reading

Recently my posts have been about reading, and I have been trying to find a weird balance between boxes I should have read, but that are hard reading, ie moby dick, and books that are fun to read without being trash.

Anyway, I recently signed up for Goodreads.com and I put in the books in my nook that I have read since i got it.  I have read way more than I though, which is good.  I mean, I am not reading like a book a week or anything, but I am reading about a book a month, which i say is a fairly good clip.

I may have commented on this book already, not sure, but i know i posted I was reading Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill.  This book is weird to me.  The whole time i was reading, I was compelled to keep reading it seemed like a good story.  The entire time i read I was thinking this is turning out to be a nice read.

Then i finished it, and in hindsight, the book is I don't know how to phrase it, almost.  It is almost great.  It is almost moving, it is almost scary, but it isn't any of those things.  It is just almost, which I think is a pretty good result from your first novel.  Readability and enjoy-ability are very high, but it is also lacking something i can't place my finger on.

Anyway, if you're looking for a great book, i can't recommend it, if you're looking for a good book to read while stuck at an airport on the wrong side of security, well for that purpose this book is great.

I also just finish, the lost heroes, dude that wrote those percy jackson stories, is wrote this one, sorta, fantasy teen lit.  I give it the same review as above, well different, if your goal is to get you kids to like reading, and they like things like harry potter and the likes, i would strongly recommend it, if your pushing 40 and just looking for some entertainment, that is a good choice too.

but neither of the books is challenging, or vocabulary expanding, or stretching,  like when i finished Catch 22, i had a list of like 40 words i looked up.  Among them is "callipygous"  which is my new favorite word, other than having no idea when i would need to use it, I like that it exists!

fantasy football and other stuff

I am in two leagues this year, and in both t/he leagues my teams have exactly one player in common, and that player is reggie bush who is not starting in either, so really no players of consequence in common.

Anyway, the season started off with a bang, as I went 2-0 in both leagues, nothing wonky there. Then it happened,  I went on two concurrent and consecutive 8 game losing streaks.  Nothing out of the ordinary there, but then it happened

at 2-8, both my teams won their "game" last week, which seems odd to me.  So now my teams are 3-8.  In case you're wondering, my teams are "The sweet potatoes" and i use a stolen picture of Mr. potato head from toy story as a logo and "Attempted Murder" and i use a picture of 2 crows as a logo.  That one makes me laugh, not entirely my idea, as I stole, but it makes me laugh.

Anyway, and completely unrelated, yesterday, I signed up for an introduction to curling class, it is 2 hours in 2 sessions.  So I gots that going for me.

Thirdly, remember when Romney said he lost the election because Obama promised people gifts, well, I am headed to DC for thanksgiving, and i think I am going to go see if I can get my gift :-D.  I have been really hoping for a new car.

Speaking of new cars, some one who i think is an ass hole, hit my car in the parking lot, I got in and looked and the passenger mirror is hanging from 2 wires and bent all the way forward, ARRRGH.
I had to duct tape it up, the plastic covering to the mirror was on the ground. Who does that?  Oh well, Karma be a Beotch you don't want to anger.  In hopefully related news last Sunday, I was stuck in traffic for a while, because of an accident, they had shut the highway down, and i was sitting cursing and thinking why are we stuck, set the phone down and drive and stop texting and then i thought, we've been stopped for a while, I don't want to think badly of people who are potentially dying up there, and causing me to be late. 

Anyway, i get up to the accident, and what happened as far as i can tell is some guy, had his trailer with motorcycles and an atv lose control flip and while attached to your car this is bad, it looked like his car just fell onto its side, anyway, it was on a bridge they where doing construction on so there where no shoulders, and it is hard to move a car that is not on its wheels.  Anyway, it didn't look like anyone got hurt, just messed up stuff.  I like to think it was him that hit my mirror.

ebooks

So I have been struggling with what to read, I settled on 3 books.

1. The age of miracles not sure why I got this book, It just seemed to look like a good read to me, and Barnes and Noble said it was a notable fiction of 2012 or 2011 or maybe just notable.

2. Heart-Shaped Box  This one is by a cat named Joe Hill, which is a suprizing nondescript name, well it is a horror book I think.  Nothing notable about that, but it turns out that Joe Hill's dad is Steven King.  It takes a giant serving of I am not sure what, to attempt to do what your dad does, when your dad is argueable the most successful person at somethign.  Anyway the lady at the book store said it was good, and when i looked on my nook it was cheap so i got it.

3.  The world according to Garp THis is the one i wanted, it is another book, I have meant to read for a long time, but I never got around to it.  This book is not available as an ebook. which is very frustrating.

but anyway, my search for what book to read has been solved for a little while.  with that I'll move on to something else.

Books

As I am just a few days, really hours from my Thanksgiving day, flight, I need to settle on the book I'll be reading while stuck in airports, and stuff.

