The Day After

Today is the day after our friend’s graveside service. Yesterday was a long day but a good day. We got in late and my wife and I stayed up late talking. I had to get up early this morning to head to a meeting about an hour away in Aiken—at the Bomb Plant. So I didn’t weigh myself this morning. I’m guessing that not much has changed, though. It is almost 4:30 and I haven’t exercised. To make up for that, I’ve really worked hard on my diet and really sacrificed! I brought a couple of oranges with me to the meeting for breakfast. I left them on the roof of my car when I pulled out of my driveway, so when I had time to eat my healthy alternative was gone. I had to eat a plain bagel with margarine. I am sure I could have done worse if I tried, but a start to the day with a big gob of white bread covered in saturated fat is still pretty bad. I made up for it with deep sacrifice at lunch. At the all-you-can-eat barbeque where we always go for lunch, I really buckled down. I passed on the potato salad and hushpuppies and filled my divided plate with corn, green beans, and sweet potatoes. Sure they were all cooked in a healthy combination of pork fat and butter with ample amounts of salt. Here is where I made a big one. I passed on the pulled pork and went for the chicken! I am so proud of myself that I am still getting misty-eyed now. Then came another big one—I didn’t go back for seconds! Then I really owned my journey and redoubled my efforts by skipping the peach cobbler! If that is not pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, I don’t know what is.

By the time my daughter was done with ballet and my wife was done with class, we ended up at a Middle Eastern restaurant. I did OK--humus and gyro wrap without the flatbread. I didn't get much exercise in. I played freeze tag with the kids on campus while my wife was in class. I did sweat a bit, so I did something. Overall, in the great obesity battle, this may be a lost day. Tomorrow I’ll redouble my redoubled efforts.

I am glad Greipel didn't win tonight. Honestly, I am already sick of him and Team Columbia. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great sprinter and Columbia is a great team and I’ll still likely root for them over Katusha or something, but with Hincapie gone I care just a little bit less about them. Sure, I’ll root for Cavendish to win the green jersey at le tour. I don’t know why I’m griping about Greipel.

Has anyone else been “listening” to the Tour Down Under on the audio link to Australia from Steephill? I know they are doing what they can because they don’t have live video feed themselves, but they fill a lot of air between race updates. The best part is the last 10 seconds when the announcers actually see the racers cross the line. The thing is that it happens so fast for them that they don't always know what the hell happened. I end up following the text updates until the race just about ends. Still I listen. But then again, I am the guy that listens to NPR during the pledge drive.