Spanish II Project, Part II

To conclude the project, I write this entry.

Since the last time I wrote I've had occasion to spend some more time with Dunkan and at his shop. While there, I also got to know some of the friends and family that help out around his store. In one visit that sticks out in particular, I learned the Cuban way to play dominoes with Frankie. Frankie makes the most fantastic Cuban coffee I have ever tasted. And on top of that, I got to a little more practice in with some basic Spanish, numbers mostly, but it was fun.

I am further impressed by Dunkan's devotion to his family, be they close, extended, or unofficial. His cousin introduced him to Salisbury and has been helping him remodel his new storefront. He dreams of being successful enough to move his mother up this way and provide a large enough house for her, himself, and all his family. He has spent time helping tutor Latin-Americans in English, helping them acclimate to the culture here in the States and here in Salisbury.

All told, I think Dunkan is living the classic American dream. Being successful, experiencing and embracing new cultures while maintaining a love and devotion to your roots and your family. He is a gregarious host and optimistic businessman. He blends the charm and hospitality of his roots with the drive and ambition of American entrepreneurial spirit. So much so that it's been difficult to catch him for more interviews! He's been very busy preparing his new location, which opens on the 25th.

It's been fun getting to know Dunkan and I look forward to hanging out with him again soon at the new store.

The Echevarria Interviews (Part 1)

So there's this project in my Elementary Spanish II class. We're supposed to visit and interview a native Spanish speaker. We're supposed to talk to them about many a wide variety of topics. I'm pretty sure I picked a good choice. This is just the first entry, but it should be a substantial one.

Dunkan Echavarria owns and runs a cigar bar in downtown Salisbury called Havana Knights. This is where I first met him. I enjoy the occasional cigar, and I was excited to see a place open up locally that sold them. As soon as I walked into the door, I was met and welcomed. The place is overflowing with enthusiasm and hospitality. But I'm not here to review the store.

Dunkan's parents came to America in the late 1960's as part of the Freedom Flights. He was born in Miami in 1971 and was raised in Little Havana. Most of his life was spent in Miami and for many years he owned an interior design company specializing is top to bottom refinishing of houses to be resold in a short period of time. As the coming collapse of the housing market reared its ugly head, he started looking for a new line of work. He had family in this area and came to visit a cousin over New Year's in 2008/2009. He felt that Salisbury had a lot of potential and saw an opportunity to take advantage of the central location in the state. He opened up Havana Knights in 2009. In talking with him, he never fails to mention his family. He is enthusiastic about hard work and hospitality. He interacts with his customers, befriends them. He has very successfully created an atmosphere where people from all walks of live can come in, enjoy a smoke and talk. In the times I've come in I've gotten to know some of his regulars: an attorney, a college professor or two, a bartender, a housewife, students. Much has been made of Hispanic hospitality (there's that word again) and if there was anything in my experience that has proved it, Dunkan's shop is it. And it must be working, since he is planning to move to a much larger location and foresees the opportunity to open up more locations in the near future.

I've tried to speak a little Spanish with him from time to time, but my aural skills aren't fully up to speed. But he's a pretty understanding guy. He recommends lifestyle magazines to anyone trying to learn a foreign language. He highlighted the relatively simple language and the inclusion of slang and turns of phrase as key reasons to use them to help fully comprehend a language. Made sense to me.

This is just a brief summation of several hours of conversation. I'll have plenty more to talk about next time.

Resolute

It's that time of year again. When the vast most of us make a list of things to do we'll keep up with for a month or two then abandon. It is my hope to maintain or achieve most of these resolutions. As such, I ask all of my friends to help me, and I will help as I can.

Health and Fitness.
Drop to 225 or lose the belly fat, whichever comes first.
Continue to eat more salads, fruits, and vegetables.
Improve my cardiovascular fitness and see about entering the Bear.

Style and Appearance.
Get a three piece suit.
Get a good hat.
Get a vest or three I can wear with anything.
Grow my hair out long enough to pull back.
Attempt a respectable beard.
Get a safety razor and kit, if not a straight razor.

Work, School, Play.
Get my driving situation fixed.
Maintain a 3.5 GPA or better.
Transfer to UNCG.
Move back to Greensboro, in a dorm if need be.
Get a good TV and an Xbox360.
Find work on campus, if possible.
Write more letters.
Draw more sketches.
Sing every day.
Live, love, dare.
Help others improve as I improve.

