July 25

Post 899, Day 206 of 2013
- and 937 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I had a good laugh at myself today - after writing how loose I am with imposed regulation (even, as you can see, when it is self-imposed), I totally abandoned the day's dietary regime.

And then, I reminded myself how often I like to shake things up. From appearance issues (long hair, short hair, head shaved, fat, thin, no jeans, jeans all the time); to job matters (although I was employed by IBM for sixteen years, I had four unique careers in that time); to location matters (I have lost count of how many times I've moved since 1966 - there was a time when I had more than one change of residence per year, and friends who had to start using the L-page of their address books to keep up with my current address).

The most historically constant thing I can think of was living in my house in North Carolina. It was my address for twenty-three years, the longest time I have spent at an address in my life. Probably much too long, but I was thinking in terms of my family, even when it consisted of just Alex and myself.

The funny thing was, I didn't really want to be there at all, ever. The move to North Carolina and to that particular house was Nell's choice. I didn't want to move, but she wanted to put some distance between her and her parents. 

I went along with the move because it was a career opportunity, and seemed like a better place to raise our son. From that point of view, it was a good decision.

I went along with the house because I was desperate after looking for houses for six weeks.  Nothing we were looking at was meeting both our requirements, and Nell was rejecting everything I liked. Once accepted on those terms, I felt stuck, and just wanted to make the best of it.

Leaving North Carolina has turned out to be one of the most liberating things I ever did, with unforeseen (and certainly, unplanned-for) positive consequences.

And speaking of planning, I do a lot of it, still and always. But I no longer plan with the assumption that the plan will actually be executed as planned. I know better (now). Instead, it is an outline, at best, and I know that if it doesn't succeed, there will be a good reason - and one that, stating the obvious, couldn't be planned for. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. said, "Nothing succeeds as planned."

I have also learned that there are always unforeseen circumstances (because we don't see the future). So in my planning assumptions are the flexibility to be wrong at any, or every, stage when actually implementing a plan.

I don't worry much about how to do something. I just try to imagine the end result. That's the fun way to plan (something that may turn out to be unnecessary), and it is (seems) much more intuitive - otherwise, it just isn't as much fun

The A-Team, where every plan comes together in a lovely way, is a total fiction.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         211.6 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     210.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 1.6 lbs

Diet Comment

I expected this gain. Today, I will do better.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Coconut Paleo toast with guacamole.

Lunch
At Ling-Ling's Chinese Buffet and Grill:

Brussels sprouts, kimchee, and, from the "Mongolian Grill", my go-to dish, pork and chicken with cabbage, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and broccoli.

Snack
Major fail: Pizza, and lots of it.

Dinner

After the afternoon pizza binge, a salad (Spring Mix greens, red cabbage, a creamy balsamic vinaigrette). Then, a protein bar for dessert.

Snack
Late night, after-the-jam Protein bar.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  26 oz.   Water: 128+ oz. Two shots of Jameson's.

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