Howdy all. I hope the Ides of January treated you all well. I think the Ides relates to the patron saint of malt liquor. And yes - the 13th of January was the Ides, not the 15th. The internet says so. Get off my back.
The wife and I are spending this extended home confinement period staring at things we don't like in our house. We are in the house A LOT. We had a COVID scare right after Xmas, and then again earlier this week. So we'll remain confined until Spring. No indoor dining or indoor parties for us. Yippee.
We decided to make a list of issues we saw and find a contractor willing to tackle the jobs. Some are tiny (damaged shingles, shower water pressure issues, funky door knob, etc) and some are bigger (paint house exterior, fix leak causing water build-up in dining room, etc).
Our contractor is great - honest and reasonable. We showed him our list when he came by. My competency in repairing things is limited. I'm all about tackling yard jobs, but I'm no handyman. He agreed to a plan to fix things.
And then he really did it. He made me feel like half a man. He fixed several of our issues ON THE SPOT. WITH ONLY A SCREWDRIVER. IN LESS THAN TWO MINUTES EACH. Wall-mounted hook for a curtain with its plastic screw base stuck behind plaster? He said it was a butterfly screw and fixed it in 15 seconds. Sticky door knob? He adjusted the tension on the knob in 10 seconds and fixed that. Two showers with water pressure issues? He quickly unscrewed the heads, took them apart, found blockages and re-screwed them in. Badda bing. Badda boom. To make things worse, my wife saw all of this. I felt like a eunuch. I take solace in the fact that I am surely not the only man who would struggle with these issues. And after all, I did paint one kid's bedroom a couple months ago. And I felled a mid-size tree all by myself with a chainsaw and some brute force last fall. Memories of this should ease my emotional impotence over time. Hopefully.
In other news, I am pursuing dry January again this year. I have done it many times. I started before it became cool. I am also using this as a reset for my low-carb diet. I am on an extreme reduction diet I hope to continue all month. By reduction, I mean the number of foods, not the amount. I am doing a strict carnivore diet to see how I feel. Since Monday 1/4, all I have eaten is meat, eggs, cheese and butter. all I drink is coffee (with cream), water. and the occasional mug of beef bone broth And I put lots of Himalayan sea salt on my food. Basically it's just red meat and water. No meat marinades, no Stevia for coffee, no snacks, no sauces, no side dishes, no low-sugar drinks, no fruits, no veggies. I eat a big lunch around 1 PM (Example: big omelet with side of sausage or two 8-oz grass-fed beef burgers), and then have dinner b/w 6-7 PM. That's it. An 18/6 intermittent fasting period.
The good news is I feel good and I have lost seven pounds in less than two weeks. Most of that was the de-bloating from going back to ketosis. Future weight loss will be tough. The bad news is it's BORING. I can only dress up burger patties so much: add bacon and/or cheese. I miss the sriracha. And before you worry, I do take a statin for cholesterol.
While doing this diet, I have been tracking my blood glucose and ketone level. The ratio of the two indicates if you are in ketosis, and how deep in it you are. I have a set-up where I prick my finger 1-2x per day and use strips to measure. The wife thinks I'm nuts. She may be right, but it turns out that the strict diet is effective. I am in deep ketosis, burning fat for fuel. I don't really have food cravings, but urges for scotch are creeping back. I was going through $30 bottles of Johnny Black every three days, so there is a wallet benefit to all of this as well.
What's the purpose of this bio-hacking, you may ask? My goal is to get below 200 lbs. The last time I remember weighing less than two bills was the spring of 1993, when I did a weigh-in at Unit M for the intramural wrestling tournament. At a weight of 198, I was barely eligible for the heavyweight division. I had to wrestle a kid 30+ pounds bigger in the first round. It did not go well. So Team TR is trying to get back there, almost 28 years later. I'm adding running back to the workout mix to help, powering through my typical whining about running outside in cold weather.
