#1780, Tuesday, December 6: Officially sick

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Post 1780, Day 341 of 2016
- 2,167 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

That little throat tickle I mentioned yesterday? It stayed a little throat tickle, until shortly after dinner, it turned into a cough. Then lung congestion.

Now, I'm sick. Dammit!

I didn't sleep well, or long, last night, but I went in and out of sleep all morning and afternoon, until I went out, a little tired but not feeling too bad, for dinner (breakfast for me) with Al.

After dinner, I had a nice phone conversation with Alex, but I was beginning to feel worse.

And then I watched my little slightly-sore throat become a full-fledged cough, complete with chest/lung ache.

Damn - no good.

So I canceled Tuesday evening plans. In my ming, I canceled Wednesday plans as well.

I don't know whether I'll post here until I feel better.

I'll be taking care of myself, you do the same.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      203.6 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/5):              205.2 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   1.6 lbs.

Diet Comment

I fell victim to holiday party eating over the weekend, including a bit of extra alcoholic intake. Well, it's a new week - I intend to start out well.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:30pm, at CoreLife Eatery:

Chicken broth bowl: with kale, baby spinach, grilled chicken, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, black beans, ginger.

Lunch

8:00pm:  A Quest bar.

Dinner

10:30pm:  Pepperoni.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 16 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.

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#1779, Monday, December 5: Health report

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Post 1779, Day 340 of 2016
- 2,166 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I've been pretty healthy this year - but I have this feeling I'm coming down with something. A bit of a scratchy sore throat I began feeling as I left i am Fool rehearsal this evening. It isn't much. I don't feel bad, but I sense something's coming.

I have a lot to be thankful for, regarding my health.

I have a lot of vitality and enough energy in general to do the things I want.

Although I'm diabetic, my current eating plan controls the disease well enough without the complication of medication, and the common associated problems and illnesses haven't manifested themselves.

I try not to take my health for granted - it can change in an instant. I have many friends who suffer from health issues that impact their lives forcefully.

My highest risk factor is my genetic cardiac history, and all my medical tests, including blood work, show my heart checks out fine.

At great expense to my well-being at the time, I am cured of hepatitis (B and C).

I am also cancer-free, after having about two thirds of my prostate, where there was a possibly malignant growth, removed. I have avoided all the most annoying complications from that surgery.

I have, basically, won the health lottery, so far.

I have aches and pains, yeah, but nothing life-threatening, and nothing that keeps me from doing the things I enjoy. I have less endurance, strength and flexibility than when I was younger, but more of all than some of my friends twenty years younger.

Compensating for that is that I am in the best mental health state of my life. That's a big compensating factor, and it includes not being worried about my health.

I am grateful beyond bounds for this bounty of well-being.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      205.2 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/2):              203.6 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     +   1.6 lbs.

Diet Comment

I fell victim to holiday party eating over the weekend, including a bit of extra alcoholic intake. Well, it's a new week - I intend to start out well.

Food Log

Breakfast
3:15pm:  Green and purple protein smoothie with coconut milk, kefir, large organic egg, chia gel, kale, spinach, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, celery, whey powder (36g protein), hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, cinnamon, coconut oil and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

8:00pm:  A Quest bar.

Dinner

11:30pm:  Salad (giant) with shaved parmesan cheese (lots), pepperoni (lots), kale, spinach, chard, cabbage and home-made herbed mayonnaise, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 0;  Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.

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#1778, Friday, December 2: No comment

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Post 1778, Day 337 of 2016
- 2,163 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Nothing today.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      203.6 lbs.

Previous Weight (12/1):              203.4 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     +   0.2 lbs.

Diet Comment

I thought I would be down a bit, instead I'm up a bit, even though nearly unchanged. I blame the lentils and spaghetti squash.

Food Log

Breakfast
3:05pm:  Green protein smoothie with coconut milk, kefir, large organic egg, chia gel, kale, spinach, celery, whey powder (36g protein), hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, cinnamon, coconut oil and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

8:00pm:  London broil salad with Dubliner cheese, kale, spinach, chard, cabbage, chia seeds, hemp seeds and balsamic vinaigrette..

Dinner

12:10am:  Cottage cheese and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 48+ oz.

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#1777, Thursday, December 1: RIP Mac's

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Post 1777, Day 336 of 2016
- 2,162 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

It was expected, but I got the definitive word that Mac's Bad Art Bar is closing in three weeks.

I have so many good memories about the place.

Some personal history: I moved to Syracuse at the end of June, 2008. I didn't have much going on musically, I was focused on recovering from the emotional and financial wreckage of my broken marriage, which meant focusing on the job, not on music.

But I needed the music, and my introduction to the Syracuse music scene came thanks to the local NPR Sunday night blues show, where the host mentioned, every week, at nine o'clock, that the blues jam at Rooter's was just getting started.

It took about five months of straightening myself out, and one night I went to Rooter's to check the jam out, found the scene friendly and welcoming. I made my first local friends there (not counting Al, the only person at work I had a friendship with, and that predated my move from North Carolina).

