#2342: Wednesday, September 11: Going by with little notice

Post 2342

- 8 years and 254 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

By and large, I ignored the eighteenth anniversary of the events of 9/11/01.

The world changed for the worse. Very little has gotten better since, on a national and international scale.

Since, I have had some hard times, but I am very near the ninth anniversary of things turning around for me (approximately October, 2010).

Every bad experience in my life has delivered me to where I am now - a pretty good place.

I was unemployed on 9/11/01. I saw the whole thing happen on TV, because I was very involved with the stock market, and CNBCs studios were a couple of blocks from the World Trade Center. The show was live. When the first plane hit, the camera in the studio shook.

The US's terrible foreign policy had come home to roost.

I'm grateful to the first responders. On a political level, I dislike everything that's happened since. On a personal level, it didn't mean anything except travel became less exciting, more inconvenient, and, for nothing.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    201.5 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/10/19):         200.7 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     + 0.8 lbs.

Diet Comment

I expected this - I had quite a bit of off-plan food yesterday, including cake, and I haven't been sleeping well, either.

Food Log

Breakfast
6:15pm: Bacon and eggs with a chopped salad (arugula, chard, kale, red cabbage, spinach, shaved parmesan cheese, walnuts, balsamic vinaigrette).

Lunch
9:00pm: A Quest bar.

Dinner
1:05am: Dal tadka (lentil curry) and brussel sprouts, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 84+ oz.; a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

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

#2341: Tuesday, September 10: The energy problem

Post 2341

- 8 years and 253 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

I rarely have a low-energy problem when I go out, but it happens.

I ran out of steam early tonight.

It happened hours after eating some birthday cake (a big slice) after playing some songs at Limp Lizard Liverpool (as that branch of the local BBQ chain is known).

And only a few minutes after having a shot of Jameson's, neat.

Of course, I didn't get good sleep last night, either.

And I am dealing with the psychic drain of my car situation. 

Am I getting old? Well, I am old. Usually I don't feel it like this. Usually, being out energizes me (as opposed to lying around in bed, which doesn't, or, maybe, energizes me in a different way.

It makes me a little more certain and desirous of my plans for expatriating at the end of next year, even while I hold out some hope that I am Fool will get back to form.

If I am Fool returned to viability, I would put off a permanent move out of Syracuse. This week's canceled rehearsals (due to more J illness) just slims down the odds of that happening.

My car situation also reinforces my desire to move to a place where I don't need one.

I'm just grateful that I still have the optimism to make plans.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    200.7 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/9/19):          201.7 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 1.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

Great! Unfortunately, today's eating is not consistent with weight loss, or maintenance. So it goes.

Food Log

Breakfast
4:30pm: Bacon and eggs with riced cauliflower, sautéed greens, and chia seeds.

Lunch
7:00pm, at Limp Lizard BBQ (Liverpool): Fried catfish with spicy tartar sauce, sweet potato fries, hellfire chili and cole slaw. And a big piece of birthday cake.

Dinner
12:05am: Walnuts, almonds, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 24 oz.;  Water: 70+ oz.; a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

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

#2340: Monday, September 9: Current events

Post 2340

- 8 years and 252 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

Another appointment to repair the car made.

Getting the negative externals out of the way first is good, right?

The gig on Saturday went very, very well. Frank and Bob were great. I hung in, and looked pretty.

I (finally) got together with Brian Modafferi, and we're cool.

I decided to drive Frank to Philadelphia this Friday, and I'll be catching the Black Uhuru show that night.

I got a mystery gig with Frank and a drummer TBD Thursday afternoon.

Things are humming here at Rancho Revemundo.

I'm grateful for that. And being here to appreciate it.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    201.7 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/6/19):          201.2 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     + 0.5 lbs.

Diet Comment

Given the blow-out day I had on Saturday, I'm pretty happy with these results. I do want to lose some of that in the coming week, though.

Food Log

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch

Veggie fritta (kale, spinach, onions, peppers, eggs, Dubliner cheese, chia seeds, sriracha). Not shown: A Quest bar.

