[The Most Loathed] learns....slowly

[Bearlee]

16 hours ago, The Most Loathed said:

We were able to talk about The Netherlands, travel, fitness, kettlebell sport, language and a variety of things. Honestly, the most naturally conversation that I think I have ever had with people who I had never met before.

 

 

16 hours ago, The Most Loathed said:

Leaving there Laura challenged me to get back into fighting shape and return to The Netherlands for a comp. So you have that to look forward to. 

 

Woo hoo! Looking forward to what you are going to do. So you didn’t get a workout at Jaap’s gym? You could have got coached by KBGirl herself.

 

Loving the travel log here and on Facebook. Please tell me you are going on the mechanical swing that goes over the edge of the building just so you can say you sat in the same place as Maurice Moss (or Richard Ayoade if you want to get technical).

[LouCarJo]

Look forward to following along your renewed KB training!

[The Most Loathed]

On 2/4/2018 at 8:00 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

The return of the unimaginable TML KB workouts? I’ve been waiting for that for a long time.

Hopefully they will be less unimaginable in the future and more productive than the last several months were

8 hours ago, Bearlee said:

 

 

 

Woo hoo! Looking forward to what you are going to do. So you didn’t get a workout at Jaap’s gym? You could have got coached by KBGirl herself.

 

Loving the travel log here and on Facebook. Please tell me you are going on the mechanical swing that goes over the edge of the building just so you can say you sat in the same place as Maurice Moss (or Richard Ayoade if you want to get technical).

We had a great chat (you and I) but you're someone I know now so I didn't even consider you in that boat (yes, I know I didn't know you then but that's not how my brain was working)

 

I did not get to train at Jaap's gym or get coached by the Woman, The Myth, The Legend, but that's in the plan for next trip back. And yeah, we're seriously thinking about a 2019 trip back to the Netherlands with the express purpose of visiting the gym (and a bunch of other stuff too). 

 

We're not going to hit up the swing. I pointed it out from the train as we came in and got a strong "nuh uh" vibe from Laura on it. It looked cool but it wouldn't make or break my trip for me. 

6 hours ago, LouCarJo said:

Look forward to following along your renewed KB training!

Yeah, let's get some KB Sport going on!

 

Today we rolled out to hit a couple of our favorite sights in Amsterdam but we did talk about hitting up Utrecht again.

We began with what I think is our favorite breakfast spot, Bake my Day. I got my Moroccan Pancake again. Then off the the Huis Marsielle. Except it was closed. Our plan was to hit up Avocado Show for lunch so we didn't want to run over to the Dutch Resistance Museum because it is far enough away that we wouldn't make it back for lunch. Instead we hit up the Rijksmuseum again to catch the things that Laura wanted to see but didn't get a chance to.

Afterwards we did, in fact, hit up the Avocado Show. I hate to say it but it was a let down. Cool name, meh food. Laura was super excited for their nachos. The corn chips were arguably the best part. I got the Champions Breakfast which was a slice of avocado toast with one poached egg and little bacon. It was ok but way under seasoned. We opted to go get tea and a brownie elsewhere to finish out lunch. 

After that we kind of kicked around Amsterdam for a bit and made out way back home. Nothing super fancy just out walking. It was pretty nice.

 

Tomorrow we fly home. We've had a really good trip and Laura is in love with the Netherlands. She dropped several hints my way that she not only wants to visit again but wants to think about moving. At one point I stopped the conversation and asked how serious this was. We decided to try and make a plan to come back three times over the next three to four years, seeing different parts of the country, doing different things and see where we land. 

 

Time for me to make judgements of Dutch people based on a few days in a tourist filled city:

• I love the way traffic works - in the two cities I have been in, cars have been the interlopers. The cities are largely given over to foot, bike and bus traffic. 
• Because most traffic is not cars and therefore less regulated, traffic becomes far more of a negotiation. There are bike lanes and walking paths and intersections and those are a little less clear cut. So people have to figure it out. 
• There appear to be different expectations of a Dutch waiter or waitress. As an American you get used to your server coming by every 10 minutes to check on you. When you say you want nothing more, they bring the check. Here they don't really seem to come by to check on you. If you want something, flag them down, they don't seem to mind. If you say you don't want anything more, they just bounce off to do something else, you seem to have to ask for a check
• I like Dutch Lattes. I got one Starbucks coffee here, it was fine. However, when I order a latte in a restaurant it comes in a normal drinking glass, no handle. It usually comes with a pouch of sugar and a little cookie. It's delicious.

 

There's probably more ill-founded (probably wrong) judgements I could try to make but those are the things I came up with on the fly and I'm not taking them back. Although we'll see how they hold up to the scrutiny of the years.

 

So , I tried marijuana for the first time. I've literally never tried it but there was a coffee shop (coffee is sold in cafes, weed in coffee shops) by our airBnB. So last night I put on some clothes I didn't plan to wear again for the rest of the trip and went down to visit. I asked the guy what a newbie should have. He pointed me to the prerolled joints of kush. I got one and sat down. I had to borrow a lighter from someone to light it. 

Inside the coffee shop they do, in fact, sell coffee and other soft drinks but mostly they sell weed. Most of the people around me were in large social groups, having a nice time smoking and chatting. One guy was very serious about setting up his next joint and rolling it. I worked on my joint. 