Not a bad list, I think. Some I can work and check off, the others are lifelong ideas. I want to be able to look back at this post in May and check a lot of those off. I want to look back in December and say that I did all those twice over and more.

dare! dare to keep all your dreams alive

2010

So already this year has beaten last year in per capita awesome. But my net awesome for last year was way, way low. Gross Awesome was actually looking really damn strong in the first half of the year, but, well, not so much in the 3rd and 4th quarters 2009.

2009 in Review (abridged):
Had a decent job, then lost it.
Joined the choir at St. James Lutheran.
One good Carnevale (and really good night before).
Several good trips to Boone.
Butt-ass ugly breakup taking most of the year to die. Not a little bit my own fault.
One suck-ass birthday.
Joined the congregation of St. Jame Lutheran (I'm awesome and backwards like that).
One suck-ass Carnevale.
One middling CRF season.
I made Dean's List! Shy of President's List (4.0) by one class (3 A's, 1 B).
One interesting lesson in quiet victory at an AKA gig.
Got voted on to St. James' Congregation Council.
One awesome Christmas.

2010 so far:
No bonfire.
Fireworks!
Firefly and Serenity!
Adventure! the roleplaying game!

All in the space of two days, even! And there's much more potential for awesome. But these things I dare not speak of too much. Not yet. But my semester upcoming is looking good. I have the last two classes I need to retake scheduled and ready. When I transfer in the fall, I will be doing so with what should be a really good GPA. I'm excited! And I get to attend my first meeting as an active member of the Congregation Council next Sunday. 2010 is looking good for me. Really good.

So f*#$ you, 2009.

i want to exorcise the demons of your past

Links re: Twilight via Ebo

For those who love or hate Twilight, allow me to light the flames of intarweebs combat with these two links!

http://kar3ning.livejournal.com/545639.html

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2009/11/twilight-lessons-girls-learn/

Read! And may the light of true knowledge save you from fangirls!

the psychotic bastard religion

God has a sense of humor. (No. Really.)

So it's no secret that I have not been handling the last six months or so very well. It came to a peak recently and I've had a chance to look at the mess I've made around myself and I've come to the conclusion that I am well and truly tired of all this bullshit. I don't know how well I'll be able to maintain this attitude (I've tried it before, but couldn't hang on to it) but I, despite anyone's evidence to the contrary, have some insane willpower. When I choose to use it. So let's use it.

There's a lot of old letters and pictures I'm going to have to do something with. I don't know what, yet. I'm sentimental. Sometimes too sentimental, but there it is. And of course, I come to these conclusions to do something and the weather turns wet, cold, dreary. See? God does have a sense of humor. And also a sense of irony and cliche. At least, He does with me. Because I have a similar dry, biting sense of humor, irony, and cliche. Har har, tee hee. I'd be mad if I didn't appreciate the sentiment. I don't want to do anything at all with the letters and the pictures, but I can't operate under the illusion that what I want is going to ever happen. At least not until I want something else. Then that something else might have a chance, but what was will never be again, no matter how much I want it. I've stalled and procrastinated, because it's going to suck dealing with it. I know it and so I've tried to avoid it. I can't.

I can't be her friend. I can't ever be her friend. I tried. I hoped that maybe I would be ok with just being a friend for a little while, maybe somehow show her we could work out again, the newer versions of each of us coming from better places. But that's delusion. It's hope blinding me, and false hope at that. I don't need that false hope, but anytime she says anything to me, no matter how loud my rational brain says it means nothing, my heart leaps from my chest into my throat and screams out it's hope to drown out any other noise or sound. So I can't be her friend. I can't be her anything. Two more weekends of faire to get through and then she doesn't have to see me or communicate with me. I don't have to see her or communicate with her. I promised I'd never give up. And I can't keep that promise. God help me, but I hope it's the last one I have to break.

So I quit. I give up. I surrender. I'm done.

For now, I go to class, I workout, I keep my grades up. I sing when I can. The rest of the time? I close my ears to the world, turn on some music, crank the volume up insanely high and drown out the cries of my heart with something else.

Turn it to 11.

Power levels to maximum.