This really should not be that hard, but for some reason I am struggling with finding a book that I hear the plot or review to and think, that is something I could get behind.

Which is really kinda sad, because despite all the technology, and I will in fact be reading a paperless ebook, it is the stories of books that engross and enthrall and if done right capture the reader.  

Stories that can pull you into them so that reading the story isn't so much a task but a reliving of the tale.  If that makes sense,  I just read Catch 22, and this book, does that.  It points out the flaws of man and men, and also points out our hopes and dreams.  It is funny in bits and compelling overall.

A while before that I read the power of six.   Which is just a crappy teen sci-fi book, but it is fun to read, it isn't world changing, it is not meant to me.

Also before that I read a book called "The Middle Damned" which was written by a high school/college chum.  Actually it is written by a guy that i respect more than nearly everyone else I've ever met.  If you happen across this and like sci-fi, i would recommend it. But again not because it is life altering or anything, in parts his vocabulary is trying, but that makes you smarter right?

That is neither here nor there, I keep thinking if I am going to read something it should be to make me smarter there is so much great stuff there, I don't want to waste time.  On the other hand discovering a great book for you own, is kinda like a treasure hunt.

Which despite it having won the Pulitzer prize, was how i felt about the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay,  I had not heard of it found it at Barnes and noble, and gave it a read, I loved it.

Oh I also read 50 shades of this just plain sucks, and thought, well 2 things, this just plain sucks, and second if this is what romance books are like, women have no business judging men for porn,  that was straight up porn, there is a line from it that say, "I want to F(*k your mouth" and then he does.

I also recently read the hunger games, I don't get it.  I read 2 books from I think John Green,  Teen books, quick reads but both of them were fun.

 So anyway, I think I have going to make a rash decision and go with, never mind that is a horrible way to pick a book, i went with "sharp object"  was about to purchase it, and thought, i should at least read a review, the protagonist is a cutter, you know a damaged person that cuts themselves, i don't why. Anyway, that doesn't seem like the light fun read, i am hoping to find to read on flights over the thanksgiving and potentially christmas holidays.

Anyway i got, i can't even remember now, and it isn't showing up on my nook, oh well maybe it will be there in the monring.

 

 

reading list

A few years back I decided as i am not good are picking books to read, I would do something foolish and read all the pulizter prize winners for fiction.

I read these one

2003 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides(Farrar)

2002 Empire Falls by Richard Russo(Alfred A. Knopf)

2001 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon(Random House)

1984 Ironweed by William Kennedy(Viking)

1953 The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

 

and i really tried more than once to read

 

1918 His Family by Ernest Poole(Macmillan)

 

It was after reading these books that i decided, these books all have one thing in common, and this is dispair, where it is mostly economic as in Empire Falls ( I know the abandon kid is sad, but mostly I got that this was about the town and not about the kid)  or War (As in Amazing Adventures (side note, i actually liked this one, and red it first then thought I would read others), or wasted life, or lost love, or pride, i am not sure what iron weed was about other than some times the problems in our head are just that, i think, i don't really know, it was sad, and well sad.  These books didn't offer much in the way of that is a good story, i think i'll go exercise, or get a degree or something.

 

So a while back i came accross one of those internet meme things everyone does to make themselves feel smarter than everyone else, you know the bbc only thinks most people have read -3 of these books, but it actually seemed like a good list so here it is. Well not yet, I jsut finished Catch 22, that started slow but it ended in a Bang, that is a good book, for all that is wrong with the world, which it doesn't even sort of sugar coat, and as it is a war book lots of folks die, it has parts that literally made me laugh.  So if you're looking for a book that you where supposed to read in high school but instead just faked it while dreaming of having the courage to ask a girl out but coming up incredibly short of that, then I suggest Catch 22.

 

I was going to post the list then i thought that was incredibly long, and kinda annoying, so i skipped it, anyway, i really doubt it is really from the bbc, but it had a good mix of stuff and promted me to read catch 22.

 

For some reason in the last week 2 people have recommend the Girl with the dragon tattoo to me, but i am kinda leary, I have seen the swedish movie, and I heard that is pretty true to the story, which is a good thing, but it ruins it for a kinda thriller suspense novel, if you know the who done it bit before you read it.

 

As I currently have one person that comments, on this an I'll there assume one read, hi abby, I have taken some of your book remmends before, the short bus one,  although that was kind painful to read and really made me examine how I had treated other kids as kid.  Anyway,  I am currently seeking suggestions for books again.

 

 

 

the devil

As some know, or may not know, i am tryign to get into shape, pertetually, but I have been lunges and squats while i walk the dog.  One of dog's better qualities is they don't care if you make a fool of yourself.

