The Sunday Morning Fuzzies - Mother Nature is pissed off edition

A crazy weekend. The earthquake in Chile brought some tension for sure.  First off, I wish the best for anyone there and the best to the people here that have family over there that they haven't heard from yet. Man, too close to the Haiti incident, and Haiti was only a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, Chile was a 8.8! With the strange weather we've had this Winter (we've actually had a mild one, but most of the country has been rocked quite hard) it makes you wonder just what the hell is going on.

Amazing with the power of that quake that there weren't near as many deaths as the Haiti incident.  It shows you what a solid infrastructure will do.

Just a quick elaboration on the Richter scale if you'll indulge me. If you're not familiar with it, its a logarithmic scale and it is the general metric they use for measuring the power of an earthquake. For every whole number increase, the magnitude of the quake is 10 times greater. So a 6.0 on the richter scale is 10 times as strong as a 5.0, and a 7.0 is 100 times stronger then a 5.0. So the difference between 7.0 and 8.8 is nearly 100 times more powerful! To be more exact it is around 80 times more powerful, but you get the picture.  Mother Nature has been throwing around a LOT of weight lately. Kind of scary. Makes one question how wise that planned oceanfront property purchase is in the near future, if you catch my drift.


So all good thoughts go out to Chile, and our coast and Hawaii were spared. Next time? Who knows. Let's hope that this isn't the beginning of a worsening pattern.


I learned a few things this weekend as well.


I watched Paranormal Activity finally last night. My thoughts: One, it was kind of 'Blair Witch Project part 3' for me, but I liked it better than BW 1 (BW2 didn't even belong!) No relationship with the stories, completely different movies, just the style it was created in. The "we are video taping a real life documentary" style. I did get somewhat creeped out after watching it however, and I was hearing a few sounds that night when trying to sleep. :) 1 1/2 thumbs up on that one. I did like the ending, the alternate ending kinda sucked.


Garbage disposals don't handle beer bottle caps very well. Take my word on that. Don't try this at home.


It seems like when you go to the gym at 5 - 5:30am during the week, you see some dedicated people. Hit it at like 3pm on a weekend, and the goof balls all seem to come out. What is up with that?


The boarding kennel is fairly convinced that our dog is half Yellow Lab, half Pit Bull. Our last dog was a Lab/Pit mix, and it's a good mix. Problem is, we bought the puppy at Scamps (mistake) and he was sold as a purebred, papers and all! He was all yellow at that age, but got the white spotting on his chest as he got older. He's also stockier then a pure lab would be. We got ripped off in other words. Now we've suspected this for a while, and we love this dog and would not part with him because he's the coolest, sweetest dog that there is. It sucks though to know those pet shop bastards got one over on us. At least they are out of business now, the Clackamas Promenade one is at least. Lesson learned: NEVER buy a dog or cat from a pet store. Not only are they mistreated while they are there, but you don't know what you are buying either. Fail on the source of our puppy, Win on having the best dog you can get DESPITE those ripoff artists.


This beautiful weather we've been having is great, but can we PLEASE have at least one more good freeze? That way all the damn sugar ants and fleas won't be so bad this year. PLEASE??   Damn, it sounds almost pathetic to complain about good weather because I've been out in it as much as possible, but I hate fleas...that is all!

The Sunday Morning Fuzzies...Monday Edition

Damn, today I am feeling my age. All my good thoughts resembling... "gee I'm active and eating right." "I'm in good health." "I'm going to the gym so all is well." ...have turned into "damn, I feel old!" and "I ain't shit." When you are wishing for a walker to help you out of your chair after breakfast, you're feeling it baby. Muscle rebellion. Lower back penance for some unknown sin. Nothing like a couple of hours of beach football to work out every muscle in your body that gym equipment either can't reach, has no knowledge of, or simply doesn't care about. Someone "up there" must take evil, gleeful pleasure in watching me suffer.