I will raise my voice to the Lord. I will sing the New Song.

they will not force us/they will stop degrading us/they will not control us/we will be victorious
(come on)

I Can't Think of a Title: The Blog Entry

See? That was almost clever. I thought I'd pop in and update. I'd been meaning to. Still exercising. But the shin splints kept appearing on the right leg. So I've switched over the elliptical for the time being. It works the muscles and doesn't have any of the impact. Huzzah! I think I'm narrowed the problem down to a combination of worn out shoes and needing more strength in the legs. Not more size, though. Jesus knows my legs are big enough. I need to get my upper body a little more filled out first. Which I've been doing! The last couple of weeks I've tried to add in some upper body workout on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. No real visible progress, but it's the working out that's the important part. No real weight loss, so I'm still around 250. But I haven't been eating as healthy as I'd like and I haven't been working out as much or as hard as I should. A symptom of the 3-5 miles a day I walk at faire, I guess.

I'm fighting complacency and boredom in my classes again. I just took a Spanish test I think I might get a B on. At best. This bothers me. I'm better than this. Just easily distracted and easily made bored. Darn ADD and lack of challenge. The only real challenge I've had this semester was the 7-10 page research paper, but that's already in. I think I did a pretty good job, but time will tell.

Only three more weekends of faire. And this is the first time I can remember being more than a little ready for the season to be over. But it's more social pressures and the like than anything else. But this weekend, at least, shouldn't be problematic. It's Celtic Jam weekend! One more weekend of kiltage, and then it's the pants. Maria fixed my Significantly Snug Pants! Though they are not as significantly snug as they once were. That is the price I pay, I suppose, for trimming down like I have. Oh well.

fiat amor et pereat mundus

Progress. Of a sort.

So I must be doing something right in the exercising. I haven't had any issues with the muscles of either leg of late. But now it's the shin splints. So now I've got to work on other things like stride, muscle strengthening, etc. And I probably need new shoes. My current shoes cause my feet to roll too much to the outside of my foot. It twists the leg and probably contributes to the shin splints. So I've had to switch off the Couch-to-5K program and back to machines. But the elliptical, I think is going to be my new machine. Managed to keep something close to my best mile pace of about 12:30 with no stress on my bum leg. I can be ok with that for now.

I've made to down to about 250 now. From a starting point of 270-274 in the first week in September. Not too bad, but I'd like a little more progress. 250 is my big hurdle. But! I went from barely being able to fit into my kilt to it being too big. I have to strap the buckles down as far as they will go or the kilt will slip down. Crazy! But my Significantly Snug Pants should be refitted and ready to go by this next weekend. I'm excited!

School is still going well enough. I've got most of my classes down for next semester. I just need to get someone to say I can retake the physics class I took a few years ago. I took it before, so I should be able to retake it. Yay bureaucracy.

upon us all a little rain must fall

October, So Far.

So it's been awhile since my last post. I've been busy and, frankly, not in much a mood to spill forth my rantings online. At least, not published or public. I have no idea how my weight loss is going. It's likely slow, but I haven't weighed myself in almost two weeks. Last weigh in was at 256. Not bad, really. I'll probably break down and weigh in again on Monday. But I'm just going to try and go over the last couple of weeks.

Couch-to-5K: An excellent program. Unfortunately halfway through week 2 I decided I wanted to catch a fever. So the running program and workouts have been on hold. Not great for the metabolism, but I've been eating waaaay healthier lately. And in smaller portions. I still eat when sick, but I was just too tired and sore and fevered to be physically capable of the actions of consuming food for long.

Fever, Part 1 and 2: Last Tuesday late I started to feel flushed and achy. By bedtime I was full-on flu-like symptoms. Bed rest all day Wednesday (Missed a Spanish quiz! Argh!) and most of Thursday. I try to pick up a run Thursday after feeling much better. Class and Phil's on Friday, opening (sweltering, miserable) day on Saturday. Sunday morning, I wake up with another fever. This one accompanied by MORE ache and a scratchy breathing coughing thing. But I was feeling better by bedtime and another day of bedrest Monday and I am feeling right as rain today.

Ren-Faire, Student Days: So far, it's not really all that different from any other year, at least logistically. I hate not having Kyle around, but he's at AIT. He's excused. They also finally saddled the Guard with a radio. Fie! I'll let Chris have it as much as I can, but this weekend I'll have no choice. Fie, I say! I get to do Student Days this year. Which is kinda fun, really, but I'd rather have been able to find a job to go to instead. Oh well. Tomorrow promises to be nice and cold! I'm excited!