Anyway, I have a pain in my backside that can only be described as fire, anyway, I sure hope I gget through this little phase and actually start to be able to do more,  I only did like 30 per leg, and not in a row.

yikes.

Christmas

My daughter is 3 and I am not sure she even understands Christmas, but she keeps asking for stuff.  Even though it is not yet thanksgiving. Also and only a slight detour, she keeps asking for stuff at her birthday too.

Anyway that inspires me to put together a list of the things I want.

Thing 1: Move to Virginia, with my daughter and wife, I miss them so much it is is painful, but this is the last a not thing on my list, and be, the last i am going to get mushy, but it is what i want most.

Thing 2: A really nice guitar http://www.larrivee.com/instruments/acoustics/60/D60.php like the one there, I nearly wet myself looking at it.

Thing 3: A pair of throw back Diadora Borg shoes, I would look sweet in a pair of those.  

Thing 4:  Without stealing an image from their website I really unexplainably like the new Nissian Xterra.  I could go for one of those, but my jeep is still pretty new, and as mention above, i hope to move to the great dc area, maybe i should get a prius.

Thing 5: lift tickets for the ski season

Thing 6: a trip to somewhere exotic and nice, like beachy but not so beachy that everyone says, oh i have done that so Jamaica out, and in it steed will be Nevis, here is a picture from Nevis of St. Kitts I think

That is all i can think of right now, but i am sure there are more i am must kinda sleepy.

11/11

Well, actually it is 11/12 and in a great deal of the country it is 11/13 but never mind that. 

I thought i would take a few minutes and thank the troops, if you are a veteran and you happen to stumble upon this post, I thank you for your service voluntary or not to the United States.

My father was in Vietnam, my Grandmother was a WAC (or i believe she was), still not exactly sure what that is, and my mother's father was in the Army in WWII.   I also believe my father's grandpa was in WWI. 

I am very thankful, that I have not been drafted and called to fight in a war like they had.  I am not diminishing the sacrifice of those who have been in Desert Storm, or the second time in Iraq or the Afghan one, I am sure all combat experiences are harrowing and horrible and i want no part in any of that.  Not that i think the soldiers want to be there, but well, this is getting off track but here is a side story

In the town i grew up in there is a statute that was dedicated to the 5 men killed in world war I from a defunct tiny little near by town.  According to the piece i found on the statue here.    This town lost 12 service men to the World Wars.   According to wikipedia in 1930 Hiawatha had a population of 939, and in 1940 had a population of 858. Maybe just a statistical anomaly but the wars since have not had such a requirement from such a breadth of the population.  For that I am thankful.

I would like to state that I do not think the service men of the wars since have sacrificed any less, or in anyway diminish their service, just the population as a whole has sacrificed less, which in a kind of weird backwards logic makes the individual sacrifices of the recent wars greater.  But I don't think they're greater either, war sucks, but were it not for the brave few who do voluntarily serve the world would be a more dangerous and evil place.

Which brings me to my point, usually I am a democratic voter, and usually liberal in things like this, but this little nugget angers me, but it requires back story.  So a few years ago Peter King of Sports Illustrated decided to raise money and team up with USO to help entertain deployed troops or something like that.  I was discussing this with my boss at the time, and I made a donation, under the name J "I need some Karma" DuBois. 

Less than 6 months later I was and am still getting flooded with mailing from the heritage foundation, the NRA, American Crossroads, and some outfit with a weird name like national republican convention or something like that, I don't even know if that is the official name of the other party which is why i call them some outfit, they could be legit, but they could also be a scam, who knows.  What I do know is they all send me mail addressed to J. "I need some Karma" DuBois

What angers me is not that i get mail from them, but that they assume just cause i want to support the troops that i am a conservative, gun toting, GOP member.  Is this an accurate assumption? If so that sucks.  Also I hope to break that association.  I am a liberal, i subscribe to Mother Jones, I think Obama has done a bang up job, and I support the troops.  I even donate to the wounder warriors project, a tiny little amount, but if everyone gave a little, they could get a lot!

Anyway  whether or not you're a liberal or a conservative if you fought for our country I thank you!

I need help

It may just be that i don't know any better, but I have always found that men's dress boots look funny, i mean i like hiking boots, and cowboy boots well not my cup of tea are not just goofy looking, but men's dress boots, that just confuses me.

I am need of a new pair of work shoes, you know the shiny kind that make you look professional?  I do not think they do either, infact i think they're obnoxious and at best are just shiny, but it is what business people wear.  Like ties, I do not understand ties either, but that is neither here nor there, i don't have to wear ties.

Anyway, so this is my informal survey, and as I suspect no one will read this, it is really just my thinking out loud,  do men's dress boots, make sense, i mean it is 26 outside, which is just this side of bitter cold.  Not sure which side it is on but it is right near the line somewhere.

