Shopping

Quick summary.

Again playing procrastinator. I was going to update yesterday's entry, but ended up falling asleep. Now while my clothes are washing, I'll try to do a quick entry.

Yesterday, I did my morning jog with a light breakfast - banana (90cal), 8oz. orange juice (110cal),  and 4 prunes (100cal).  Headed to the mall to buy my usual meal at the Panda Express now called China Max...

I had to stop.  I couldn't finish on my tablet.  Whether it was me, or my tablet, it was more trouble than time saver.  Of course I will continue using my tablet, but probably not for blog entries (or at least not long entries.

Anyway, yesterday I had my usual meal at the mall.  The difference is that I counted the calories this time.  Each item was between 1 and 1.5cups:

Broccoli Chicken - 180cal.

Fried Rice - 570cal.

Orange Chicken 400cal.

Snapple Fruit Punch - 200cal.

In total, my single plate of food came to about 1,350 calories.  I was a bit annoyed with myself for the two steps forward, two steps back situation I seem to keep finding myself in.  To make matters worse, I went to another mall and being thirsty, I ordered a Wild Berry Smoothie (330cal) from MacDonald's. And I still hadn't eaten dinner.  To try to salvage my motivation and avoid finding comfort in a pint of Hagen Daz (with the false promise of starting again next week -- as I've done so many times in the past). I decided to walk part of the way home (30 minutes), and calculated the mall walking I did to add another 350 calories to my calorie bank remainder (157cal.).  So, I was able to go home with about 500 calories available for dinner.  I ended up eating Tuscan Vegetable Medley (80cal), a Greek yogurt(140cal), and a couple of fruit cups.

Today, there was suppose to be a rain storm, so I was a bit worried about not being able to do my morning jog.  Luckily, the rain held off.  It was windy and very chilly, but with my long underwear, sweats, and knit cap, I was very comfortable. 

I also went food shopping today (about $98) poorer.  The plan was to purchase food that I could create my own "single-servings" and see if that helps.  One of the things was a pack of baby carrots and a bottle of "0 calorie" ranch dressing.  I'm going to try to put 2 tablespoons of dressing in a snack bag, and I'll put a few carrots in another snack bag so that I have something to munch on tomorrow.  I also bought a few Health Choice Meals.  Next week, I want to try to having the Healthy Choice Meals for lunch instead of dinner, and see if I can lose weight that way.  Yesterday, I also want to drop the orange juice for a week and see if gives me a few extra calories to play with.  Lately, I've been buying the 8oz. 6-pack(110cal. each).  However, a single orange is about 70cal. each. 

I gave myself a two week commitment to jog in the mornings before work.  Hoping that I will be able to stick with a routine.  Next week will be the second week.  By May 1st, I want to take the workout routine up a notch.  The plan is to continue the morning jogs, but I want to start strength training.

I think that's enough for now.  Hopefully, I will be able to update this blog sometime during the week.

I'm going to attach a photo of my new lunch bag I bought at the mall yesterday (about $10 at Wal-Mart).  This new one is a bit larger than the green one posted here a few months ago, but not as large as the Polar Bag also posted here.  It is large enough to hold the full meal Healthy Choice, and my Klean Kanteen aluminum (1qt.) canteen with room for yogurt, fruit, and ice. 

Money Earned...Money Spent!

Yep, the title says it all.  This past summer, I went to a few workshops.  Well, a couple of weeks ago, I received a nice check (about $300) for the time spent.  I haven't cashed it knowing that I would spend it on my classroom or on credit card bills.  My Christmas club money has already been spent on bills. Returning to college was the reason for the loss of my Christmas Club money this year.  Last year, I was determined to spend it on myself, but accidentally spending it on bill payments.  This year the plan was to quickly take the club money right on the day it was due to be deposited.  Unfortunately, a college bill and a change in my insurance premiums (I should have read the small print), made this year's club money disappear.  Well anyway, with the $300 check, I wanted to buy something for myself.  After thinking of various "toys/electronics(netbook, cell phone, tablet, etc...", I finally made a decision.  I would spent the dollar amount online and deposit the check to cover the expenses.  Below is my list:

 

Vaultz Locking Storage Clipboard Black
Collapsible Blue Fairshare Mug
Hi-Tec Men's Altitude IV WP Hiking Boot,Black
Trendy Military Fitted Cap- Black
Rubbermaid Blue Ice Flexible Ice Blanket
Alpha Industries Hooded MA-1 Flight Jacket- Black 2XL
BoxWave Capacitive Samsung Galaxy Tab Stylus (Jet Black)"
and
3 TIME For Kids The Amazing Fact and Puzzle Book

 

• The clipboard was an impulse I bought trying to spend the full $300. 
• The collapsible cup was a impulse from a collapsible cup that's been on my Amazon.com "buy later" list for several months.  During the summer I've been a bit annoyed at the low pressure of public water fountains.  I also always wanted a collapsible cup. 
• The boots were a necessity.  My previous boots had holes and always got my feet wet when it rained, but  I was always putting off getting a new pair.  Actually, the boots were never really waterproof.  I really wanted to buy a pair of winter/rain boots, but a couple of reviews about the "clunkiness" of the boots turned me off.  The fitted cap was an impulse after almost getting the imitation fur cap with the ear flaps. 
• The ice blanket is just a sheet of bubble wrap where the bubbles are filled with water.  I already have a 9 bubble sheet for my Polar Bear cooler.  I'm loving that bag -- this morning I woke up and realized that I had forgotten to open my PB bag.  I was amazed that the water bottle that had been place (frozen) in my PB bag over 24 hours before, was still definitely cool to the touch.  Amazing! 
• The bomber jacket was becoming a necessity.  My current jacket is about 5 or 6 years old.  I don't remember when or where I purchased it, but I do know that it was a cheap imitation bomber jacket that really lasted much longer than I had expected it to.  Now, it has worn out holes and the fiber-fill seems to have slowly disintegrated over time.  Lately, it seems as if the wind blows right through it.  I like the style of the jacket.  This one has a hood.  I'm not really comfortable with a hood, but I said what the heck. 
• The stylus pen was a purchase to replace the one I had lost on the train platform a couple of months ago.  I was so stressed out when I found out the last minute...(the very last minute [by rumor]) that I would be teaching 6th grade after a full day setting up my classroom believing that I would be teaching 4th grade.  I like using the stylus because my finger coordination isn't very good, and I really don't like the finger prints and smudges on my cell phone.  Also, I dug out my imitation tablet with the Chinese operating system.  I'm going to take it to a Staples store or a Best Buy and see if their computer department can change the Chinese system to an English one. I've had it for almost a year doing nothing but collecting dust. 
• The Time for Kids puzzle books were extras.  A couple of months ago, I purchased a class set for my students to have something to do during indoor rainy days when they couldn't go outside.  Unfortunately, I hadn't purchased enough to go with my slowly increasing class roster.  I now have 25 students in my class.  I hadn't planned on spending any of my $300 on my classroom or my students, but old habits die hard.

 

Once I finished my personal online shopping trip, I had to log onto Staples to purchase a few items.  My classroom personal printer/copier needs a new drum(about $200).  I also know that the ink cartridge($100 will run out soon. The custodian that sweeps and empties the trash in my classroom told me that due to budget cuts, there was no money for paper towels, so I purchased a case of paper towels (about $25) and a paper towel dispenser (about $25).  As I type this, I think I forgot to add a case of copy paper to my order(about $30).  I'm down to my last pack.  At my school, we have to provide our own paper, or seek admin approval for any copies to be made, fill out a requisition form and wait until the school aid can get around to it.  It is just easier to use my personal printer/copier.  I'm going to have to purchase another machine soon.  My current printer/copier is about 5 years old.  I've never had any real problems other than minor paper jams, but I know a break down is only a matter of time.  Unfortunately, I've grown accustom to (maybe even addicted to) the convenience of have a copies at my fingertips (no lines, wait, or requests).

