Saturday, June 30

This was a sweet Saturday, I've been strangely unmotivated to hit the movies this summer, and let me tell ya' that's not me. But I was able to get a great lift in, cleaned my apartment, did my laundry then hit Live Free or Die Hard, and it was a blast. Big, outsized, man-fun. And it just reminds me how rare a talent Bruce Willis is, he may not be Olivier, but I can't imagine Olivier being able to sell launching a car at a helicopter like it was the logical thing to do! This was my cheat day on the diet, and I sucked down some nachos, and I freakin' LOVED It!

Friday, June 29

Oh man I felt banged up today. Couldn't make the gym, I think my calorie intake is too low, I'm getting enough sleep so that's my best guess. Hmmm, that's a tough call, more calories or keep losing more weight with a little less lifting? I think I'll stick with the 2500 calories, and see how that works through July, then shift up.

I took an hour off at the end of the day, never did get to feeling right, and took a walk to Georgetown to grab some comics and really just to get the three mile walk in.

Got The Ultimates, Grand Theft America which has just got me all the more committed to getting at least one comic published before I die. It's big, it's stupid, it's heaven.

Thursday, June 28

I wavered hard this morning, there's something about Thursdays that's making it difficult to get up. I need to see if I'm losing sleep as the week moves along, or if I'm simply hitting some kind of "energy" wall with the Mon-Wed workouts that's manifesting itself on Thursday mornings.

Whatever, I gritted my teeth and staggered to the gym, didn't have the energy for the lift but did my aerobic work.

Well, I'll see how I feel tomorrow!

Wednesday, June 27

Hobo Lunch

Hey People! I'm writing this at my office today at noon, as I eat my hobo lunch (can of tuna, 1 cup of fat-free cottage cheese) and looking forward to my hobo mid-afternoon meal (chicken breast, and what's supposed to be 12 asparagus spears but is going to be a can of corn, because it's the only thing in my drawer). The hobo meal is so labeled because one or more primary features of the meal is eaten directly from a can, perhaps a tad barbaric, but seriously, what's gained by taking the contents of a can of tuna dumping it on a plate, and THEN eating it?

Anyway, I thought I'd get a jump on the journal writing because when I woke up this morning I felt seriously banged up, and I think it's because I shaved about 30 or 40 minutes off my sleep which I'm coming to realize is the 45-year old's equivalent to the 25-year old's all night party. I got caught by the Daily Show/Colbert Report combo on TV, and the next thing I knew it was 9:30 and I was just jumping between the sheets. And by the time I dragged my ass out of bed this morning it was 5:15, which is only 20 minutes off target, but time flies when you're cramming eating/lifting/aerobics/shower/commute in before 8:30.

So I'll need to be extra good tonight and hit the sack around 8:15, start a new book and doze off at a more appropriate time.

Random tangent: I've got to see a freakin' movie soon, this streak of awesome weekend weather has got to break soon, need a nice long rainy weekend!

Tuesday, June 26

At the risk of being banal, jesus christ it was HOT today! As much as I love God's Country, Virginia, these summers are truly brutal (well, when dressed for work, not so bad in shorts and a wife beater). I had to hit my client today, via the subway, and my shirt never forgave me.

Anyway, on another note, my neighbor Jennifer just asked me to make sure I "don't lose too much weight", which given that I've only lost eight pounds means this program must be doing it's job. The last thing I want is to give off the "skinny" vibe, 6'4" and skinny ain't a good look.

Jeez, these posts are really sucking, I need to ramp up the funny and poignant!

Monday, June 25

I've been working on my novel more lately, and I realize an inspiration I don't give as much credit to as I should. I want to take a moment to bow down to the god Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason. Sure, there are better authors, Chandler and Hammett were contemporaries, and kicked Gardner's ass for sheer prose. But, seriously, Perry, Paul and Della are sublime in their elegance and simple cool.

I'm on this jag because I started digging into the first season dvd's of Perry Mason, and I'm in pure heaven when that driving, jazzy theme kicks in. The suits, the cars, the slick hair, the dames, the innocent cracking up, the guilty cracking up harder. The show works so well because it hues so closely to the formulas of the books, sleek objects of pure exposition and little character development.

At some point, I should do a proper essay of my abiding love for these characters, they're hard-wired into my subconscious as aspirational figures and I should explore just why that is. Till then, I'll just wallow in the black and white world of black and white issues, where protecting the innocent isn't a job, it's a game. That you always win.