Also I have dropped like 7 lbs on my diet, and today began exercising,  I had been putting off starting for a bit, but today i worked out, and i feel better for it.

stuff on my mind

Nightmares suck, and not just a little, i have some freakishly vivid ones last night, eeeks.

Second only slightly more unnerving then having nightmares involving home invasion, are the political ads that where all the rage last month, or last 6 months really.  It is kinda insane, but they ended now.

I went out to visit the family and completely fell off my diet, then I got back and got depressed, but well, i made the 2 lists tonight, to start my diet anew in the morn.

I also put together a workout i can do from home so i got that going for me, i will also start that in the morning.

I really really really miss my daughter, which based on the converstaions i had at work with a women about her ex.   Who are these guys that have kids get divorced then just sorta leave their kids?  I do not understand for a second, like I love my wife and we're happily married, or at least i am anyway, i should speak for her, anyway, if we where to get divorced and she where to move to like I don't know des moines you can bet your ass i would move there too, just to be able to see soccer games, and dance recitals, bike riding and all kinds of groovy things.

This is who i don't like today dead beat dads!!!!

sometimes I think it is a sin

This video is just the album cover with the song added. Anyway, this is my new theme of the day


Anyway, Sometimes i think its a shame when i get feeling guilty when I am feeling no pain, for some reason that song is on a loop in my noodle.

Anyway,  I had myself, a mr. mom kind of mom.  Remember that flick, if you do say you don't so you don't date yourself, but if you don't you should watch it cause it is funny.



Any when the wife got herself  a new job and i applied for a job with in the agency i work for and i got an interview for the very first one i applied for i got thinking, this is going to be quick and easy.  I didn't get that job likely cause, they had somone in mind cause that is how the government works.

Yesterday, i was sitting around thinking I don't get to see Mariah's Halloween this just plain sucks, I was wearing the same stuff i was wearing to sleep in and I got feeling bad for my self.

Then yesterday perhaps as a sign I got a letter from the Wounded Warriors Project.  Addressed to Jerry I need some Karma DuBois.  Which there is a reason for that, but that maybe a post for a different day. Anyway reading the flyer saying they need some cash to help wounded veterans made me think.  I am one lucky fellow, healthy daughter, spectacular wife, and on top of that me being the absolute pinnacle of evolutionary progress, never before in the history of human kind has there been a combination of dna that has resulted in this level of awesomeness.

That last bit may be an exaggeration, but i am healthy and forty, my daughter is healthy, my wife and i both have pretty sweet gigs.

I am going to not feel bad that i am missing a halloween, i have a ticket to visit for thanksgiving, i am going to take 9 days leave at Christmas, if i haven't been out there, i will visit  sometime in early Feb, and i will go for her birthday, all if i am not transferred yet. But I should be transferred, that puts my request at 8 months. The lady coordinating the efforts, that is her job helping get folks transferred.  Anyway she didn't think it would take to long since i am trying to get to DC.

In the  mean time, i am going to see if i can find a guitar to practice with, and start guitar lessons again, i am going to really focus on lossing some weight.  Weirdly i had been both exercising and dieting mixed in with a lot of pity party basically binging.

So back on the diet I go.

and be thankful for what you have!!!!

please make it stop

In this case, i am referring to the endless steam of political ads.  Whoever changes their mind based on ads should be slapped up side the head, they're all lies, half truths and manipulations.

Anyway, but apparently they do work, as to the debates, which is odd to me too, how you could support obama for example then switch your vote to romney based on the debate is lost on me,  does that mean you just don't pay attention? and if you're not paying attention why do the debates effect you?

Anyway never mind that, I just wanted to make a prediction and have it documented somewhere.

Remember like 2 years ago, when mitch mcconnell said the number one priority of the GOP in the senate was to ensure that Obama is a one term president?

If Romney wins, it will be the DEMS turn to do that, and the best way to accomplish that is to ensure that Romney lies about everything he says he'll do and force us in to a recession.  Which isn't hard to do this time, since the bush tax cuts set to expire in January.

This is what Jerry thinks happens,  if Obama wins the tax cuts will get extended because there will be interest on both sides to ensure the taxes aren't raised. The GOP doesn't want to raise them, and the DEMS will give something up to get something they want.

If the Romeny wins, the democrats will entrench themselves in the senate and say, either raise taxes on the rich like Obama suggested or we're going to let the whole thing expire.

Anyway that is what i think will happen.


 

sunday morning

I suppose it is morning as i went to bed and got back up, but now it is not morning in that i don't suppose I should stay up that is crazy talk.

I got a call from my daughter today, asking me how come she doesn't get to play with me :( Man i hope this transfer comes through soon, this is starting to physically hurt.

I am finished with the presidential election.  I wish that would get over too.

I have read most of that 50 shades of gray book, that is straight up porn.