 

Well I think that's..

 

Oh, the exercise thing.  Nope, I haven't been exercising.  Last Saturday was the last time I did any exercising.  So, my weight has been slowly going up.  Right now I weigh about 211lbs.  Last week, I was too stressed out about....never mind.  Anyway, going for full days (hyper kids and evening class, as well as paperwork for both) on about 4 hours of sleep was taking its toll.  Today I slept most of Saturday away.  As soon as I finish here, I'm going to check to make sure I ordered copy paper, then I'm going to call it a night.  I'm going to try to do a morning ride on my stationary bike.  I also want to try and finish my laundry and lesson plans early, so that I can get to be at a decent hour.  Hopefully, I can resume daily workouts on Monday.  Oh, and I need to (one of these days) open my Total Home Gym, it has been sitting in my hallway still in the box untouched and unopened.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick Update

This will be a quick entry.  Today I did a bit of cleaning in my apartment.  I got tired of stepping over, and around the mounds of old newspapers and other trash cluttering up my apartment.  I also wrote out checks for my monthly bills, stuff them in envelopes ready to drop in a mailbox tomorrow morning.  Writing checks is something I haven't done in many months.  Up until today, I had gotten too comfortable with waiting until the last minute and then paying the bills at the local check cashing place.  I also shredded some papers. 

Oh, I weighed myself today.  Although I haven't been too consistent with my workouts, I have been trying to eat better than I have in the past.  Well, I'm now about 205lbs.  I'm now days (I hope) away for falling out of the 200lbs range.  I haven't weighed under 200lbs in over 15 years.  I also dusted off my stationary rowing machine.  I'm going to try alternating working out between my stationary bike and my stationary rowing machine.  My TOTAL GYM is still in the box in the hallway, I'll take it out eventually.

I forgot.  I also took out my IRON GYM and hung it above the kitchen jam.  Yep, it too was covered in dust.  I'm going to spend this month trying to do at least one pull up.  To start off slow, I'm going to spend the next week or so just hanging.  Waay back in high school I took a weight training class and the coach had those who couldn't do pull ups, just hang.  He counted the seconds. 

Gotta go. 

205lbs.

Results

I woke up this morning (Friday) and checked my Polar Bear Cooler.  It was about 8 hours later.  No, the ice didn't last.  It was just about melted.  However, I was pleased with the results.  Deep-down inside I wasn't expecting it to keep the ice for 24 hours -- that was just wishful thinking.  But, I did like that the condensation was kept down.  I put in a room temperature bottle of water, and it was cool to the touch.

Today I went food shopping, but I mostly bought snacks and smaller portions foods.  I'm starting to get the hang of better eating habits.  I still have a very looong way to go, but I think I'm making good progress.  I'm starting to get better at finding better substitutes (for me) that is keeping me from pigging out on junkfood. 

Just some of the new foods I'm liking(getting used to):
Clear Delight Sparkling Beverage (I love this!!!)
Nabisco's 100 calories snack packs (from cookies to Cheez Its)
Weight Watchers Giant Ice Cream Bars
single serving boxes of raisins
Healthy Choices (and old favorite)
Thomas's "Bagel Thins" (110 calories as oppose to 270 calories)
V8 Low Sodium vegetable drink

I'm also getting better at creating substitutes.  For example, I now reuse single-servings plastic bottles to bring orange juice and milk to work.  I think it is cheaper to make my own "single-servings" than to buy a cartoon of juice each day.  The same goes for cereal.  Lately I've been making my own single-servings of cereal (just filling up a sandwich bag half-way with my favorite cereals).  Now, when I'm rushing in the morning to not miss my train, I can eat my cereal on the train, or later in the morning.  I've also gotten into eating fruit.  I put in one or two pieces of fruit (peaches, apples, plums, etc...) along with my drinks and snacks, I'm covered when I have the urge to munch. 

