April 21

Post 808, Day 111 of 2013
 - and 842 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

A good night of jamming spoiled by organizational failure. 

People who know better, and profess to understand how things are supposed to work, ignoring their own rules as a matter of convenience and indifference.

I, of course, am too attached to structure, that attachment being the source of this particular night's 'suffering' as attachment is, in  general, the source of all suffering.

I was already unhappy when a young woman took the mic and tunelessly ran through a set of songs while reading - I can't credit her with singing - the lyrics off her phone. Her set went on and on, while I waited to start the next set. She was being indulged because she was young, female, and cute.

Then, my set came up, and half the people who signed up for the set were replaced by people I didn't want to play with. I don't understand why there's a sign-up if it's going to be ignored.

Of course, my set ended early - given half the time of the young girl boring the audience in the previous set.

So it goes. Luckily, they rotate the hosts every month. I'm going to wait until the next one, and avoid these guys in the future. 

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 Food and Diet Section

First-half year 2013 daily weight

Today's Weight:         206.8 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     203.6 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 3.2 lbs

Diet Comment

Given yesterday's excesses, I'm fine with this weight gain, and expect it to come off relatively quickly - if I behave.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Slept through.

Lunch
Cocoa-kale-hemp-chia protein shake: Almond milk, kale, cocoa, hemp seeds, chia gel, a large egg, vanilla whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, vanilla, psillium and stevia-inulin blend.

Dinner

Scrambled eggs and spinach with Italian-style chicken sausage with peppers and onions.

Snack

Hard-boiled eggs and guacamole.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  30 oz.   Water:  120+ oz.

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April 20

Post 807, Day 110 of 2013
 - and 841 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

What a day. Last night's good time, and very late hours just totaled me. 

I woke up late, went to the NY Regional Market to discover the price of organic eggs is up. Dropped off some dry-cleaning, where I couldn't hear the girl at the counter for shit. Did a little grocery shopping then went to 'breakfast' (it was after 1pm) and got a little lost on the way to Mama Nancy's.

Take a note: there are 33-1/3 months left to retirement. These days, that doesn't mean anything to most of the people I see. But my friends understand.

I got home, put away the groceries, and bam! nap time. 

I bounce back a little slowly from a late night these days, but there's a smile on my face.

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 Food and Diet Section

First-half year 2013 daily weight

Today's Weight:         203.6 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     206.2 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 2.6 lbs

Diet Comment

All set up for today's High-Carb, High-Calorie day.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Slept through.

Lunch
At Mama Nancy's:

Half a "Big Anthony Fritatta" which includes eggs, poratoes, sausage, pepperoni, broccoli, Swiss cheese, ham, peppers and onions.

Snack

A dark chocolate with orange and ginger bar.

Dinner

Ezekiel Golden Flax sprouted grain cereal with blueberries, almond milk and stevia-inulin.

Italian-style chicken sausage with peppers and onions and scrambled eggs.

Snack

Jelly beans and dark chocolate truffles.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  16 oz.   Water:  64+ oz.

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April 19

Post 806, Day 109 of 2013
 - and 840 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Went to a terrific rock show tonight. Unusual, because generally, I don't like this kind of music - aggressive, noisy, unintelligible, distorted, loud, loud, loud, and, in one case, gimmicky.

But, as it happens, I know these musicians - and I know their commitment to original music, and it made a difference to see performances given with such total commitment.

That's a lot of commitment in one sentence, and I don't apologize. I stayed up very late and had a great time with my friends.

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 Food and Diet Section

First-half year 2013 daily weight

Today's Weight:         206.2 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     205.6 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 0.6 lbs

Diet Comment

After last night's drinking and very late high-fat snacking, I'm pretty pleased to be up only half a pound or so.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Cocoa-kale-hemp-chia protein shake: Almond milk, kale, cocoa, hemp seeds, chia seeds, a large egg, vanilla whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, vanilla, psillium and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

Onion and pepper omelet with salsa.

Dinner

Pepperoni and cole slaw.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  22 oz.   Water:  120+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

April 18

Post 805, Day 108 of 2013
 - and 839 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I had such a good time at the open mic I was subbing in. This, despite the fact that I thought I played poorly, and some of the jams I ended up in were not real musical.

It was one of those situations where there was a great feeling of comraderie among the musicians. The first song we played, Link Wray's Rumble, went right off the rails, with the lead guitarist and I getting out of synch on the changes. 

But we did manage a killer version of the Young Rascals' Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore, which I get to sing the lead on. I had read an article about their Broadway show, and knew this song from forty-eight years ago.  