Wish me, my sober carcass and my pricked and bloody index finger well. A picture of me, with my on-line pseudonym, is below.
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41 comments:
Nothing will compare to Rootsy “the hog” Miner’s intramural wrestling performance.
Ahh yes. Thanks to pledge marshall Knapp securing Tribe singlets for us to wear for maximal phallic enhancement. I doubt I'll ever forget waiting out the 60 seconds for my first match to be declared a forfeit while a group of lammies howled with laughter. It was a long minute.
god bless you, tr. i can't imagine going a month without the sweet, sweet numb of alcohol.
Appreciate that, Rob. All the job/political/pandemic stress had me going thru a fifth of scotch every 3 days. My idea of “not drinking tonight” was 2-3 High Noons or hard seltzers. So it was getting to a place where a pullback was warranted. Moderation (with food, booze or other items) has never been my strong suit.
There should be a separate post to recount the highlights of pledge intramural wrestling through the years.
And I'm looking to stay dry throughout the month as well. COVID kept me dry for the first third. Seems like I can maybe lie low and not drink for a couple more weeks, but it won't be a snap.
Hey TR, good on ya for the effort. Continue to be mindful that health is more important than weight -- obvious connections aside.
I quit eating meat about 25 years ago. Land meat, for lack of a better term. I still consume seafood and dairy. I think it's helped. Fortunately, there's no meat in beer.
Salute to all who are going dry for extended periods. More discipline than I can muster.
I've largely dry throughout this pandemic. I'm a social drinker and I haven't been able to socialize. It isn't that hard.
TR, why aren't you wearing your cheetah print briefs in your online photo?
Also, a post referring to being half a man should include some reference to "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story". Like this gem?
Never saw that flick, though I am a big John C Reilly fan. Not that big, I guess.
You need to remedy that TR. It's a perfect send up of musician biopics. I'd even suggest the unbelievably long, self-indulgent director's cut if you've got time.
URBAN MEYER BACK
danimal much excite
Urban Meyer in the NFL will be interesting. He always is as a head coach.
We are in the midst of a total house redo. Somewhat pandemic related. Somewhat life related.
Now that the oldest is in NJ for a long stretch she’s lost her room (Master bedroom...don’t ask). The wife and I are taking that and the youngest is getting our room. We’re cutting a hole in the master bedroom wall and installing French doors that open to our deck/pool. We’re also redoing the guest bathroom. And painting the room the youngest is moving into. Turning her former room into a guest room/home office for me since I now work from home. And I’m building an outdoor kitchen setup to accommodate my Big Green Egg and our recently purchased Blackstone grill. Not surprisingly, our house has been a disaster this week. We’re inching back to normal again.
Oh, and I’m juggling finishing up one job and starting another. Annnnd, I just interviewed for a different job that a recruiter contacted me about and he says I’m getting an offer tomorrow. No dry January around here.
that’s some shit, mark. good luck with the drinking habit.
what’s the new gig?
chatham dudes - do you know a guy named randy who went to jmu?
It’s a lot, Rob. But it’s a good version of a lot.
The new gig is in healthcare software sales/business development. Essentially I’m working with the type of clients I’ve worked with/for over the past 8 years but selling a different product. I’m excited. ‘Twas time for a change and some more upward mobility career wise.
Rob - I know a Randall who went to JMU. He’s a friend of mine. Super nice guy. Class of ‘97, I think. Why?
I know TR already mentioned it but The Vow is bananas.
Exciting stuff Mark. My wife and I, the two most indecisive people on the planet, applaud you. Between the indecision and lack of patience for what that would entail, we've talked about it for no less than 2 years and have done nothing with exception to lanai expansion/outdoor kitchen which of course comes with zero disruption. We do have 3 youngish ones which probably puts us in a slightly more defensible position but....we need to get over the fence.
I am in the middle of Joe Rogan's interview with Bryan Fogel, Icarus documentarian. Really good. He's got another one coming out (i think yesterday) about the Washington Post writer who was dismembered at the orders of the Saudi Crown Prince. Much like.
