Matter of Perspective

First of all, a very special welcome to our readers, whether I know you or not. Let's get right to it.

1) Had two amazing days of working out. For some reason, I felt very inspired to lift heavier weights than I have ever lifted. 370 pounds on the squat press, 160 pounds on the bench press, 90 pounds on the shoulder press, and 40 pounds on each bicep and tricep. Topped it off with a triple berry protein shake. Then today, I ran two miles, finishing with some chin ups and dips. My 5k is almost two months away, and I want to see if I can beat 20 minutes after completing it in 29 last year. Maybe a little ambitious. But I did another one in just over 23 minutes in September. Why not go for it?

2) Tomorrow's lineup: four hours of an online job workshop and blood giving. Sounds like loads of fun. But they're two important things to do.

3) On Friday, I have to be in Gurnee by 5:30 in the morning to drop Mom off for her first tour of 2013. Basically, we're driving 60 miles northeast and it'll take well over an hour. Then I get to drive right back, that might take closer to 90 minutes. I know I should sleep after waking up that early, but knowing me, that's not about to happen.

4) Zack Wheeler suffers an oblique strain today. A top pitcher gets injured just taking swings in the batting cage. I'm close to laughing, that's almost comical.

5) Mr. Tom Billington. The Dynamite Kid. Gave me a lot to write about. Think I'll save that for another post.

6) American Wolves theme music "Clutch": Nothing pumps me up quite like it.

Song pick: "Silver Springs" Fleetwood Mac

Betrayal, The Window Up Above

It doesn't ever stop. This is going out to Springfield, OH. Thank you, George Jones, for recording these words. Just another reason why I love old country music much.

I've been living a new way of life that I love so.
But even now the clouds are gathering 

And the storm will wreck our home. 

I thought we belonged together
And that our hearts fit like a glove.

I was wrong for I'd been watching 

From the window up above.

You must have thought that I was sleeping 

And I wish that I had been.

But I guess it's best to get to know you
And the way your heart can sin. 

For last night he held you tightly 

And you didn't even shove. 

This is true for I'd been watching 

From the window up above.
 
From my eyes the teardrops started

As I listened on and on.

I heard you whisper to him softly 

That our marriage was all wrong. 

But I hope he makes you happy 

And that you will never lose his love 

I lost mine when I was watching 

From the window up above.

How I wish I could be dreaming 

And wake up to an honest love.
I was wrong for I was wrong for I'd been watching 

From the window up above.

MLB Predictions

National League
East
z-Atlanta
w-Washington
Philadelphia
Mets
Florida

Central
y-St. Louis
w-Cincinnati
Chicago
Milwaukee
Pittsburgh

West
y-San Francisco
Los Angeles
Arizona
San Diego
Colorado

American League
East
y-New York
w-Toronto
Boston
Baltimore
Tampa Bay

Central
y-Detroit
w-Chicago
Cleveland
Kansas City
Minnesota

West
z-Anaheim
Texas
Oakland
Seattle
Houston

NL Playoffs
Washington over Cincinnati

Washington over Atlanta
San Francisco over St. Louis

Washington over San Francisco

AL Playoffs
Toronto over Chicago

Anaheim over Toronto
New York over Detroit

Anaheim over New York

World Series
Washington over Anaheim in 6

Clueless & ROH predictions

I could rant again about certain rules sports fans need to follow. And rule number one is one team per sport. That's it. But I've done it so many times, it's not even worth it. I'm just appalled by CI being such a fraud and expressing it so openly. And she doesn't even realize it. 

Anyway, onto more enjoyable subjects. Ring of Honor's 11th Anniversary is just six nights way. I'm pretty excited for this show, it's one of the deepest cards I've seen come to the Frontier Fieldhouse in a long time. I have to miss some other social events that night, but hey, I don't skip Ring of Honor, especially shows as monumental as this one.