Although the weight loss is slow going, I am making some progress.  I'm starting to lose my beer belly.  Although I'm clearly happy to be losing weight, it is a bit strange to not have my belly to rest my hands on while I'm standing (especially when I'm reading a book). 

Tomorrow (now today), I'll be heading to 42nd Street to see Spiderman the musical "Turn of the Dark". 

A bit of a set back...

I went to bed about 1am.  I woke up about 5am.  I couldn't go back to sleep until about 7am.  I got up about 10am.  It is now 12noon.  I should have been at school about 4 hours ago.  I won't be at work until about 2:45pm (the earliest).  And I have my first evening class for this semester.  I was suppose to have been done with all my heavy lifting and moving yesterday.  But now, I'll either have to wait until the other teachers arrive after tomorrow, Friday, or even after Labor Day.  Yes, there are teachers who won't do an ounce more than legally required...if at all.  Or, ...I will have to go to my classroom and remove all of the fourth grade materials (student textbooks, and test prep materials, etc...), go through my things to remove 2nd and 3rd grade materials.  Since the other two 4th grade teachers already have their things, they will not be taking any extra materials.  In other words, there won't be anyone to come pick up the 4th grade materials.  The materials will probably have to be taken to one of the book closets on another floors (of course).  I'll probably have to be the one to go up to the third floor and go through the contents of the unpacked 6th grade classroom to find the 6th grade materials, and then bring them down to my room.  Then, pack away those materials.  And after all that is done, figure out what I'll be should be teaching sixth graders.

Oh, and can I do this before 4:30pm and not sweat up a storm.  I would prefer not going to my first class of the semester stinking to high heaven.

I better stop procrastinating.  I have work to do.

When It Rains...

Here in NYC, we just went through Hurricane Irene.  Some people did better than others.  I was one of the lucky ones.  From my apartment, it seems like just a heavy rainy day.  However, there was flooding in other areas.

I was suppose to see the Spiderman Broadway show, but it was cancelled due to Hurricane Irene.  I ended up staying home and doing some long term organizing of my classroom curriculum.  Finding out that I would be teaching fourth grade this coming school year (with the bulk of my students) had me stressed out.  So, as most of you long time readers know, I went shopping.  I ended up spending about $500 on various 4th grade materials.  Each new item gave me a bit of peace of mind.  My stress decreased as the summer when on.  I also mentioned that I was taking summer professional development at my school -- optional, of course.  One colleague found out the second week into the summer than his new teaching assignment would change.  I smile, I tried to make him feel that the sudden change was a good thing (secretly being grateful that it wasn't me).  Anyway, I continue to come the school during the summer.  Since, I never got the call (or received a message) that my class assignment would change, I continued spending money (I didn't really have, going deeper in credit card debt), buying 4th grade teaching materials.  I even managed to create an academic calendar to help with my long-term planning.  I was able to do long-term planning for most of the subjects that I would be teaching.  It felt good.

Today, was the first (unofficial) day back for me.  Although the school was open for teachers who wanted to come to the workshop, the classrooms were not available at that time, so I couldn't really do anything in terms of setting up or moving furniture.  Teachers official are suppose to come back the day after Labor Day.  There may be a teacher that can fix up a classroom in only two days, but I know that I can't.  Anyway, I've always returned when the school building official opens for administrators and other non-classroom staff (cafeteria, security, secretary, etc...). 

Anyway, I arrived about 8:45am.  I was about 45 minutes later than I wanted to be, but I was not stressed.  I was determined to start off the school year differently than previous "Preparation" days.  I was a bit annoyed that I hadn't returned yesterday, but since the train system near my home was suspended due to the hurricane, I didn't stress about it.  So, how did I do for the first Preparation Day?  If you look at previous blog entries entitled "Preparation", you would notice a theme (or similarity) among them.  This time, I had the plan to unpack better than previous years.  That meant trying to not let myself get distracted to the point of wasting time and accomplishing nothing (and end up stressing out and rushing at the end along with the late comers and poor planners).  This time, I really don't want to be the first one in, and the last one out.

