AngloAm’s Weblog

Not such a bad day really. Lost four pounds since last Monday, and managed sixty continuous minutes on the treadmill. This is the first time I’ve managed to do sixty straight through after working all day so I’m quite proud of myself.

Okay, this really is shameless boasting!

Websites you should see

You may want to check out these two sites for amusing content:

• The passive-agressive notes blog - for all those ‘amusing’ little notes that roomies or coworkers or neighbours leave for each other…
• The fail blog - for things that just fail to be any good or which are inconsistent.  Here’s my favourite example:

No eye candy this evening.  Sorry.  You’ll have to wait for it!

Just a quick post to let folks know that C and my “other” site has been updated - check it out and if you need the address, let me know.

Hello everyone, here I am again.

Friday was a fairly good day until it became not so good. I honestly thought CH was going to come to dinner with our Friday Night Club but I missed his call asking for directions and he couldn’t make it. I felt awful as I’d tried to encourage him to join us - he seems sometimes a bit lonely although…maybe not. All was going well at dinner until I got all emotional about feeling self-conscious about weight lifting which I want to start. I felt like (once again) who the hell am I to try to ‘get above my station/rôle in life’

My mood nearly instantly plummeted and I felt terribly sad - like my dreamlet was dying. I recovered once C and I had a chance to talk it out. If anyone would like to give me inspiration, I’d surely appreciate it and would return the favour.

It’s going to be really hard to go work out with military hardbodies; I’m very apprehensive but C’s being very encouraging. I’ve got a good couple of books on the subject and of course Neal will make up some kind of programme for me to follow. As C pointed out I was scared of walking, and I conquered that; I was scared of going to the gym, and I conquered that. But when I was just down there to make the inventory I felt so out of place in one room (with Nautilus equipment) and utterly mystified by the Hammer Strength stuff with the odd projections and plates and strange appearances. However, as I often try to remind myself, nobody came out of a box knowing how to use it; everyone had to learn and start somewhere.

Saturday dawned (I guess; I wasn’t up to see it!) and off I went to the gym to sweat my ass off in the heat, see the remarkable lack of eye candy, and only do 50 minutes of walking. Neal came by and I did some upper body work. I have graduated to 25lbs in each hand on the chest press! C mowed the lawn and did a really nice job tidying up the rampant growth that this damp spring has fostered.

When I took my post Neal shower I weighed myself and I’d lost about six pounds since Monday. I’m sure most of it is water weight and on official weigh-in day I’ll have gained about two-three of those back but still! 

We went to a really delicious middle eastern restaurant in Laurel where I had a great lunch of felafel, hummus, cucumber salad and naan. From there we checked out the location of the Melting Pot in Columbia where C and I are going for dinner next week and then to the Apple Store in Columbia Mall to play with the iPhone. I really want one. I really really want one so bad. But I like having landware’s Pocket Quicken on my Treo so I really really really hope that it will be available in a Quicken format.

On the way home we decided to stop in Panera for a drink and a snack and on a whim I texted CH to invite him over.  What do you know he was driving by and pulled in and sat and chatted with us - for three hours! I was so glad that he didn’t think I was some kind of jerk for not getting back to him yesterday evening in time. On the way home through a bit of a storm we decided to grab dinner from Burger King - I had the veggie burger and C the whopper.

Now…I always think that it’s good to get as much instruction as possible in exercise so here are four - count ‘em, four - videos of our old friend Michael Lewis teaching us how to move our bodies. I think one of them may be a repeat but can you ever get enough of ML’s goodness?

(Does he get you moving?)

But not the guys — it was me who was hot. Bloody hot. I could only do 30 minutes before being exhausted. Then when somebody moved the fan and another person got on a treadmill only to have a coughing fit, I decided in the words of Judge Marilyn Milian “stick a fork in me, I’m done.” Just to provide a little relief, here’s a shot of a from my cell phone of a much much cooler day…

Of course, if it is warm you can play on the beach like this handsome fellow in Tel Aviv (thanks again to Alan on flikr for his ever-cocked camera)….

(Would you like to bat his ball?)

Saw this some time ago at a DIY center - snapped it and then forgot ’till now…

Just a quickie to keep my legions of fans updated.