I want to learn to play guitar, i need to look into a class or lessons or something in alexandria.

I to see a good movie has anyone seen one?

Also and only a little bit unrelated, I am reading catch 22, slowly, but i am reading it,   There are more whores, and debautchery in that book then i would have surmised.  I don't think a book like that would be as welcome in schools today.  Which is kind of a bad thing, there are lots of books that schools probably shy away from just to avoid controversy.

On the other hand, I also don't think whores, or the solicitation and use of the services is a wide spread as it used to be.  Maybe I am just nieve, but I think i am right, at least in the US and that has to be a good thing right?

Also the book has some I think purposefully racist parts.  As we have a black president, at least for the time being, that makes me proud of us as a country.  We've come  along way in 50 years,  we got a long way left to go but never mind that.

I am thinking about the election and the book and the coverage of the races, and both campaigns seem to be hammering home the notion that we can return to greatness or whatever,  I argue, has it ever truely left.  I dont' want to take america back to where it was!

Sure lower unemployment would be nice, and lower incariration rates would be good, and getting rid of the death penatly would be nice, but I don't want to go back to the days of old.  Well i guess I would like to fit into skinny jeans.

I would also like to point out i don't want to wear them i would just like to be able to.

reuinted and it felt so good

So i visited the family last week, from Thursday to Tuesday anyway so a five day visit, which was exactly what i needed to improve my disposition.

I had grown weary of living in my condo without my daughter here.  She makes me smile.

Anyway, as i was planning to do something rash like quit my job and go back to public accounting in order to get there quickly it occurred to me that is crazy talk.  In five years when she is playing soccer, and having dance recitals and plotting to take over the world, I don't want to miss that because it is tax season.

So i visited and had a grand old time, saw the Giant Pandas and the Red Pandas at the zoo.

Which also made me a little sad.  The Denver Zoo has one red panda, and he is always sleeping, I have visited teh zoo at least 50 times in the past 2 years, and I've never seen him running about.

I have visited the national zoo twice, and the second time I saw the pair of red pandas playing.

the Denver zoo needs to either get another red panda or give up the one the have.  I realize this is over simplistic and maybe even wrong, as some animals like to be alone except for when nature calls and there are red panda romances a brewing, but just on the surface it was sad.

home is where the heart is

As it turns out I love Colorado,  I have lived in (mostly) Utah, New Mexico, Montana (as a wee lad), Ohio, Florida, Illinois.  I love it here, I didn't like any of the other places as much.  I love the weather in Utah and Colorado, but Colorado doesn't come with the people that seem to mind whether or not you're be joining them for our oppressive cult like church services.  Not that I think the Mormons are a cult anymore than I think scientology, the Witnesses, the Shiks or any other religion is.  I just hate the culture the mormons, and likely anyone who has that strong a majority has.  While in Utah you're either part of that gang, or you're from the wrong side of the tracks.

Anyway, since my wife and daughter moved I have no desire to be here. I want to move to Virginia too.

Also some friends took me  out to eat this weekend, as I am leaving town, I have a beer or too, and way to much food, and I am right back to 197.  Aurgh.

Turns out the trick to losing weight is not eating out.  Who knew, well that and exercise.

This was Barr Lake on Saturday, it is notable cause while we where on the trail we where not by the lake, you can tell all that brushless treeless grass and sand, that is supposed to be lake.  There is a better than fair chance we're in the midst of a drought.   Barr Lake is just almost directly west and slightly north but not all the way north of DIA.  Judging from the planes, we were really close, it is out on the plains.

Anyway, On Thursday I get to go to see my family.  yea, i know i have a rule against telling people when i am leaving town and stuff, but well, the only thing in my condo are the appliances, and as it is a condo, i am guess the people next door may raise an eyebrow if you where to come in and take them.  There is also a couch/daybed i have been sleeping on, and this pc, but i am likely taking that to Virginia with me.

Sunday

Yesterday  around dog and I went for hike around Barr Lake, well not around as it is kinda a long hike around, we did 2 miles out 2 miles back.  It was fun, i guess, get out there and just walk with the dog, it was COLD.  The high was like 39, but we went in the afternoon, and i am sure the high had passed.   Anyway, Neil is tired today,  I think that is a good walk for him, and me too

I weighed 194.6 this morning so i got that going for me.

math problems

I was reading abby's post, and someone posted one of those obviously faked yet very funny tests, where the kids are horribly wrong and the test ends up on the internet.

you know like that above, and for some reason, i have been thinking about school a lot lately, like maybe I should get another degree, perhaps a masters in economics or a BS in math.  Something like that, If i can get transferred to DC they have programs for the federal employees to take classes up to 4 a year or something like that, but I wouldn't need much more than that and 2 or 3 years.