But for some reason whooping ass on the teenagers with the old fogey squad (ok we were short one, so my daughter Chelsea helped us out) made it oh so worth it. We won 10 - 5 as a matter of fact, so EAT IT PUNKS!! In light of this victory I now say yes, I will hit the gym harder, care even more about my health, and start working towards the next showdown against youth, the type of performance where you prove age and wisdom (and still some decent physique) kicks butt on pure youth. Yes I will care, oh starting tomorrow maybe. When I'm not sore anymore and not wondering where I put the damn epsom salt.



So it was a great weekend at the beach. We rented a big beach house (6 bedrooms) and filled it with friends and teenagers. Good stuff. I might try it again soon and try to be sober for a major portion of the time, but not quite yet. It was too much fun the way it was.



The beach is really where I see myself growing older The city offers the opportunity to play music often (for money I mean, you can live anywhere and play for yourself, or with yourself for that matter), have a good paying job, have good schools for the kids, etc. However soon we'll be empty nesters, and the beach is a hell of a place to live. It's the 'one with nature' syndrome. The ocean makes you feel not small or insignificant like I've heard some people describe, but more like you are a part of a much larger thing. Nature goes on without you, but you can witness that beauty and power, and really be a part of the cycle in any way you choose. You may feel smaller in the grand scheme of things, but your role in life is accentuated. Your cog in the machine, no matter how tiny and unpretentious it is, helps keeps the machine running. Those great gears cannot turn correctly without your contribution. That is how it makes me feel. It's something to cherish, protect, and just be in awe of all at the same time. You are a piece of something huge and immovable, and maybe you don't have the individual power to change it's course, but you do have the power to participate in something that eludes words and defies descriptions. It just is, and always has been, and always will be.



Seaside itself is kinda crazy when spring hits with all the people everywhere, it is cool in it's own way though even when crowded. Certainly the livelihood of the local folks depend on such activity, and you can tell that they are grateful for it. The smiles on all the faces, the sheer activity and running around that people are involved in, demonstrate that gratitude tenfold. Seaside has enough on Broadway to keep the teenagers happy for the weekend, and a few decent bars for the old folks later on. The beach is right there, the games, bumper cars, bike rentals, kite shops, and restaurants are all on hand too. The shopping is not too shabby, if you like to spend your vacation time doing that (personally not a big fan, but hey it's all right there.)



Once you have had your fill of the crowds then there is mother ocean just waiting. And man, the feeling of getting up at sunrise and just walking the beach! If you hit it early enough you can practically have the whole thing to yourself, and that is really an awesome experience. Nothing comes close to just being next to the surf, breaking a sweat while looking for shells and sand dollars. It's a great way to wake up. If you can go early enough so that you return and still be the one making coffee for the sleeping in folks that just missed out on such a great experience, well that is so much for the better. It's great to share these times with the ones you love, but having your own time with it is good for other reasons. It cleanses the soul.



We got to hang out with friends that stayed with us, one friend that lives there that we never see anymore, and a couple that made a day trip to hang out with us. The only down side of a trip like that is the last day, when you're packing up the vehicle knowing that it's over and that you are just a couple hours of driving away from regular life again. Every last moment is precious, that last cup of coffee before you leave, that last thing you do in town before hitting the highway, it's like you want to milk every last minute, every single experience out of the weekend before giving it back to time and memory for safekeeping. That is when you truly know how special this time was, and how much fun it is to have great friends to share these times with. I can honestly say that I would not trade places with anyone, not when these types of moments are still in my future. I appreciate my wife, my daughter, and my friends. The Oregon coast just has a way of bringing people a little closer, making experiences a little happier and a little more intense, causing food to taste a little better, and making life a little fuller. Good times.

The Sunday Morning Fuzzies...Valentine's Edition

Happy Valentines Day...or VD Day as some of my more single friends put it...here is one holiday that is either a joy, a pain, or a farce...but everyone has an opinion on it, depending on their relationship status of course.  But first some history.




