Marching to the gym

3-5-2010

OK. I finally did it. I joined a gym last month that's only 3 miles from work, and 4 miles from home. Right in between them. I have been going in about 5:30 AM or so, every other morning since joining. The other mornings I just ride my stationary bike at home. This morning was quite a workout. First thing, I did the Stair master for 15 minutes. I'm still in awe. Previously I had never done the Stair Master for more than 5 minutes. This morning I set a goal of 10 minutes, but when I reached that, I kept going. Then it was on to working arms / upper body. I am using higher weights than I was on the machines, so that's a positive improvement. So now I have a gym in town I belong to, as well as one at the lake, and I use one in Gunnison when I visit Crested Butte that is a pay by the day setup. I should look like Jack LaLanne, right ?

Well, I'm not quite there. After the huge weight loss years ago, I was at my lowest weight in summer 2007, the same summer I floated over to England on the QE2. I was able to cross "visit Liverpool - home of The Beatles" off of my "Bucket List". Anyway, since then I have gained, as I have posted here previously. I had a regular Doctor appointment with blood work a month ago, with a check up at the Cardiologist the following day. Everything was fine, no problems at either one. Except, the weight gain. During the visit with the Doc about my stress level, I am tackling that as it contributes to my eating. I then had a long talk with the PA at the Cardio office, and set up a challenge with him for me to lose a set amount of weight before my next visit in October. Sometimes that type of accountability helps me. I've lost 5 pounds in the last month.

I'm looking in again to the process of a full body lift, once I lose some more weight. There is a local doctor that does it that I've not yet seen, but have a call in to set up a consulation appointment. I almost did the full body lift Winter of 2007 / 2008, and in many ways wish I had done it then. However, in working through issues from the past, which have added to the weight gain, in counseling, I still may have regained much of this, and then wished I had waited. Either way, I'm considering it again. With the massive weight loss, I had a lot of lose skin, and it was not pretty. Part of the problem I had in my head, was that I looked better with the larger weight I used to have, because it was filled out more, somewhat more solid in appearance. I am sure that is part of what led to my recent weight gain as well.

However, I have come to the point that if I am going to do it, I want to get it over and done. I am not getting any younger, and I've never had a "average" body size, so this is the time to do it, if at all. I do dread the recovery time, as it is lengthy, and the stitches / staples, etc. It will probably be done in several visits, as they may well tackle one or two areas at a time. That's the way it would have been done if I had already done it, by the Doctors I visited in Los Angeles that I wanted to use. However, the long distance from relatives / friends, etc. kept me from having it done out there, as I would have spent 4 - 7 weeks at a time in a hotel in recovery, as there would be an initial time where it would be impossible to travel without endangering the staples or risking infection. Then as recovery progressed, there would be numerous checkups, and some physical therapy. I still may opt for out there, but being closer to home makes sense in many ways, so I'm looking yet again in Tulsa. I was not happy with the two I visited years ago, so I will see about this Doctor.

Business is slow, as 2009 was horrible. We had our busiest ever December (2008) and January (2009), and then it just dropped off the cliff. June 2009 was the worst. After that it crept up a bit for a few months, and then there were ups and downs. This December (2009) and January (2010) were slow, with a nice increase though in February. So far it appears March will also be a decent month, though we are still far behind business levels of 2004 thru 2008. Those were the Glory Days, at this point. Can we get back to that ? We certainly hope so, though we do realize it may take years to get there again. Our backlog for production is about 1/2 of what it was running in 2008, so we have some room for improvement.

I have put the house in Sapulpa ont the market. 8 months ago. Some activity, though not recently due to Winter, weather and Holidays. It should pick up with Spring about to burst open. Once it sells, my lake home will definitely be my primary residence, and I will just get a smaller condo or apartment in the Tulsa area to spend a night or two a week, and especially in inclement weather. I will have to find a cat sitter for up at the lake though, or haul them back and forth when I head out of town for vacation or business.

Last vacation was a week in Crested Butte in December. Before that, I week in Crested Butte in August. Notice a pattern here ?? Oh wait. May of 2009, a week in Hawaii, on Oahu. I had not been there since I was about 10 years old, so a lot had changed. I got to visit with my long time friend Nancy and her husband that live in Honolulu, and did much of the sightseeing touristy things, of course. We stayed in a house on the beach out away from Honolulu, and it was very nice and relaxing. I was not ready to come home at all. Someday I hope to repeat that trip, but it may be awhile, as it was not a cheap one. It was well worth it though.

I really did enjoy watching the Winter Olympics from Vancouver, Canada. I've never been there, but I did get to attend some of the Winter Olympic events in Calgary / Banff in Canada in 1988. While there, I stayed with Kati and Steve. Kati I'd known since college at OSU. She met Steve in Tulsa, though he was from the Toronto area. When he was offered a job in Calgary, she followed not far behind. Two kids later, and now a new dog, they are visiting Kati's Mom this week here in the Tulsa area. I will see them tonight, as we are going to dinner, and then the Norah Jones concert at the Brady Theater. I did not know until the newspaper this week that Norah is the daughter of Ravi Shankar, the sitarist from India that made connections with The Beatles back in the day. Small world. I like anything I've heard by Norah, though the favorite is "Don't Know Why", her huge hit from years ago. On her newest release, "The Fall", take a listen to "Man Of The Hour". It's not about what you may think, without really listening to the words.

In two weeks I will get to see David Gray in Kansas City. I don't go to many concerts these days, so I pick only ones I really want to see. I've enjoyed his music ever since "Babylon", his radio hit, that is not even his best song on his "White Ladder" album (in my opinion). "Sail Away" does take me away when I hear it. That's my favorite of his songs. "Please Forgive Me" is great, also. Great music and lyrics. I'm looking forward to seeing him. Even have a chance to see him 2 nights later in St. Louis with my friend Robert, if I'm not worn out from one night in KC.

Tomorrow my Oklahoma State University Cowboys basketball team end their regular season at home against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It's a game OSU should win, but in the Big 12, one cannot overlook anyone. Just ask the Kansas Jayhawks, as OSU upset them in Stillwater last Saturday, and it was not really as close as the score ended up. OSU will then play in the Big 12 Conference Tournament next week in KC, and then should receive an invitation to the March Madness NCAA Tournament. Coach Travis Ford is in his second year at OSU, and both years has the team outperforming expectations. OSU had the youngest, and the shortest team in the Big 12 this year, yet will finish in the middle of the pack. Go Cowboys !!

That's it for this installment. If I get on here and write more often, the entries will not be so long !!

Wally