So this is my story back in I'll say 8th grade, perhaps it was 9th or maybe 7th, but it occurred to me, if they are going to go to the trouble of giving me a story problem, I should at least be considerate enough to give a story answer.

As you can probably imagine, the last thing a junior high math teacher, actually I think this was if she happens upon this post mrs. foust,  and if that was the case, it would have been 9th grade pre-algebra, or maybe just garden variety algebra.

This was all well and good, but it also lead me to do it in college, i still remember the phyiscs TA who was grading my test, and started laughing out loud that i answered some vector question or something about mass or something with, and answer that was something like the little guy packs more of a wallup.

Anyway, it turns out sometimes, or quite frequently I am a pain in the ass for the sake of being a pain in the ass.

Also I am almost to day 13 which will be in the morning, and i weighed in at 194.9  this morning, which is pretty good.

young love, lust, or maybe just hormones

So last night neil diamond and I are walking on a portion on the high line canal. The part that takes you right past center hills golf course and the aurora community college.  It is a kinda pretty spot all in all.  I mean it is within a guess grove, well not quite a grove, it is within a stand of cottonwood trees,  and it kinda dark, by kinda i mean really dark, i didn't even see those 2 kids until we were right on them.

Well I wasn't on anyone, neil was not on anyone, but she was on him like burnt on toast.  well at least when i cook it in a less than superior quality toaster.  I just keep walking because it was so dark that you couldn't see them until you where right next to them , once you could see them there was no denying what you saw.

Anyway, who knew that seeing some neighbors getting freaky was on the entertainment agenda for a monday evening.

one week

Technically this is the start of the second week, and well, I haven't weighed in yet. but this weekend after hiking Saturday and then being a fat lazy toad yesterday, well entirely true i worked for like 5 hours.

Today in addition to getting back onto a strict version of his diet, i need to figure out where, when to work some exercise in.

That being said lets go weigh me.

That was bad, it said, 197.  It turns out that when dieting even a one day total failure is a big deal.  Anyway, yesterday, i got into Mexican food as a place called Mescal and I had a Beer.  Both not allowed and both completely not okay.

Anyway, I miss my daughter, she called last night crying dadadadadadaddaddadaddadadadada, take a big breathe, dadadadadaddadadadadadadadada.

Working for the government is sometimes the stupidest thing.  You want to keep this job, well we're going to make you wait week, possibly months to get it.  In the mean time we expect you to keep performing your job where it was.

That makes no sense, as well, I have no motivation at all to be there, i seriously wake and dread going there, i spend all day there looking for jobs, and then i come  home and look for jobs, and lament that i am not there.

But i did sing her a twinkle twinkle and she said that was a pretty good one!  So i got that going for me

Day 6

I forgot to weigh myself this morning, but well, I was on my way Garden of the Gods. The dog and I hiked around a couple trails, but the phone went dead, so I was only able to measure one of them via endomondo.

I don't know if that link will work or not.

Also today is a blue moon which has an old definition and a new one.   The new one being that it is the second full moon of the month.  Which isn't very common.

But it is also a Harvest Moon, which happens to be the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox.

I can think of now idea what a harvest blue moon means, but I am fairly certain that, the Blue Moon Brewery people didn't take advantage of the Blue Moon Harvest Pumkin Ale.

day, i forget, either five unless five is different from yesterdays title plus 1

Lets see, what should i write about today, as it turns out blogging is a bit of a habit, when i first started a long long time ago in the bush presidency, the one where he bested Gore. I had a hard time knowing what to write, and then i just wrote and eventually, i had so many ideas on what to write, that I had to filter them.

I would like to point out that i didn't claim they were good ideas, just ideas, then i nearly quit blogging for a for about a year.  Which is silly, cause i really do i have fun doing it.

Anyway, this is I think day 5, and the scale read 155.8 which is slightly more than yesterday but only by a few ounces, or like 12.8 of them.  I am going to chalk that up as my underwear are made out of cotton today and yesterday i had on a nice pair of synthetic quick dry, under Armor which weigh less.

2 days to get down to my goal weight, funny thing, I don't even know what that is,  for most of the past decade i have been somewhere around 185.  i have dropped to 170 about 6 years ago, but I didn't get down to with in the ideal range on my bmi

The book I have says dudes should weight 110 for the first 5 feet then an extra 6 lbs per inch, That puts me at 158.  seems like an odd goal weight.  Should I make it 150 or go 160.  I say 160, that way, i only had 40 lbs to she and in just 5 short days i have lost 4 of them 10% there, heck dieting is easy i should be down 40 bills by the end of October :-D

In case you cats didn't know, that statement was written and followed with an eye roll, i am guessing we have similar expressions on our face.

day 4

Four days of diet, well lonly really 3 because it is six in the morning on the 4th.   It would be a little premature to call it a day already.  Although, I wish i could just call it a day and climb back in bed.

