Getting Old Fast

No, not me - carrying a work pager. Actually, it's work in general. About 4 months ago I got thrown into the on call pool supporting the outage management applications. There's a lot to know to handle this (Oracle, Smallworld, web, MQ Series, VB, etc.) and honestly, of the 6 of us on call no one knows it all. Which makes things interesting. Carrying the pager is a dreaded chore that each of us has to endure for a week once every 6 weeks. I'm currently on call now, and I've dealt with 6 callouts in the past 24 hours, which makes me one grumpy camper. In addition I'm in the middle of coordinating a project that requires all updates be done off hours. I worked a weekend two weeks ago, and I'm scheduled to work both this weekend and next weekend. I'm just drained at this point, with no end in sight. I really don't have much of a leg to stand on when it comes to work, they pay me well and generally appreciate me. But man, my ass is dragging at this point, my mood is sour, and if someone doesn't give me something delicious to eat I'm going to snap.

Have I mentioned I'm hungry?

As if on cue, the goddamn pager just went of again. Kill me.

And This Time I Mean It

After last months traumatic visit to my evil endocrinologist (not blogged, too graphic) at which I was told I'm going to die a horrible and painful death, that losing weight is a piece of cake, and that I'm a disgrace to my wife and children, I decided two things:

1. Find a new doctor
2. Jump start Operation: Get Healthy or Die Trying.

Now, this is about the 112th time I've tried to restart this thing in the past 12 years, but I'm hopeful that this time is different. In the past I would cut back for a day, maybe even a week, and tie it all in with a token visit to the gym.

This time, I've made some significant changes. I've been eating breakfast at home, skipping the cafeteria, Dunkin Donuts, and Mcdonalds. I've also been sporting a reasonable, light lunch (courtesy my wife). I've been eating smaller meals more frequently, which has helped me to avoid episodes of overwhelming hunger. Most importantly, I've been hitting the gym three (trying to four) times a week for serious exercise. Honestly, this is the best I've done at sticking with a program for at least 8 years, if not longer.

I'm seeing the benefits, too. Specifically:

• much improved blood glucose control (in the 100 range both morning and evening)
• reduced weight. A recent doctors visit showed 5.5 lb reduction in a month. The home scale registers 284.1 lbs (yes, I am indeed a big fat pig)
• normal poop like most humans produced.

So, I share this in an effort to keep me going. I deferred a month, wanting to make sure I stuck with things. My immediate goal is to be 250lbs by the new year. It's 1.5 lbs per week, so hopefully I can gut this out.

Plans I Make

Hopefully, a nice & relaxing weekend is in store. Tonight, hit the gym and then home to hit the sack. Working last weekend, traveling, and a Xanax hangover have left me wiped out. Tomorrow, some chores and then dinner at the the Dinosaur and beers at the Tusk with some friends. Sunday, perhaps some beer can chicken. Mmmm.... beer can.

Broke Into The Old Apartment

Crap. Apparently evetyone that knows me believes that Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies is my doppelganger (really, I believe I'm more Morrissey with a thyroid problem. Or George Clooney), so to have this shit go down a short walk from my home is just too ugly a coincidence. No worries though, I have a rock solid alibi. (I was lying in bed, just like Brian Wilson did)

Thank God for the Manlius PD, keeping our town safe from thugs like this.

May I Speak With the Sandwich Maker of the Household?

I'm establishing a new rule. Any sandwich served on regular sized slice bread must include three (3) slices of lunchmeat. Anything less is unacceptable, and can/will result in me becoming enraged.

As an example of how things should be done, please reference the following example courtesy Primanti Bros. of Pittsburgh, PA

Patriotic Review

Easing back into the pool by recapping the long Fourth of July weekend. Well, there isn't really a lot to sum up. The Fourth spent enjoying the perfect weather while landscaping, eating ice cream, making Michigan Sauce, grilling dogs, and enjoying restricted view fireworks from the backyard with Emma. The rest of the weekend involved mulch, lots and lots of mulch. Overall, things were AOK.

Hard to believe that even though summer technically just started, it feels half over. Every weekend here on out through Labor Day is booked. And then, of course, the snow starts to fly. Summer in upstate: so beautiful, so short...

Something New

So maybe the blog reface will help me resurrect this blog. Maybe, but perhaps not. But hell, at least I now have an entry for July 2008