The origins of Valentine's Day seem to come from the Roman festival Lupercalia. Mars' (God of war, a mean SOB) bastard human sons Remus and Romulus founded the city of Roma, with Romulus killing his brother due to Remus mocking of the low height of the first city walls.  Boys will be boys after all.  Thusly was Rome built, not in a day as is popularly cited, but by Romulus as a tribute to himself and his fratricide.  People were funny about what they celebrated in those days but it turned out to be a good thing.  Think, if Remus would have killed Romulus instead he'd have named it Ream instead of Rome, and that would be really strange sounding. Anyway, thus the Lupercalia festival was founded by the surviving brother as a purification and fertility event. A fitting tribute. Then it evolved from naked boys smeared in animal blood to a lover's lottery (much better in my opinion then animal sacrifice), to the church getting involved and morphing the whole thing into little postcards you can give you friends to tell them that yes, once a year, I've thought about you enough to drop a buck on a stupid pink card. The church likes to step in and ruin the party you see. Thank you Travis Dahmen for the history of VDay. :) Forgive my Reader's Digest version of it please.



So here you have Valentine's Day. I'm a married dude, so I try and do a little something to bring a smile to my lover's face on this day. It makes me happy to see her happy naturally, that's what love is all about!  More importantly however, the couch downstairs is damn uncomfortable (if you know what I mean.) You play the hand your dealt, and you play to win. So I'm all in. With pocket deuces no less.



However there were many years where I was single on this day, so my interest in recognizing Valentine's Day strangely correlates to my relationship status at the time, as I think it does for most people. After all, if you don't have a father, do you pay attention to Father's Day? If you have kids of course the answer is HELL YES!! Because then you get some attention and free stuff. Very cool. But I digress. The point remains that a person's involvement relates to their relationship status. If you're single, you don't go buy your hand a card after all, that's just weird.



So you have people being mushy with each other, people ignoring it altogether, and then you have the 'progressive' couples that have decided "it's just another day, we love each other every day". Be careful here guys, she may SAY that it's no big deal, but deep down inside, you don't know what kind of emotional soup is simmering. You can take this trump card and play it, but one day you may find that your chip stack is gone. The odds line says, play the hand straight up. Don't take chances. Acknowledge and do something nice, and say that they look great in those jeans. In fact, that ass is SMOKING! I'm just saying, that couch is UNCOMFORTABLE!!



Other thoughts:



Happy Birthday to AJ, a hell of a guy. It was yesterday actually.



I had a successful day yesterday of 'cooking for the in-laws'. For this special occasion I pulled out the big guns, a little recipe in my arsenal called "Cilantro Pesto Mahi-Mahi in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce". With brown rice and cheesy steamed broccoli you can't really go wrong. And by successful I mean no one ran for the bathroom afterwards. Two points for me, yay!


The economy is so bad that I hear the Mafia is laying off judges.  I'm just sayin...



Partying with the Captain (Morgan that is) and getting up early on Sunday to hit the gym does seem to be mutually exclusive after all. Those damn commercials LIED!! If you can't trust marketing folks, now who the heck can you trust?  Bleh...back to the drawing board.



There was a shooting at the M&M Lounge in Gresham Friday night. An off duty Clackamas sheriff's sergeant shot his wife, two of her female friends, and then himself. In the bar, while the band was playing. Condolences to anyone involved with that sincerely. The world is ugly sometimes, and you don't know who will snap or where it will happen. Treat everyone with respect people, we all have our own problems, struggles, and crosses to bear. Life is too short to give pain and grief. No one wins. The M&M is a place I've played a number of times in the past in different bands, so that shit hits home.



What is up with the Olympic coverage? NBC really needs to lose this to another network that can do it right. We're in the same timezone as the place where this is all going down (Vancouver, BC) and we get tape delayed crap? We only see the USA stuff? The Olympics are global, man! Suck suck suck.