Sunday was a classic ‘do nothing’ day around here (although I did bake two loaves of bread), and Monday is a bit blurry in my memory. The only remarkable thing was a huge limb falling off a tree in my office parking lot, and some gorgeous rainbows I saw driving home, both due to some pretty amazing storms that blew through the area. I took this from my cell phone - sorry for the odd horizon but I was pulled over on an off-ramp on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway….

Tuesday I ‘chucked a sickie’ and worked out in the middle of the day. Megaboring. But I did make the list of all the work out equipment and things I saw in the gym as Neal asked me to. Here it is:  weight-equipment-at-gaffney

Today I did sixty good minutes after work and apart from a few matzos too many I’ve held the line on gluttony too. I really like Wendy’s Southwest Taco Salad. Because of all the little bits and pieces (salad, chili, salad dressing, tortilla strips, sour cream) you really feel like you’re getting a big deal for only six dollars or so and only 10 weight watchers points.

Movies you should see

I thought I’d share a few movies I’ve been recently watching and why you should rent them and watch them:

Three Dancing Slaves - mainly for the eye candy (F).

Campfire - good examination of a family coming to terms with the loss of the patriarch (IL)

Lilies - profoundly moving story of truth-telling years after an abusive relationship (CDN)

Lan Yu - see contemporary gay life in China with a romantic twist.

The Bubble - wow, see contemporary gay life in Tel Aviv with a political fix (this was directed by Eytan Fox who also did Walk on Water and Yossi and Jagger, which you should also see).

I’ll post more movies you should see in upcoming posts.

One more movie you should see

Devastatingly, brutally cute (to me at any rate) Hughsnews has posted this funny and thought-provoking video on YouTube…warning, NSFW language (the eff-word, a see-word, and a different eff-word, all taken from horrible homophobic comments to a previous video of his).

Owen more movie you should see

Here’s a mini-profile of current obsession Owen Wilson.

Once a week isn’t much, is it?  Tsk tsk - Must Do Better.

At any rate, last Sunday we went to our good friends’ house over on the Eastern Shore of Maryland to play in their pool and enjoy a lovely rib dinner. Mmm good…far too good and I overindulged a bit, so Monday I was only down by a bit less than a pound.

Monday I went to see my orthopedist about my knee and we decided to try a course of something called Synvisc to see if it will help; they’re trying to get it pre-approved by my insurance so I bet I’ll have to drop off the script next week. I had hyalgan before and it’s worked great so if Synvisc doesn’t, or only lasts a while, I’ll try that again.

Tuesday and Wednesday are a bit of a blur at the moment, but by Thursday I was doing so well on my activity and diet that I’d lost an additional 2 pounds. Friday I think things went off the rails a bit. First, I got a parking ticket at work because I forgot to put my handicapped parking placard out. There goes $155. Then I (wrongly) thought that C would be furious so my tension made (allowed? encouraged?) me to pick a rather overdramatic fight with him, and to skip working out. This was rather silly as I’d been looking forward to it since we were dismissed early and all and Thursday and Wednesday there was a rather good amount of EC at the gym. Instead I went home. We were all made up and went out with our friends for sushi. C & I overate grossly but it was all so good.

Today I didn’t work out or see Neal as we took my dad out to lunch. We went out to a Pho restaurant in Crofton where he lives and I was pleasantly surprised; they had a very extensive menu and it was quite good. He can be annoying, not horrible, not mean, but sometimes annoying. He was bound and determined to go to this pho place and so we did. Mind you I get this horrible feeling when he talks about his problems; I’m not used to frailty in my parents. It gives me all sorts of forebodings, and then I think about C missing his parents and wishing we could make as big a fuss over them as we do over mine, or even just wishing he could hug them. I wish I could make him happy and not miss them. He’s really wonderful and so giving but I’m never sure if he’s really content here. Maybe that’s why I never really feel impatient with him or that I’m giving too much, the way I did with previous “partners” - I want to give to C, to give and give and give and yet no matter what I get so much more happiness from him than I feel I have the power or ability or specialness to give him.

Visited with my mum afterwards for tea and got some good recce on wineries we may want to visit when in California. If it weren’t for the flight and my fear thereof I’d be a lot more keen on the trip. I am keen on marrying C but I dread the flight over there. Mind you I’m looking forward immensely to being there, I hope everyone understands. Then on the way to gas up we went to the Odenton Dairy Queen and I had a large malted. :(  I am just just just keeping within my points, and I have have have to go work out tomorrow.