Sunday, June 24

Horrors! I awoke to find my coffee maker nothing more than a spent hulk, unable to generate any percolation! This was not a welcome event. So, that immediately became my number one priority, and I hit Target to replace this vital piece of equipment. Later, I rode the bike over to Barnes & Noble to see if there was any decent trash to score, and was a bit underwhelmed. But I took it as an opportunity to take my sister Susan and Nephew Ellory's recommendation for the writings of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, this one titled "Brimstone". I'll let you know how it turns out!

Ran to Safeway to get my weekly dose of chicken, cottage cheese and ancillary food products that are now my culinary universe. Hit the pool with Alex and Jennifer for an hour or so, enjoying the momentary decadence, and there's nothing like watching a group of kids have a blast in the pool. Came home and hit the kitchen to prepare my doses of food, 5 pans of eggs, 8 chicken breasts, 5 1 cup servings of cottage cheese, and seven bags of fake crab! Now I'm set for the week, and I think I'll do a little reading and rest up for tomorrow mornings workout.

Peace out my babies.

Saturday, June 23

Had a lovely cook-out to wish our neighbor Amanda farewell, she's on her way soon to Kazakhstan to teach for a year, and she's been a nice presence in her short time here. Being on my crazy-ass diet, I was not able to indulge in potato salad, home-made North Carolina corn bread, hotdog's, bratwurst and home-made banana pudding (I tasted them all but in tiny dosages). I had to content myself with a hamburger patty, some grilled onions and mixed green (sans dressing), and frankly given the years of gluttony I'm paying penance for, it was pretty easy. And, frankly, the reason I love these get together's is just kicking back with good people and enjoying a beautiful day. My direct next door neighbor, Jennifer and her boyfriend joined us, and later he and I tossed the Nerf football around. I fear my skills are eroding, and I'll need to make a point of tossing a real ball soon, a man should never lose the ability to throw a tight spiral!

After the cook-out broke up, I headed over to the barber, where Victoria took an aggressive stance against my head. The cut she gave me is actually kind of hilarious, and very comfortable. However, it's making the act of removing a t-shirt a little complex, in that my head now grabs the fabric like velcro!

Friday, June 22

Good end to the week, made it through week three of the diet and exercise program, and am feeling better and better each day. Work was reasonably interesting this week, so that's a huge uptick. I've got a good team on one of my projects, and the other is a perfect microcosm of how wacky consulting can be.

It was a beautiful day, and when I busted free of the corporation at 5:30, I ran home, changed, then took off for Georgetown. On the way back, I hesitated for a while on Key Bridge to watch the rowing teams practice. It's a beautiful sight at sunset, the Potomac sparkles and the patterns of the wakes is hypnotic. Got home and pretty much just passed out from exhaustion, felt good.

Thursday, June 21

Well all my boasting about how manly I'm being with my new diet and exercise routine can pretty much be exposed as the hyperbole it is, I faced the lazy dragon this morning, and the lazy dragon won. Well, more like the "banged up" dragon, when I dragged my heiney out of the rack this morning, I felt spent so figured (lazy) discretion was the better part of valor. As long as I hit it the next two mornings, the only thing lost is a sense of pattern so I won't be sweating it.

Speaking of diet and exercise, I've lost around six pounds since I started this whole magilla, which has gotten me a little cocky. I looked into the closet this morning, to find that I've worked through my repertoire of pants, but the aspirational Khakis hung there. Don't know if you keep such things as pants that are a bit small in the closet, to aspire to fitting into, but I do. So I was like "hey, I'm getting thinner, no prob!". Well, let's just say I'm about two pounds from "no prob" and I felt like I was in some turn of the century waist cinching vice. Whew, was VERY happy to get home to my stretchy cotton gym shorts!

Outside of my corsetting, it was a good day, got some good traction on two of the projects I'm working at the office, so that's always good.

Wednesday, June 20

I finished the workday by numbering a document, lines R001 through R531, need I say more? I certainly hope not.

Got up a little earlier this morning, 'round 4:30, had to get to the office a little early so needed to hit the gym in a timely fashion. Had a moment of potentially bailing on the lift, but somehow overcame the momentary wussyness, and had a good workout.

When I got home from the office, I ran into a gaggle of folks and dogs out front, and had a nice neighbor moment while getting some good dog love in. Some visiting toddler from the complex, named Luke came over with his dad to pet the puppies, but Luke was more interested in running.

Jeez, I'm beat, I'll see ya' tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 19

Ugh, this was one of those days that really motivate me toward an "employment optional" lifestyle solution (i.e. wealth). I won't bore you with the truly dull details, long story short, it wasn't the day I planned. Gonna' chow on some fake crab and cabbage and get mellow.