Another cup of Joe, another eventual trip to the gym, and then the honey-do list awaits. Have a great day everyone...

Should a band hang it up at some point?

The Super Bowl this year, specifically the halftime show with The Who, got me to thinking. I believe that some bands just hang on too long. Whether it is because the need the money, know no other lifestyle, or other internal and external pressures, they just hang on. Art is inspiration, creativity, expression certainly, but art is also evolution. More specifically being an artist is about evolution. Some bands seem to evolve, in some cases becoming better, in some cases not. There are other bands that never evolve and retain the same sound, the same signature elements that defined them first long ago. Again in some cases this serves a band and in other cases, exposes them.




In this first category of evolution for the better you have bands like Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Metallica, Slayer, and Rush. You don't personally need to agree with me, that is not the point of this. However these are bands that through time, evolved and matured their sound and either retained or even expanded their audience. You have other bands that tried to evolve and didn't succeed as well. Bands like Anthrax, Thin Lizzy, Jethro Tull, etc...bands that definitely realized their heydays in the early portions of their careers.



Then there are the steadfast bands that keep the same formula going successfully. Bands Like ACDC, KISS, The Rolling Stones, have all pretty much kept that signature sound and have done very well with it. Then you have those steadfast bands that don't have what they once 'had'. The Who are in this category for me. Also bands like Cheap Trick and Venom. When I was watching that halftime show, I felt bad for Roger Daltry and Pete Townsend. Not for them personally, because they are still crazy successful, no matter what happens really. I felt bad for the memory of what they once were, and how they cannot maintain that or even come close.



Don't get me wrong, every one of these bands I have mentioned I'm a fan of. However I think that some have done better for themselves than others, either by retaining that 'magic' that got them to success or by evolving into something even better. I still play music (although I'll likely never realize the heights of any of these examples) and I'm looking at my mid 40's coming up. I have fun, I will probably be doing it to some degree until they shovel dirt on top of me. So I'm not judging anyone, simply trying to understand the differences in why some bands make it, some continue making it, and some fritter away into dotage. I welcome debate on this topic, but don't look for strong opinions from me because I'll simply listen and absorb your viewpoint. I have not made up my mind on this after all, and probably never will.



Is it the difference between an intellectual approach to music vs. three chord party tunes? Zappa was intellectual, Alice Cooper is, Rush is, U2 is. They evolved because their approach, their abilities, their dedication to the craft would not let them sit still. ACDC is not like that. There is nothing cerebral about their approach and they make no apologies, they're just having a great time. They found a winning formula, and they are riding that beast to the gates of hell. KISS is much the same way. Their attempts at evolution didn't fare quite so well, and even worse it began to turn off fans. So to their credit they realized this was happening and they adjusted back to what works. Every band is different. Every motive is unique, sometimes even within the bands themselves.



There is also a stark difference between a band hanging on too long, or an artist as an individual. Any artist that wants to keep on keeping on should do so. You do this for yourself primarily and hope that you can take some people along for the ride of course, but you play for you. At least a true artist does. Many of us may have started out with different intent, whether getting laid or partying or being popular, but anyone that persists into their second or third decade of making music is sincere in my thinking, as flawed as that may be. You should keep going on until you WANT to stop. I do think however there are bands, collections of musicians making a certain sound, that have shelf lives. Some of them can go for a long time, others maybe not so. Everything follows it's own natural progression from inception to maturation to retirement.



