robertrence

Cross-posted to http://www.nobullshotallowed.com

For the past few weeks, I’ve been fluctuating between 255 and 250. It’s like I’ve hit a plateau, and I’m trying to figure out how to keep on moving down. I’m doing my best to drop my calorie intake, but I don’t know how to move it further down. Add in that after working out I’m getting nasty headaches, (It’s like a hangover, but without all the fun of booze) and motivation is waning.

So, let’s open up the discussion table.

Any tips, tricks, hints, cheats, and tactics you have, I want to hear. Help me break through this plateau and continue my steady progress downwards. The goal is 220 by the end of December. I can do it, but I need some help. Let’s hear it.

But you just moved, you say!

Well, yeah, but now I'm moving... on the internetz!

So If I post here, it'll be a cross-post. But I'll primarily be posting at nobullshotallowed.com

Seeya there!

So, let's wipe the slate clean.

If you weren't getting free merch, weren't getting paid (at least, not until the site was in the black), and page views weren't king, what would be important to you for a site you would want to write for?

Sure, I could go and call it an id, but I think lizard brain is more appropriate. Acting on impulse and momentary desires regardless of long term goals. And generally when I act on impulse, food is involved.

Tues afternoon, I went to Crave at the Mall of America with a co-worker. I ordered the lemon garlic chicken wings as an appetizer, and the truffled mac and cheese for a main course. The wings served were roasted, not fried, and full wings, in that all three pieces of the limb were there. After finishing with them (They were excellent), I barely touched the Mac, though it struck me as a little watery at the time. That feeling was re-asserted when I baked it for dinner last night. So, for future reference, avoid that.

Wed afternoon, the co-worker wanted to go out and eat again. We hit Brasa Rotisserie on Grand. I had the Braised Beef sandwich with pickled cucumbers and jalapenos. The heat was barely noticable, but it was a flavorful kick that added to the dish. And the meat was exceptionally tender. My co-worker got the Roasted Pork and it was surprising just how juicy it was. Also tasty was their Pineapple Ginger-ale and ginger mayo (I asked for a side of it with the crispy yuca)

Wed night, I went Pazzaluna because it's something I've wanted to check out for a while. I had a few cocktails, some bruschetta, veal medallions, and I finished with a chocolate cake filled with chocolate sauce and a small amount of vanilla gelato. It was all excellent. Though that may be the two manhattans talking. Still, they also gave me a $20 coupon off of my next trip there, so I intend to try the fondue and their risotto. However, I have already resolved to check out Kincaid's next wed. And Meritage the week after that. So three! Three weeks from now! Ah ha hah! I will go back to PL and give the food there a shot again.

Oh.

Darn.

Today, my mom took me out for dinner for my birthday along with the rest of the immediate family, saying that we could go where-ever I wanted. After I clarified her on that, we went to Town Talk Diner. Given the opportunity, I would've hauled them to Heartland, but I figured their wallet wouldn't have appreciated that. I ended up getting an order of the cheese curds (tasty and devoured by the table before my step-dad had a chance to have more than the crumbs), and the Kitchen sink burger. Also a Bacon Manhattan and a Monkey Business shake. Tasty. I'm still full and that was over two hours ago.

Sooo.... yeah, a week full of eating out.

Time to hit up the hummus for the rest of the week.

13 pounds lost out of 10 expected. Fuck you, American Family Association! Additionally, while you can not see me right now, rest assured I am doing some definitely improper dancing. It is in the middle of my home, but it is still improper.

"So let's sink another drink, cause it'll give me time to think. And if I had the chance, I'd ask the world to dance, and I'll be dancing with myself. Oh Oh Oooooh."

Which is why I've had some. Two Long Islands with lunch after skipping breakfast.

Normally, I would say that's a bad idea, and I should rethink that plan. But most days I don't have every muscle in my body throbbing with pain from lifting heavy, awkward shaped objects up multiple flights of stairs.

The new place is, as expected, entirely awesome. I have central air, I have the washer/dryer, I have a deck, and I have other assortedly awesome perks that are not in my room.

The only way it could be better is if instead of it being wooden pillars, they were marble. Then I'd be thrilled.

So, now, here lightly buzzed on my couch, I'm putting off finishing up cleaning my old apartment to relax on my couch and enjoy the air conditioning.

Also, I bought a new bottle of Zaya, and I believe I will be breaking that open tonight.

So, yes, that is the state of things, and things are good. Except for the muscle pain, but that's why I'm drinking! So, hey, problem solved. Now, if I can somehow hitch a lift on a green flying saucer, I should be golden!

Now, to finish packing. BOOO!

*Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep*

since I'll be moving in two weeks time, I figure we should give the apartment one final send-off. So, gaming day it is then. There will be Rock Band, board, and card games. Starting next Saturday at 2 PM and going until people leave. At that point, if I still have stuff left that I want to get rid of that I haven't eBayed, it'll be up for grabs. Booze must be drunk, and food must be eaten. Except for the best box of Mac and Cheese ever. That stays. Please RSVP.

