redirect focus for higher productivity

Today's result is a late rising, and this may be due to the nights prior not being full of rest. Last night wasn't full of rest either due to having to break up two raccoons that were brawling and screaming in my backyard at 1. When one of them took off as I approached, the other charged me, forcing me to run back to the patio in my bathrobe fearing a rabid bite.
The rest of the night after calming down was full of vivid dreams and mostly restful sleep, but I certainly did not bounce out of bed.

This may have been because I decided not to suck down an entire french press of coffee and therefore had not the drug of choice to pull me out of bed.  Upon reaching the kitchen however, THAT addiction got the best of me and I decided upon brewing just one cup, which i am enjoying at the moment.


We jogged yesterday morning, and did a small workout at the studio on the boxes and bars and bags.  We also did some walking with the dog, and tried to stay moderately active.  Real results will come with more activity, but there is one other thing I need to put more attention towards:  Stress.  Perhaps even larger than alcohol, and most certainly a root of it, my stress levels have always been high, which results in an increased production of Cortisol, the stress hormone, and it likes to deposit fat around the midsection primarily.   Reducing Cortisol production is a large step towards my goals, as well as increasing Testosterone levels, which are said to begin decreasing at my age.

The reduction of coffee and alcohol are huge steps toward hormonal balancing.  With coffee a major stress-or,  and alcohol a testosterone killer, they both act counter-productively and increase the slope of the climb.

quick update

Having my old work space under the garage of my home has made it easy to take my time getting everything over to the new studio, and while taking the final truck load over yesterday, I ran into my friend Charlotte.

She has put on some weight since the last time, so I was taken back upon realizing she was right beside where i put my hand under the bench we were moving.  Not particularly poisonous, this Wood Spider is too far North for its typical habitat, and I might have to take her in for the winter if she sticks around, which I hope she will.  We have several months before I will need to think about that.  

For dinner last night I roasted some cabbage, carrots, and as a cheat some potatoes, because I thought the extra carbs would come in handy for the big day of work I have planned.  On the side I served avocado and kimchi, with the protein being some farm fresh hot Italian brats that for my now more sensitive palette were over seasoned. They might have worked in a starchy white flour bun, with sweet ketchup and mustard, but not alone.  Tonight I am considering the local tenderloins we picked up. We got our charcoal grill back, which I prefer to our stone and gas grills, so I might wrap the medallions with some bacon and do up a fat log of veggie medley to toss on with them.  Maybe if I am feeling extra ambitious I will mix up some fresh pico de guyo sans corn chips, or better yet, some guacamole.  

plyometrics and pyrotechnics

 Aynsley had a positive job interview an hour north in the Twin cities, so it is possible the work I have been doing to make the studio down here functional and clean could amount to a great yet expensive storage unit for the next nine months until the lease runs out. Considering I would like to live up there, rather than this less than optimal town if given a choice of the two, this will not be a big issue. It will serve well as a transfer station allowing us out of the house obligations while not committing fully to the new location should it work out.

The plyometric boxes have finally been completed.  Due to the weather being wet, and the application of two coats primer, two coats paint, and four coats polyurethane, this took longer than expected, but the results are favorable to keeping them un-sanded and unprotected.

These boxes will be the foundation of body weight excersize routines.  They can be stepped or jumped up on, pushed off from, and raised in all sorts of ways to focus different muscle groups.  A video would perhaps show the use of these better.  One day... we will graduate up to vlogdom.

just a few feet above this blaze were the
power and phone lines servicing my
building which is behind me.

For now, here is the first real burn of garbage scrap consisting largely of some of the poorly constructed benches that existed in the studio before my occupation of it.  What I failed to observe before allowing it to escalate to the height you see in the photo, was the power lines fifteen feet above the barrel.  As the hot air caused them to sway to and fro, I knew the barrel was too hot to safely move, and I kept the stereo and lights on so I would know if it got too hot for the wires above and melted them by the blackout.  A foolish mistake, for it would have been expensive and on me to have an electrician come out and install an new trunk to my building. Thankfully there was no issue.

As a survivalist, I enjoy and employ any tool that
functions with multiple purposes in life.

Failing

Today I am going to discuss failing again.  It is a suitable topic considering what transpired yesterday.

Now I love to get up with the sun and the birds in the late spring, summer, even into autumn, but I do not like to do it with a dry mouth, headache, and general sense of disease.  For the second day in a row this is the case however. It is going to take more than I have been willing to sacrifice to end this dependency. There has been enough talk.

I did get a few things done; there is now a dog run from end to end in the facility, which allows Aegis to cover the entire floor without much chance of getting a rope wrapped around one of the posts or table.  The plyro boxes will be ready for the final touch after applying four coats of polyurethane, which is application of the grip tape on top.  Those strips have been measured and cut already.

Other than those two minor things, yesterday was a bust. Even dinner sucked, in my opinion.   I put the brisket and mixed vegetables in the crock pot at around noon, and come seven they were barely started.  The pot was set on Auto shift, which usually makes a  decent roast in that time.  Pulling it out of that and placing it into a stock pot to finish it off, I had about an hour before Aynsley was expected home.