I'm getting older so I really like to see bands continue to rock hard, as long as they have something good to offer still. And yes to not be a hypocrite I have to allude to the fact that if a 'band' wants to keep going despite the external opinions and influences, good for them. Rock on! Screw what other people think after all, but don't be surprised when the reactions are tame. But all in all I can get behind those that keep it going. It gives me hope to see that barriers are being broken and that limits are being ignored. Next we'll have a band that doesn't even REALIZE their initial success until they are mature in life. And that gives me hope, maybe I have a world tour or two in me after all... :)

The Sunday Morning Fuzzies...Superbowl Edition

Here we are with the game about to start.  I was going to go to a party or two, but am too exhausted from a full weekend of gigging and doing the gym thang.  So I'm watching the game at home, getting quietly buzzed, planning a good dinner and a blog.  So shoot me, it's not like the RAIDERS are playing or anything...  :)





So, is there a better quarterback to ever play the game of football as Peyton Manning?  He's mobile for a pocket guy, super accurate, great arm, calls his own plays and is basically the offensive coach, marketable personality, just the package.

I think that it's at best a crapshoot giving your card to the bartender to 'leave a tab open'.  More often then not, there ends up being mistakes you either have to hash out when cashing out, or that you don't realize until the next day.  Much better to remain on a cash only basis when alcohol is involved especially!!

The Superbowl has The Who as the halftime entertainment this year.  I wonder if Roger Daltry's voice is going to hold up?  I wish John Entwistle was still alive, he was such a core part of their sound...

Commercials, commercials, commercials.  Every company seems to save their best efforts for this day.  Some years they are even more entertaining then the game itself!

You want to tell your kid to 'get a job' if they need money for this or that, but for the first time in a long time when they say "I can't find one" it's not an excuse as much as a realistic statement of this challenging job market.  Now how do we motivate them to not have us pay for everything?  Sheesh...

As fun as bars can be for going out, hanging with friends, and generally mixing it up, they become pretty depressing venues of desperation and patheticism about 5 minutes before closing time.  The die hards with no better place to go are the only ones usually still hanging out.  Man I don't want to be the last one out the door in a bar ever!!  (keeping my fingers crossed on that one...)

POST GAME SECTION...

Well I missed the last half of the fourth quarter because of an emergency call from work, something wrong with the system on our side with their database, but I could hear the guy I was talking to watching the game on HIS END....mannnnn

Manning threw a bad pass, game out of reach.  I still think he's the best QB to play the game but the Saints came out ready after halftime, Peyton set the tone with the onside kick, the rest as they say is history...

Surprisingly small amount of cool commercials this year, did the economy leave everyone so broke that they couldn't afford CBS' exorbitant Superbowl commerical rates?

The WHO was lackluster.  It was cool seeing Roger and Pete still jamming, but I swore Roger was going to lose his voice during Pinball Wizard.  Pete didn't even make a move towards smashing his guitar after they were done.  Time to hang it up maybe boys?  That stage was really killer though...

Bands that hang on too long, hmmm that's future blog material...

Have a good Sunday everyone.  Congrats to New Orleans!

What's up Radio Shack?

So a few days ago I walk to the counter of my neighborhood Radio Shack with my two pack of 9-volts. "Okay sir, can I please get your first and last name?" The young, acne challenged clerk requests. I am already in the database of course, having endured this informational sodomy many times before. "Sir, can you please verify your street address is...blah blah blah?" It is not, I've moved since the last time I subjected myself to this draconian nazi marketing routine so I must now update my information if I hope to leave with my merchandise. "Sir, we don't seem to have a valid phone number on record, can I please get your phone number?"




At this point I have two people standing behind me waiting for their turn at the information rape desk, and my face is beginning to turn purple. "My God!" I think, "next they'll be asking for my Social Security number!" "I prefer to not receive phone calls." I tell the young pimply faced clerk who's probably too young to date my daughter. "Sir, we don't share any information, it is all confidential." he croaks. "What if I don't want YOU to call me or send me anything?" I rationalize, knowing that the people behind me are becoming impatient. Don't they realize I'm standing up for my rights, for THEIR rights? "Okay, we'll just leave that blank for now." he states, implying of course that the next time I want a battery or .15 cent alligator clip, I'll be spreadeagled before the mighty Radio Shack marketing machine once again. I accept this compromise simply to end this ludicrous exchange, feeling both hassled and violated at the same time. I "took about an hour on the tower of power" as Zappa would say.