My wife and kid are in the greater DC area, cause she got transferred out there, and I am here, and i found out yesterday the job I though i had a great chance of getting, I didn't get.  It was like a giant blow to the stomach.  They only interviewed 3 or 4 people for it, and it was a while ago.  I was all hopeful since it was taking so long.  Anyway, now it is going to be a while before I get to go to DC.
That makes me sad :(

but unbelivibly I didn't use that to not follow the don't eat processed crap I've been trying to do.

This morning the scale said 195 even.

day 3

So last night, I get invite to a baseball game, cubs Rockies, and yes if you happened to be watching from home sometimes you could see me in the background, in the crowd shots, i only say that because i am sure there are people out that, were watching the game and where struck with the thought, is that striking fellow in the back ground that guy, what was his name, snap snap snap of the fingers, i just can't remember. Yes it was me.

2 days into the 17 day diet, and i had a minor foul up at the baseball game, but i think it will be okay if i just sort pretend that didn't happen and stay on track otherwise.

Lets see I have to go weigh myself,  hold your breath I'll be right back

197.2 the scale unforgivingly moaned.  Which is still less then 2 days ago, so yea, hooray, we had another fantastic day

day 2

So this diet isn't as easy at it seems, i spent most of yesterday longing to wrap my jaws around some kind of mass produced confectionery delight.

Yet I resisted, and although it is all just water weight,  this morning the scale called out 197.2.  Which for those of you who happen to be keeping score at home is less than yesterday.

Getting in shape

Someback ground information, We're moving to DC from Denver, which is entirely too far, and I was opposed to the move.  I love living in Denver, but I love my family more.  My wife and daughter have already made the move, and while I am hunting for a job I do not have one yet.  It is a slow slow process.

Anyway,  While I am here with my Bernese Mountain Dog and they are there, I am having a great deal of difficulty concentrating, making good decisions and stuff like that.  I have eaten my way to the highest I have ever spun the dial on the stupid scale,  I am going to weight my self in a little bit to know where I start this at.

Yesterday some friends whom, I'll miss, cause they're not the type of friend you keep in touch with but they're good friend to know,  I hate when you make that realization too.  Anyway  They took me to lunch at Maggiano's

She has always been a thin gal at least since we lived near her, but he was a bigger guy anyway not huge just bigger, he has dropped 30 lbs a day on "The 17 day diet" since April, I think he said,  which is good, so i read the first bit of the book and this seems entirely like a diet I can do for a couple reasons.

• It really is a diet plan you can live on, not just a crash diet to get you to shed lbs for a while then you bail on it and balloon back up
• It is 17 day cycles, so who can't do 17 days, to try it?
• It doesn't require like exercise programs aimed at getting people ready to compete in the Olympics.
• It is mostly common sense stuff, drink water, eat fruits and vegitables, lean protiens, don't get our lunch passed to you through a drive up window.

The title seems a bit commercial, and his advice about working out 17 minutes, i think that is really just to tie it to his book, I can committ to that thought, so I am about to try it, I will let you know how it goes.

The first day weight in is 199.8, which is good at least I am on the right side of 200, if only by a good bm.

Also to start with here a couple pics of me in the bathroom, well not using the bathroom for its named purpose rather using the bathroom for a mirror, I am a tubby lubber.

okay, i can't do the picture, but i'll figure it out later.

review mirror

I have no idea why, there I am driving down life's express lane, music cranked up, tank full, and all of a sudden I look in the review mirror and see the wreckage I have left behind.  I woke up crying from a nightmare a couple of days ago.

That hasn't happened in years, probably more than 10.  I had no idea, i wasn't  melancholy, or dwelling on the past.  Sometimes the past has a way of reaching up and grabbing you.

My first girlfriend, who died when i was 20 and she was 18.  She was the first person to actually get me to act on feelings, and the first person and so far the only person, to know that when things mattered most, i failed.

I did nothing to help her, or my friend that was badly injured, the other girl that was with us, she wiped the blood from his eyes, and sat with Kris,  I just walked away, and she stopped me too.  It was the middle of the night in January, and I just started walking, if she hadn't stopped me I likely would have walked into the night and not come back.

I have been to see counselors, and talked to friends, and things like that.  I can get past her death.  I am at such a great place in my life, I have a good job, a great wife, an overly exuberant spectacular daughter, and I worry, that if I am needed to act in crisis again, will I fail again?

I really think that is what caused me nightmare, I just hope i never have to find out.

running

So this week i finally committed to running (on the treadmill).  I have walked/ran 4 of 5 days this week.  So tht is good.  I just need to make it more run/walked before making in run, but I'll get to that.  The scale today said 193. 

That is all i gots right now.

I need to work out

So last week, I climbed on a scale and it went higher than it has ever gone before.  That may have been the motivation most people need to realize they're sitting around getting fat.