I've smoked cigarettes and cigars before. I like them well enough but don't like their smell or what the can do to me enough to do so more than a couple times a year. For me, that first cigarette or cigar leaves me a little light headed. After I have one, it won't happen again if I have another the same day or so. This was like that but turned up to 11 or maybe 12. To such an extent that I felt quite shaky coming out of the coffee shop after my single joint. 

I came back up to the room and stashed away my stinky clothes so that I didn't get weed smell on any of the furniture or clothes we still wanted to wear. Then I took a shower. Afterwards I settled in on the computer. I mostly just felt distracted and like I had a headache coming on. 

Last night as I tried to go to sleep, I couldn't, for hours. Now, to be fair I had unintentionally had a couple extra coffees yesterday. It was cold and we got coffee just for the warm drink. So I can't blame the weed. Although, I really don't think that it helped. 

Not really feeling like weed is my thing but I'll glad I checked the box.

 

That's it for now. Already thinking about training when I get back. I've plotted my expected workouts until Hammer Race. It'll likely me a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday schedule most weeks. I'm a bit worried about that three day stretch in there in terms of recovery but I'd really like to get five days in. There will be more kettlebells, there will be some running and rowing. Barbells will have to take a back seat to all of that. 

[The Most Loathed]

Almost forgot, I watched Episode 1 of Altered Carbon on Netflix tonight. I love the book. So far this is both a faithful and effective adaptation of the story. I can't speak to whether it's good if you don't know the book but Laura seemed to enjoy it so I'd say, if you like Sci Fi, give it a try. 

[The Most Loathed]

Ok. Home now. Glad to be home, kinda, but that was a pretty great trip. We felt right at home in the studio apartment we were staying in. Everyone was extremely cool and kind, enough that I couldn't help but feel bad about being a crappy tourist. My favorite day, by far, was the day we went to Utrecht. Not only did I get to see KB Girl, Jaap, and KB Intern but I really liked the quiet, little town. I wished I could have the done the archeological tour under the main church and wouldn't mind hitting up the clockspiel museum again.

 

We decided to shell out for last minute first class tickets on the way back. Wow. 

We've waited until the day of to upgrade from coach to 1st class on other trips. If they have the seats, you can get a significant discount but it's still not cheap. On an 8 hour flight, though, the difference between trying to sleep in an upright chair, sharing shoulder space with two neighbors versus having our own little cubicles that could actually allow enough room to lay down, a little curled up. We got food in coach that was like a decent TV dinner. In 1st class they serve with dishes and cutlery although I won't say that the food is objectively better. The "burger" I ate on the flight back is an experience I could forget and be ok with. 

Even before we got on the flight we got "invited" to lounge 52 in Schipol airport. Big comfy chairs with at least an outlet apiece, an open buffet of veggies, soup, coffee, tea, soda, cookies, and so much more. Spending three hours there rather than crammed into those crappy airport chairs, staring a duty free shop was so nice. 

 

Anyway, we're home now. Time to make a plan:

• 03/07/2018 - Wednesday 
  • Long Cycle 20 kg x 2, 5:00 x 2 6-7 RPM
  • Snatch 20 kg 5:00 x 2, ~12 RPM
  • Jerk 20 kg x 2, 5:00 x 1, ~12 RPM
  • Rows
  • Squats
• 03/08/2018 - Thursday - Treadmill intervals
• 03/09/2018 - Friday - off
• 03/09/2018 - Saturday - Treadmill distance
• 03/09/2018 - Sunday - Long Cycle test 20 kg x 2, 10:00 7 RPM?, easy treadmill
• 03/10/2018 - Monday - off, scouts
• 03/11/2018 - Tuesday - Treadmill intervals
• 03/12/2018 - Wednesday - off, Har Mar Superstar with Laura
• 03/13/2018 - Thursday
  • Long Cycle 20 kg x 2, 5:00 x 2, 8-10 RPM
  • Half Snatch 20 kg, 10:00, multi hand switch
  • Press
  • Squats
  • Swings
• 03/14/2018 - Friday - off, going on my first campout, a ski trip

I don't have my plan fully fleshed out beyond this point. I plan on getting back to 3 kettlebell workouts per week and mixing in treadmill work frequently to get ready for when I have to go back into the Hammer Race course to carry @Sloth the Enduring out because they've given up all hope of him finishing. However, I'm looking at all my sessions in this little window above as level setting. I don't even know where I am right now. 

I'll try to drill the 20s over and over and play with the 24s once a week at first. My first goal with kettlebells is to get back to 100 long cycles in 10 minutes. I think that was harder than actually doing my rank score with the 24s. I'd like to get back to rank 1 in one year.

All of what I want hardly matters. I can want anything. I have to just do the reps and the accomplishments will come to me on their own terms.

Mission 1: Do the work, kettlebell workout 3x for 3 out of 4 weeks on average. Supporting work 2x for 3 out of 4 weeks on average

 

I also need to shed some pounds. My body is prone to drifting back to 220, which is where it's hanging out now. I'd like to get down below 210 for the run, 200 being ideal. Eventually going below 200 and holding is the plan. Sub 200 is a relatively healthy place for me to live. Last time I got there was was aesthetically a little skinnier than i wanted to be but that could just be because I've been some much heavier for so long that I wasn't used to it. Being lighter also move the Rank 1 bar lower. at 105 kg it was 80-some I think. Looking at current ranking tables (and it varies more than it should), at 95 kg it would be 60 (IUKL), 76 (GSU), or 69 (IKFF). Another 10 kg from there takes it even lower.

