pepper, they said was rated 1,000,000 units on the scoville scale of pepper hotness. two of the d.j's ate six hot wings live on air. they were coated in a sauce made with the bhut jolokia or ghost pepper. suffice it to say they were quite uncomfortable and one of the dj's had difficulty speaking after he was done.
according to one of the dj's while working with this pepper you need to wear gloves and eye protection! at first i really couldn't understand the appeal of eating something that was so dangerous. at first!
my father came home with some peppers that he got from his friend. lo' and behold among them was the famed ghost pepper. i'd like to tell you that i recoiled in horror and ran screaming from the room but that was not the case. i managed to ignore the gleaming bottle of hot peppers on the kitchen countertop for a day or two. i was kind of holding out for a hot sauce made with the lone uncut pepper that my father.
it was a monday afternoon when i gave in and cracked the seal on the bottle. i dug out a pepper and added it to my lunch. the bottle holds a mixture of the jamaican scotch bonnet pepper and the bhut jolokia. the scotch bonnet it is worth noting comes in at paltry 350,000 units on the scoville scale. so needless to say, my meal was hot but it was still no big deal. i guess i picked added another scotch bonnet pepper to my dinner that night and in hindsight i supposed that allowed me to get somewhat cocky.
when i prepared my lunch for work on tuesday i grabbed a larger pepper slice out of the bottle. the pepper had been cut in half along its length. i did remember noting that it looked a bit different than the pepper slices i'd chosen previously but otherwise i thought nothing of it.
my first indication that i may have miscalculated came when i noticed that i could smell pepper while i was still a good 3 feet away from the microwave. the first bite of my meal taught me in no uncertain terms that this was not my mother's hot pepper.
i think i got about half of my meal down before i started hitting the water bottle. i remember sitting there in the midst of an intense stare down with the ghost pepper. you see, you can't let the pepper see you sweat. you can't let it beat you.
like the trooper i am i did eat the whole thing but i did have to wait until the plate got down to about room temperature before i could finish. it is kind of funny thing but as i waited for my meal to cool down i noticed that one by one my work mates started sneezing. oops... my bad!
because i generally try to keep my blog classy, i won't tell you about the ghost pepper's revenge that occurred later that evening. i will only say this about that... it was rough!!!
according to one of the dj's while working with this pepper you need to wear gloves and eye protection! at first i really couldn't understand the appeal of eating something that was so dangerous. at first!
my father came home with some peppers that he got from his friend. lo' and behold among them was the famed ghost pepper. i'd like to tell you that i recoiled in horror and ran screaming from the room but that was not the case. i managed to ignore the gleaming bottle of hot peppers on the kitchen countertop for a day or two. i was kind of holding out for a hot sauce made with the lone uncut pepper that my father.
it was a monday afternoon when i gave in and cracked the seal on the bottle. i dug out a pepper and added it to my lunch. the bottle holds a mixture of the jamaican scotch bonnet pepper and the bhut jolokia. the scotch bonnet it is worth noting comes in at paltry 350,000 units on the scoville scale. so needless to say, my meal was hot but it was still no big deal. i guess i picked added another scotch bonnet pepper to my dinner that night and in hindsight i supposed that allowed me to get somewhat cocky.
when i prepared my lunch for work on tuesday i grabbed a larger pepper slice out of the bottle. the pepper had been cut in half along its length. i did remember noting that it looked a bit different than the pepper slices i'd chosen previously but otherwise i thought nothing of it.
my first indication that i may have miscalculated came when i noticed that i could smell pepper while i was still a good 3 feet away from the microwave. the first bite of my meal taught me in no uncertain terms that this was not my mother's hot pepper.
i think i got about half of my meal down before i started hitting the water bottle. i remember sitting there in the midst of an intense stare down with the ghost pepper. you see, you can't let the pepper see you sweat. you can't let it beat you.
like the trooper i am i did eat the whole thing but i did have to wait until the plate got down to about room temperature before i could finish. it is kind of funny thing but as i waited for my meal to cool down i noticed that one by one my work mates started sneezing. oops... my bad!
because i generally try to keep my blog classy, i won't tell you about the ghost pepper's revenge that occurred later that evening. i will only say this about that... it was rough!!!