ROH World Championship

Kevin Steen vs. Jay Lethal

Pick: Jay Lethal

 

ROH World Tag Team Championship

The Briscoes defend against Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly

Pick: Briscoes

 

Dream Tag Team Match

The American Wolves (Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards) vs The Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov)

Pick: American Wolves

 

2 Out of 3 Falls - Truth Martini is Banned from Ringside

"Unbreakable" Michael Elgin vs Roderick Strong

Pick: Michael Elgin

 

ROH World TV Championship

Adam Cole vs. Matt Taven w/ Truth Martini

Pick: Matt Taven

 

No Holds Barred

"The Outlaw" Charlie Haas vs B.J. Whitmer

Pick: B.J. Whitmer

 

Grudge Tag Team Match

SCUM (Jimmy Jacobs & Steve Corino) vs Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander

Pick: Coleman and Alexander

 

Six Man Mayhem

"God's Gift" QT Marshall vs. ACH vs. Silas Young vs. Mike Sydal vs. Adam Page vs. Tadarius Thomas

Pick: ACH

Another week down, nothing has really changed

Second straight Friday night I'm writing. I'm too awake to sleep and too lazy to do anything really worthwhile. 24 hours away from the party I'm not invited to...Eh, let's think about something else.

1) Side Effects was an absolute joke of a movie. The story made no sense, it was brutally hard to follow, and the raunchiness at the end was unnecessary and downright disgusting. This is the second time I've gone to a bad Rooney Mara film. Never again. I wish I could get my $11 back...

2) I haven't had a drink in ten days. There have been times I've wanted to, but I'm not going to until March ends. I don't know if I'll feel different after, but we'll stick with it and find out.

3) Got rejected from three jobs this week. Gotta keep plugging away. I just really want to get something in the next month. But I will trust God that he will lead me to the next place I'm supposed to be. Yet, I know I need to keep working hard to get there.

4) My severance check from CEC arrives tomorrow. Thank goodness I am getting it, that money is going to really help me get through the next little while.

5) Cafecito on Congress Street in Chicago makes one of the better Cubano sandwiches I've had. Crunchy, soft bread, the proportions of the ingredients works very well, and the pork is seasoned well and tasted nice and juicy.

6) Smoque. Still the best BBQ in the midwest. St. Louis ribs, sliced brisket, beans, cornbread, oil and vinegar slaw, peach cobbler, sweet tea. Amazing.

7) Since starting the season 18-5, the Knicks are now 18-20. And they have lost four straight games. They look old, slow, and disinterested. I am as livid as I have been at this team since maybe 2003.

8) I'm going to two Mets games in the first week of the season. At least they won't be eliminated already.

9) Ben and Jack's Steakhouse in Manhattan has Greg Norman Shiraz wine...hmm...

10) One week till Ring of Honor's 11th Anniversary show...I so cannot wait!!!

Get Over It

I am truly happy for my friends MC and MM who got engaged to be married this past Valentine's Day. I knew they were co-leading a small group and had been friends for a long time, but I had no idea that they were ever dating. So when the news broke on Facebook around 4:30 in the afternoon, I first thought it was a rib! But it's a real story and I think it's great that they have each other.

So then, I saw them two days after the announcement and congratulated them. After the Singles Connect event that night, a lot of us went roller skating. At one point, I nearly crashed into them, but we kept each other up. We shared a few laughs over it while we skated around the rink. As the night progressed, I played air hockey against MM and I chatted with MC on a couple of occasions. Then on Sunday, I saw them again at church and we all had a great time celebrating the 1-year anniversary of the founding of Section 305 at Willow Creek.

Then came Monday night. I'm on Facebook, which apparently is where all news breaks along with Twitter, and I'm checking my upcoming events to find out details about the Winter Jam concert at the Sears Center this Saturday night. A couple of people from church are going, so I thought I'd tag along. Then I see some comments that I never expected to see. From Jason.

Change of plans. Going to Mxxx and Mxxx' engagement party.

Then I saw one from Fil.

Yeah, me too.