Oh, and it's hot as a mofo outside, this is the first certifiably "Virginian" summer day we've had. I guess being employed isn't all that bad after all, I was unaware of the heinousness until I left, so I do have the corporation to thank for that.

Last random thought (I notice I'm not being very compelling, no reason to drag it out), I was thumping around the apartment around 5:00 am, nuking my scrambled eggs, and the power cuts off. Only for about five minutes, but long enough to reset all my clocks, which I've reset at least five times this week. Could I bitch any more? Peace my people, I'll see ya' tomorrow.

Monday, June 18

Strange day, got up on time but felt a little banged up, and made the command decision to go to the office early, work five hours and make a short day of it. That way I could deal with getting my parking sticker at the "office that's never open", and avoid future towings. That process was amazingly easy, and I grabbed my gear and headed to the gym for a 3:30 workout. It was an awesome day for it, hot, sunny but not as heinously humid as it's been known to get. Walked the mile to the gym, getting nice and warm, had a great chest/ab day, and gutted through the aerobics.

Staggering back, it struck me that I hadn't felt truly ripped-off for a while, so I went to GNC to buy some L-Carnitine. This diet I'm doing is HEAVY on supplements, the Carnitine being the most expensive of them, and though I'm not a huge fan of supplementation I'm doing some living outside the box. Eighty bucks later, I headed home, past a bunch of teenagers lounging around Courthouse plaza. I've noticed this before, but nobody is as in LOVE as south american teens. It's like Romeo and Juliet in tank tops and low rise jeans, it's kind of charming in how flat out passionate they are, but somewhat sad too cuz' that ain't gonna' last. But I always say, it's better to get burned and truly KNOW what fire is, than to read about it and have to imagine it.

Sunday, June 17

Holy smokes, this was one productive Sunday! I decided to bail on my workout, settling for five days in the last seven, and giving my twitchy body some much needed rest.

I bought a ridiculously overpriced pedestal fan for my living room three weeks ago, and came home to find its lifeless corpse on Thursday, so I took a trip to Target to replace it. Grabbed some new workout shorts, and a few t-shirts with my new air circulators. I got two fans for thirty dollars less than I paid for the three-week fan, and my gut feeling is they'll last till I move. "Born to Run" was in my CD player on the way back, and I was belting out "Thunder Road" at the top of my lungs as I zipped by the Pentagon. "There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away/they haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets/They scream you name at night in the streets/Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet/And in the lonely cool before dawn, you hear their engines roaring on, but when you get to the porch they're gone, on the wind". God I love that song.

Ran into Alex and Jennifer around 11:00, and we decided this was our last summer without a pool, so we walked over to the Key Bridge Marriott and got a summer pass. We hung out on the very quality lounge chairs, availed ourselves of the towel service, and thoroughly enjoyed our purchase.

Finished a random sketch that's been sitting on my drafting table for weeks, nothing terribly interesting, but any art I get in these days is a triumph.

Had to hit the grocery store to stock up on chicken, eggs and oatmeal. Got everything offloaded, then spent the next hour prepping my food for the week. Made five days worth of eggs and chicken breasts, then bagged 'em, along with the fake crab and cottage cheese servings. With everything cooked and portable, it makes it easy to shove my hands in the fridge in the morning and hit the road (while adhering to my diet). Well, good day all in all, and now I'm going to dig in to my new John Sanford novel!

Saturday, June 16

Alas, hubris has its costs, and demands to be paid. When I got back home last night, as expected, my parking lot was packed tighter than the panty hose at Hooters. I immediately flashed on the memory of the parking lot renewal notice on my desk, still pristine and bare. The sticker on my truck expired two months ago, but for some reason I thought I'd roll the dice and chance it. Some bets are worth taking, but this was like betting that the chum thrown into the shark tank will go uneaten.

Sure enough, when I ran up to the lot at 7:00 am, my pretty red truck was gone. Fudge. Well, went back to the apartment and grabbed my bike, this is the first time I've been towed, but I've made it a point to know where the tow lot is. Ran into my neighbor Paige on the way out, while discussing my plight, my pal Alex drove by shouting "hey, you got towed" as he and Jennifer headed out to Kung Fu. Good news travels fast. Not much of a story, rode over, paid my $100, threw the bike in the back and drove home.

Well, what you gonna' do? I'm just glad I'm at a place in life where I can peel off a c-note without it impacting my well being. Balanced my checkbook (well, my MicrosoftMoney), did the laundry and decided I needed a fresh air again.