Plans for tomorrow then in no particular order:

1. Bake bread (must make the sponge tonight)
2. Work out, including make a list of the strength equipment available (and if I have the guts which ones I can actually fit on without looking like a solid blob)
3. Do Georgian
4. Put up more photos on our ‘other’ website (once again, all you have to do is ask for the URL but it’s not public).

You know, I’ve been so blessed with great friends around me, people I know that I don’t deserve but who for some reason or other enrich my life. They’ve been there for me so many times; times I’ve had virtually no money and was eating cup-a-soups for lunch and dinner, had my phone and electric cut off, was down to my last few bucks. They’ve fed me and let me stay on their sofas and I never feel I could do enough to repay them, but I would if I had the chance and knew what to do. That’s my trouble often — a lack of imagination. I’m great at getting or taking what I need, but not always so hot at responding to the needs of others, mainly because I guess I figure I let my needs be known, quite well(!) so others will too. I don’t know where I’m going with this so before I get all awkward (or boring) I’ll stop as a word to the wise is always enough.

Let’s lighten the mood and make it as sunny as Owen Wilson’s blond locks, shall we? Here is a smorgåsbord of him for your viewing pleasure. Oh, and Karen commented correctly, the mystery man is Oliver Hudson and his sister Kate used to date Mr. Wilson (O.). Since O. Hudson (not O. Wilson) is a big fave of C’s he’ll be back soon, as will more Boys from Brazil, but for now, let’s gaze on the sexiest broken nose in Hollywood…

(By the sights of what’s below his right elbow in the speedos shot, Mr. Wilson’s having a great day…)

Well, it was a lovely evening Friday night; my friend and co-worker G came out to dinner with us. I was so proud of C that he moved to allow G to sit next to me so he wouldn’t be uncomfortable. It’s times like that that I know I made the best/right/only choice in asking him to marry me.

I had the ’soup and salad infinito’ but when you total it up it’s a lot of WW points. I’ll have to chose more carefully next time. I was surprised and not in a good way. I wish I could eat like my friend K; she just had a salad (no tortilla shell) with her own fat free dressing and I think, at least it seemed, that she enjoyed herself as much as the rest of us did. I would not be surprised to find out that I’ve not gone down this week. Must do better today (so far so good) and tomorrow before weigh in Monday. Eeeep!

Today Neal came by - I hadn’t been to the gym but I got a good workout anyway. I hate hate hate that bench. It’s too tall for me so I have to almost be helped on and off it. Did some good shoulder and upper body work so I will try to do some leg stuff later today or tomorrow.

Other than that C & I have not left the house today but I did accomplish getting the video from our 2007 trip to the Limberlost Trail edited in iMovie (quite good actually for the purpose) and up on YouTube. We hope you enjoy it. You may remember our trip from last October…

The video and the pictures are on our other website whose address you either know, or can find out by e-mailing me.

Now as far as eye candy goes, I found these two pictures when I googled “Owen Wilson Sexy” - apparently one other site owner thinks that Mr. O. Wilson has sexy legs. Do you?

I guess they’re not bad. Maybe he gets them from riding his bike like here, in New York (must be a brave man)…

Okay, so here’s a quiz…what is the connection between this Eye Candy, the man at the bottom here (I’ve got to learn to make better layouts!), who is a favourite of C’s, and Mr. O. Wilson…

Well, that phrase is my eternal comfort. Yes, here I am again, I know it’s been awhile, and I don’t have much of an excuse.

So let’s dive right in, shall we? Last Friday, the last day for which I have a clear memory, I honestly thought CH from work was going to come out to dinner with ‘the gang.’ See, the previous day (it’s all coming back to me!) I’d sat with him listening to his troubles and woes for hours after my formal quitting time and he was all like “it’d be good to have a friend.” And Friday was a day of drama with him and the people who do, maybe, or maybe not, work for him. So I thought, demoralized as he seemed to be, and as fond of Mexican food as he described himself, he’d leap at the chance to be among people at Don Pablo’s, a Mexican joint. But he never turned up. So much for ‘poor lonely’ CH. He told me he’d gone to an Iron Man Triathlon with some old friends and such. I really have got to stop letting people’s hang dog expressions get to me. Of course you’ve already guessed that attractive athletic hang dogs are better at getting to me than plain or even ‘unfortunate looking’ ones. Ah, well.