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
from light to dark
i am happy to report that the loss of carbs and the additional five minutes of cardio seem to be doing the trick. the scale has finally started to nudge its way to the left and further i needed almost a 1/2 inch less tape to make it around my mid-section.
if things continue as they are i probably won't need to make any further adjustments. it is still early so i am not ruling out a last week 'kick'. nothing too crazy, maybe something as simple as adding another five minutes of cardio. again, i should reiterate that i am still off-season but just want to drop enough bodyfat to 'see' the muscles that i have been trying to build. there is no need nor is it particularily healthy to aim for stage definition.
there have been no further developments of note on the writing front... much to my immediate displeasure. i should have nothing but opportunity during my upcoming vacation. it is likely that natalie will be working while i am there and i will have to fill my days somehow. last i heard she had yet to replace her computer after the break-in.
the thought of being away from the internet for eleven days does actually fill me with a sense of abject terror. dear god i might actually be forced to speak to someone!!!
now onto the dark.
a little over a week ago i spent the morning in a church saying good-bye to uncle noel. after a long and difficult battle with alzheimers we laid him to rest.
i have mentioned in here time and time again that i am not known for making a lot of family events but this is one that i did not miss. in fact during the post-service gathering my father was moved to remark how he was amazed that i was still there.
the reason i mentioned my uncle's passing is to discuss the funeral service. i have never recognized organized religion to be anything more than a cash grab and i honestly fail to see the validity of the funeral service. i sat there and listened to the pastor speak, the soloist warble and i watched the alter boys fight to stay awake when they weren't 'leaping' into action. as near as i could tell, nothing that was said or done that day seemed to make my aunt and cousin's grief any less.
at one point with all the standing and sitting, i sort of wished i had some weights to take advantage of the squatting opportunity. blaspheme much? well yeah... burn baby, burn.
the longer the service lasted the more convinced i was that i don't want a service held to celebrate my passing. although i could easily see how some folks might be moved to party on such an occasion. just toss my carcass into the furnace and call it a day.
what would make me happy, assuming i would still give a damn since i will probably be twisting in a sea of flames; i'd rather everyone just spend a couple hours doing something that brought them joy. hell... they don't even need to do it together. my brothers both enjoy golfing. i have no use for the game but i'd rather instead of spending a couple hours in a church trying to look sullen and miserable that they hit the links.
on one hand i find it kind of odd that i am contemplating my passing already but as time goes by i really only getting closer to the finish line and further and further away from the starting blocks.
as they say in la belle province... c'est la vie.
if things continue as they are i probably won't need to make any further adjustments. it is still early so i am not ruling out a last week 'kick'. nothing too crazy, maybe something as simple as adding another five minutes of cardio. again, i should reiterate that i am still off-season but just want to drop enough bodyfat to 'see' the muscles that i have been trying to build. there is no need nor is it particularily healthy to aim for stage definition.
there have been no further developments of note on the writing front... much to my immediate displeasure. i should have nothing but opportunity during my upcoming vacation. it is likely that natalie will be working while i am there and i will have to fill my days somehow. last i heard she had yet to replace her computer after the break-in.
the thought of being away from the internet for eleven days does actually fill me with a sense of abject terror. dear god i might actually be forced to speak to someone!!!
now onto the dark.
a little over a week ago i spent the morning in a church saying good-bye to uncle noel. after a long and difficult battle with alzheimers we laid him to rest.
i have mentioned in here time and time again that i am not known for making a lot of family events but this is one that i did not miss. in fact during the post-service gathering my father was moved to remark how he was amazed that i was still there.
the reason i mentioned my uncle's passing is to discuss the funeral service. i have never recognized organized religion to be anything more than a cash grab and i honestly fail to see the validity of the funeral service. i sat there and listened to the pastor speak, the soloist warble and i watched the alter boys fight to stay awake when they weren't 'leaping' into action. as near as i could tell, nothing that was said or done that day seemed to make my aunt and cousin's grief any less.
at one point with all the standing and sitting, i sort of wished i had some weights to take advantage of the squatting opportunity. blaspheme much? well yeah... burn baby, burn.
the longer the service lasted the more convinced i was that i don't want a service held to celebrate my passing. although i could easily see how some folks might be moved to party on such an occasion. just toss my carcass into the furnace and call it a day.
what would make me happy, assuming i would still give a damn since i will probably be twisting in a sea of flames; i'd rather everyone just spend a couple hours doing something that brought them joy. hell... they don't even need to do it together. my brothers both enjoy golfing. i have no use for the game but i'd rather instead of spending a couple hours in a church trying to look sullen and miserable that they hit the links.
on one hand i find it kind of odd that i am contemplating my passing already but as time goes by i really only getting closer to the finish line and further and further away from the starting blocks.
as they say in la belle province... c'est la vie.
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