Day 1 was going fairly nicely for me.  When I arrived I went right for the boxes and items piled up in the back of the room.  An hour later that back shelf was cleared off!  Next, I rearranged the furniture in my room.  In the past, I've gotten stuck doing this too, but not this time.  When I finished, I unpacked most of my boxes.  Again, in the past, I've gotten stuck with this too.  However, I managed to unpack and group and organized most of my stuff.  In the past, I've done a sloppy unpacking, straightened up my room and then a day or two later, I would need to unpack a few more boxes, or closet, and then boom, my classroom would look like I hadn't done anything.  Well, not this time.  My classroom is a mess, but it is cluster of piles I know where I'm going to put them.  My goal was to do all of the heavy lifting and heavy moving today, so that I won't need to do that (moving furniture or heavy objects).  Just before the custodians rang the alarm letting us know that we had to leave...immediately, I had just finished moving the last shelving unit.  And yes, I did clear out the cabinet before I moved the shelving unit, so I won't have to do any rearranging later.  

With the alarm going off, that is the signal to all must leave the building.  Normally, when that alarm goes off, I start panicking and rushing to leave.  Today, I was pleased with myself.  I strolled, briefly chatted with colleagues as I left (the way the others do).

Outside the building, one of my colleagues casually asked, "Soo, did you see the new reorganization sheet? It was emailed to us yesterday."  The shocked (but curious) look on my face gave her a quick case of amnesia.  It wasn't until I was on the train, that another colleague gave me the news:

I will be teaching 6th grade this school year.

F**K!!!

Sorry, I don't like to curse, but I was angry.  Now, I'm just kind of numb.  Did I mention that I have evening classes starting tomorrow and Thursday of this week? 

Stress just can't seem to do without me.

Today (Friday) the plan was to get up early to do an hour on my stationary bike, but since I had to go for the professional development workshop (and I woke up too late), I didn't have time to exercise this morning.  I decided to do a double workout this evening.  The plan was to ride for 90 minutes straight, then take a brief break, and then continue for another 30 minutes.  To do 2 hours straight  for me was a bit of a psychological block.  I had to break it down, or I don't think I would have been able to do it.  Plus, having not eaten lunch  today, I was hungry.   I had a fried chicken wings and vegetable fried rice dinner  (a takeout from a local Chinese takeout restaurant).  Since I had the greasy dinner, I really felt like I had to get on my bike even though I was beginning to get tired.  Well, I did manage to do the two hours.  I burned about 1,008 calories on the bike. 

Oh, I think I'm becoming addicted to the zero calorie seltzer drinks I mentioned previously.  I bought about 8 more.  Unfortunately, I drank three of them already.  I also bought some snack foods that I hope will help me when I have the urge to eat, usually right before bed.  I'm not sure because it is too early to tell, but the diet and working out might be starting to take hold.  Lately, I seem to usually be satisfied with fruit, raisins,  etc...

I'm going to call it a night now.

Wt. 219lbs.

Random Thoughts

Hello All.  Yes, it has been a while.  I just finished eating a rather unappealing container of Weight Watchers mint ice cream.  Yuck.  Lately, I've been trying to find substitute foods that taste interesting, but are less in calories (and sugar).  The mint ice cream was a miss.  However, I do like their (so called) Giant Ice Cream Bars.  Two of those bars are usually enough to satisfy my cravings for ice creams.  240 calories for the two bars as oppose to a pint of Ben & Jerry's about 1,000 calories. Oh, and I'm really liking favored seltzer drinks.  They are suppose to (according to the label) have zero calories, no caffeine, zero carbs, and sodium and sugar free.  It tastes like a cheap imitation soda, but it does taste like soda.  Before I discovered these drinks, I was buying liters of ginger ale at the local deli (about 450 calories each). I hope these aren't too good to be true.

