i left Texas because my family insists im always wrong about stuff. anything, if not everything. im apparently the family "drama queen."

of course, this is good training for not beating the crap out of my sister when she gets pissed off that i don't know the menu at schlotzsky's.

T.L.M.

very very hot.

why did i agree to subject myself to 100+ degrees for days on end? i must be a moron.

also, im tired. actually falling asleep right as i type this.

bed.

T.L.M.

i will be hitting South Central Texas sometime on the 14th or 15th of July. i have yet to actually buy tickets or plan an itinerary, but i will be in the area until August 2nd. Ginger, Gwen, let me know when/if I should try to get up to Austin. I have enough time that I can even make two trips, or a few consecutive days, or whatever!

vaaaaaaaaaaakaaaaaaaaaay-shun!

T.L.M.

is it bad that im already plotting my last night at work? i have no idea when it will be, other than in the next couple of months, but i know exactly what im going to do:

stock everything backwards. then take pictures for the internet. or maybe even a video!

"Sometimes you have to burn a bridge. Other times you have to napalm it." - R.K. Milholland

T.L.M.

i got promoted in bujinkan the other day, from white belt to green belt. im pretty darn proud of myself, even if it just means ive learned some of the basics.

wrist locks still give me plenty of trouble, though.

for the interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bujinkan#Grades

T.L.M.

219 lbs sans clothes upon waking up! i even double-checked the scale to make sure it was calibrated.

and that's even after not working out since tuesday night, and eating out at Marie Callender's and Shari's (think Denny's) on wednesday, as well as hitting up sonic and mcdonald's.

i know, i know. not what's on my diet. but clearly something is working.

219 baseline. rawk.

T.L.M.

...other than once a month.  i bet my postal worker would appreciate that.

but i have my diploma.  w00t!

T.L.M.

I woke up at 9pm Friday night under 220, for the first time since 1999.

\m/ ^_^ \m/

T.L.M.

how's this for a workout?

50 minutes of cardio
-1 min @ 3.5 mph
-1 min @ 3 mph w/ 10% grade
-30 sec @ 3 mph
-1 min @ 5.5 mph w/ 2% grade
-30 sec @ 3 mph
-30 sec @ 8 mph
-repeat above 10 times
-5 min @ 2.8 mph w/ 3.5% grade

to start! and then...

-5 sets of chest press

• 12 reps @ 95 lbs
• 10 reps @ 105 lbs
• 8 and 6 reps @ 115 lbs x 2
• 4 reps @ 135 lbs

between each set, a set of 8 pushups, 10lbs forearm roll-up, and 100 reps jump rope

then!

-3 sets of dumbbell flys

• 12 reps @ 20 lbs
• 12 reps @ 25 lbs
• 12 reps @ 30 lbs

with the same as above between each set, except 10 instead of 8

then!

-3 sets of dips on the assistance machine with the same as above.

then!

-100 power ab crunches with a 4 lb. medicine ball, throwing it against the wall, followed by 30 seconds of Plank immediately followed by 30 seconds of Superman Plank (where you are still in Plank, but you push your hands and/or feet further apart as though flying.  you are NOT on your stomach).  i can only get about an extra 8-10 inches of space, but i saw a picture of a former boxer doing it, and he had his stomach about 2 inches from the ground.  nearly full extension.  obviously, that's my goal.

2.5 hours in the gym.  im beat.

T.L.M.

a friend of mine has received an initial diagnosis for lupus. i passed along the Spoon Theory and my hope that a secondary diagnosis doesnt confirm it.

on an unrelated note, i should wash my dishes.

T.L.M.

"Champions are made when nobody's looking." Apolo Ohno, Olympic skater

T.L.M.

that... that was an epic urination.

if i used twitter, id have tweeted about it.

i swear it lost about half a liter.

i dont even know where it all came from.

epic.

T.L.M.

i have a blender. because its useful. i already made a nice mixture of banana, oatmeal, protein powder, and soy milk.

nom.

T.L.M.

i got a random IM from someone i lost touch with several years ago. while wondering why this person would choose to IM me now, after all this time, my brain got on the topic of Her. and stayed there for the next three hours.

seriously distracted me during my workout. hrmph.

T.L.M.

ive taken up bujinkan. ive enjoyed it enough to go buy a pair of black bdu pants and a pair of tabi. i havent owned a pair of tabi in years! i even bought a dowel to practice hanbojutsu.

i call them tabby, just to annoy the guy who introduced me to bujinkan, but it is pronounced tahbee.

in other news, im still in oregon. i have given up on Texas because Austin was really the only place i wanted to go. well, maybe Corpus Christi, but thats not near anyone i know.

ive been talking to a USMC recruiter, and im still under the age limit, so that's an option.

T.L.M.

it's so quiet... someone say something!

T.L.M.

the store market i had in mind for transferring to is under a hiring freeze. this makes it very, very difficult to transfer in.

i dont know exactly what im going to do. i have one store to call to see what they are up to. everything is starting to get frustrating.

very, very frustrating.

T.L.M.

the store i had in mind for transferring to isn't accepting transfers, and it took them two weeks to get that answer to me. id have all of a few days to secure a position at another store as well as locate a new apartment nearby.

ive decided to push back my moving date until may 1. it's aggravating, but that seems to be the best solution. 30 days to find a new store and secure an apartment, as opposed to 5.

T.L.M.

Not for three more months?!

Khaaaan!

T.L.M.

"Knowing" was pretty engaging. it had a decent plot device, a good leading actor, and suitably creepy antagonists. the "discovery moment" felt a little forced, but it was early enough that we could move on.

but the ending... seriously... fraught with religious symbolism and completely unnecessary. i wouldn't want to reveal too much here, but the climactic standoff on the hill was rehashing of so many previous "chosen one" sequences or alien invitation sequences that it was completely anticipated the moment the boy stopped his dad from shooting them. after that, well, i could have lived with the movie ending in Armageddon. that ending would have worked. instead, the director tacked on an extra three minutes of bad cgi to drive the point home that humanity will survive, or some such nonsense.

pass.

***

in other news, im getting $2,608 back from the government. yay, taxes!

T.L.M.