Nowadays, I look at the majority of the crap that I've collected and I think to myself...

Do I even need this shit?

For the most part, the answer is no. Which is why I'm selling a LOT of my stuff on ebay. I haven't finished going through all of my stuff yet, so this list will get bigger. None of the DS, GBA, DC or Xbox titles are up there yet, and I've only put up one PS2 title. The movies are all up there though.

So, if you're interested, go ahead and have at it.

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/robertrence_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_ipgZhttp://cgi5.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SellHub3

Recently at work, our group merged with another group. Things have been going well for the most part, though while training in the new people on the mailbox today, I asked them to "ping" the user who sent the original email and ask a follow-up question.

"What do you mean by 'ping'?"

"Well, I use it to mean contact them via email or IM."

"In our old group, we use it to mean 'wow'."

==========

This brief interlude brought to you by Justin, from the B5 episode Z'ha'dum. And I'm paraphrasing.

"We bring two groups together, they fight, a lot of them die, but those that survive are better, stronger, and smarter. Better able to face the challenges of the universe."

==========

"Ping" meaning contact another user will be the triumphant definition! YARRRR!

So, it turns out that the physical challenge was just a progress evaluation. Instead of doing jumping jacks, for thirty seconds, I'm up to a minute. I'm up to 32 squats from 25, up to 7 push-ups from 5 (my arms suck, okay?), and I can still do 60 crunches. Unforunately I wasn't able to do a weight update because I still haven't picked up a fucking scale. Things to do checklist 1) = scale.

Other than that, I made a vichysoisse (I know I spelled that wrong) and a white potato pie for dinner tonight, and I'll be making a shepherd's pie later on. A word of wisdom on the vichy, use a food mill. I mixed it in the food pro for I don't know how long and it's still a little chunky. Also, you may have noticed a theme. It was unintentional at first, but I decided to run with it.

As I'm getting ready to move again, I find myself going through a lot of my stuff, and just not wanting to carry it around anymore. I don't use it, or watch it, so why keep it? So, I sorted out the stuff I didn't want, and I'm putting it on eBay. Additionally, I'll be getting rid of my desk as well, if anyone wants that. So, thing to do checklist 2) = Pictures of every damn thing.

Finally, I generally don't go in for the whole LARPing thing, but I have to admit, in case of nuclear Armageddon, Russia looks a lot more prepared than we are.

First off, this message is courtesy of yelling bird from Questionable Content.



Secondly, at the end of my workout, Maya said she was looking very forward to my physical challenge in two days. What the shit?! Did I somehow get myself on Double Dare? I haven't even studied! Will this be on top of my normal workout or in place of it? Shit shit shit shitshitshitshitshitshitSHIT!

Okay, calm down, have some dip.

Other than that, it's a typical Monday. A bit surprisingly though, it is damn near impossible to find unshelled peanuts that are just plain peanuts at the grocery store. Everything else adds sugar or corn syrup. I just find it weird, that's all.

Okay, see you all around this week and take care!

Going with the upsides first, because it's shorter to spell upside.

1) I get to stomp on the floor and bother my downstairs neighbor.

2) I'm getting my fat ass into shape.

3) Going to work post-workout gives me an energy boost to start the day.

And the downsides are:

1) Slipping on the hardwood floor while exercising. Ow.

2) I pass so much damn gas, people call me Mobil.

3) Going to bed post-workout keeps me up for a few extra hours.

So, since yesterday, I saw UFC 100 last night, and I can't complain about a single fight. I'll complain about Brock's behavior pre and post-match. Just not to his face. That man scares me.

Today I played some Civ IV. Stomped across the world as Caesar, and destroyed the flimsy opposition placed against me. After that, I did some cleaning, some laundry, and played Civ IV online with a friend for a little while, right up until he got swarmed by Barbarians and we ended up calling it. Afterwards, I did my work out, slipped and landed on my ass, and kept going through it.

Current feeling: Ow, my damn hip.

I'm going to schedule a physical tomorrow, and go pick up a scale as well. This will allow me to provide a better set of weekly updates. I hope.

Anyways, talk to you all later and take care!

Before I get to that, I need to go over the events since Monday night. I installed Windows 7 and it's decent so far. Really, I've got two minor complaints and it feels nowhere near as invasive as Vista. And it supports more than 3 GB of RAM, so it's got that going for it.

But, I finished the install around 3 AM. And arguably, that was more the fault of the burner than the install. Two hours to figure out what caused the issue (too many USB devices plugged in). Then a half hour to burn and a half hour to install.

By the time I woke up on Tuesday morning, I was already running late, so I skipped my workout with Maya (boo), and went to work. Came home on the lunch break to install some software, and continued on.