I drank more than usual, too. I kept hearing the Kinks' song, Alcohol, playing in my head. Hit that link now. He sounds just like I felt (not the content of the song, just the tone).

There good moments, some not-so-good moments, but it was one of those nights where the smiles and laughs were more memorable than the music.

That's okay, too.

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 Food and Diet Section

First-half year 2013 daily weight

Today's Weight:         205.6 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     205.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 0.6 lbs

Diet Comment

Normal variation - certainly well within the daily fluctuation.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Chia gel.

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, snow pea pods and broccoli. Not shown: a little beef and broccoli.

Dinner

Grass-fed beef hamburger on Paleo coconut bread with sauteed onions, home-made spicy mayonnaise, and a side of cole slaw. Not shown: Spring Mix greens and balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack

Hard-boiled eggs and home-made spicy mayonnaise. 

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  22 oz.   Water:  164+ oz. Plus 3-4 shots of whiskey, 1 of which was nasty, the others were Jameson's.

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April 17

Post 804, Day 107 of 2013
 - and 838 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

It is a good day for me on the music scene. I picked up two gigs, one as a sub with the host band of my favorite open mic - that's tomorrow - and one, a charity deal for battered women, for next Friday.

The former gives me a chance to step up and lead a group through the few songs I sing and play bass on, which, if nothing else, is the source of my favorite performance photos. It also gives me a chance to play with a variety of excellent musicians.

The latter has me accompanying an acoustic blues-y guitarist/singer/songwriter. I really like this role, and, to be honest, don't get nearly enough opportunities around here to do it - which I don't understand at all.

As of last weekend, my other side-project has been put on 'hold' until June. Ostensibly because of busy-ness creating scheduling conflicts, I think it is actually because it was more difficult, and therefore, proving to be more time-consuming, than my musical partner had thought it would be. There may be other aspects: Possibly, he envisioned a bit of a different sound, possibly he didn't like the lines I chose. But what he said was, and I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt, with various non-musical commitments, he won't have enough free time over the next 6-8 weeks.

Personally, I think that he underestimated the difficulty of having someone back him on his very complex material, which he is used to playing solo. I think it was taking more time than he was willing to give it, and, with little rehearsal time, not sounding as good as when he was playing by himself.

We may resume in June; I will be pleasantly surprised if we do. Meanwhile, I am having no problem at all filling up the slack created.

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 Food and Diet Section

First-half year 2013 daily weight

Today's Weight:         205.0 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     205.2 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 0.2 lbs

Diet Comment

No change. Cool.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Cocoa-kale-hemp-chia protein shake: Almond milk, kale, cocoa, hemp seeds, chia seeds, a large egg, vanilla whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, vanilla, psillium and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch
Wild-caught salmon and home-made mayonnaise, and a salad of Spring Mix greens, cole slaw mix and balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner

Grass-fed beef hamburger on Paleo coconut bread with salsa, and a side of broccoli with Dal Tadka (lentil curry).

Snack

Hard-boiled eggs and home-made spicy mayonnaise. 

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  24 oz.   Water:  120+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

April 16

Post 803, Day 106 of 2013
 - and 837 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I have found my relationship to politics consistently disappointing.

On the national level, there have been exactly zero good presidents in my lifetime. Well, maybe one, Eisenhower, but I barely remember him. 

My youthful optimism and enthusiasm for the US form of government seems naive to me now. I have turned to cynicism and a desire to be somewhere else.

Most other places are, of course, worse, in terms of government promoting the well-being of its citizens, but some are not. Some trade off public safety for being less intrusive in the lives of its populace. Some trade off massive interference in its people's lives for massive benefits. 

There's a whole spectrum out there. Mostly, though, I just want to be in a place where I never have to think about the politics in America at all.

Ecuador? Looking good.

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 Food and Diet Section

First-half year 2013 daily weight

Today's Weight:         205.2 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     208.6 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 3.4 lbs

Diet Comment

Having no carbs at all in my late snack - and a good amount of hydration during the day, seems to have overcome my 2-day post-HCHC day weight gain.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Cocoa-kale-hemp-chia protein shake: Almond milk, kale, cocoa, hemp seeds, chia seeds, a large egg, vanilla whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, vanilla, psillium and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

Roast beef sandwich with cole slaw, on Paleo coconut bread, with Spring Mix and balsamic vinaigrette. Also, more roast beef and cole slaw (not shown).

Dinner

Hard-boiled eggs and guacamole. 

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  24 oz.   Water:  120+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

April 15

Post 802, Day 105 of 2013
 - and 836 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

It is difficult for me to stay centered when I hear various end-of-the-world (or, at least, end-of-Western-Civilization, end-of-America, or economic devastation) predictions.

