Saturday, September 25, 2010

Go Bucks!

My little girl loves the Buckeyes! If her first word is Dada, her second and third will maybe be Go Bucks!

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Friday, September 24, 2010

Wind Through the Rings

4rnds:
5 muscle-ups
50 m Barefoot Sprint
Watch out for fire ants!
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Thursday, September 23, 2010

I Dream of Music



Sometimes one has a dream that breaks through the morning fog, and is still memorable on the conscious side. These are best written down and shared, so as to keep a hold of them. The downside, however, is there is always someone who thinks they can decipher what nonsense your brain is aligning in to a story, and give you their best Freudian opinion of what all that junk means. I don't believe there is anything to dreams other than your brain trying to make sense of thought fragments caught between the conscious and subconscious thought pathways. But whatever, this makes a good story.

Somehow, my family figured out how to travel back in time. I'll leave this as the premise because I don't know how or why, but i do know it revolved around stormy weather and massive amounts of electricity. We (My wife, me, and DB) all ended up staying in a hotel (think shitty Ramada) that had a small BBQ party next door to it outside of someone's garage. Well at this party, there were the token middle aged white guys in Hawaiian shirts with Coors Light, but also... Junior Kimbrough and Asie Payton! They were drinking beer and playing guitar waiting on the ribs to be done.
Now normally I would be star-struck with the weight of these dead bluesmen, but I was their new Best Friend -- despite not wearing any pants!!! (this is where the dreamy-ness of all this comes into play)

Asie and Junior Played, taking turns passing around an old beat up acoustic. Eventually I wandered back to our car and put on some pants to go back to the plastic chair between the two bluesmen. They let me play them a couple songs, and I remember how beautiful the songs were. They were full composititons of songs I haven't written yet, and Asie and Junior were floored at how good it all was! Humbly I thanked them, and had to leave to find my wife and daughter -- the music still ringing in my ears. The song was so good, but I never make the transititon of the songs i hear when i'm asleep to the songs I play on my guitar. There is so much good music hidden in my brain, I just can't access it.

The rest of the dream involved me climbing the hard way through some sort of power plant that looked like it was in a Transformers cartoon or some kind of movie set. Cue the big sparks and lightning and storms. after I found my wife and child I woke up. I never figured out how we got back in time, but whatever. It's just a dream. I know this because I wasn't wearing pants the majority of the time. Pretty standard really.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Struggling to Type

Today's workout left my arms very much like jello. no story today, just the workout. My arms are tired.

4 Rounds as Fast as Possible:
400M Farmer's Walk with full 5Gal Waterjugs*
25 Pullups (Alternate Grip)
15 Knees to Elbows

*If you have to put down the jugs, you cannot advance forward until you pick them back up.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Back at Work/ Back on Track

I have been traveling more than normal the last few weeks. The adventures in Ohio, Bahamas and various airports have been less than kind on my eating habits and workout routines. Managing a few fasts and a few workouts has been difficult. Ohio was great, the Navy Trip to the Bahamas was more work-hard-play-hard than relaxation, and I am using the time at work to get back on track. I can control more factors while on the job. I feed myself only most of the time, and I don't eat at restaurants. This helps curb the up-sale forced feedings from most restaurants, and keeps me away from lunchables. I can focus on getting the nutrients I need, and experiment with recipes. I can also fast as long as I can since there is no one else needing to be fed. I have set a goal of running twice as much as normal this hitch to get my mileage up. I haven't decided whether I am going to run a race next year or not, but it doesn't really matter. I don't compete with anyone but myself anymore. I just want to lose solid weight -- even if that means losing some muscle mass. I want to be under 200 again. Leaner, Quicker, and Faster. We'll see what happens. I'm off to a good start after today's workout.

Workout: (as intended)
1 mile with 20# Vest
50 Sledgehammers (25 each side)
40 WaterJug Frontsquats (5 gal.)
30 Single Leg Deadlift (15 Each Leg)
20 Back Extensions

I was running this workout with a partner, and ended up doing the exercises in reverse, so it slowed me down. I burned up my back early on, and it ended up being more of a strength/ muscle endurance workout than a strictly High intensity workout. My partner was doing the workout as originally intended and finished a little after I did. I'm definitely feeling this one this evening. time for a nice rest before some extra running tomorrow.

EDIT: I added a Tabata Kettlebell Swing after resting for a few minutes. 35 Lbs Alternating arms until the last 2 intervals.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Adventure of the Month: AUTEC

According to some kook on the history channel, the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, or AUTEC, is the Area 51 of the Atlantic. Apparently they store UFO's in the blue holes of Andros, but I have never seen them. In reality, AUTEC is a little facility on Andros Island, Bahamas the US and British Navies practice playing submarine. It's more Down Periscope, than Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. The facility also happens to be very large part of the island economy. I love talking to the local Bahamians.
I am on my way to Opa Locka, where my helicopter will get fuel, and then fly across the water to Fresh Creek. For the next 4 days, my compatriots and I will be dropping torpedoes and shooting guns from Navy helicopters; while trying to find time to snorkel with the barracudas, and drink goombay smashes on the beach. This is to distract us from the fact we are confined to a mile square piece o rock, living in shitty barracks, and away from our families. I personally intend on working out every day as well.

Andros Island is a beautiful Island, but I have only really seen it from the air. It's pock marked with Blue Holes - fresh water filled holes that seem to have no bottom. They are essentially caves formed in the limestone or coral of the islands that open up to the ocean somewhere along the shelf. Andros is set on the edge of an area of deep water called the Tongue Of The Ocean. The shelf drops off to 1000 fathoms.

The weather is hot, the girls are not. Rum is cheap, beats the heat.

I may have internet, but I might not.

Whatever. The reserves are still a pretty cool second job.

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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Busy, But Catching the Moments That Matter


A good friend of mine reffered to my visits to Ohio as "a Whirlwind of [New Renaissance]" and I have to concur. My life is a whirlwind. I'm never in the same spot for longer than a few days, it seems; and I always have somewhere to be or someone to see when I'm there. Excluding work, where I am obligated to be within a stone's throw away from my helicopter. I cannot leave to go anywhere else, and my family doesn't come along. I cherish the small moments of time I have with my young daughter. I don't have enough of them, it seems. I could spend all day, every day with her, but that's not how life works. I am just glad to not have to worry about deployments any longer than a few weeks anymore. It's tough enough leaving for a 2 week shift and coming back to a bigger, stronger, smarter, and faster little thing crawling at my ankles. She is pulling up, has teeth, and can walk if i hold her hands. Pretty soon she'll be sprinting to meet me at the airport when i come home.