When I got home that night, I made some dinner, found what I wanted more than everything I've ever wanted in my whole life, and logged in to raid. We plowed through content pretty well, but I was having a few issues with my UI. It turns out that after I installed Win 7, it write protected every damn folder I have. (Issue number one)

So this morning, I went to workout with Maya, and I can't get the app to run in Win 7. Which, while irritating, isn't THAT bad since I can just switch over to my XP partition like I have now. I also found out that I can't do some basic stretches. Like leaning forward to grab your heels, then rolling on to your back, then rolling forward to put your legs back on the ground. I can't even roll backwards. It was kinda sad. But, in time, I will be able to.

So, the thing I've wanted more than anything else in my life... is the prize in this contest.

A trip on Virgin Galactic's Mothership Eve.

To.
Go.
Into.
Space.

Just typing it gives me goosebumps.

I have also looked up how much it will cost to buy a ticket.

200 Grand.

So, if I don't win the contest, I know what I'm saving up for.

With all the fan fic readers out there and the whedon-ites, why am *I* of all people the first to foist this pain upon your eyes?

http://www.darkhorse.com/Features/eComics/1087/Dark-Horse-Presents-No-24?part_num=1&page=3

So, more working out with Maya. I've decided to take the weights out of it, because two days on my deltoids were still sore from the exercise on Friday. As is, they still get plenty of work through all the jumping jacks, side steps, and various other cardio stuff she puts me through in the first ten minutes. I always thought I had decent shoulder muscles. I guess I just have broad shoulders. Oh well, live and learn and grimace in pain.

Other than that, I'm working on getting the Jucy Lucy down. I think I have the thickness figured out, I just need to get a cheese with a lower melting point. I've been using a gouda cheese, but I think I may go to something spreadable, like a brie. When I see how that works, I'll let you know.

Hmmm... other things... other things...

Oh! I downloaded Stepmania again. And once my bank account makes it through the summer of stress testing, I plan to make this my next purchase:

https://www.cobaltflux.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16133&cat=0&page=1&featured

That about wraps it up, I hope everyone had a fun and relatively safe holiday weekend. Have a good one!

I'll get to the spite in a minute, but first I want to talk about getting back into the exercise routine again. I worked out with Maya this morning, doing a 30 minute cardio routine. Ten minutes in, I wanted to stop after five more minutes. I hit my second wind and was feeling cocky ten minutes later. Two minutes after that: Deep squats. Followed by pilates shoulder presses and another pilates one that I don't remember the name of except my arms wouldn't move anymore halfway through the exercise. After which I finished off with some stretches. And when you're sweating so much that you're literally covered in a layer of sweat, and you're trying to do the stretch where you're holding one leg behind you with one hand. Well... I'm glad I didn't tip over, but I was certainly hopping around.

So, I made it through, and I finished off with a cold shower. 'cause damn. Workouts are hard.

Well, no one ended up taking me up on the weight loss bet, so I need to bet against the house. This is where the spite thing comes in. Checking a few resources on line, it seems that 1 - 3 pounds of weight loss a week is a healthy amount. Given that I'm currently sitting at 270 (Yes, still), I'm going to aim for 220 by January 1st of next year. So, I need to decide who I want to give the money to the least.

Is it:

a) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals?

b) The American Family Association?

c) Other

Now, these are groups that I find destructive and backwards. And If I was forced to pick one, it'd probably be the American Family Association. But I believe in making things a bir more interactive, if only to get some discussion going. And if you can think of a group that deserves it less, please post below. And no, I am not giving money to the KKK. It's not even a remote option.

So, even though my 360 is dead, I managed to find a PC version of Yourself! Fitness through completely legitimate means.

Alright I downloaded it, through less than legitimate means. But considering

a) I already OWN it.

b) It's not for retail sale.

I really don't see that there's anything I could do about it. This should keep my morning exercise varied enough so that I can add switch up my evening focus. The reason for this is...

I've had muscle and joint pain stop my past two routines. Yes Charlie, you were right, and I'll admit it. I'm giving my evenings a few days of rest to help recuperate, and then I'll alternate between three targeting exercises in the evening as opposed to two.

So, instead of my normal daily workout, I did thirty minutes of exercise with Maya. Though, due to the fact that I have people living below me, I'm not sure just how much of it I can do. If I see it's an exercise that will have me stomping on the floor a lot, I can skip it, and move on.

Other than that, I was reading a list of horrible pickup lines from twitter this morning, so my brain went on a tangent and decided to make a math pickup line.

I'll be the negative e to the power of your Pi i, and together we'll form one.

I REALLY thought about a joke referencing the graph of y = tan x, but I decided against it. The one above is a lot classier. :- b

And I'm fine with that, since he's on our defensive line.



And is it just me, or can anyone else see Jared Allen going all Rambo: First Blood on folks?