I’ll listen that episode for sure. The continued lack of consequences for that murder still flummoxes me.
the daily (nyt podcast) has an interview with freshman gop rep peter meijer this morning. meijer voted against both electoral challenges and to impeach the president. he's an impressive dude. hope the first few votes of his political career don't end it before it gets going.
I googled "The Vow" and saw a 2012 rom com starring Channing Tatum. I then scrolled down and saw the NXIVM doc with the same name. I guess Mark is referring to that. I did not recommend it, although sex cults are a hobby of mine. So somebody else deserves that credit.
On a similar note, wife and I got sucked into Night Stalker on Netflix. 4-part doc on the serial killer who terrorized California in the 80's. Terrifying story. It's a little over 3 hrs total. They show a lot of graphic photos. We watched 3 and will finish it tonight. Really really good.
And kudos on the home reno. We lived in our house while our first floor was ripped down to studs. We had a fridge in our garage and a microwave on our bedroom floor. Was a brutal stretch. My wife is decisive, but has impossibly high expectations. A contractor once told me "if you get 95% of what you want from a project, you are very lucky."
i asked about randy because someone with the handle @randy_nj followed me on twitter. his bio says he's a jmu grad from chatham, nj who drives a volvo. figured it can't be that big a town.
I'll second Rob's comment that Rep Meijer was impressive.
We live in 1922 brick foursquare house, and we are trying to plan an addition/renovation. Every idea seems to open a can of worms that make it hard to figure out what's reasonable to do. I hope to have it done before the house turns 101.
Whenever I hear the name Randy.....
https://youtu.be/0C6nvNlVx1A
I thought that was gonna be the Randy Gonzalez clip.
The solution to a big renovation/addition is to sell your house and move.
And that link appears to be the pre-party for a Trump rally.
Rob - that is absolutely the guy in town who I am buddies with. Our sons are in the same grades and he drives a Volvo. He also is shockingly up to speed on all things related to CAA sports. You would be proud. I am non-plussed.
I will not say anything to him. That would be weird.
I made a pit stop earlier today to a local head shop for some supplies. The nice lady had seen a "youtube" and learned soon we'll have 5g cameras everywhere. The world order will use surveillance from these cameras to determine who is likely to thrive, and thus warrant said world order's financial support. Those who the cameras say won't thrive are on their own.
"Isn't it crazy?" she asked. I said yes, then had to reassure her that I wasn't offended. It is mildly alarming how gullible some folks are though.
assuming i pass the background check (sketchy), i'm the new jv girls' soccer coach at my local high school. dave, will be picking your brain for tips and training ideas.
Just make sure your shorts game is on point, coach. Double knit and at least four inches above the knee.
gonna memorize ted lasso, too
Congrats, Rob, that's excellent
putting down a marker and saying that the nets’ galacticos experiment will be a success. and fun as hell.
Happy birthday, Mario Van Peebles!
Carry on.
This made me chuckle rather heartily
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKA7wCYhaKQ/?igshid=tnt6exkwsfx8
I’m significantly less optimistic on the Nets big three experiment.
Sorry, TR, thought you were watching The Vow too. It’s fucking nuts.
The wife and I put in a ton of work today and the house is pretty close to back to normal. Deconstructing and reconstructing our bed to move it almost resulted in divorce though. The kid has her new bedroom and so do we (sort of). Just need to install the new bathroom vanity and cut a huge hole in our bedroom wall to install French doors. I realize that’s a lot but the house is no longer a disaster.
Z is not wrong that moving is often easier than renovation. We strongly considered it but didn’t love anything we saw and I’m not moving if I don’t love a house more than the one I already live in.
Our house was a vacant foreclosure when we bought it. We’ve been able to tailor the house to our tastes. Not surprisingly, my wife and I are pretty fond of our house. So continued improvements are worth the hassle.
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