Hit the bike again, to Georgetown and the comic shop, taking some solace in the excellent illustrations and stories simply told. Getting across Key Bridge on the bike is always an adventure, and the whole trip has Danger Man overtones, and I almost got faced by the cobblestones and railroad tracks on the way back. Swung by the gym on the way back for a lackluster back workout, and 40 minutes on the stairmaster, but my lazy side had been angling for blowing it off so even a lackluster performance was a triumph of the will.

Well, time for my chicken breast and green beans, peace!

Friday, June 15

Got call from V. at the office, and she invited me to join her at a seminar called "Financial Alchemy: Creating a New Relationship with Money" given by Morgana Rae which sounded kind of nutty, but I love new stuff. The biggest strike against it was that it was in Maryland, and those who know me understand my deep antipathy toward the whole geist of the state, but again, I can't let these little prejudices govern my life. Long story short, Morgana is a KITTEN, and couldn't be more attractive if she had donuts strapped to her. Figures she lives in Cali, very annoying. She's really stuck in my mind.

Beyond that, she has some interesting insights into financial relationships, particularly the idea of giving money animus, an identity, to which you have a relationship. Cool idea, I learned some interesting things I didn't expect to, and given how much I value my time I guess the best endorsement I can give is it was worth my time.

Got home later than usual, my lot was full, I parked where I knew full well I shouldn't. To be continued tomorrow...

Thursday, June 14

Oh, felt very banged up upon waking. Had to bail on the workout, not sure if I actually got a "bug" or if I've just been pushing it a bit too much these past few days. With the diet I'm on, particularly if I've got a lot of travel to and from meetings it's not hard to miss a meal, and since I'm not taking in a hell of a lot of calories the missed food can really put me into deficit.

Anyway, gotta' hit the sack, daddy needs some recuperation!

Wednesday, June 13

Hooked up with an old friend tonight, it was nice to bring a little pleasure into someone's life for a few hours. Always enjoyable. Drank some Glenfiddich, which was the first booze I've ingested in, like, six months. I do love the flavor, and the heat going down, but I'm living so close to the bone from a calorie standpoint, the old bod was not amused.

Good workout this morning, felt strong, am finally kicking into the next phase. That phase being the one where I can stop "being nice" to myself, allowing my muscles to ramp up from a long break without sending me into paroxysms of searing pain. I do love the machine that is my body, it's a little cranky, but responds well when prodded.

Tuesday, June 12

Goddammit, I can't take the morning cooking anymore! This diet I'm using presumes an afternoon workout, and one of the concessions I made was to move the mega-8-egg breakfast to my midmorning meal, frying them up on my way out to the office.

Well, that shit's out, it just feels wrong, I'm stuffed well through the morning and it just doesn't feel like my body is processing the nutrients. So, I'm moving the whole magilla so that I eat at 5:00 am, prior to my 5:40 blast off for the gym. Ain't no way old Daddy's gonna' wake up in time to cook, so I just prepared the eggs for the next three days, and will add the egg frying to my Sunday food preparation sequence.

Monday, June 11

Updating from notes on Saturday 6/16

Sunday, June 10

Updating from notes on Saturday 6/16

Alex, Adams Morgan

Saturday, June 9

Updating from notes on Saturday 6/16

Alex, Adams Morgan

Friday, June 8

Updating from notes on Saturday 6/16

Thursday, June 7

Updating from notes on Saturday 6/16

Wednesday, June 6

Updating from notes on Saturday 6/16

Tuesday, June 5

Okay, my promise for more interesting posts goes unfulfilled today, but it was a fine Tuesday albeit none too noteworthy.

I did hear from my favorite angel, Jenny, with the wonderful news that after a long wait she's gotten her citizenship. We're a lucky country to get Jenny and Trevor (hubby) in our fold, great people with wonderful spirits. Jenny had daughter Samantha in tow as she spoke on her cell, running errands, and any conversation with Jenny on her cell is an adventure. There aren't many people who leave my day to day life that I miss, but Jenny I miss.

Monday, June 4

Jesus, I'd been procrastinating getting tickets to travel to Colorado for my sister's 50th, and finally got around to it today. And I paid for the sloth, baby, but that's how we learn, through pain. Anyway, glad I got that off my list, and now I can focus on getting the novel back on track. I got bogged down in language, crafting each word like some faberge egg, and it ground the whole thing to a halt. I'm committing to just hammering out the story, without regard for "how well" I tell it, then I'll go back and do a second draft where I can get all anal.

Oh, my landlord got the AC fixed today, and let me tell you central AC is the reason we live so long. I'm not looking forward to a summer without Slurpee's, of all my food-based vices, that's the only thing that seriously alters my reality. Oh god, how I love that frozen slop!

Hmm, haven't been writing the journal in a while, and I see I'll have to step it up a bit, kinda' dull!