Sorry for the lack of postings.  I've been in my usual summer vacation vegetative state.  Not doing much but laying around my very messy apartment.  Today I finally got around to doing the laundry.  It only took me about 7 loads to complete.  Today was also the day I finally did two workouts in a single day.  For the last few days I've only been able to get on my stationary bike once a day.  And sometimes, I didn't even do that.  Long story short, I fell off the exercise bandwagon around the end of July.  Doing a single squat had my knees crunching like a bag of chips.  After that, I've been very stiff in the knees and reluctant to run on them.  So, most of this summer I've been riding my stationary bike off and on, trying to keep up the routine I started the summer with, but with little success.  My weight has been one long inconsistent roller coaster ride.  Finally, the last couple of weeks or so, I've been fairly consistent with getting on my stationary bike at least once a day.  Oh, and I purchased a new digital scale.  With my poor eyesight, I need the larger numbers.  Unfortunately, this new scale is showing that I'm fatter than the old $10 scale.  I went from thinking I was 116lbs. to discovering that the old scale was lying.  On the new digital scale, I was 122lbs.  And I've been yo-yoing around 122lbs for the last couple of weeks.

This evening, I'm now 119.4lbs.  Before the spaghetti dinner and ice cream, I was 116lbs. on the digital scale.  But then, I hadn't had anything but a Power Bar and 16oz of orange juice all day.

I'm going to have to wrap this entry up, so that I can get to bed to get up early enough to do the two rides on my bike.  There were several near blogs I could have written, but since I didn't write notes for myself, I don't remember the details about those blogs.  What I'm going to do now, is just jot down a few random thoughts about some of the things that come to mind.  Hopefully with this blog entry, I will be able to get back into a regular posting routine.

Movies
I went to the movies a few times.  Below are those movies that come to mind at this moment.
Captain America - I liked it.  A bit long, but enjoyable.
Surfs - I should have hated it, but it was cute.
Planet of the Apes - Nice set up for a sequel.  Enjoyable.

Broadway Shows
Wicked - Saw it.  Liked it.  Had to get the book to read it.
Spiderman - I just purchased tickets to see this in a few days.

Exercising - See above.

Reading
Wicked - I read it, but didn't really like it.  It wasn't what I thought it would be.  It tried too hard to appeal to adults.
Star Trek Voyager "Children of the Storm" - I liked it. It does a good job of continuing the series, but in novel form.

New "Neighbor"
Yesterday while chatting online, I met another "neighbor".  After chatting for awhile, we discovered that we live very close by.  How close?  He lives in a building across the street.  Can you believe it, right across the street? 

Shopping
When school resumes in a few weeks, I will be teaching a new grade for the first time.  I have been assigned to teach 4th grade.  Luckily, it is close to the grade I've already been teaching.  Luckily, or not so lucky (I'm not sure which), I will have most of my same students from last (school) year.  Why is this in the "shopping" area?  Somehow, I ended up spending most (if not all) of one of my paychecks on buying copies of 4th grade resource and reproducible books that I already have in 3rd grade.  I wanted to make sure that I didn't fall into my comfort zone.  I also purchased various baskets, for my classroom library, as well as a few other things for my classroom.

I could've rambled on some more, but it is time to end this entry.  Hopefully, I will now be able to start getting good routines down.  Tomorrow, I need to start cleaning my pigsty of an apartment.  I also need to resume posting on LoseIt.com.

Quick Entry

I was planning to call it an early night, but I decided to log onto the Loseit.com website to log in my calorie consumption and exercise.  So far, I am still on my double workout routine.  Yep, even in the heat wave we are in, I managed to do my two exercises.

Today was also the day of the professional development my school is providing....never mind.   I was goin to go into details of the program that probably cost...never mind.  I'll just focus on my workout routine. 

I weighed myself today.  I am now down to 210lbs.  I started this summer weighing around 232lbs.

