Not Quite Awake But Blogging

I was awakened minutes ago by a dream in which I received an email telling me I was going to be killed by a professional killer. Is God giving me ideas for a screenplay? I know I'm not quite awake because I couldn't remember what keys did what on my laptop for a couple seconds.

During the last 10 days I have been exploring Twitter and I am finding that more visitors have found my blog today than just about any day in the last couple months.

I read my blog entry and realized it's been a couple weeks, which is probably not as interesting to the Twitter people who mostly send messages at least once or twice a day. I haven't been able to shut up since I started Twittering (Tweeting?). Visit my Twitter profile by clicking on the title of this post.

I do believe that having this many people read my stuff will give me more incentive to get back on pace. I intended to go again to the climbing wall with my son, but he was worn down by soccer and karate. I've only done 2 miles at a time walking recently, so I've got to get that back in shape. Any Twitterers (Tweeters?) and others who want to leave encouraging comments are welcome to do so.

I also started a blog called How I Twitter. If you're interested in social networking, you'll want to visit: HowITwitter.blogspot.com and "follow" me on Twitter. I can't quite remember what else I had to say so I guess I'll be getting back to bed soon.

Tell Someone Publicly

I volunteer with Reality Changers most Wednesday nights. We have a sharing time that includes the tutors and I let them know that I have been going backwards and/or standing still in my weight loss goal. When I started in January, I assumed that by publicly letting people know through the internet, I would have enough incentive to reach my goal.

Now I am in a position to show you that even though you get off track, you can get right back on the horse. It's helpful to tell at least one other person about your goal and in my case, I told about a dozen. Later this morning I will weigh myself and see where I'm at.

I did do something I haven't done before last Friday. My son and I went to Solid Rock Gym in San Marcos for an hour and a half and we definitely worked up a sweat on the climbing walls. He asked me if we could go and I thought about it and decided I would do it. I didn't realize that he was only asking if I would take him and be the belayer. So I stepped out of my comfort zone and worked some muscles that needed working and Stuart and I had a great time. We are on schedule for this Friday, too.

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Check out my new blog at BurritoMultiplierEffect.blogspot.com

Walked And Walked At Comic-Con

Comic-Con is huge. Over 120,000 visitors over four days padded the San Diego Convention Center. Last year I was really hurting afterwards. My feet still felt the impact this year, but all the walking I've done has gotten me used to it so it was no big deal. I was really tired one day and decided to take a nap at 6:45. I got up the next morning at 6:15. I haven't gotten that much sleep in years. Come to Comic-Con next year, but register by March [!] if you want a 4-day pass. Be prepared to walk and walk and walk and then walk some more. Why not train for it starting today?

Click on the title of this post to see some images from a very talented artist I met. His name is Francis Vallejo and he is a student at the Ringling [Yes - THAT Ringling. Who knew?] College of Art + Design in Sarasota, Florida.

The Maker's Diet (Cleanse)

Just got done with the cleanse part of The Maker's Diet. I lost over 13 pounds in 10 days. Today was day two of the actual diet. Tomorrow is the first day of Comic-Con, so I will definitely be walking and walking (and walking!). I hereby promise to blog more often. Right now I am soooo ready for bed.

You can amuse yourself with some political writing by clicking on the title of this post. I'll be sharing political links of different stripes between now and the general election in November. Did I mention that I am tired? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Music Gets You Going

If you click on the title of this post, the music of The Submarines will start right up. Some are calling them folk, but I'm not exactly sure what that means with modern instrumentation. I know they probably sound great in an Ipod while you're walking. I may have to get one of those one of these days.

Here I go on my walk...

(Yes, I am still walking. Never give up.)

Never Give Up

Never give up.

'Nuff said.

Walking Before 6 AM

Today I got a good start. I got a good night's sleep after visiting Dr. Tarighati yesterday who filled three cavities. I was really impressed with how smoothly it went and I was surprised when he told me it was all done. I was expecting the same amount of time for each tooth. I told him that he's impressive. One Motrin was all I took after the anesthetic wore off and I slept right throught from a little after 10 until a little after 5. Today that area seems normal except there's no pain like before. No wonder I was in a good mood so early!

My dog, Mellow, and I got 1.5 miles in and I came back and made breakfast. Mama was happy.

Walking And Nonviolent Communication

I got a good mile or so in just before I spoke with a nice woman who's interested in learning more about compassionate communication. I find that you can generally fit a mile in your schedule if you just pay attention. I knew that I would be on the phone and that after I would need to pick up my son. Now I've got time to call one more person before I leave and the dog is happy, too.

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

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Click on the title of this post to check out/but Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life.

Secret Message Under This Message

I got back from Dr. Tarighati's office a few hours ago. The second phase of my root canal went so well that I don't feel any pain right now. This guy's good - great, even. He even noticed how much weight I lost. What a guy. And my neighbor, Kim, said that I inspired her to exercise more. Guess I'll really and truly have to get back on the horse and stop with these sub-five mile days. I got a good start today. More tomorrow.

Good Advice No Matter Who Said It

"In the end, go with your gut."

Donald Trump (1946 - )
American real estate developer


from justsell.com

First The Good News

Yesterday was Sunday and my honey surprisingly got me up earlier than I expected as we had made plans to attend the evening service at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church. Our son was away and my body (and mind) expected to sleep in until around 8 or so. We hadn't been to the beach lately and all of a sudden San Diego County is experiencing a heat wave. She wisely suggested that earlier would be milder than later at the beach and so off we went.

We drove down to Del Mar and parked on the street around 19th. Easily finding a parking space near 19th street is another advantage of getting up early. We even had time to share breakfast at Pipes in Cardiff before we reached our final destination.

While the beach wasn't deserted, there still weren't that many people there when we arrived. We walked about a half mile until we were clear of the surfer's only (in the water) zone and set our stuff down. I realized that maybe I should have waited in line at Pipes because I really needed to find the facilities. After walking about another half mile I was relieved (in more ways than one) to find a just-cleaned (read: hosed down) men's room. After taking care of business Marianne and I walked south to the tide pools. I don't remember the last time I saw sea slugs. (One was curious about my toes.) I kept imagining those cute creatures in Galaxy Quest that turn out to be ravenous beasts, but gently touching this fist-sized creature didn't turn him (her?) into anything but a shy guy. Further out in the ocean we saw dolphins surfacing over and over as they made their way north. I didn't go into the water very far as it was really cold. It's been a long time since I was in water so cold that it literally hurt to stay in it. What a contrast with the sun that seemed more blazing every few minutes.

We did get in about three miles walking. We'll be back on the beach again soon.

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

Positively Progressive Perdition of Pounds

Yesterday I got good news when I stepped on the scale. Last week not so much. Two weeks ago I found out that I gained just a little - .2 kilos or .44 pounds. Last week I weighed in at 115.7, which was a tiny gain - .1 kilos or .22 pounds. Not a loss, but two small gains two weeks in a row.

Since February 25 I have been on again, off again with a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. I have found that it's not easy when you run into your son's birthday - especially when you bake the cake. Easter and the usual accompanying chocolate eggs and other goodies really make it hard for me to stay low carb. I did succeed last week. So, the good news on the scale yesterday was a new low for my Tuesday weigh-in - 114.5 kilos. That means I lost 1.2 kilos or 2.64 pounds. Yes, I am still walking. Does a low carb diet like South Beach help? I think so and most people agree. Why not do both?

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.