My first visit to Mac's was in the Summer of 2009. People had been telling me about a good rock open mic there, and I went to check it out. I had a pretty tepid reaction, mostly thanks to the house bass player, who seemed a bit paranoid. But I had found other open mics, so I gave Mac's a pass.

About a year later (now I'd been in Syracuse for two years) with my Reverend Ken nickname/brand well-established, I was going to open mics three and four times a week. Specifically invited to play with a musician friend, I revisited Mac's open mic. The unfriendly house bassist was gone (we're friends now, btw), and I had a great time. And came back, and became a regular.

One of the first new friends I made on that visit was Ronnie Dark, the new (to me) house band's lead singer/lead guitarist. Ronnie is younger than me by about twenty-five years, but has an encyclopedic knowledge of sixties rock, and we found we could just jam out on songs that other people didn't know. I was amazed.

Once I started showing up regularly, I came to know everybody in the bar, including the owner, Pat MacMurray. We became good friends, and that set the stage for an important next phase of my life(!).

One open mic night, after I'd done a set, Pat and I were hanging out at the stage-end of the bar listening to a trio play, and I looked at Pat and said, "These guys are good. They're the most interesting band that's come here in a while." Pat agreed.

The band had shown up without a bass player. After their set, I walked up to the leader and said, "I don't know if you have a bass player and he didn't show, or don't have a bass player and don't want one - you don't need one, you sounded great. But if you don't have a bass player and you're looking, here's my card. I'm interested."

Later that night, Pat was talking to the guy, telling him how much he liked the band, and offered that the band needed a bass player, that he knew a great one, and he'd heard the band and liked it; if you can get him, you should.

A couple of days later, I got a call from J. Brazill, songwriting leader of i am Fool, and the rest, as they say, is history. Fool played its first gig at Mac's two months later, and did our first headlining show at Mac's two months after that. We've played Mac's more than any other club.

Four months ago, after seven years hosting, Ronnie quit the open mic. Since then, the open mics have gone downhill, been less fun for me, excepting when Ronnie showed up as a player and we could jam.

Last night, I luckily learned that Ronnie was back, subbing for the guy who replaced him, I went, hoping we could throw down one more time, and we did, and, if I do say so myself, it was epic.

That's how I want to remember Mac's. Its closing saddens me. I have no idea what will take its place.

I can only be grateful for years of wonderful times there, and keep up with the friends I've made along the way.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      203.4 lbs.

Previous Weight (11/30):             206.0 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   2.6 lbs.

Diet Comment

Finally! A one-meal, low-calorie, on-track day breaks the log jam. Sorry for mixing metaphors.

Food Log

Breakfast
3:15pm:  London broil salad with Dubliner cheese, kale, spinach, chard, cabbage, chia seeds, hemp seeds and balsamic vinaigrette.

Lunch

8:00pm:  Salmon curry (dal tadka (lentil curry) and wild-caught salmon with spaghetti squash.

Dinner

1:15am:  Celery with cottage cheese, feta cheese and home-made mayonnaise, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 96+ oz. and a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey

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#1776, Wednesday, November 30: Same ol'

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Post 1776, Day 335 of 2016
- 2,161 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Tonight I got to play the new songs, not once, but twice, and they got a pretty good reception. They came out better in front of an audience (I think) than when I rehearsed them.

My protein shake (and a shot of Jameson's, neat) sustained me through the day.

All's well. Nothing new, otherwise.

There isn't much to write about in the Daily Comment right now.

I'm just grateful to be alive.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      206.0 lbs.

Previous Weight (11/29):             206.0 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   0.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

I can't remember the last time, if ever, my weight stayed the same three days in a row. Yes, I am still surprised not to see a change. November ends with me being more than four pounds heavier than when it started.

Food Log

Breakfast
4:15pm:  Green protein smoothie with coconut milk, kefir, large organic egg, chia gel, kale, spinach, celery, whey powder (36g protein), hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, cinnamon, coconut oil and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

Skipped.

Dinner

Skipped.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 60+ oz. and a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey

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#1775, Tuesday, November 29: Just another day in paradise

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Post 1775, Day 334 of 2016
- 2,160 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Rehearsal was fun. I didn't get to play much - and none of my new songs - at the open mic after, but still had fun.

I made a delicious omelet for breakfast, had a terrific lunch at Core with my friend Al before the rehearsal.

And I'm feeling well, and my mood is good.

I'm like the Los Angeles weather report - you only check when you can see there's a change happening, and you want to know when you can go back to assuming it's going to be a beautiful day. Here in Syracuse, we had unusual weather: Clear, dry and warm.

There isn't much to write about in the Daily Comment right now.

My paradise, my life, is pretty much of my own making, based on my inner thoughts, how I interpret what I perceive. So it goes.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      206.0 lbs.

Previous Weight (11/28):             206.0 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   0.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

I am surprised not to see a change.

Food Log

Breakfast
2:20pm:  

Omelet with peppers, onion, greens, chia seeds, hemp seeds, feta cheese and bacon.