Other: There are at least a handful of things this year that are not like last year. Namely that Hannah and I are not together. It's...still hard. Everyone says I'm doing a good job of it, though, so I must be doing something right. I feel transparent, but I guess I'm not. Today at the first Student Day I actually managed to have actual conversations that seemed to lack awkwardness. Hannah, John, KC, and I all hung out afterwards for a late lunch/early dinner. I rode with Hannah. Seemingly, nothing terrible happened. I'm not entirely sure how. The real me was inside my head yelling a thousand things I want to say, but I plodded along with another conversation. I see her looking spiffy and gorgeous as she always does in garb and I want to reach out and wrap my arms around her. I'm not sure exactly how it is that I don't. It's like some autopilot setting I'm unaware of. I'm trying very, very hard to "man up" and "get over it" and "put on the big girl panties" or what the fuck ever. I guess I am doing those things, but I don't know what it is that I'm doing or how I'm doing it. Seeing her and hearing her and not being with her still hurts just as much as it has since May. I guess I can just hide it better now. I don't know as that's a good thing. It's just not the same, playing Capt. Grey this year. I really enjoyed playing at the life long soldier-romantic wooing the Lady Gabrielle, Comtesse du Normandy. I really want to again. I still miss her very much. I miss my friend. I miss my confidant. I miss my partner. I miss my lover-soon-wife.

But I go on. Each day I get up. If I don't make it out of bed, it's not because of depression, though the temptation is strong every morning to just stay in bed. I don't do as good a job of not complaining as I like. But at the same time I know burying the emotions would only make it worse. I'm not trying to make a spectacle of my suffering for sympathy. At the same time, I'm not ashamed of it, I'm not making any special effort to hide. I hurt. I don't want to thrust it in your face, and forgive me if I do. But if you ask me how I am, I will answer honestly. I stay up far too late at night. I avoid getting into my bed, because I remember what it felt like to go to sleep with her curled up against my back and I remember what it felt like to wake up curled around her. Eventually I have to sleep. And I do. I take care of myself. I bathe. I eat, and as healthy as I can. I take my multivitamin, I drink my V8. I still plan to keep working out. I go to class. I do my homework, I study. I'm actually in deep on a research paper for my Western Civilisation class. I'm not...necessarily sure why but I keep doing them. Somewhere, academically, I know these things are good for me, but I don't feel it. I'm going through the motions because I feel like I should, not because I really want to. Maybe someday I'll remember the reason why or find a new one. For now I just find that I keep getting up every day. I keep doing what I'm "supposed" to do. Sometimes I hear the alarm and think "God, I just want to stay here." and by the time I've finished that thought I'm already halfway done with my shower.

I'm definitely not as happy as I'd like to be. I'm more poetic, maybe. I've written more poetry, real poems not the silly haiku I cobble together, than I have in years. But that's just an outlet for the hurt. I'd much rather not have the inspiration. It is what it is. I strive for Stoicism. I try to not be controlled by my anguishes. I don't succeed nearly enough. But I keep on. I have said many times, some times tear-streaked and cracked of voice, that I would much rather spend a lifetime trying and failing and trying and failing and trying than to ever just give up. I've done a lot of really dumb things in the last 5 months or so. Mostly because of the hurt. I hurt and I get angry because of the pain. I act out of anger and lash out, either to harm whatever is closest or to reach out for some kind of relief. This is never a good thing or a smart thing to do. It is what I have done, nonetheless. I have no idea how to handle the kind of situation I'm in. Some part of me seems to, but it's not being very communicative. It's just doing. Often letting me sit near-catatonic in the passenger seat.

I'm venting. I promise I'm not going to stop living any time soon, so long as I have a say in the matter. I am enjoying Ren-Faire. I do enjoy (usually) my classes. I even enjoy working out. Even running, to some extent or another. But these are little joys, shallow. They are just barely enough for now, but I guess that's all I can get in the for now. I would rather be sharing these little joys and magnify them thusly into great joys. I would much rather be sharing these little joys with Hannah, bringing them into even higher greatness. I still hold out hope that it's possible. Someday. Maybe even soon. I can't help but to do so. I still love her. I can't walk away from that kind of love without exhausting all available options. For so many people it is sex first, then, if things line up, maybe a relationship. I find this backwards to the point of baffling. I can't fathom how it could possibly work. I see that it "works" for so very many people, many people I know and am close to. But the logistics...they make no sense. I seek the relationship first. Then, if everything lines up, then sex might happen. I can't wrap my head around the idea of exposing myself, of letting myself be so vulnerable (literally, emotionally, and spiritually) without having an absolute trust in the person I'm with. I trust readily, yes, but not at a first glance. It takes conversation. It takes a lot of deep probing of someone. It takes key moments.