I better go, so I can get to bed to do my morning turtle trot.

Quick Update

Quick update.  Yesterday, I didn't do too well with my calorie consumption.  I did better, but still over my maximum daily goal.  Yesterday I had a total of 1,790cal.

Today was a bit better.  I told myself that I had to stop eating with my old habits of trying to fill up the belly.  Results?

7am - 200cal. Quaker Instant Grits
11am - 70cal. V8
12pm - 200cal. Campbell's low sodium Chicken Noodle Soup
7pm - 730cal. Healthy Choice Steamer (Spicy Chicken), Minute Rice(cup), & Stonyfield smoothie.
----------------
Total = 1,100 calories

I am also still sticking with the running.  I am currently at the 9 minute run / 3 minute walk (repeated 3x).  Oh, and today, I saw a young deer walk onto the sport's field as I did my running.  It keep an eye on me as I ran around the perimeter of the field, but it didn't run away. 

Now, I'm going to head to bed. 

Summer vacation is almost here.  Yippee!!!

The attached photo was taken off of the internet.  However the deer I saw was very similar. 

Relapse

I lost about 14lbs.  I've been keeping up with the running, I'm now at Stage 6 (walking for 3 minutes, running for 7 minutes, repeating 2x).  As for the liquid diet, I was doing okay until today,  for some reason I couldn't take the liquid anymore.  I had a bit of an eating binge.  For dinner, I had 2 Healthy Choice Dinners, and one Stonyfield smoothie.  In total, I ate about 1,000 today.  I'm a bit disappointed, but not too upset, since I managed to stay within my target daily calorie intake goal.  Hopefully, I will be able to get back on track for the liquid diet.  My plan was to finish this Friday.

Quick Update

Quick update.  For those that are interested, I am still on my diet/exercise routine.  To keep with the new schedule, I haven't been going online.  In the past, a quick online visit would usually throw off my motivation, and a quick visit turns into several hours later.  Even now, I should have just prepped for bedtime. 

Quick Summaries:

I'm not doing my run/walk in the neighborhood park.  I walk/run around the two baseball fields.  My body has been adjusting to the walk/run a bit too quickly.  By the second day, I start to lose focus and motivation.  Now, instead of stickly with the book's pacing of one stage per week, I'm going to move up the stages every two or three days.  Tomorrow, I'm going to go to stage 4 (30 minutes of 3 minute walk, 3 minute run [or what I've been calling the "turtle trot"])

On an impulse, I visited one of the old social networking sites and replied to a profile that I've replied to before.  Much to my surprise, he responded.  It turns out the guy lives in the very next block.  We walked around downtown for a couple of hours, we had a lot in common.  It would have been cool to have someone in the neighborhood who shared similar interests.  Unfortunately, we had different ideas about friendship.  After my refusal to see friendship the way he did, I think he lost interest. After first planning to do another walk around, the epal ended the last text message with "have a great day".

My new black backpack arrived within about 3 days.  There was a bit of a mixup at the post office, but I finally have it.  The bag looks nice, however, I am a bit put off by the number of buckles and clips on it.  I'll try it out and see how it is.

Well, I better go.  I should have been in bed, but I thought I should do a quick entry letting the two or three people who read this blog know that I am still in the game so to speak.  I started my liquid diet on June 1st, and I still have managed to stick with it.  The problem?  Even though I am staying withing the suggested calorie intake of 1,784 calories per day, I don't seem to be losing weight.  The morning walk/run really isn't burning many calories (probably due to my body needing to adjust to the running.  I am going to try to use my stationary bike starting tomorrow in the evenings.  Once I'm able to do a consistant cardio workout for 30 minutes or more, I think I'll start to see the results.