 We must face our demons, and make conscientiousness decisions that promote success in our endeavors.

Trying on funky items at the toy store.

An enjoyable Memorial Day

Today I open up with an apology for the poor quality of pictures so far in this blog. Turns out, I have been shooting in the smallest size with my phone.  Instead of posting low pixel images today, I have retained their small size, and from this point forward, there will be large, clear images displayed.

Fresh squeezed fruits and organic
vodka.

Lets start with drinking, there was too much of it last night.  To recap, we had: A primer minibar Jim Beam, some Organic Vodka and fresh juiced pineapple, mango and orange juice, and a bum beer later in the evening while in the studio.  I had the majority of the vodka, but Aynsley had a couple, and I offered one to our room mate.

This was pretty average for the days of the past, before starting the program, but it had been a month since the last time and assuming my metabolism is different now, it got me good.  Next thing I knew, I was making embarrassing remarks on Facebook.  That happens to be one of my main reasons for cutting back.

Today I feel groggy, but not so much hungover.  While considering this earlier today, at around 4:30, I decided to say "so what?" So I miss a day of productivity. It is true every day must count while achieving goals, but I also could use a rest day considering I am active every other day in my life. Today will likely be active as well, just not five a.m. active. At that hour, the sky is just beginning to get a hint of blue towards the east, and only the most diligent birds are shouting out their merit. I went back to sleep.

Just one of the beautifully carved
figures in the carousel.

We went to Lark Toys, and it had what seemed to be only the cleverest, higher quality toys in it, as well as a full sized custom carved Merry-Go-Round.  Our original intent was to meet up with some friends but something came up for them, so we returned home and I began stuffing a roast of bison with local Gouda and kielbasa.

One third of this meal was a failure.

Supposedly this turned out well, but I do not remember eating it. No photos either of it, which is a fault. Instead of that, I will go with a shot of the BBQ meal from the night before, which didn't have much of a place in yesterdays update. This was local garlic brats, with spring onions and bacon woven through them, all skewered  together.  Also on the grill was some halved Fennel, which was a bomb. It was mostly inedible, and what was soft enough to eat was terrible.  You take the good with the bad.  On the side was a bok choy slaw, thrown together with pickles, raisins, carrots, and some other bizarre ingredients that actually came together rather well.  Aynsley liked it, and that says a lot.

In studio news: It took almost 24 hours for the first coat of poly to be dry enough for a light sanding and second coat, which I applied to the plyrometric boxes last night.  I will examine my work today  to find as many faults as possible I can contribute to having been drinking.  It is assumed it will be ready for the third coat today, which will be a satin finish, as opposed to the glossy I have been applying as base coats.

There is a reason for this; the flatter the poly blend, the less strength it has as a protective sealant.  This is due to the flattening additive slightly diluting the mixture, they actually add flatness with an extra ingredient which is the only difference in the blends.  I want the surface to be flat, so the top coat will be satin.

Well, that was quick

Yesterday I spoke of the "plan". A program with strict guidelines regarding excersize and dietary requirements in order to follow it. I even made a spreadsheet, it took all of about a half hour to make it. It took one statement from a friend to break it.




My friend Marcus, former triathlete competitor, stopped by the studio yesterday and after I told him about the plan, he said something along the lines of this: A warrior does not have plan, and being a warrior requires adaptability. Therefore, training like a warrior, to be a warrior, one should not use a set curriculum, and just do what feels right.




A warrior does not look at the reasons, and does not attempt to change them. A warrior looks at the reality, and then deals with it inside his or her circle of influence. They know they are doing what it takes so if the fight ever came to them, they would swiftly deal with it and that would be that. A warrior allows the tragedy knowing it is human nature, and abiding by that, they know nature is survival of the fittest, no matter what contraptions are invented and pushed upon the complacent society. By minimizing the amount of influence from those in search of upgrading their power with money, legislation, or force, one maintains the ability to fight.

Tomorrow starts the plan

The "plan" is just a spreadsheet I made to keep me in line with goals and focused.  As an amateur blogger, I have no idea how to upload an excel file to this, but here is the lowdown: It covers a two week interval, because an even number of days allows the routine to repeat in a projected manner, I will eventually know what I am doing in advance without having to check the chart.

Labeled as 1st Monday, 1st Tuesday, etc, and then 2nd Monday, 2nd Tuesday, etc., it follows a repeating two week time frame where some days diet and excersize are focused on cardio, other days strength training, and there is one day, specifically the 1st Thursday, where I have endurance activities scheduled. That would be a long bike ride or hike.  Once every two weeks should be enough of that, with 10-20 mile rides or 5 mile jogs on the other cardio days in the plan.

There was so much dust in the air it looks
like I am standing in fog. Not sure what
the pose is about, I was feeling like a badass.

The meals are calculated to provide carbs when needed for heavy lifting, protein rich meals for building, fasting and light meals when less active or fat burning, I am hoping I have it right.