There's only one systems I know of that works every time for me for weight loss. Track the calories, cause a deficit. I hate it. Alas, that is it

Mission 2: Log the data, track calories to the nearest I can reasonably get 5 out of 7 days on average

 

Those are it workout-wise. I have some other thoughts on non-workout goals but they aren't ready to be written out so I'm going to stop there for today. Well, now.

 

 

 

Music for the week:

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

That was harsh bruh.


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[Elastigirl]

Glad you had such a good trip. Did Laura say why she enjoyed it so much she might want to live there? All the bikes and easy walking sounds wonderful. People around here are amazed when I walk the .5 mile to the grocery store

[LouCarJo]

Did the first class trip help the jet lag?  I detest flying as it hurts and I take forever to acclimatise to the new time zone, but my brother (who always seems to have point for first class) seems to hop off a plane and into a hugely different time zone as though nothing’s happened.

 

Looking at your schedule, you have lost a month, though.  That’s what drugs do to you, kids.

 

Yes, being heavy has a huge impact on ranking/strength standard tables. I can never be bothered to do anything about it so kudos to your resolve to track. 

[The Most Loathed]

On 2/7/2018 at 4:56 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

That was harsh bruh.

 

23 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Glad you had such a good trip. Did Laura say why she enjoyed it so much she might want to live there? All the bikes and easy walking sounds wonderful. People around here are amazed when I walk the .5 mile to the grocery store

We both loved the city, all the walkers and bike riders. I think we both loved the feel of a medieval city. 

We have already started to downsize our stuff to get into the apartment but feel like we're headed the opposite direction from a lot of people we know. Living around people who live in apartments as a way of life is appealing.

We loved the weather. While it has some similarities to what we currently live in, a lot of the sharp edges are filed off. 

 

I think we would find some unexpected struggles too. I think most Americans are used to having everything all the time. If we really committed to not having a car, not driving unless going between cities, I think we'd be challenged. We're also used to every apartment being twice the size we need, every car can fit four and often six comfortably, every meal is twice as many calories as we should want. I think having that become a permanent thing would be a bit overwhelming.

 

That said, nearly 20 years ago we had planned to move to Europe for Laura's career. I think some of that stuck with us both.

14 hours ago, LouCarJo said:

Did the first class trip help the jet lag?  I detest flying as it hurts and I take forever to acclimatise to the new time zone, but my brother (who always seems to have point for first class) seems to hop off a plane and into a hugely different time zone as though nothing’s happened.

 

Looking at your schedule, you have lost a month, though.  That’s what drugs do to you, kids.

 

Yes, being heavy has a huge impact on ranking/strength standard tables. I can never be bothered to do anything about it so kudos to your resolve to track. 

I can't ay for sure if if helped or not as I don't have a basis for comparison. Flying East vs West are very different experience just because of what it does to your day. I can say that it makes those 8 hours far less stressful. You can sleep comfortably if you want to, you've got some elbow room So yeah, it probably helps

 

Yeah, those dates are horrifically messed up. I'll go back and clean that up...probably not but I'll say I will

 

Yeah, weightclasses in kettlebell are unforgiving. I can't help but look at the people below me and thing "I wish I could do 5 fewer".

 

On 2/7/2018 at 3:59 PM, The Most Loathed said:

 

• Long Cycle 20 kg x 2, 5:00 x 2 6-7 RPM
• Snatch 20 kg 5:00 x 2, ~12 RPM
• Jerk 20 kg x 2, 5:00 x 1, ~12 RPM
• Rows
• Squats

I got down to the gym last night to do my workout although I ended up shortening it a bit

Long Cycle was to spec

Snatch was to spec

Jerks I ended up doing two sets of 2:30 

I dropped rows and squats in favor of doing some stretching

 

Observations from last night were that 5 minutes at that weight and pace were very doable. I think I can go to 7 pretty easily but 7:01 - 10 will be all about talking myself into finishing.  My overhead lock out is still a major weakness. I think, as much as I will hate it, I'm going to have to work some bonus jerks and presses into my workouts after long cycle sets or maybe do some sets with 1 clean, 2 jerks.

 

I completed my calorie log yesterday except for one item that I don't know how to log. I got this vegan, coconut, chocolate thing at the coop that I split with Laura. It was awesome but I have no idea what it was called nor how to put it in my log. Regardless MFP says I ate 1300 calories, call it 1500 with the chocolate thing, yesterday. Today it clocks me at 1300. I'm about to go run so maybe I'll prep up a little skyre and granola snack for my return. 

 

[The Most Loathed]

I keep sitting down to type my next post and get distracted and never finish

 

Thursday of last week

I succeeded in tracking my food and having it be where I wanted it to be calorically

Jogged on the "cardio" setting fo 60 minutes. It basically fluctuates for 0-4% incline at 1 minute intervals, speed was 5.5 mph

 

Friday 

Off night from the gym

Didn't do a good job tracking my calories. I got through noon and didn't do supper (which was just a couple eggs) but then made browns for a bake sale for the Boy Scouts and I, of course, had to do some quality control. If I assume I ate one brownie, I was fine calorically but did I eat 1 brownie, no idea. I nibbled on some of the edges I cut away and maybe used a spoon to scrape a little of the batter out of the bowl

 

Satuday

No attempt was made at food tracking. Made a second batch of brownies (no, I didn't eat the first, I wanted to give them two batches to sell)

Workout was 4:3 interval of 5% incline at 5.5 and 0% incline at 3.5 mph.