It was at that point that I realized I never got invited to an engagement party that I didn't know was going on.  I've documented my issue with MM from last December when she did not invite me to her New Year's Eve party because of what happened to her friend Clarissa's knee on Memorial Day. They held me responsible for the ACL injury, even though it was Luke who injured her and not me. During the Christmas party two weeks prior, we agreed that I would not attend this particular party but then it would be okay for me to attend future events that she would be hosting. Well, she has proven herself to be a damn liar. Just like New Year's Eve, I was not included on the invite for this party either.

There is no good reason for me to be disinvited from the party when guys like Jason and Fil are allowed to attend. I like both those guys, but I'm just as big a part of the community as they are. It's like MM and CM are playing this evil game of revenge where they try to screw with my social life just to get revenge on me for something that they think I did.

However, I like MC and I consider him a friend. I am planning to call him and get some answers, because I believe I am entitled to them. The truth is I don't even want to attend the party if I'm not wanted. But I'm disgusted that these people, believing Christians, choose to hold onto the bitterness and anger from this one single incident and exclude me. And so I ask myself why would I want to be a part of that kind of community? I can't think of a good reason.

Those Friday night blues, they get in your shoes.

It's already 12:06 and I can't even imagine going to sleep yet. This hasn't been my best or worst day, but it's been filled with a lot of different emotions and thoughts.

1) For the first time in five weeks, I set my alarm to wake me up at 6 am. I wolfed down an oatmeal raisin cookie harvest Power bar and drove 45 minutes north to Algonquin to do an Insanity workout with Natalie. I got through it a little easier than two weeks ago. Doesn't mean it was easy by any means though. Twenty minutes in, I was drenched with sweat. If I had wrung out my navy blue sleeveless t-shirt, I think sweat would have dripped out of it like a sponge. Then after that, we did a 20-minute Jillian Michaels workout. I think that would have been easier if we had did it first. It would have served as a warmup for Insanity. But I met her brother and sister, which was cool. And her poodle, Domino, can't get enough of me. I was get lots of lickings and eventually, he tried humping my left arm. Enough said. She also showed me some old photos of her of when she was at a lower weight and I left her place around 10:30, later than I intended.

2) I got home, showered, and Mom and I headed down to Aurora. After making several wrong turns in downtown, we purchased tickets for the Bee Gees tribute show at the Paramount Theater, which will be happening in late March. Sadly, with Robin and Maurice gone, this will probably the closest I'll ever see to watching the Bee Gees perform a live concert. I've seen the Staying Alive band perform on Youtube. And those guys' vocals remind me very much of the Brothers Gibb so I'm confident it's going to be an excellent show

3) Then, we headed over to Randall Road in Geneva to take advantage of our Buy 1, Get 1 Free coupon for Chipotle. We ordered two bowls along with chips and salsa. In my bowl, I had brown rice, pinto beans, carnitas, salsa verde, corn salsa, cheese, and guacamole. But here's what bugged me. I asked for lime wedges, they said okay, and then they didn't give me any. I asked again politely and they gave me one stinking lime wedge. Newsflash. Wedges means plural. That means more than one! Three wedges would have been great. Two for the bowl, one for the Coke. So instead, I added a splash of Sprite to my Coke. We planned to sit, but school was out, and by 12:45, there wasn't a single table to be had. It took five minutes to get a table, but it was worth it, our lunch tasted excellent.

4) Costco was our next stop. We planned to just get salmon, but there's really no way to get one item in Costco. We walked out with salmon filets, strawberries, bell peppers, a pineapple, Skinny Pop popcorn, sliced turkey, and Mom spent $59.00 to renew her membership! I think our total came to around $135.00. By the way, it wasn't a great day for samples. I had wheat toast, steelhead trout, and a Special K breakfast sandwich. Nothing else, like pound cake, chocolate protein bars, yogurt, V8 fusion, etc. really appealed to me.

5) Our last stop was the Gorecki auto repair shop in downtown Geneva. I paid almost $300 for the work done on my brakes. And after being without it for six weeks, I finally got my spare key back. Mom has been having a ton of trouble steering her car; even I have trouble with it. So we added some power steering fluid and hopefully, it'll do the job for a while.