Radio Shack has the strangest business model I've ever been subjected to. What do they even do with all that information? I don't receive anything in the mail from them really except around Christmas time, so why the mailing address? If they are gathering this obscene amount of personal information for dark marketing purposes, I've not seen the expected result of mountains of circulars and emails yet. I hardly receive anything. What DO they do with this information? Is this a front for some Black Ops type branch of the military? The census bureau? Homeland security? I guess if you're a member of a terrorist cell, you have to get your batteries somewhere that the homemade bomb timers need. I guess...



Heck, if I at least received some coupons, discounts, prizes, frequent buyer miles, SOMETHING...I could partially accept this intrusion into my personal life. However I get nothing. Zip. Zilch. It's as if the information goes into some forgotten database in the middle of Siberia, with non-english speakers opening the complex every few months to clear the dust from the server fans and that's about it.



But I know better. At least I suspect that there are more devious mechanisms in play then even that.



I have a sneaking suspicion that when I get that call on my cell phone (they had my old number) asking me about student loan consolidation, that Radio Shack is somehow responsible. The call for carpet cleaning. Penguin Windows. Money for toothbrushes for toothless vets. The children's abuse society. Battered grandmothers. It's really Radio Shack. They are not in the business of selling batteries, they are in the business of selling lives. Information that in the wrong hands can help shape your remaining existence into a struggle for peace, quiet, and an unlisted phone number. Which makes old pimply face a liar right? Well, these poor saps just might not know. They swallow the corporate babble mission statments hook, line, and sinker.  They're just kids, trying to survive like many of us in a hard and shaky economy. They are not the Wizard behind the screen, they are simply flying monkeys, clueless of their contribution to the destruction of my life's privacy. I forgive them, I've always been an advocate for the front line soldiers after all. It is the generals that are usually corrupted.



And the stores themselves? They're not too shabby and far as man cave shopping goes, full of cheap electronic toys. Then you quickly realize that they all look the freaking same! You've got your slightly overpriced high end electronic goods from brand names you really don't trust all that much, cell phones, low end musical equipment, clips, wires, diodes, transistors, and of course, batteries. Kids fresh out of high school in white shirts and black ties swarming upon you before you have a chance to pull the list from your pocket. Weird, often out of the way locations that are always one big room with four walls, a counter, and some variation of small merchandise islands in the middle. You wouldn't know a Shack in Nebraska from one in New York, completely homogeneous. There is not another business model out there that resembles this warped strategy. How do these guys even make a profit? They are like cockroaches after the nuclear fallout, scrambling along oblivious to the plight of every other breathing being on earth, collecting their scraps. Never going away.



There is a dark purpose to Radio Shack, but I can only speculate as to what it is. Maybe I really don't want to know. They might have to kill me after all, or worse force me to wear that short sleeved white button up shirt with the cheap black tie. Sticking my nose forever more into other people's personal business simply so they can run home and bring junior the juice for his remote control car. A member of the Radio Shack SS, armed with only enough knowledge to steer you towards the wrong part that is so NEAR right that you fall for it, ensuring another visit to our hallowed dungeon of techno-crap within the day. And knowing my luck I'd probably pull the weekend shift to boot.



So the next time you walk into Radio Shack, I suggest that before the door even closes behind you, that you drop your pants and underwear and simply assume the position. It just makes the job easier and quicker for the pimply faced clueless goons, and why make the other poor saps in line behind you wait longer then necessary?

Thoughts On Middle Age and Mortality

When I was young, I didn't care about living past 40. I really didn't. Now I'm over 40, and hell yes I care. I know a lot of people that find themselves in a similar state of contemplation. A few of us lived fast and died young, but most of us just lived fast and now pay the daily consequences of that. A few of course are STILL living fast.