 

Sunday

Someone took one of my kettlebells! One of the 20kgs no less. Meaning I couldn't test my long cycle. As you can imagine, I was grumpy

Pentathlon - this is a couple days gone so my memory is officially fuzzy. This is why you document right away

Clean 24 kg 118

Clean and Press 20 kg 60

Jerk 24 kg 88

1/2 Snatch 20 kg 88

Push Press 20 kg 108

 

Monday - today

still of the food documentation wagon. Need to get back on. I have been losing weight though, I was 217 over the weekend. I haven't been eating to crap but I know that if I don't keep and eye on it, it's not long before it drifts.

Tonight is scouts so no workout

 

This week is going to be a little crazy

• Monday - No workout - scouts
• Tuesday - Work in the office for the first time in a couple months. Kettlebell workout. I can't assume my 20 kg will have walked back in so I may have to mix 16 and 24 kg sets
• Wednesday - Valentine's Day. We never do anything for Valentine's Day but Laura got us tickets for dinner and a concert. Har Mar Superstar singing Sam Cook and the Dakota Jaz Club
• Thursday - Laura leaves for Nebraska, I do kettlebells. Possibly going out for wings with a friend after
• Friday - I may try to sneak a run into my day. Leave for ski trip camp out with the troop, my first camp out as an adult
• Saturday - Ski trip
• Sunday - Ski trip
• Monday - drive back from ski trip. Will I have a workout in me. I doubt it
• Tuesday - Laura comes back (probably no workout)

 

Add to all of this that I should be working on a data science project and that my little pet project of coding up Love Letter has taken on a totally unanticipated life of its own as the two guys who expressed interest got really busy coding while I was in The Netherlands. I need to reconcile all the changes they made and provide some guidance. 

 

 

[LouCarJo]

I just plugged your numbers into an online kettlebell pentathlon calculator - you are soooo close to “extreme”!

[Sloth the Enduring]

I assume grumpy was the the polite version of how you felt.


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[The Most Loathed]

On 2/15/2018 at 4:02 AM, LouCarJo said:

I just plugged your numbers into an online kettlebell pentathlon calculator - you are soooo close to “extreme”!

Yeah, when they first came out with the pentathlon only a handful of people could hit "extreme" or "insane" but it didn't take long before those rankings didn't really mean anything. I looked back at a couple attempts I have succeeded at in the past and I've cleared 1500 so I'm going to pencil that in as a target

On 2/15/2018 at 5:03 AM, Sloth the Enduring said:

I assume grumpy was the the polite version of how you felt.

For whatever reason, I wasn't super panicked. I typed up a little note and put it with the bells that explained the weights, gave my contact info in case anyone wants to learn how to use them and I asked that people not take them out of the gym. Sure enough, my bell found its way home.

 

On Tuesday or whatever day I went in there I tested my long cycle and got 66 with the 20s. The hardest part was just pushing through the general discomfort of the last couple minutes. I wasn't really exhausts, my breath was getting faster but not crazy so, just the grindy work.

 

As mentioned would be the case, last week was kind of nuts. I got my long cycle test done and a decent workout to boot.  Wednesday Laura and I went to see Har Mar Superstar at The Dakota. Food wasn't worth it, show absolutely was. Thursday Laura headed to see her folks in Nebraska. I should have worked out but just kind of bummed around and ate bad food instead. Friday night I left for my first By Scout campout as an adult. 

The campout was at a cabin (rather than in tents) which is always a mixed bag. Saturday we went to a ski hill. I spent about four hours on the bunny hill, trying to teach myself the basics, with mixed success and a lot of falling down. Eventually I could do the bunny hill consistently without falling so I moved on to the green hill which was a huge step up and put me back in the snow. I spent a few hours getting my ass kicked by the hill before we had to go. Officially not a ski guy. 

Sunday we spent some time just walking around in the cold and the kids did some sledding. Not quite as active as I would have liked but February in Duluth just really invites you to go inside. Yesterday we packed up an headed home. I got up early and did my laundry since Laura may be home as early as tonight and didn't want her to come home to a mess. 

I don't know how sloth is around kids all day ever day, I'm still tired from the weekend. I've done pretty much no work today.

 

This week begins time to get back into the program. When I weighed myself yesterday I was just over 220 so I've got work to do there. I want to start training the long cycle and do cardio in between. 

• Tuesday - Long Cycle training. I don't have a formal program written down yet and that's a problem. 
  • Long Cycle 20 kg 8 RPM 6:00, 3:00
  • Waiter Walks 0:30/0:30, 1:00 x 5
  • Circuit x 5
    • Clean and squat 20 kg 5 x 20
    • Windmills 20 kg x 5/5 
    • Push up x 20
• Wednesday - Bianca Del Rio show
• Thursday - kettlebells but may wait and see how I'm bouncing back. This will likely be a small skill set and some conditioning work. Could also play with pentahlon
• Friday - planned off
• Saturday - Kristjian wants to work out in the AM
• Sunday - Cardio, maybe something longer but easier

Other tasks for the week

• come up with a more structured kettlebell program
• catch up on progress made on my Love Letter program
• catch up on Brian's Love Letter program
• Figure out how and wear to store camping stuff
• Unpack and deal with the box of stuff I brought up from storage
• Get the desk and Laura's new storage things put together
• Bug Target recruiter lady again

It's going to be a full week but a little more in my control. 