Key moments like walking up to a girl you've spent the last week talking with for as much as 8 hours at a time and catching her off guard as she gets out of her car and kissing her. Moments that catch a girl off guard, leaving her vulnerable and open. Moments like that when I, too, and completely open and vulnerable and I feel her, who she really is, as she returns the kiss and wraps her arms around me as I wrap my arms around her. That's where the absolute trust comes from. It takes risk. I was tired of waiting. I was tired of chickening out of expressing what I wanted. I played against type. I made a bold move. At least at the time, fortune actually favored my boldness. It remains one of the greatest days and weekends I have ever lived.

Ok. I'm done ranting for now. You're all caught up on my schedule and emo-ness. Yay. It's 11PM. I have to be up at 6AM for a cold, rainy, middle-schooler-filled Student Day.

but it's just the price i pay, destiny is calling me

Day 30. End of the First Month.

Well, here it is. One month of exercising at least five days a week has come to a close. I've gone from 270 to 256. A loss of 14 lbs. Not too shabby, especially considering I haven't altered my diet all that much. But I am, at the very least, conscious of what I'm eating. I might not always make the healthiest decision, but it's not one I make off the cuff. Usually it's just a matter of what is on hand, especially on Mondays and Wednesdays, since these are my crazy busiest days. From now on I'll be checking my progress weekly on Mondays and posting here. I don't think I'll be posting my daily eating habits, either. I did it mostly to make me aware of how good or bad I was eating. I'll still try to post daily, though. Either progress on the running program or with weightlifting or something like that.

So today was the second of three days this week with the Couch to 5K program. The first week consists of running for 60 seconds, walking for 90 seconds. Cardiovascularly, I was much better off. I wasn't near as winded as I was Monday. But the real kicker is the shin splints. Ow. My left leg cramped up a bit, as is its wont. I think I might not have stretched enough, as I didn't have this problem Monday. Who knows? I'll just stretch better and see how it goes. But I take it as a good sign that my heart and lungs did better with this run.

Breakfast: Bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. Cheerwine.
Lunch: VitaminWater Power-C.
Dinner: Darrell's foot-long hot dog with chili, slaw, ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard. Tater tots. Cheerwine.

harder, better, faster, stronger

Day 29. 256lbs.

"Light" day today, hour on the recumbent. But I'm ramping the speed up more.

Weigh in: 256lbs! Rock!

Breakfast: Huge salad, two pieces of pizza. Milk.
Lunch: Big salad. Water.
Dinner: 2oz. of steak, one slice pizza, chicken salad sandwich, pasta salad. Sweet tea.

pour toi, ma coeur

Day 28. Ow.

So I started Couch-to-5K today. Ow. You think your cardiovascular fitness is improving, running as long as you have on the exercise bike. But you'd be wrong. Dead, dead wrong. I am, at least, not as dead as I would have been if I had not been working out the last four weeks. Got some minor shin splints, but that's ok. It's not terrible, but jeebus that wasn't easy.

Breakfast: Vending machine mini-donuts (actually healthier and cheaper than the canteen). Vitamin Water.
Lunch: Slice of thin-crust cheese pizza. Diet Sweet Green Tea.
Dinner: Slice of thin-crust cheese and cheeseburger pizza, one each. Water.

work it harder, make it better, do it faster, makes us stronger

Day 27

Man, what a gorgeous day! I can't think of many ways to improve upon it. But...for here, for now, it was a very nice day. And I ate much healthier today, too. I'm very much psyched about starting the running tomorrow. I'm trying to get John to join in. The more people I can push, the easier it is to push myself.

Brunch: Broccoli and asian veggies with garlic sauce and white rice. Sweet tea and hot green tea.
Dinner: Steak with salad, steamed broccoli, 12-grain wheat bread, and kebabs(green pepper, orange pepper, cucumber, onion, squash, with olive oil, no salt seasoning, a little red wine vinegar and Italian spices[guess who made those! ^_^]). Water.

harder, better, faster, stronger

Days 25 and 26.

I've actually had an enjoyable couple of days and wasn't near WiFi for some of it, hence my lack of update yesterday. But I can lump it in today.

Friday: Another hour on the bike, time flying when reading! I'm going to miss that when I switch to the running program next week. Oh well, I'll have Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Breakfast/Lunch: Chicken biscuit. VitaminWater.
Dinner: Hibachi steak and chicken with veggie stirfry. Cheerwine.