I never was an addictive personality, I dabbled in all sorts of stuff, smoked for many years, went through a pothead stage (yes, it was quite a long one), still drink although not to the point of incarceration usually (at least they haven't caught me yet!), just basically being an average, fun-loving person. Life is full of stress, you gotta have your good times, you have to learn how to let go. But besides the smoking I can't really say anything addicted me.

Well now it's time for an addiction, and it's hard. Harder then quitting anything I've had to so far. The addiction is health. I want to live to be old, really freaking old. However I don't want to live with daily unmanageable pain, or to live without being able to remember my children's names. So it's time to get addicted to health. Hardcore addicted, no looking back, no compromises. Live it, do it, love it. And that shit is tough man, especially for a lazy stooge like me.

It all started with a book I saw at Barnes and Noble a few months back (reading is another one of my positive addictions) called Younger Next Year. I'm not going to bore everyone with details, but there is a short list of rules to live by and if you follow them, chances are you'll live to be 90, and be quite vital and happy even at that age. One of these rules is workout every day (at least 6 days a week). Four days of cardio, at least two days of strength training. Not walking the dog, not hopping on the Wii Fit (although don't get me wrong, an awesome machine), not buying some new-fangled contraption from QTV for five easy payments of whatever, but going to the gym. The book says that if you don't do this, you'll fail, you'll get distracted, you'll compromise. Maybe not at first, but eventually you will. For myself at least, I believe that. Remember, I'm a lazy SOB after all.

So I've been sore and tired daily, going on almost three weeks of daily gym. Me and my wife Shirley get up at five am, get out by five twenty, get back by six thirty or so. We are very lucky to have a gym within a few blocks of us. Mostly cardio stuff (treadmill, bikes, eliptical) to just 'get into the habit'. I went and bought a heart monitor to keep the heart rate up where it should be, and not to take it easy or to shortcut what I'm trying to do. Last week I started working in strength training. Now I'm freaking sore. But happy sore, so far.

See, I'm not going to boast or pretend that there is a high probability that I'll do this for the rest of my life, which is exactly what needs to happen. I historically take on a project with great zest, enthusiastic as all get-out. Then shortly afterward my interest wanes and I compromise. A few months later, I'm on some other kick altogether. So that is why I'm writing this, putting it out there. So people will know, if I fail I cannot sweep it under the rug. I will have to admit my weakness. So I'm determined for what its worth to succeed.

It's not only activity, it's diet too. I've pretty much stopped eating crap. Now it's brown rice, not white. Lots of veggies and fruits. Whole grains, nothing processed if I can help it. Chicken and fish good.  Red meat bad except in heavy moderation.  The only things I drink are coffee, water, and booze.  Okay occasionally a glass of milk or fruit juice, but mainly water, coffee, and booze. Water especially I drink like there is no tomorrow. I try and limit myself to a couple of glasses of booze a day, which is actually by all credible studies damn good for you!  I've even started counting calories on a website (an AWESOME free website) called sparkpeople.com. I'm in this for the long haul, if I can stay strong.  Ask me anything you want, including if I'm going crazy.  Because I love red meat, I really do.  I love potatos and pasta too, but unless its whole wheat it's full of starch, and that is straight sugar once your body has its way with it.  Oh, and NO FAST FOOD!!  Not even a wrap or a salad.  Trying to eat healthy at a fast food joint is like trying to do your homework at a strip club.  Plain ridiculous in other words.



Again, I'm writing this for myself. So that if six months from now if someone asks me "hey, how is the exercise/diet thing going?" I will have to truthfully respond. And I am hoping beyond all hope that I answer "just fine!"  It motivates me to talk about this stuff, but no one really wants to hear it until they are ready to hear it, if ever.  It is also really hard to write this and not come off as a sanctimonious jerk.  But I'm sincere, whether you believe me or not.  After all, if you don't like it, don't read it.  Turn the page.  Go surf porn.

 I'm glad to turn any of my friends on to the resources I've found helpful. After all, I want you guys around for a really long time.