 

 

 

[LouCarJo]

Duluth made me think of Bill Berry, then I have Winter Olympics on in the background right now and the commentator just said how that’s where the US curling team is from.  All the connections!

 

Glad you got your kettlebell back.

 

I agree the pentathlon rankings aren’t as difficult as others.  I like them more for that, as at least there I can pretend I’m good!

 

Will look forward to seeing your new programme.  Are you working towards some particular goal?

 

 

[The Most Loathed]

18 hours ago, LouCarJo said:

Duluth made me think of Bill Berry, then I have Winter Olympics on in the background right now and the commentator just said how that’s where the US curling team is from.  All the connections!

 

Will look forward to seeing your new programme.  Are you working towards some particular goal?

I had to google Bill Berry. I learned a thing.

 

Still working on the programming but here's a Google Doc that I'm working in. 

 

Tuesday Training

Tuesday - Long Cycle training. I don't have a formal program written down yet and that's a problem. 

• Long Cycle 20 kg 8 RPM 6:00, 3:00 - Did one round at 8 RPM, I took more than the alotted 3 minutes of. I did the second round at 6RPM and still broke about 30 seconds early
• Waiter Walks 0:30/0:30, 1:00 x 5 - Started these with 16kg but they were light. I did the last round with 20s and did 1 minute and 1 minute
• Circuit x 5 - These were a total bomb. My body was still a mess from skiing. The windmills hurt my shoulder pretty significantly, the clean and squats weren't quite right, the push ups were. I did two rounds and called it for should discomfort. 
  • Clean and squat 20 kg 5 x 20
  • Windmills 20 kg x 5/5 
  • Push up x 20

Not my best workout but there you have it. 6 minutes at 8 RPMs was tough and I couldn't even approach it for round 2. The circuit I think was doable if I hadn't thrown myself to the ground 4 dozen times over the weekend. I'll keep this one and recycle it a bit.

 

Food yesterday was good...until. I had around 15-1600 calories during the day, less I suspect. I had an order of lamb curry that I split as my breakfast and lunch. A friend found out that I was still flying solo so we went out for wings after my workout. I had two beers and we split a dozen very large wings. They were tasty

 

Laura got home last night. We were glad to be back together. This particular trip apart drove home for the both of us just how much we enjoy each other's company.

 

Today (Wednesday) I worked during the day, no workout. Food was oatmeal for breakfast, sardines for lunch, homemade yogurt parfait thing for snack, lentil soup and ham sandwich for supper. That makes it sound lack luster but all of those were pretty tasty though. 

 

Tomorrow I'm planning to hit the gym for kettlebells especially since Laura is heading out for supper. I may finish the indian I have left for supper.  Friday will likely be off. Saturday Kristjian and I are meeting up to workout. She's also brining her friend who has never used kettlebells. I admit to some reservations about a non kettlebell person in my workout but I try to be available t new people so this is that. 

 

That's all for now. Off to watch more Altered Carbon

[peelout]

On 2/5/2018 at 2:10 PM, The Most Loathed said:

So , I tried marijuana for the first time. I've literally never tried it but there was a coffee shop (coffee is sold in cafes, weed in coffee shops) by our airBnB. So last night I put on some clothes I didn't plan to wear again for the rest of the trip and went down to visit. I asked the guy what a newbie should have. He pointed me to the prerolled joints of kush. I got one and sat down. I had to borrow a lighter from someone to light it. 

Inside the coffee shop they do, in fact, sell coffee and other soft drinks but mostly they sell weed. Most of the people around me were in large social groups, having a nice time smoking and chatting. One guy was very serious about setting up his next joint and rolling it. I worked on my joint. 

I've smoked cigarettes and cigars before. I like them well enough but don't like their smell or what the can do to me enough to do so more than a couple times a year. For me, that first cigarette or cigar leaves me a little light headed. After I have one, it won't happen again if I have another the same day or so. This was like that but turned up to 11 or maybe 12. To such an extent that I felt quite shaky coming out of the coffee shop after my single joint. 

I came back up to the room and stashed away my stinky clothes so that I didn't get weed smell on any of the furniture or clothes we still wanted to wear. Then I took a shower. Afterwards I settled in on the computer. I mostly just felt distracted and like I had a headache coming on. 

Last night as I tried to go to sleep, I couldn't, for hours. Now, to be fair I had unintentionally had a couple extra coffees yesterday. It was cold and we got coffee just for the warm drink. So I can't blame the weed. Although, I really don't think that it helped. 

