Whappo

Morning weigh-in: 166.5#, 13% BF

 

Not much to say. Gym last night, and I really hit it hard; I was exhausted when I got home. Surprised and gratified with how the weights are increasing, especially the legs. Dinner was a plate of black beans.

 

Tonight I'm riding the towpath, probably on the singlespeed. I'd like to hit Which Brew for dinner, and I also wanted to see the Skulldiggers (at WB) and then maybe Post Junction at Pearly Baker's, but as of now I'm planning to meet Doug & Lori, and Eric & Kris, somewhere in Bethlehem for E-Rock's birthday. Hmmmm, Funhouse? I don't want the evening to be a late one though, since I want to do that early morning yoga class. Hooting with the owls vs soaring with the eagles, we'll see how it all works out.

Leaving The Rapids Behind

Morning weigh-in: 168#, 10.5% BF

 

Yoga, laundry & Which Brew last night; tonight is the gym, then bike maintenance. Life is flowing pretty smoothly once again, last of the recent interruptions to my perfect schedule are behind me -- for now.

This Very Wednesday, I Will Fly Towards Grace

Morning weigh-in: 168#, 11% BF

 

Well it looks like I managed to slow down the weight loss all right, careful what you wish for... Worked late last night, then hit the gym, did a full leg workout for the first time since the winter. I felt good, and strong, and the weights were almost my maximum from last off-season so I'm coming in at the top of my game.

 

Saw Violetta there, taking yoga or bellydancing or maybe that hip-hop jazzercise they have. She was in  a hurry but seemed healthy & in good spirits, good for her.

 

Dinner was a turkey sub from Steve's, then I blew off everything else and played with the computer, just like surfing, nothing too demanding. Tonight is yoga, then maybe some more laundry and some Which Brew.

 

Reading: Yeah, it's time for the tome... picked up Gravity's Rainbow again, probably haven't re-read it in more than a year -- but I still have it memorized.

 

"A screaming comes across the sky. It has happened before, but there is nothing to compare it to now.

It is too late. The evacuation proceeds, but it's all theatre..."

 

[whole bunch of other stuff here]

 

"Follow the bouncing ball:

 

There is a Hand to turn the time,

Though thy Glass today be run,

'Till the Light that hath brought the Towers low,

Find the last poor Pret'rite one...

'Till the Riders sleep by ev'ry road,

All through our crippl'd Zone,

With a face on ev'ry mountainside,

And a Soul in ev'ry stone...

 

Now everybody --"

 

A Souvenir I Left Behind

Hidden somewhere in the attic of my parents' old house (and I mean well-hidden), there is a jar like this, with an octopus pickled in formaldehyde. Maybe someday the new owners will find it.

(Image cribbed from LolCthulhu, which, like all things Lovecraftian, gets old pretty quickly but I like it.)

A Retrospective

Rooting through the archives... this is what I wrote on this date last year (God I still remember that dream), this is what wrote in 2005, and this is what I wrote in 2004.

Rest in Peace, Grandma.

UPDATE: Oops! Better buy myself a calendar, I got the wrong date...

Jesus Ate My Homework

Morning weigh-in: 167.5#, 10.5% BF

 

Worked late yesterday, then went to yoga. Stopped off at home, collected laundry and took off for the laundromat... Actually, there was a bit of wasted time in there as well, since I did a little surfing when I got home. My plan was to drop off the wet clothes and then eat dinner at Porter's as it dried; unfortunately I was on "Which Brew time," and since the Porter's kitchen closes earlier than Which Brew's, I now found myself under the gun.

 

Thus it was fated that, walking to the car, I was accosted by a couple walking their dog: "Don? Is that you?"

 

Why yet it was me, and they were my old next-door neighbors, Joe and What's-Her-Name, who moved out about a year ago. I thought they were planning to relocate to Emmaus but they only live a block or so away. I did the polite thing and we chatted, and the next thing you know I was trapped in a Christer commercial, praise Jesus this and praise Jesus that -- when they started talking about forgiveness I said "you'll have to forgive me too, but I gotta go," and absconded. Dropped off the laundry and just about made it to Porter's in time for dinner, praise be. (These peole were not religious when they lived next door, or at least, not in your face religious like that. I wonder what happened since they moved? Whatever, I think I'll avoid them if I can.)