6) I was so ready to get home at that point. I chatted with J-Sea in Springfield for an hour and played some audio clips. I admit this was the second straight day I did not apply for a job. I think my focus is on this upcoming phone interview on Monday with the American Physician Institute. They are interested in hiring me as an editor, I would be happy if that worked out. We'll find out soon enough. I also ordered three tickets for the Mets vs. Marlins game on April 6. With their Valentine's Day special, I got the three tickets for $35.00. Dad and I will be going, I have no idea who will be getting the third though.

7) Then, after making some leftover spinach deep dish pizza, I left around 6:20 for Game Works. I saw Jason, Chris, Hart, Matthew, Budi, Paul, Andrea, Natalie, Jennifer "no private conversations allowed" G, Natasha, Kim, Luke, and some really cute girl that he brought along. She's probably nothing more than the latest one he found to flirt with. I got dominated in Dance revolution, basketball, billiards, and the motorcycle racing game. Eventually, I went on my own and found this tennis simulation game with real pros and real courts and real tournaments. I played as Roger Federer and actually won my first match against Tim Henman. Then, the game matched me against James Blake, who hit every shot 120 mph. I lost two straight games and that was the end.

8) But I remember two highlights. I watched two different couples play Deal or No Deal and they stunk the joint up. I think they never walked out with more than 30 tickets. So I decided to go for it. I swiped my card and chose Case #11. I lost a lot of the better cases like 100 tickets and 50 tickets in my first two rounds. But I kept holding onto the 200 tickets, the top prize on the board. Eventually, I was down to two cases, mine and the one I had not eliminated, I believe it was #6. And I believe the two amounts remaining were 200 tickets and 10 tickets. The banker offered me 52 tickets. Even though Paul Rim said I should take the deal, I declined. I was going all the way. They opened Case #11 and there it was. 200 tickets! I had won the game! I pumped my fist, I was just so happy. I spent the next three minutes watching my tickets slowly dispense out of the bottom of the machine. I actually wore them around my neck like a long necklace for a few minutes before turning them in and getting them credited to my card. There was nothing really worth buying for 200 tickets. I could have gotten a tiny stuffed football, but it wasn't enough for me.

9) The other highlight was playing Mario Kart and finishing first as Mario in the race. It felt like I was a junior in college again when my roommates and I would play almost every week. I would have been a whole lot happier if I had beaten my friends out, but they were off doing their own things by this point.

10) By 10 pm, I decided to turn on Blueshirt Underground radio and hear Jim and Eddie vent over the Rangers. Chris Kreider getting sent down, the horrible power play, John Tortorella is a moron, that entertained me. After all, I had already spent 20 bucks on refilling my Game Works card and I'd really had enough of the place at that point. So I headed home.

11) I would have liked a very stiff drink when I came home tonight. Maybe some Jack Daniels or some sweet tea vodka. But it's Lent and I've decided to stay away from alcohol through March. So instead, I devoured some chips and Frontera salsa, and guzzled down a Mexican Coke. Glass bottle + sugar = proper Coke!

All I can think about is my stomach

So heading into the contest, I drank 1 1/4 gallons of water and a protein shake with egg whites, apple juice, and carrots. That was all between 11 and 12 that day; I wanted to give my body a good six hours to recover. I also worked out on the stationary bike and Nautilis equipment about three hours prior. I wore my black Adidas sweatpants and my blue and orange Mets mesh pullover. 

Mom was gracious enough to drive me to Downers Grove and we arrived at Fuddrucker's around 5:45.  As we walked in, I saw a model five pounder sitting on a table. My first thought was it didn't look too huge but it was going to be really thick. Five pounds of beef, two pounds of bun. I placed the order, Mom got a buffalo burger with bleu cheese. For my beverage, I went with lemonade and water. 