Not really feeling like weed is my thing but I'll glad I checked the box.

lmao: One of the most interesting discussions I've read on here.  I smoked some about 2 yrs ago on a kayak trip. First time in about 25yrs.  Seriously, I don't think the brain handles it the same when we are older as when we are younger.  I think it was pretty good stuff caused I pretty much zoned out.  I also had a slight headache and couldn't sleep.  1 joint is actually a pretty good amount for 1 person to smoke entirely, depending on the quality and quantity.  I took a single hit of Tae Stick (sp?) once when I was younger and had affects that were almost as bad as mushrooms.  But I've also passed bongs multiple times and just gotten mellow.  Quality varies a lot. I have no desire to do it again though.  I don't even drink more than a couple beers a year anymore.

Whats the legal age there?

[Sloth the Enduring]

How did I miss that post. I haven’t since I was a kid and have no interest. It’s amazing how completely it’s taken over parts of our culture.

Dope and Har Mar? You’re hipper than I thought. We were just talking about how it’s mostly old folks at shows these days. I’m not sure if it’s our taste in music, the ridiculous prices, or a culture shift. Probably some of each.

Aside from being tiring, how are the scouts.


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[The Most Loathed]

15 hours ago, peelout said:

...Seriously, I don't think the brain handles it the same when we are older as when we are younger.  I think it was pretty good stuff caused I pretty much zoned out.  I also had a slight headache and couldn't sleep.  1 joint is actually a pretty good amount for 1 person to smoke entirely, depending on the quality and quantity.  I took a single hit of Tae Stick (sp?) once when I was younger and had affects that were almost as bad as mushrooms.  But I've also passed bongs multiple times and just gotten mellow.  Quality varies a lot. I have no desire to do it again though.  I don't even drink more than a couple beers a year anymore.

Whats the legal age there?

I agree that the brain almost certainly reacts differently. I was kind of hoping for the zoned out thing and definitely had the headache and can't sleep thing. 

 

I believe the legal age for booze, drugs and brothels is 18 there but it might be worth checking if that ever becomes important for any reason.

 

14 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

How did I miss that post. I haven’t since I was a kid and have no interest. It’s amazing how completely it’s taken over parts of our culture.

Dope and Har Mar? You’re hipper than I thought. We were just talking about how it’s mostly old folks at shows these days. I’m not sure if it’s our taste in music, the ridiculous prices, or a culture shift. Probably some of each.

Aside from being tiring, how are the scouts.

I'm just your classic, laid back, do nothing, stoner. I suspect that there are more adults at concerts than kids because it was a lot more of a part of our culture growing up and also because we have more disposable income.

 

The scouts are fine. As expected, some are nearly silent others won't stop taking unless you make them. Being around this troop has been interesting as it's much more chaotic than the one I grew up in. That's neither good nor bad but just a thing I'm observing. I'd like to see a little more order for the adults at least but I know the scoutmaster prides himself on the troop being boy run to a fault. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

As a rule kids are more chaotic these days. Kids, especially middle-class white kids, are being raised with everything being a choice or an option for them. They’re used to having things be the way they’d like. I’m not putting a value in that either, just an observation.


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[LouCarJo]

On 2/22/2018 at 1:06 AM, The Most Loathed said:

I had to google Bill Berry. I learned a thing.

 

He was one of my (weird?) teenage infatuations.  We now have a wall at home with loads of album covers, gig tickets, autographs etc framed, and one has ended up basically being a Bill Berry appreciation society frame.  

[LouCarJo]

On 2/22/2018 at 1:06 AM, The Most Loathed said:

Still working on the programming but here's a Google Doc that I'm working in. 

 

Tuesday Training

Tuesday - Long Cycle training. I don't have a formal program written down yet and that's a problem. 

• Long Cycle 20 kg 8 RPM 6:00, 3:00 - Did one round at 8 RPM, I took more than the alotted 3 minutes of. I did the second round at 6RPM and still broke about 30 seconds early
• Waiter Walks 0:30/0:30, 1:00 x 5 - Started these with 16kg but they were light. I did the last round with 20s and did 1 minute and 1 minute
• Circuit x 5 - These were a total bomb. My body was still a mess from skiing. The windmills hurt my shoulder pretty significantly, the clean and squats weren't quite right, the push ups were. I did two rounds and called it for should discomfort. 
  • Clean and squat 20 kg 5 x 20
  • Windmills 20 kg x 5/5 
  • Push up x 20

Not my best workout but there you have it. 6 minutes at 8 RPMs was tough and I couldn't even approach it for round 2. The circuit I think was doable if I hadn't thrown myself to the ground 4 dozen times over the weekend. I'll keep this one and recycle it a bit.

 

Food yesterday was good...until. I had around 15-1600 calories during the day, less I suspect. I had an order of lamb curry that I split as my breakfast and lunch. A friend found out that I was still flying solo so we went out for wings after my workout. I had two beers and we split a dozen very large wings. They were tasty

 

Laura got home last night. We were glad to be back together. This particular trip apart drove home for the both of us just how much we enjoy each other's company.

 

Today (Wednesday) I worked during the day, no workout. Food was oatmeal for breakfast, sardines for lunch, homemade yogurt parfait thing for snack, lentil soup and ham sandwich for supper. That makes it sound lack luster but all of those were pretty tasty though. 

 

Tomorrow I'm planning to hit the gym for kettlebells especially since Laura is heading out for supper. I may finish the indian I have left for supper.  Friday will likely be off. Saturday Kristjian and I are meeting up to workout. She's also brining her friend who has never used kettlebells. I admit to some reservations about a non kettlebell person in my workout but I try to be available t new people so this is that. 