Well yesterday the spawn told me, I need to wear a blue bra.

That is more then enough.  Tonight 24hourfitness it is!

Charities

So over on the magic website, I posted a reaction to komen, and 1/2 heartidly said komen is back on the list of chairites that I support.

As it is also time to do my taxes, I thought I would put a list together for everyone to use to guide their charitable donations.   :-D  Yes i know you don't care who i support but I find this list somewhat revealing.  I need to support more dude issues.

Women's Bean Project
Big city Mountaineers
Colorado Public Radio
Colorado College
Wounded Warrior Project
Alex's Lemonade Stand
MISS Foundation
The Delores Project
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Komen 


That is the list of organizations that received mostly token donation   The biggest recipient was our church which i will refrain from listing. I think having faith is a good thing. I don't think faith is better then yours, I mean other than it is mine ;-D.

And actually, I suppose the only women issues I donated to last year were the women's bean project and the delores project and komen, although dudes can get breast cancer.  It is mostly a women's issue. Other than, as a dude, I enjoy breasts, and secondly and far more importantly, as the mother of my daughter is in fact a not a dude. I would be lost without her.  I can not imagine having to face life without her, or the spawn facing life without her.  So that one is really a dudes need their mom, wifes, sisters, and friends issues.


The women's bean project and the Dolores project are women issues but they're in response to men being jerk offs, so those are men issues.

Colorado College has an environmental studies program, I donate to them on earth day.


This is my list, and it isn't meant to brag, I don't donate very much to each organization.  But this is the list of charities sanctioned by Me. 

Are you serious

As i have been home with the daughter all week, i've watched  alot of Calliou. So I gots to thinking, why is this four year old bald.

As I am not this first one to wonder this the publishers of this children's crap have an answer.

Caillou stands for all children. He doesn't have curly blond hair, a carrot-top, brown hair, glasses, or ethnic features, because he represents all children. We wanted to make Caillou universal so every child could identify with him. And they do! Caillou's baldness may make him different, but we hope it's helping children understand that being different isn't just okay, it's normal.

What a load of crap that is.  I mean dude is caucasian.  His parents are both white, have brown hair and american accents. his sister had red hair, his parents have brown hair.  This is crappy loaded crap served up with crap forn an explanation.

So this ethicsless child that is supposed to represent all children, belongs to a clearly white American family? But he is not white, or any other definition of ethicity, you would assign to it, as I know race and ethnicity are not the same, but i really don't understand this answer.

So Calliou is supposed to help kids that don't fit in within their own family?  That makes no sense.

Calliou has black friends, and deaf friends, and handicap friends, and autistic friends, but he is supposed to be indentityless.

Wouldn't it make more sense, to not make point that despite our ethnical differences we're still all people? Rather then trying to say that we shouldn't have ethnically based identification?  I mean people should be proud of who they are and who they came from, but only to the point that they think this is who i am and embrace it.

The people before me had made an imprint on my life, my dad, my grandparents, and it is likely either the presence or lack of presence of my grand parents grand parents had a direct impact on their lives. I can get back 4 generations at least, that has likely had a direct impact on my life.  I am proud of the people who came before me. 

This doesn't mean however that I think my people are better than your people.  Those people suck.

Calliou sucks ass, differences should be celebrated not mitigated.

long foresaken blog

Well, here it is this is my blog update, It turns out i have had a lot of thoughts the past 2 months, yet didn't find the time to post about them.

It turns out, that 2 may be terrible but nearly 3 are time consuming, early Saturday we have ballet class, then less early Saturday we have gymnastics, followed by countless reading of some well know children's books, and a unbelievable number of viewings of some of Disney's, Pixars, and Dreamworks finest productions.

This is a story from the other day, and please refrain from commenting on both my teaching my daughter poor nutritional habits and improper verb agreement.

So we are driving home from work/preschool and we get a call from mom, who tells us that she is stuck at work we should pick something up.  So we're driving down the road, and I say how a cheeseburger and she say no, and then i say how about some KFC, and she says no.  and then I say how about a Quesadilla from Chipoltle, and she says no.

Where nearing the end of this particular streets choices, no the next one is a noodles and company.  So i say how about some Mac and Cheese? Thats sounds pretty good don't it?  And she replies with "A Mac and Cheese Donut! That sounds pretty good"  So we got that, she was disappointed by the lack of donut, but she ate it.

I don't want to create one of those blogs that chronicles my child, but it turns out my daughter is the focus of my life right now, so i could talk about my guitar lessons or ski trips, work frustrations, or the overwhelming sadness that is trying to break free, but She makes me smile so i talk about that.

holy cow

I've not posted in a shade over too months, i am not sure how that even happens.

I need to post, I'll write a story and post tommorrow.

JErry