 

Anyway, nice ribeye sandwich for dinner, and then Kirk came in and we had a pretty solid conversation, mostly about green homes technology. (He's the one who emailed me that error-filled flyer, and we got a laugh out of his misadventures, trying to follow their advertised "Green Homes Tour" on Saturday.) He's actually pretty into that kind of thing, architecture & restoration & whatnot, and is now helping Rob with his repointing biz. Yesterday was his first day, and it sounds like it was some heavy labor.

 

Tonight is another late night at work, then the gym, then back to the house project: probably organizing my camping gear -- yikes! I may want to do a fall camping trip when the leaves do change.

Fresh Out Of Stupid

Morning weigh-in: 167.5#, 11% BF

 

Not much to say here today after last night's logorrhea... Weight loss continues apace, maybe a little too fast. Tonight is "active rest" with a beginner yoga class, then I'll let laundry night come early; I'll probably catch at least part of the game at Porters, down a steak sandwich.

Bellyride

Morning weigh-in: 170#, 10.5% BF

That blood donation sure came back to bite me in the ass... I kind of figured there'd be a performance hit, and the girl said not to exert myself for the rest of the day yesterday. I asked her how long until I'd be back at 100% and she said "oh, six to eight weeks" -- yikes! She then said (and mind you, this is Saturday afternoon) not to drink any alcohol for 24 to 48 hours -- God DAMMIT woman gimme my blood back NOW! Oh well. I questioned her very closely as to why alcohol was bad (dehydration), then after the fest I went home and chugged water all afternoon. Went out to Which Brew, had a burger and one cask-conditioned pumpkin ale (plus two more glasses of water), then checked out the Lafayette Bar, for one last beer/water combo.

I'd never been to the Lafayette. This would be the bar in the Lafayette Hotel, which used to be a transient hotel/flophouse, and maybe still is -- though I remember it being closed down a few years ago, after a mentally ill tenant started a fire. Anyway, the bar has always been open, but I never went since I figured it would be filled with off-duty prostitutes and semi-homeless people or whatever, sort of like the Mt Vernon before they renovated it. Over the past year or two though, the place has become a jazz club of sorts. I ran into a friend at the garlic fest who really pushed it (she was garlic-festing with the girl who would be singing), and I decided to check it out...

It's pretty nice, a big place and well set up for jazz-combo stuff; the beer selection could be better but it was cheap enough. The Dan DeChellis Trio was playing, and that guest singer was awesome, but they went on break almost immediately after I got there, and were still on break when I finished my beer and left. It's not where I'd prefer to hang out, but I will probably go back. (Saw Art, and Dee Dee, and one or two others I recognized.)

Early bedtime. No dehydration issues, as far as I could tell.

Got up this morning and did a towpath/Sals ride, found out that there was a serious performance hit involved. I didn't feel tired or winded, just lethargic, especially on hills. I started downhill, went to the usual coffee shop (closed) so I went to Rumpelstiltskin's, a new coffee shop I wanted to check out (ditto closed), and so I had breakfast at the Quadrant. (Saw Sarah & her kids there, and also Pete a little later.) I ate a huge breakfast, then headed down the towpath.

When I got to Sals I found out about the lethargy thing (the feeling reminded me of having my heartrate maxxed out, and still needing more -- sorry Don it ain't gonna happen), so I did an abbreviated loop and headed to Ilick's Mills, to check out some Green Home Technology expo supposedly happening there. Nothing. I think the flyer I'd been emailed was pretty confused on what the event actually was, but I also had the wrong date... Anyway, if you can't go green go blue, so I hit Blue Sky Cafe (former home of Green Cafe) for some fruit & oatmeal and an iced coffee. (Saw ex-WB waitress Tara and her boyfriend John there, both working.)

The ride home, like the ride out, was done with a very full belly. Back home and it's been downtime ever since, doing laundry and playing on the computer. I just posted a bunch of weekend photos to flickr too, so go check them out. Garlic Fest, bike ride -- I've been trying to learn how to photograph while riding.