Military Pen Pal - Update

Quick entry.  Today was the last day of my spring break, so what did I do?  What I always do.  I waited until today to do 6 loads of wash at the laundromat.  I went shopping for items to send my military pen pal in Afghanistan.  Of course I went way over budget.  I ended up spending about $300.  My original plan was to send off a large box of snacks, food, and activities.  But considering how much I spent, I'm now going to ration out the items so that I'll be able to ship a care package each month for several months.  While I was shopping I was thinking about what the soldier might want.  But Red Bull, did a really need to buy that.  Since I waited until the last minute, I won't be able to send off a box until the weekend.  I settled for writing an introduction letter.  I'll put it in the mailbox tomorrow on my way to work.

Quick Entry

I've slipped into my regular vacation mode(being lazy). Hopefully, I will be able to break out of it. I'm going to try to make this quick.

Playstation 2
On an impulse, I resumed playing with my Playstation. I've been playing "Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer" for the last few days. Before this, I hadn't touched my Playstation console in 2 years. The last game saved on it was July 3, 2008.

The Medical Results
Just my luck that the day I had two different doctor's appointment, it rained...hard. My first appointment was for the toenail removal. I arrived soaking wet, in a lobby with the air conditioning cranked up high. So high, the elderly waiting in the waiting area went to stand by the main door.

Anyway, the minute I arrived(on time), I knew I wouldn't make the other appointment on time. I was told that "they were a bit backed up" and I would have to wait. For the 15 minute procedure, I had to wait about an hour. However, once the doctor (podiatrist) arrived, I was very pleased. The doctor was very polite and professional. Although the tools she had looked a bit intimidating, she was very careful. She told me that the whole toenail didn't need to be removed. She told me that a blood blister under the nail was the cause of the toenail growing out of place. She cut down the toenail with what looked like a pair of wire cutters, and used an electric drill to file the nail down. She told me that a new nail will grow in about 9 months, but I shouldn't expect it to grow completely normal. She told me to keep the nail area cleaned and rub antibiotic ointment on it. I am scheduled to returned in October for a check up. No pain, and no discomfort. I was very pleased.

The next stop was another clinic in another part of Manhattan. Although this place was further "downtown", the behavior, attitudes, and responses seemed a bit more "Uptown". People skills were sorely lacking. However, there was a quite a bit of loud "chitchat" going on around me. Here (luckily), I didn't have to wait long. I was at this clinic to have an ultrasound taken of my groin area. I was attended to by a medical technician or a nurse, (either or, the woman lacked people skills). I was out in about 15 minutes.

My Diet
Since my doctor told me that I needed to "added a bit more protein and carbohydrates" to my diet, I fell of the diet wagon. I translated the doctor's statement as, "Your diet's wrong start over". I think I mentioned in a previous blog entry that I was looking for any excuse to stop the diet...and I found it. So, what have I been doing for the last couple of days? I've had a couple of dinners from a buffet-styled takeout restaurant, a meal at MacDonald's, a spaghetti dinner from a local takeout restaurant, fried chicken and beef-fried rice dinner, and a few pints of Hagen Daz ice cream. The plan is to resume the liquid diet (with modifications) on Monday. I also plan to start working out on Monday at the local Y.

Twitter
Today, I reactivated my Twitter account. I don't remember when or why I got it in the first place, but I never really used it. With Tracfone (my old prepaid service), I could use the mobile twitting feature, so I didn't use Twitter at all. Now with AT&T, I can send twits with my cell. I also signed up for a couple of Twitter services. I now have CBS and NY1(a local 24 hour news channel here in NYC). I also added NY1 Weather to my cell phone. I now get weather updates in the form of a twit. I just hope the weather reports are not as annoying as the Notify NYC. I signed up for automated "emergency" reports that was suppose to tell me about important things like school closing due to snow days", but now I get almost daily reports about what seems like every delay and incident that occurs in the 5 New York City boroughs. Today, the report was the temporary suspense of the Path Trains (New Jersey trains that travel to downtown Manhattan).

Well, I think I'm done. I also just finished two pints of ice cream. I will have my work cut out for me when my diet resumes.

Post Date - Friday, July 16, 2010 11:118PM