I have my meager savings invested because the alternative is a simple almost-0% savings, or the equivalent of keeping your money in a mattress, or worse, a bank.

I only have a checking account for expenses. Anything extra gets saved in an investment account, with little in cash.

The risk I assume - that of actually losing rather than gaining or even maintaining my savings - isn't of the type that I lose sleep over, but I think many people would.

I know what it is like to lose money that's been invested. My investments are very conservative, as a consequence.

So far, it has all been good. My investing, which began a little less than 30 months ago, had a goal of earning 4% per year. I have a spreadsheet where I try and predict expenses against income, and I put my starting amount in, to see how much I might accumulate by the time I hit my retirement date.

I have actually earned almost 10% per year, annualized, and have far exceeded my retirement goal with almost 3 years to go.

Today, I had a very bad day with my investments - the worst in this investment period. But, I am still far above my goal amount at retirement.

So, yes, I sleep well. My retirement estimates only include the income from pensions and Social Security. Any savings at all that I have put away between now and then, only serves to keep me more comfortable, more able to enjoy my non-working years.

At least, that's the plan, Stan.

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 Food and Diet Section

First-half year 2013 daily weight

Today's Weight:         208.6 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     207.8 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 0.8 lbs

Diet Comment

The only way that happened is because of eating dinner very late.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Cocoa-kale-hemp-chia protein shake: Almond milk, kale, cocoa, hemp seeds, chia gel, an extra-large egg, vanilla whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, vanilla, psillium and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

Roasted turkey, black beans, Spring Mix, cole slaw blend, and balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner

Pepperoni and cole slaw. 


Snack

Hard-boiled eggs and pepperoni. 

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  30 oz.   Water:  128+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

April 14

Post 801, Day 104 of 2013
 - and 835 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I read something today, and then thought about it a lot, trying to figure out if it was true.

What I read was this: "Other people's opinion of you is none of your business."

There's enough truth there for me to think, initially, "Of course!" But then there's the "but..."

But what if that person expresses their opinion publicly, or to you. 

Nope - doesn't wash. The expression of an opinion and the opinion are two different things. They have to be dealt with that way. The opinion is none of your business. The expression is. Although my inclination is to dismiss it as just an opinion, with the same validity of any opinion.

It took some thought for me to get to that. I must be getting old.

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 Food and Diet Section

First-half year 2013 daily weight

Today's Weight:         207.8 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     206.6 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 1.2 lbs

Diet Comment

Not bad for the day after my high-calorie, high-carbohydrate day. Tomorrow will show an improvement, I'm sure.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch

Italian-style chicken sausage (with peppers) and sauteed onions with scrambled eggs and spinach.

Dinner

Hard-boiled eggs with cole slaw. (Very late).

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  30 oz.   Water:  96+ oz.

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April 13 - HCHC day

Post 800, Day 103 of 2013
 - and 834 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Sort of a nothing, wasted day. Apparently, I need these on a regular basis.

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 Food and Diet Section

First-half year 2013 daily weight

Today's Weight:         206.6 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     205.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 1.6 lbs

Diet Comment

After last night's cheat (a whole bag of tortilla chips) and all the eating I did that day, the weight gain is unsurprising.

Food Log 

Breakfast
Donuts.

Lunch
At the Cafe at 407:

Flounder stuffed with shrimp and crabmeat, with (uneaten) tartar sauce and cole slaw.

Snack

Dark chocolate truffles. Little Debbie Nutty Bars.

Dinner

Ezekiel Golden Flax sprouted grain cereal with blueberries, almond milk, chia seeds and stevia-inulin.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  16 oz.   Water:  48+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

April 12

Post 799, Day 102 of 2013
 - and 833 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I was going to go out tonight, but never made it past the recliner. Dinner was going to be simple, but then I got the munchies and ate a bag of chips I had bought for tomorrow's HCHC day.

Fell asleep in the recliner watching tv 30 seconds after I stopped eating. I can no longer handle that big a carb-fueled crash, I guess.

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 Food and Diet Section

First-half year 2013 daily weight

Today's Weight:         205.0 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     209.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 4.0 lbs

Diet Comment

What a difference a day makes, indeed! All of yesterday's spike gone, and then some. Way to start a weekend!

Food Log 

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch

Roasted turkey, black beans, Spring Mix, baby spinach, cole slaw blend, and balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner

Smoked turkey and cole slaw. Cauliflower and Dal Tadka (lentil curry), followed by a bag of Garden of Eating Red Hot Blues organic corn chips.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  32 oz.   Water:  88+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!