well another month has passed since i last wrote. i think i am going to try and write more, but i really am not that fond of this old site any more and i haven’t made much more progress on the new design. fortunately i have been working, exercising, and spending time with my woman and haven’t had the time to really put into it. maybe this sunday, who knows. anyhow, i will try and make a conscious decision to write more often.


i have been reading the one fat man web site lately, yes that’s the name of it so don’t get all mad at me. he has a daily journal he updates, weekly weigh in’s, and has some pretty good content, though some of it is out of date. he has kind of inspired me as of late with his common sense writing and thoughts. i have been making some changes in my workouts lately. i have been reading the lance armstrong performance program: seven weeks to the perfect ride. it started before this, but reading this book has increased my desire to ride my bike more. i am riding about 60 or so miles a week now. i want to add more, but time doesn’t always permit it. i have not been doing as much weight training as before as a result. which is fine, as i was getting kind of burnt out doing weights all the time worrying if i was going to get the workout in and dreading doing them. now i am riding my bike about 4 days per week and trying to get in 2 sessions of weights, one lower and one upper body. i have been getting rid of coffee as well, i used to drink 2 coffee’s per day and usually had a low fat muffin with those coffees as well. don’t ask how, but it became a routine that a bunch of us at work started doing every morning and afternoon. well i am now down to a coffee on mondays, tuesday, and saturdays (my free’ish day). still with a muffin, but i am counting it as a meal and eating less in my other meals on those days. my goal is zero coffee except maybe on my free day starting next week.


let’s see what else am i doing, i am trying, starting last night, to cook more again. i was eating a lot of cottage cheese, eggs, and chicken breasts. not much other then that really. i know, bland diet ahe, well at least my stomach didn’t explode (except maybe from the coffee). anyhow, last night i made some organic pasta and mixed it with canola oil, oregano, garlic, and mixed spices. on top of it i threw on a chicken breast … and it tasted great. i made enough for about 5 meals so i’ll be eating like a king this week. i am thinking of changing my meals a bit and eating 5 meals per day instead of 6, not sure how that is going to work out. my goal, since i am doing a bit less weights is to decrease my caloric intake some in order to counter this change. i am starting that next week after i work some of the kinks out since that is also the end of coffee. wish me luck on these changes …


i was approached by a lady at work last week about entering the body for life challenge. she wanted to enter it with a partner and since i had competed before she thought maybe i could help her and motivate her. i am all for helping people, but i first want to know i am not going to be wasting my time. so i basically told her yes, but first i would have to know she was serious. she would have to start next week eating right, exercising, and the whole nine yards. she seemed ok with that, that was until i mentioned that she couldn’t drink except on her free day and even that it was bad. i also told her she should also get support from her significant other to do this, otherwise she was likely setting herself up for failure. she still said she was interested but i could see this look in her eye like she was going to try and get around it or she thought she couldn’t do it. it was funny, when i told her she could drink she got all excited (because she asked about alcohol). then i explained about the free day and she gave me this look and said … “you mean i can only drink on my free day?”. yes … hehehhe … what did you think alcohol was zero calories or something. anyhow, she said she was going to give it a go and i’ll see how she does. i hope she does it and wish her the best of luck … people often surprise themselves when they achieve goals.


i saw dave schonberg yesterday, he came into the office. he is an ex-parlano employee that i haven’t seen in about 3-4 months. when he left he was starting the body for life program. i would occasionally get chat messages from him asking me questions about the program, weight training etc … anyhow he was in the office yesterday and he looked like a changed man. i swear he dropped about 70 pounds, he was smiling from ear to ear, and he was still on the program. i was totally impressed and motivated … i had not heard from him in a while and was wondering how he was doing. i had heard from friends that he was working out still etc but i had not seen him. needless to say he is a success story for sure.


amy and i are doing great. we went on vacation 2 weekends ago. it was a surprise vacation. she knew we were going somewhere but i would not tell her where. i was keeping her in the dark and leading her to think we were going to camp or be outdoors with no shower etc. i would ask her stuff like what she was scared of, if she liked snakes etc … it was really throwing her off and you could tell she was worried but like a good sport she went along with it, trusting me. well needless to say it wasn’t roughing it in the least. i ended up taking her to saugatuck where we ended up staying at the beechwood manor bed and breakfast. saugatuck is a small artist town in western michigan. there are tons of artsy shops, boats, lake michigan, restaurants etc. it has a small town romantic feel to it. we ended up spending the whole weekend relaxing together on the beach, walking the shops, listening to music, eating, and enjoying each others company and our first “vacation” together. it was really romantic and i had a great time, she did as well. i highly recommend it for anyone interested in getting away.


i’ve been mountain biking with tony lately. we’ve went 3 times since i last wrote and amy went once as well. we’ve been going to the john muir trails and last weekend we went to the palos trails. it has been great, yet hot. getting out there in nature sweating and really pushing my body has felt great. i can’t get enough of it and look forward to every ride. i can see myself getting better each time i go, climbing better, cornering better etc. this last time out i went over the handlebars but i wasn’t hurt, i always wear a helmet. i got right up, made sure i was ok, rested a second but got right back in the saddle and went for it. i have a few bruises and a sore shoulder because of it but i really enjoyed it and want to go back. i also want to help amy get a better bike. i know she likes biking with me, but her bike really isn’t suited for these trails. once we get her a better bike i think she’s gonna be blowing past me … at least i hope anyhow … heheheh.


i haven’t been home since early last month. i have been busy with a million other things. i am planning on going home in 2 weekends, then my family is coming in town the following weekend, and then 2 weeks after that we have a wedding in michigan to go to. i have a really busy calendar coming up. to top it all off i have to start packing. it is getting closer and closer and looks like i am going to be buying john’s townhouse. the numbers are working out, i can afford it on my own, and the bank is willing to loan me a ton of cash … how nice of them. anyhow, we are shooting for the end of october as a move date. rob is moving out at the end of this month so i’ll be using his room as a “pre move” staging area of sorts. cross your fingers that everything works out … it’s looking good right now.


i’ve talked to my brother a few times since my last visit. i guess they are all readdicted to everquest. i guess mike, lori, ellis, and christina are all playing now. christina never played before, and honestly i never thought she would. but she finally gave in and figured since if she couldn’t beat em she would join em. well now they’re all addicts … very scarey. it’s still summer guys!!!! get outside, do stuff while you still can. you know … walk, bike, swim etc … that or maybe go to sleep early and get up early and do other stuff. i really love them and can totally understand some of their habits working in the afternoons and all. but during the summer it just doesn’t make sense, there is just to much to do that is better then sitting in front of a computer till 5am and then sleeping the morning away and going right into work. in the winter fine, it’s cold and wet … but in the summer, come on. stop the insanity!!! step away from the ogre and high elf and get onto your bike … hehehhe.


well i should be getting back to work now … hope to write soon. till then, ttfn.