Dinner
1:05am: Whipped cottage cheese and walnuts, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.; 

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

#2339: Friday, September 6: Looking a day forward

Post 2339

- 8 years and 249 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

Tomorrow is the Foolfest, known to everybody but the members of I am Fool and a few of their friends as 'Town of Minoa Festival in the Park'. This year, I may be the only one who calls it Foolfest, as I am Fool will not be playing and has not appeared anywhere in the promotion for the event

I'll be playing with Frank Stepanek and Bob Holz, two award-winning musicians, consummate pros, in the Stepanek Holz Incident. We're on last (where I am Fool would have been), headlining before the fireworks.

And I will be in proximity, perhaps for hours, with Brian Modafferi.

We'll see how it goes. He hasn't said a word to me, made any contact, even when I have reached out, left messages and sent texts, gone to Modafferi gigs, in eight months. We used to be friends, even though the initial connection was musical.

Today is all about anticipating tomorrow.

See you on the other side of the weekend.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    201.2 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/5/19):          199.8 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     + 1.4 lbs.

Diet Comment

I admit to being both puzzled and disappointed. Puzzled because I didn't see any behavior yesterday that might have caused this weight gain, and disappointed to end the week above the trend line. Oh well, better luck next week.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:45pm:

Vegetarian Sloppy Joe (Quorn Grounds, Wegman's Grandpa's Sauce, organic kale and spinach) with shaved parmesan, on top of riced cauliflower with chia seeds.

Lunch
10:15pm: A Quest bar.

Dinner
12:45am: Vegetarian Sloppy Joe (Quorn Grounds, Wegman's Grandpa's Sauce, organic kale and spinach) with walnuts and cottage cheese, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 84+ oz.;

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

#2338: Thursday, September 5: Car Hell 2

Post 2338

- 8 years and 248 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

I didn't get my car back.

I was stuck at home all day, all night.

Ugh.

Lots of TV. I wish I'd used the time better.

Car Hell. Poor response on my part.

I'm grateful that that's the worst of my problems right now.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    200.4 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/4/19):          201.0 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 0.6 lbs.

Diet Comment

Much better! After riding the trend line for two days, I'm below it today. I always like that.

Food Log

Breakfast
6:15pm:

Vegetarian Sloppy Joe (Quorn Grounds, Wegman's Grandpa's Sauce, organic kale and spinach) with shaved parmesan, on top of cauliflower 'rice'. 

Lunch
10:05pm: Salmon burger on Ancient Grains bread with guacamole, and a chopped salad (arugula, chard, kale, red cabbage, spinach, shaved parmesan, walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner
1:05am: Whipped 2% cottage cheese with blueberries, a handful of almonds.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.;

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

#2337: Wednesday, September 4: Continuing car woes

Post 2337

- 8 years and 247 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

With nothing else to write about, I'll mention that I'm still in car hell, hoping for escape tomorrow.

Tonight, I was a passenger, being driven around. I can't remember the last time I was a passenger in a private (non-taxi or -Uber or -Lyft). I'm the driver.

Being a passenger was unnerving. I'm used to being in control when I'm in the front seat. But I was lucky to catch a ride - had I not run into my friend Debbie at a birthday party (that I walked to), I was planning on spending the night watching TV.

Tomorrow my car goes back in the shop where they're going to take the brakes completely apart and find out where the friction is coming from, and restore my hand- (emergency-) brake to functional status.

I hope. It should all be done under warranty - my guys honor the company warranty. I hope.

I'm grateful to have survived my car's mechanical illness over the last month, and for having the wherewithal to face my problems without losing my shit.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    201.0 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/3/19):          201.0 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 0.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

No movement. So it goes.

Food Log

Breakfast
6:15pm: Bacon and eggs with riced cauliflower, chia seeds, and Dubliner cheese.

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner
1:05am: Dubliner cheese and guacamole, carrots and homemade mayonnaise, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 84+ oz.; 2 shots of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

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

#2336: Tuesday, September 3: Learning Spanish

Post 2336

- 8 years and 246 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

I'm proud to announce the completion of four straight weeks of daily Duolingo Spanish lessons.

Duolingo is a free online language-learning site that uses a game format for the lessons.