Saturday: No YMCA activity. I took a day to just rest and enjoy the cool rainy day reading. Not a real healthy eating day, though. But no soft drinks.

Brunch: Thin crust beef or cheese pizza slices. Sweet tea.
Dinner: Same.


Tomorrow I think my eating will be a little better, one way or another. I think I'm looking a little thinner, but I look at myself in the mirror each day. The progress will, naturally, be somewhat imperceptible to me. But, I was able to get into a pair of 35" waist shorts Friday. It wasn't any more uncomfortable than they had been earlier this spring, but I couldn't fit into them over the summer at all, so I guess it's steps in the right direction. Overall I'm disappointed (more in myself than anything) in my progress, but that has a lot more to do with impatience and being tired of the extra weight. I know there are no lasting quick fixes, but I'm tired of carrying it. When I exercise, I feel like I'm strapped into this "fat vest" and I just want to take it off and be done with it. I'm not giving up, I'm not feeling super discouraged. I need to remind myself each day to keep an eye on what I eat. I might use some of my refund money to get some protein bars to keep on hand. Rather than resorting to going hungry or fried breakfast, have something healthy(ish) on hand. Money doesn't solve everything, but it does open up more options.

So the new plan is to run according to the Couch to 5K schedule on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The program calls for 20-30 minutes. After that I might swim or hit the bike. On Tuesday and Thursday I'll likely be on the bike, maybe hit the weights, since I have more time to spare on those days. And this is my last free weekend for a while. 8-10 hours walking on my feet all day should count as exercise. At least, I'm going to count it.

harder, better, faster, stronger

Day 24.

Time passes by so much better when reading. Leave it to me to nerd up working out with books.

Breakfast: Burrito with beef, beans, salsa, lettuce, fat free sour cream, cheese. Water.
Lunch: Chick-fil-A sandwich on wheat with lettuce, tomato, provolone and waffle fries. Cherry Coke.
Dinner: Baked spaghetti with peppers, onions. Water.

harder, better, faster, stronger

Day 23.

Another hour on the recumbent, but I brought along a book (Terry Pratchett's Men at Arms) and that made the time pass much faster. Which is fantastic, as an hour on any kind of exercise gets old after a while.

Breakfast: Caesar salad. Water.
Lunch: Mashed potatos and gravy, green beans. Water.
Dinner: Footlong hotdog and tater tots. Cheerwine.

harder, better, faster, stronger

Day 22, Week 4. 258

Weight loss is slowing a bit, but that's ok. I ate horribly last week, too. Still pushing the bike as much as I can. Going to start the Couch-to-5K thing next week.

Weigh in: 258.

Breakfast/Lunch: Spaghetti, sauce with sliced peppers in it. Milk.
Dinner: Caesar Salad. Pasta Primavera with broccoli, carrots, green and orange peppers, yellow squash, zucchini. Milk.

pour toi, ma coeur

Day 21, End Week 3.

Today was a little better. At least, it certainly was by comparison. I might have to start a running program a week earlier than I was thinking, though. I wasn't nearly as tired today at the end of my routine as I was Friday. And I was working with more resistance. Bike's not maxed out, though. Yet.

Breakfast: bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. VitaminWater.
Lunch: Two hotdogs. Water.
Snack: Apple.
Dinner: Pork tenderloin with potatoes, corn, green beans. Water.

work it harder, make it better, move it faster, makes us stronger

Day 20,

Yeah. Not healthy at all. Can't even pretend it was healthy. Heh. However, I didn't eat all that much. And I gave blood. Calories be damned, I was bleedin' fer Jesus!

Breakfast/lunch: Hardee's Monster Thickburger Combo w/ curly fries. Half Cherry Coke, Half Diet Dr. Pepper.
"Dinner": Small piece of carrot cake. Fruit punch. Later, two glasses of V-Fusion.

harder, better, faster, stronger

Day 19, almost on time.

Slow starting day, but got busy later in the day. If I would have known my day would have been so slow, I would have hit the Y. I did do a lot of standing and walking at Chase's game, at least. And While I might not have eaten super healthy, the portions were a lot better than yesterday.

Breakfast: Sheetz chicken caesar salad wrap. Cheerwine.
Lunch: Hamburger patty, small baked potato. Water.
Dinner: The equivalent of a slice and a half of Papa John's deep dish pepperoni pizza. Water.

harder, better, faster, stronger