Saturday and Sunday we were in the middle of a horrible heat wave so other than seeing Neal we didn’t do much. When both the temperature and humidity are in the high nineties one tends to stay home. Monday was uneventful, but I have to let you know that Monday is my Weight Watchers on line weigh in day and I lost seven pounds from the previous Monday. Now, that’s after Sunday di pizza, Saturday when I weighed myself I’d lost nine but I’m still happy with it.

Tuesday I was out sick and made a bit of a start editing the video from last year’s trip to the Limberlost Trail to go on our other website, I hope to be finished it by the weekend. Wednesday my dad took my brother and me out for Thai and a talk; I was stunned when he said (1) that he has aortic stenosis and (2) he’d like to talk with my brother and me about our weight. I didn’t say much as I’ve only recently rededicated myself to improving my intake and I feared a lot of patronizing jibber jabber. However, C & I invited him to lunch the weekend after father’s day and my mum said that cheered him right up.

Today has been long and tiring - sixty minutes at the gym after getting up much earlier than usual to get C off to work. Now it was also a stressful day at work for me; I don’t know why but I seemed to get on my boss’s nerves a bit more than usual. I must try to be nicer and more compliant in future. :/

Found this site on passive-aggressive (and just plain aggressive notes) on the ‘net. Way funny.

I want an iPhone, to get married to C and have a Californian coastal honeymoon, and to get my darn sites up and running. I want 45 hour days too. I want to get back into Georgian, to stop getting distracted by internet porn (would anyone be interested in a review of my favourite sites?), and to be productive at home and work.

Not just porn distracts me; I’m rushing to get this post done but I took the time to watch a pretty good movie from Netflix - “As Luck Would Have It.” What should I do? Owen Wilson seems to have a knowing look - should I ask him to organize my time? Would you trust him with your date book?

I promise to get better with the EC.

It’s June! Just to catch everyone up, Friday went out with the gang to our local diner which was nice and relaxing, but maybe a bit noisy. Still I like the place; they have a good variety of foods on their menu so everyone can normally find something they’ll like. Saturday Neal came over after I woke up late and did my “fitness snoozing.” Oh, well. I sometimes wonder if he’s given up on me; but then that might be good (more to come). Afterwards we went out for a good meal at the Longhorn - I am proud of myself in that I really really wanted a huge slab o’ ribs but had salmon instead. Friends came over to hang out with us that evening which meant that our errands were run on Sunday. That worked out fine; we got my dad’s birthday present, had a nice lunch at Carrabba’s in Columbia, MD (huge bowl of delicious lentil soup), some shirts for C, tried to find the ideal dining room table in the Room Store (we want a small round pedestal table with leaves), and visited Borders. In Borders I found two books I liked but decided to get them from Amazon as the price at Borders was so high.

Then we went to my Mum and Dad’s for his birthday; it went very well. My little niece and nephew were adorable, but they were tired so they got a bit…grumpy at the end. But really, aren’t they adorable?

Giving Up on AngloAm???

Basically, I’m walking my nether regions off and not getting any thinner. So I’m going to see about changing that. Today after my doctor’s appointment C & I went to Applebees for lunch and I ordered off the Weight Watchers’ menu. No seconds for dinner. Walked 60 minutes. (Some pretty good EC too!) The reason that my impression that maybe my doctor and my personal trainer are giving up on me is somewhat of a good thing is that it called my attention to how I’m giving up on myself. It does no good to fill in my weight watchers points, and merely to bemoan my overshooting my allowance every day. It does no good to say “well, I’m exercising” and scarf up whatever crap food is brought in. Besides which on that podcast I listen to (Fitness Rocks) I learnt today that saturated fat is not just ‘bad’ for you in a sort of general sense, it’s actually harmful. As harmful as sticking a needle in your veins and injuring them. And today my doctor said that I need to follow a higher fiber diet. So bran to the rescue! Actually I like a lot of high fiber foods. Luckily we’ve programmed a lentil casserole for dinner Wednesday night (taking mum out to the Killarney House in Davidsonville tomorrow-dad was a wee bit jealous but as C pointed out she often doesn’t get to be heard and he goes out with his golf buddies (now that he’s retired)) so that’s good on the plan. Can’t keep skipping days on end from the gym, either, not if I want to be EC myself one day. And I can’t do ‘fitness snoozing’ any more either!

Till next time.