 

That's all for now. Off to watch more Altered Carbon

I can't open the Google Docs but well done for starting it!

 

16kg waiter walks are what I was doing when using KBs for training so can imagine they were light for you.  Good call to stop though if you were getting shoulder pain.

 

Good luck for introducing a newbie to KBs tomorrow!

[The Most Loathed]

On 2/22/2018 at 5:19 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

As a rule kids are more chaotic these days. Kids, especially middle-class white kids, are being raised with everything being a choice or an option for them. They’re used to having things be the way they’d like. I’m not putting a value in that either, just an observation.

That observation is really interesting, given that I truly think you probably have one of the most accurate perspectives on it. I think most of the scouts have learned that when at scouts, you kind of do what the group does. We didn't have a huge problem with lone wolves. We did have a few kids who just wanted to lie in their bunks all day, interestingly, when the scoutmaster took their phones away they stopped doing that. He says phones are increasingly a problem but I thought him only taking four phones in the course of a three day weekend seemed better than expected

I'm not sad to not be going on the two week road trip with them in June

 

9 hours ago, LouCarJo said:

He was one of my (weird?) teenage infatuations.  We now have a wall at home with loads of album covers, gig tickets, autographs etc framed, and one has ended up basically being a Bill Berry appreciation society frame.  

wow. There may be an actual fan page for you these days. It's fun to see subcultures on the internet (said the guy one NerdFitness)

9 hours ago, LouCarJo said:

I can't open the Google Docs but well done for starting it!

 

16kg waiter walks are what I was doing when using KBs for training so can imagine they were light for you.  Good call to stop though if you were getting shoulder pain.

 

Good luck for introducing a newbie to KBs tomorrow!

Weird, I wonder if that's you or that's the link. Nothing too well thought out in the doc so far. I have 7 weeks to train but I haven't filled them all in. Next week I will probably repeat this week with minor variations. I feel like I'm still finding my level. For example, I'll post yesterday down below in a second, I couldn't finish the first item as written so next week I'll go for a version between "as written" and what I completed yesterday.

 

Thursday training

1. Long Cycle 24 kg x 2 6 RPM, 3:00, 2:00 x 4, - 
   1. 24 kg 3:00 6 rpm, rest 2:00
   2. 24 kg 1:30 6 rpm, rest 2:00
   3. 20 kg 3:00 6 rpm, rest 2:00
   4. 20 kg 3:00 6 rpm

2. Clean 28 kg 6:00, multi hand switch - 18/18, 15/15, 12/12, 5/4

3. Press 28 kg 5 x 12 - added in 12 rows with each arm after each pressing set. Not super hard but good additional work

4. Burpees x 50  - I did not want to do these but I did, 5 x 10

Friday Training - treadmill 1 hour 5.5 mph, "aerobic" setting. trying to get some nice steady state but not kill my legs prior to tomorrow. 

 

Saturday is kettlebells with Kristjian and he cousin

Sunday will be intervals and something else but I haven't quite decided what

 

So, I get groused at at work today. 

I work for the IT department of a major bank in the US. I've never worked in an IT department, I've always been in IS. It seems like an academic difference but it's not. IT departments tend to be inwardly focused, maintain servers, managing applications and licenses and so on. IS departments tend to be outward focused, serving clients and customers, helping the business do what the business does. It's an uneasy alliance. 

My area is the Big Data area. We own the big ol' pile of data that everyone in the bank wants access to By everyone I mean IS folks. My job is painful because the IT people promised the IS people a lot of things then failed to do about half of them and never really bothered to explain that to anyone. I spend a lot of time apologizing for things I'm not involved in. I am also busy doing the classic It think of "building the airplane when you're already in flight".

That's not and excuse, it's the lay of the land.

Today I was called arrogant. It's probably accurate or at least deserved. 

Why would I have been called arrogant? Two specific incidents come to mind:

1) I had someone submit a request that while I could approve, not by job, but I could do it. Then they sent me an email with a few minutes, 90 minutes later, 90 minutes later, which was after 5, thing first thing in the morning. When I found their emails I took care of it but I also told them that this was "an unacceptable way to communicate"'. They may not be a perfect quote but as accurate as I can recall. 

2) Our architect is viewed by many as God when it comes to our system. I have tried having meetings with her at my bosses request and she stopped attending. So I sent her emails asking "are we thinking about this thing", "I have a customer asking about that thing" and she never replies. Finally she tries to dress me down on a phone call and I don't let her by pointing out that when she insists that these shouldn't be emails but meetings, they she skipped my meetings. 

Add to that that I generally think we are bad at our jobs. That I think we owe it to our customers to come to them and address our mistakes, and I'm not shy about pointing it out.

Yeah, I'm probably a little arrogant or come off that way. My arrogance is bolstered by the fact that everyone I talk to that is either not a life long employee of my company or is outside of my little area, agrees with me and tells me "I'm a breath of fresh air" and  "the voice that needs to be hear", I'm a little arrogant. 

That said, yes, I should be more diplomatic. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar and all that. If I were advising myself, that's what I'd be saying. Hopefully I can tone it down a bit but they truly have some culture problems and if I'm going to shift them I will upset the apple cart at times but I need to be more deliberate and targeted about when I do it.