Lunch

5:30pm, at Core Eatery:

Tuna poke salad with: Kale, cabbage, quinoa, cucumber, carrots, scallions, ginger,edamame, avocado, tuna poke, sesame seeds, almonds and miso-sesame dressing.

Dinner

10:45pm:   Two Quest bars and some bar popcorn.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 8 oz.;  Water: 60+ oz. and a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey

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#1774, Monday, November 28: Post-Thanksgiving lull

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Post 1774, Day 333 of 2016
- 2,159 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Thanksgiving was very enjoyable. I did a lot of drinking, and ate in ways to guarantee weight gain for all five days.

I don't have much to say today, thanks to having spent it doing quality assurance for a friend's art and music DVD, which concluded with a very pleasant two-hour phone call with him.

Otherwise, I continued the holiday's TV-centric mode. For what it's worth, the TV series This Is Us and Search Party are very good. If Search Party has a second season (it seems to have come to a conclusion in its ten episodes) I would watch it.

I am also learning a couple of new songs.

Maybe I'll have more to report tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'm looking forward to lunch at Core, an i am Fool rehearsal and a chance to play and sing (one or both of my new songs?) at an open mic.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      206.0 lbs.

Previous Weight (11/22):             201.8 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     +   4.2 lbs.

Diet Comment

Well! I spent five days eating high-carb, high-fat, high-sodium, high-sugar, and high-alcohol, yet only gained a little more than four pounds? That, my friends, is a victory. It does, however, imply taking steps to reduce my weight. Commencing today.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:30pm:  Green protein smoothie with coconut milk, kefir, extra-large organic egg, chia gel, kale, spinach, celery, whey powder (36g protein), hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, cinnamon, coconut oil and stevia-inulin blend. And a Quest bar

Lunch

8:40pm:  A Quest bar

Dinner

12:30am:   London broil, shaved Parmesan cheese, cole slaw and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz. 

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#1773, Tuesday, November 22: Thanksgiving holiday

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Post 1773, Day 327 of 2016
- 2,153 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I'm spending Thanksgiving with my sister's family in Sharon, MA. I'm leaving tomorrow morning. (I'm on the road as you read this, more than likely).

The next blog post will be Monday, November 28th.

Have a good Thanksgiving.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      201.8 lbs.

Previous Weight (11/21):             199.8 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     +   2.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

Was it the two slices of sprouted-grain bread, or the lentils, or just too many carbs at one meal, or was it the bunch of cheese late night? I don't know, but that's a pretty big bounce off my recent low weight.

Food Log

Breakfast
12:55pm: 

Reverend Ken Fritta: Kale, spinach, chard, hemp seeds, chia seeds, onions, peppers, London broil, feta cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs.

Lunch

8:40pm, at Limp Lizard BBQ: 

Carolina Pulled Pork BBQ sandwich (BBQ pork and cole slaw, bun removed), with tomato and cucumber salad and sweet potato fries.

Dinner

12:30am:  Two Quest bars.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 80+ oz. and a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey

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#1772, Monday, November 21: Hello, Winter, you ol' sumbitch!

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Post 1772, Day 326 of 2016
- 2,152 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

It's been snowing since Sunday.

I haven't been outside since the snow started. Tomorrow I'll take out the trash and dig out the car.

A perk of retirement is not having to go out in bad weather, unless you want to go out in it.

Obviously, I don't.

I bingewatched Mozart in the Jungle. I liked it, mostly for the classical music performance parts. I really like movies and TV shows about classical music. Outside of the soap opera melodramatics (and accompanying scenery chewing), I found the show quite entertaining.

That's my full report on TV.

I also practiced singing and playing Ruby Tuesday.

That's my full report on the first snow of Winter. Nothing but grateful to be safe, warm, and entertained.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      199.8 lbs.

Previous Weight (11/18):             203.2 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   3.4 lbs.

Diet Comment

I was very good in a very 'down' weekend.

Food Log

Breakfast
12:05pm:  Green protein smoothie with coconut milk, kefir, extra-large organic egg, chia gel, kale, spinach, whey powder (36g protein), hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, cinnamon, coconut oil and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

4:10pm:  Salmon burger on Ezekiel 4:9 Flax sprouted grain bread with cole slaw, dal tadka (lentil curry) on spaghetti squash, and a Quest bar.

Dinner

12:30am:  Pepperoni with shaved parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz. 

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#1771, Friday, November 18: No comment

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Post 1771, Day 323 of 2016
- 2,149 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Nothing today.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      203.2 lbs.

Previous Weight (11/17):             203.6 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   0.4 lbs.

Diet Comment

A little loss, to end the week exactly where it began.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:00pm: 

Reverend Ken Fritta: Kale, spinach, chard, hemp seeds, chia seeds, onions, peppers, pepperoni, feta cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs.

Lunch

9:10pm:  Roast beef on Ezekiel 4:9 Flax sprouted grain bread with guacamole, a salad (kale, spinach, chard, cabbage, balsamic vinaigrette), dark chocolate, and a Quest bar.

Dinner

12:30am:  Pepperoni, cole slaw, dark chocolate and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 88+ oz. 

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