After about 15 minutes, my buzzer went off; the burgers were ready. I picked them up and they told me I had five minutes to top it. I added sides of lettuce, pickles, jalapenos, and salsa. I also filled cups of honey mustard and BBQ sauce. I cut the burger into four pieces, so each piece weighed about 1 3/4 pounds, including the bun. The told me to start at 6:20, but my clock said 6:03. I was not about to wait 15 minutes, so I started. At 6:08, they announced I could start. So basically, I had five extra minutes, but I really didn't think that was going to make a difference. I knew I was already going to be full after 55 minutes anyway! 

So I started at 6:03. I knew I would have to eat fast to have a fair chance. I finished the first quarter in four and a half minutes. But that was the smallest piece. I figured I'd better wipe out the largest piece next. I topped it with Heinz BBQ sauce, which tastes horrible. I snuck in some pickles and jalapenos to mix up the flavors too. My goal was to be halfway done in 20 minutes and by the time I finished that piece, 25 minutes had passed. I was feeling okay, but the burger was so thick, I knew it wouldn't be easy.  

Around the thirty minute mark, I was feeling really full. I knew I was not going to finish. I got a cup of ginger ale, hoping it would settle my stomach. At least ten people came by to encourage me, which I really appreciated. I stayed positive and upbeat, but my stomach was feeling anything but. My goal became to finish 3/4 of the burger. 

It wouldn't work out though. By the time 40 minutes had passed, I was starting to feel really nauseous. I was using more lemonade to moisten the food. I kept nibbling away, but I could feel my stomach really starting to pound. I knew I had to stop for the sake of my health. At the 50 minute mark, I was done. I finished maybe 3/4 of my third piece, so I probably ate about five pounds of food in 50 minutes. I went straight to the bathroom...

So we went home and I crashed in the backseat. I needed to lay down. I changed clothes, went straight tot he couch in basement, and watched the Rangers vs Bruins game. My stomach felt like a sumo wrestler was tap dancing on it. I headed upstairs around 11:30 and it must have taken me two hours to fall asleep. But I woke up at 8:30 and I feel fine. Think I'll pass on the gym though...

So what did I learn? Five pounds of food may be my limit. Heinz BBQ sauce stinks. And I had fun with it. I don't know if I'll try to do something like this again, but I'm glad I gave it a shot.

The Fat Tuesday Contest Preview

I'm 24 hours away from taking on the 5 pound burger challenge at Fuddrucker's. I have now been prepping for this contest for a week and here's what I've gone through.

Today is Monday, February 11 and I started training last Wednesday. On that day as well as Thursday and Friday, I ate one large lunch as well as two average-sized meals. I believe my lunch was chili and crackers for Wednesday and Thursday. For Friday, I made five scrambled eggs with crescent rolls and a peanut butter/banana protein shake. Then on Saturday, I upped the ante. I had two large meals instead. In the morning, I had a Jimmy Dean lite breakfast sandwich with turkey sausage and egg whites. After my job transition workshop, family therapist appointment, and the gym, I came home. I made 9 chicken wings, two pretzel rolls and some cheddar cheese. To drink, I made a smoothie with spinach, pineapple, bananas, grapes and protein powder. On Sunday, I had a dozen wings at BWW while watching the Knicks get wasted in the fourth quarter against the Clippers. Sunday night was a ton of chicken parmesan and whole wheat pasta. So this morning, after 40 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and a few minutes of chin-ups and dips, I made two turkey sausage patties, three egg whites, two wheat toast slices, and the same smoothie as Saturday. Definitely filled me up, it did the trick.

So tonight, it's gonna be a lot of produce. I don't want to be having any meat or anything that will take a long time to digest. Actually, I have not touched any red meat since Wednesday afternoon. I'm hoping that will give me a crazy desire to eat a ton of meat, I don't know. Maybe, it will turn out I should have been eating red meat all week, we shall see.

But tonight, I'll be eating an entire mini watermelon and a few handfuls of green grapes. The advantage of eating watermelon is that it's 90 percent water, so it'll pass through me quickly. And that will be the last solid food I eat for at least 18 hours, maybe 20. If I have anything that isn't water tomorrow, I'll probably make a protein shake with egg whites and fruit juice in the later part of the morning. I don't want to be completely devoid of energy for tomorrow night.