The lessons are in the form of test questions that ask you to translate from English to Spanish, Spanish to English, and write the Spanish that you hear. I have the most trouble with that last, and it is exposing the degree of hearing loss I'm enjoying.

Sometimes, I don't hear what's being said correctly, especially when the speaker is female. I just don't understand or misunderstand what's being said.

It doesn't bode well for my coming experience in Cuenca. Of course, there are lots of English speakers there, but now that I've narrowed my retirement options to Spanish-speaking countries, I'm committed to learning Spanish. I don't want to limit my friendships to English speakers, which was the one non-governmental mark against Chiang Mai. My prospects of learning Thai were dismal, and I found it, even in my brief time there, extremely limiting to restrict all my communications to a language that the majority of residents didn't speak.

I won't let that happen in Cuenca, Medellin, or Oaxaca (my current Mexican destination pick).

I'm enjoying the approximately twenty-five minutes a day spent on Duolingo. I have no doubt that once I settle in for a while - a while being at least ninety days - I will take local language lessons. I really want to be able to communicate with the local people, and I don't want to be any aspect of an Ugly American.

I've been pleasantly surprised at my progress, even as I'm chagrined that my hearing is so bad, that I should probably also learn International sign language.

I'm enjoying this aspect of my current life - I'm grateful these things I'm able to do.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    201.0 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/2/19):          201.9 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 0.9 lbs.

Diet Comment

I like it when I have an immediate, predictable response to my efforts to turn around the weight-gain from the weekend, and I just did that, dropping right down to the trend line.

Food Log

Breakfast
6:15pm: 

Arugula, cabbage, chard, kale, spinach, roasted turkey breast, shaved parmesan cheese, walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette.

Lunch
10:00pm: Cottage cheese and a Quest bar.

Dinner
11:45pm:

Brussel sprouts on riced cauliflower and dal tadka (lentil curry). Not shown: A Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 20 oz.;  Water: 74+ oz.;

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

#2335: Monday, September 2: When playing doesn't work

Post 2335

- 8 years and 245 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

I am feeling guilty about something that happened at the Sunday open mic at Valley Blues House.

I was playing bass with some old friends and a couple of new guys. It started off great, things were gelling, I was happy with the rhythm section work going on, and the people in the audience were responding well. Success.

We changed out a couple of players, including the drummer, who is a good drummer I've played with before.

It continued to be a good jam, not losing much energy in the transition, and then a call was made for 'Rock Me Baby' in a key I don't usually play that song in. Now, I have no problem playing any song in any key, but there was just something about this version of this song...

I got no feel from the other musicians. It seemed just a touch too slow, just a touch too soft, lacking energy.

In this situation, I typically fight to get a groove going. This time, I wasn't feeling it, and didn't. The joy went out of the music for a few minutes, and I was certainly (if not solely) responsible for that. I was certainly completely responsible for my own lack of professionalism and musicality.

That performance was a terrible way to end my time playing at the open mic, and by the time we were done with it, I felt a bit embarrassed.

When another bass player (the house bass player, an enormously talented and sophisticated jazzy player) called me on it, I immediately confessed. He said I'd disappointed him, that he could tell I wasn't into it.

I've felt guilty ever since. I had failed to do the thing that matters most in these sessions, a thing that totally freaks me out when someone else does it: I hadn't played my best, out of ego.

I will forgive myself, but not until after I've beat myself up a little more. I thought I'd learned the lesson I'm now finding I need to give myself.

I am grateful for the chance to improve.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    201.9 lbs.

Previous Weight (8/30/19):         199.9 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     + 2.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

That's a significant increase in two days - but it isa also within the typical range of daily weight variations. I think in the next few days I'll drop those two pounds and more, so, no worries.

Food Log

Breakfast
4:45pm: Blue-green protein smoothie with almonds, kefir, large organic egg, chia gel, kale, spinach, blueberries, whey powder (24g protein), coconut oil, hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, fo ti (mushroom powder), cinnamon, turmeric and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch
9:30pm: A Quest bar.

Dinner
12:05pm: Dubliner cheese and walnuts, cole slaw, carrots with homemade mayonnaise, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 22+ oz.;  Water: 76+ oz.; 

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