 

Addendum: This is not the first time in my life where I've gotten in trouble for being to hard on people or two negative or, in this case, too arrogant. The one thing that my finger-ponters have come to see with time, in the past, is that I hold myself to the same flames that I hold them too. My arrogance is turned inward to ask, "where am I screwing up?" all the time. The imagine that my questions and challenges come from thinking I'm better than they are and don't realize that they come from the assumption that we are all weak and flawed, few more so than me. That, however, means we can be better to, if we are self reflective, self critical and push ourselves to do the hard things, whether we like them or not. 

[LouCarJo]

I think it’s probably me that’s the problem in opening the google docs, but not to worry.

 

My husband just told me I was pronouncing Duluth wrong.  Luckily that doesn’t come out over a forum.

 

I think work will always find character points to turn against you.  I’m always criticised for being the opposite of arrogant.  It’s probably one of those no win things.  Having said that, it sounds as though you know what to do to calm things a little.  Good luck with implementing that.  Are you still looking around/talking to recruiters?

[The Most Loathed]

1 hour ago, LouCarJo said:

Good luck with implementing that.  Are you still looking around/talking to recruiters?

Yes. I've got an open line with one right now. The work I'm doing is not what I signed up for and dissatisfying (probably part of the issue). While I'm ultimately good at what I'm doing, it's management and I've already walked away from that once and turned it down a couple times. 

 

I sometimes struggle because they are willing to pay me idiotic amounts of money but I hate it or I take a pay cut and like it. On one had, my dream of retiring early is far more actualizable if I stay on with this crew. If I take a 20% pay cut I probably work 5 more years but I enjoy the time more. 15 years of grind or 20 of "not so bad". Also my last couple job changes have been sub optimal so I'm beginning to distrust myself on these decisions. I feel like I know what I want but I question if I am making the right cals to get there. 

 

enough of that

 

Workout today with Kristjian and he cousin went pretty well. Sarah has all the bad habits of someone taught to work out in an American gym but she's game to learn. She's weighing if she will return next week or not. I suspect how she feels this week will be decisive but I don't know which way it will swing.

 

Heavy 1/2 snatch 28 kg 1:00/1:00, 1:00 x 3

Heavy Jerk 28 kg 1:00/1:00, 1:00 x 3

Glove Snatch 20 kg 6:00 - multi-hand switch - I did every minute

Light Press 16 kg 6:00 - multi-hand switch - I did every minute

Goblet Squat 24 kg x 50 at your own pace - I did 5 x 10

2 Hand Swing 32 kg x 50 as your own pace - I did 2 x 25

 

for Sarah we taught her swings and had her stick to those fo the 1/2 snatch set, had her do press/jerk variants as she wanted for our jerk set. I taught her the clan before the 6:00 sets and had her do swings and cleans for the snatch set and jerks or presses for the press set. She did the at your own pace sets along with us. 

 

Tomorrow I will kill myself with some treadmill interval work and then I then some kind of circuits. Tomorrow is about pushing myself into discomfort and maybe even pain. 

Monday I will rest. 

 

This weekend I'm building Ikea furniture and trying to get back to coding. 

Also, I previously mentioned Altered Carbon. We're still working our way through the season. There's at least one, maybe two week episodes in there as they try to build up some of the lore that isn't in the book but shows up in subsequent books. I had forgotten how hand wavy some of it is. that said, I sit there with a big, stupid grin as I watch it because I love the books. In fact, I've decided to listen to Altered Carbon again as a book. 

After I finish Malazan Book of the Fallen and Culture I plan to reread it. Then I want to  get back to The Martian and Artemis. In the interim, Ready Player One will come out as a Movie and I'll probably want to reread it.

 

I''m going to cut this post off here. I'm enjoying a post workout beer (or three) at my local brew pub and I can tell that my soapbox is right over there. So I'll spare you.

I have had a weird thing lately for listening to metal bands that feature female lead singers. The good news is that they tend to sound really good. The bad news is that the videos tend to over sexualize the lead for my taste.  So here is your bonus music for the week if you can stand it:

 

[Bearlee]

Are you sure your co-workers aren’t mistaking your competence for arrogance? Some people in that culture are intimidated by people that actually know what they are doing. I’m thinking that may be why your supervisor is avoiding you becuase you’ll ask intelligent questions she can’t answer or she thinks you might be gunning for her position (which I don’t think you have any interest in).

 

I finished up Altered Carbon last week and I loved it. I won’t say anymore until you’re finished with it. And I’m currently listening to Artemis while I’m doing my walking. Very different from The Martian but still enjoyable and love how Weir puts in so much detail from the research he’s done.

 

And Ready Player One is one of my favorite books if not most favorite. It’s a very niche book though because if you didn’t live through the time period he covers in the book (the 80s) you may not get many of the cultural references. Kind of like people that were kids when The Goonies came out love it and later generations scratch their head wondering what’s good about the film. But from the trailers I’ve seen it looks like some of the story will be changed since I’ve seen modern pop culture references in there. And there are two other big differences in the trailer that were not in the book. Plus I think they will have to scale back a lot on the Japanese pop culture references which a few of them I didn’t even know and I was a big Japanese pop geek in the day.

 

And a begrudging thank you for speaking the truth many posts ago about the only way you lose weight is by keeping a food journal.  I had been trying to avoid that for the longest time but seeing how I’m not making any progress I needed to hear the truth from people that know what they are talking about.