Can't forget the liquid aspect. Since Wednesday, I've been drinking at least three quarts of water each day, sometimes a gallon. That doesn't even include the water I'm drinking while I'm working out. I have another quart to drink tonight, that would get me up to a gallon today. Tomorrow, I will plan to drink a half gallon in the morning and another gallon in the middle of the day. This is all about stretching my stomach muscles out. I  have no idea how well it is working, the proof will be in the pudding, or in this case, the beef, tomorrow night.

So that's what I've been doing. Now to what I am going to attempt to do and how I will attempt to accomplish it.

I have one hour to finish this burger. The burger alone weighs five pounds, the bun will probably weight another one or two pounds. Now when I took a burger challenge at Urban Grille in 2008, I finished two pounds of beef and the roll in fifty minutes. But there was no time limit. So why would I think that I can finish more than twice that amount in the same amount of time?

Over the last four years, I've learned about a lot more about food challenges by watching Man vs Food and researching them on the Internet. Most of all, I know I need to eat quickly so when I start to hit the wall and feel full, I can have a good portion of the burger already completed. And the last time I tried this, I actually had eaten some Rosa's pizza the night before, since I was at a Ring of Honor show. I finished that burger off with maybe 12 hours of preparation. Conversely, I have been preparing for this challenge for the last seven days.

As for strategy, I think I'm going to cut the burger up into four pieces and try to complete one quadrant every 15 minutes. I think I need to keep mixing the flavors up, so I'll certainly get American cheese on it, and I'll probably top each quadrant with a different flavor like BBQ sauce and honey mustard. Maybe I'll even bring a little remoulade from home, maybe my favorite condiment in the world. I'll also add in some tomatoes, jalapenos, and pickles too. Maybe even a little pico de gallo.

Mom will be there giving me support, I don't know who else will be there. The odds are certainly stacked against me finishing 60 ounces of beef. But I'm going to go at it as hard as I can. I think if I can finish 3/4 of it, I'll go home happy. But if I finish it, I will get a t-shirt and two free future visits to Fuddrucker's. I'm thinking I should also get a package of Tums and Zantac...

Win or lose, we're gonna have some fun with it.

End of another week

1) As opposed to what a certain person wrote on FB, somehow this Super Bowl reminded not of 42 and 46, but so much more of 35. Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens.

2) A few things about the party I went to. I did karaoke before most of the crowd arrived and after hearing Chris butcher three Casting Crowns songs, I did "Bad Bad Leroy Brown." That one went well, but then I did "Piano Man." I was singing one of the high verses when Jason, Natalie, Clarissa, and Andrea all came in. Buzzkill.

3) Tom, who was our host, has a beautiful golden retriever named Daisy. I probably petted her for a good five minutes before I even shook anyone's hand! She was just so friendly and cute.

4) There were a good 100 people there. I think I knew 15. I met another 10-15, but I'll probably never see them again.

5) I really enjoyed spending time with AC. Honestly, I don't think she's the one for me, but boy, she'd be an amazing girlfriend for almost any guy.

6) Moving on. The Insanity DVD workout is one of the toughest workouts I have ever done in my life. 40 minutes of squatting, jumping, stretching...it is, well, insane! My quads and hamstrings are still sore 48 hours after the fact!

7) That's not the only thing wrong with my body. My right pinky is still in terrible shape. I had to remove an air filter after it got mangled up. It happened because we had bought the wrong size.And I had to pull it out of the duct piece by piece and one of the wires sliced my finger. Forget the scar, I can't even get this thing to close up yet. I'd better, since my medical insurance ended Friday.

8) Today is February 3. No more red meat for me for 8.5 days, when I WILL attempt to conquer the 5-pound burger challenge at Fuddrucker's.

9) I have decided to give up alcohol for Lent. That means no drinks between February 13 and March 30, a span of 46 days. I've never given anything up for Lent, but I'm pretty sure I can do it.

10) MacMurray-Carr interview on Monday. Let's see what happens...