Just an Update

Hey guys! I just wanted to give you all one last update before the storm hits.

Last week, I was able to wog 4 miles on Monday-Thursday and I just got back from a 6 mile wog, bringing my monthly total to 74 miles. I'm no where near the 150 miles I needed and I didn't get a picture in. And since I made up the questions, I didn't answer them. I'm going to have to do better next month.

Also, assuming all goes to plan, I have my first 5k race this Saturday. It is the "Miles for Missions 5k" at First United Methodist Church of Clinton. I signed up for the run, but if the storm mess up my routine, I may asked to be down graded to the walk. Hopefully I'll be able to train. I also have my first MC football game that evening, so it should be a pretty interesting day!

Since Gustav is on his way, I don't know when I'll be able to post again. During Katrina, the power was out for 4 days and the cable (internet) was down for nearly a week. I hope that this one won't be that bad, but you never know. We stocked up on food and supplies and filled up our gas cans yesterday, just in case. If the cell phone service holds, I'll be keeping in touch with Rae and she will relay our status to you. At first I thought people were just having post-Katrina jitters, but now I'm starting to worry a little. Brookhaven is jammed packed with evacuees from South East Louisiana. The boulevard (where all the commercial areas are - it's also next to the interstate) looks like a refuge village.

I'll post when I can, until then see ya!

I'm on a Program

Hey guys! Things have improved drastically and I'm loving ever minute of college life (so far!). It's a little exhasting but, I'll manage. Yesterday, I got the folks over at the gym to write me up a weight training program. I'm only using machines right now but hopefully I'll become strong enough to handle the free weights. I'm also going to start going to an ab class. Here's my plan:

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday- Ab Class and weight training
Tuesday and Thursday- Swim, Eliptical, Bike, and Arm Bike
Monday-Thursday- Run
Saturday- Long Run

In the Clear... Hopefully

Mongello!

It seems like things are turning for the better. I'm still in the same dorm (and still no refund), but I'm starting to feel better now. I joined the "Healthplex" today. That place is freakin' huge! It has two indoor pools, a rock climbing wall, raquetball and basketball courts, two "fitness" levels (that's were the cardio and weights are), a aerobics studio, saunas, hottubs, an indoor running track (1/10 of a mile - don't know how long I can take that) and, the Godsend, PRIVATE showers!!!! That alone is worth the price of membership. So by joining the healthplex (only $110 a semester - VERY good deal) I solved my training and my bathroom situation! Now instead of taking a joke of a shower (cold water and no pressure) in front of God and everybody, I can go and relax in a nice, warm private one... by myself! YIPPEE!!!

So, as you can tell, I am VERY happy now! I think I'm going to like things up here at MC. The campus is very beautiful. I'll have to take some pictures and show you guys.

Ok... On to training news:

I haven't done too bad during the past few days. I did eat a waffle (of course with butter as syrup) at Waffle House the other day, but I saved up all day for it. And last night we ate at a Mexican place (originaly just for a Margarita, but it was Sunday and God forbid should you drink liqour on Sunday! Damn this state!), but I only had soup. Other than that, pretty good. I'm back on salad and slimfast today.

I also started back training today. Since I joined the gym, I need an excuse to enjoy my wonderful private shower, so I wogged 4 miles on the track and did 10 minutes on the eliptical. I forgot that it's been several days since my last wog, so I wore myself out!

Anyway, things are good again. Talk to you soon!

I'm Moved in but NOT a Happy Camper

Hey guys... I've moved in my dorm room here in Clinton, but they threw me into the wrong dorm. Both my roommate and I registered (back in August of last year), requested, and payed (still no refund) to be placed in the "good" dorm (the one with the semi-private bathroom) only to be placed in the ''jock'' dorm with communal showers. We're going to try to move later this week if there are any rooms available in the dorm that we requested. I am VERY upset, but I'll spare you all a rant today.

In other news... training and diet have been blown to hell this week. I've been extremely busy and kind of stressed out, so I turned to bad habits and skipping training. Hopefully things will return to normal soon.

Just an Update and Another Rant

Mike- This one is for you!

I attempted to censor myself so I can keep this PG. I feel like if I rant anymore, I may need to put up a disclaimer!

Ok... I have NEVER been so POed at people in my entire running career. I show up at my running track at 5:30 this morning and the parking lot is so full that there are people parking on the street! So I went home and came back an hour later. Still as crowded as it was before. I have a busy day planned so I decide to just bare with it. Man, was that a mistake! There were so many %#@& people there that I couldn't even walk at my normal pace. Most of the people (who all drove in seperate cars. They could at least carpool! Jeez!) were in groups of three, just talking and strolling. I'm like "If your going to walk, WALK OR GET THE #$%@ OUT OF MY WAY!!!". I counted at least 50 people. Keep in mind that the track is only 1/2 mile long and only 5 feet wide. And what REALLY P's me off the most are the groups of 5 or more people that congregate right on the track. Again it's a WALKING track!!! My God! Are people this stupid everywhere? Tell me it's not just here!

OH!!! Then I got to Wal-Mart (The Great Satan) afterward and again the parking lot is full! I had to park a good 1/8 mile away from the door! This is at 9:00 am! Do people just not work anymore? It is Tuesday, right?

Anyway, on to the update...

Like I said in an earlier post, last week was pretty chaotic and it didn't get any better. Band Camp ended on Thursday and my last day at work was Friday. That ment that I had to finish everything that needed to be done in 3 days while dealing with all the extra band stuff. I finished but Oy! No extra runs at all last week because of rain and all that other crap.

This week seems to be just as bad. I did manage to squeeze in a 10 mile wog on Sunday, a 2 mile wog yesterday and a 4 mile stroll (UGGGHHH!!!!) today. Today should be pretty easy, but tomorrow I head up to Jackson and Clinton to get books and some other school supplies, Thusday I go to McComb for a haircut and a doctors appointment, Friday I have to get everything packed and ready, and Saturday I move to Clinton (YAY!!!). Then Sunday through Tuesday, my band camp starts and classes start on Wednesday.

Be sure to stop by my political ranting blog. I borrowed an idea from Jeff and started a Political Caption This.

Rae- Be safe!

Evil High School Dictatorship Srikes Again

See below for an explanation of the Cartoon "Der Fuehrer's Face"

Ok... We're all Disney fans here right? Ok then, read this story:

http://hamptonroads.com/2008/08/great-bridge-band-can-play-disney-not-rides

If I was in this band, I would tell the school administration to kiss my ass!!! Here's my reasons...

First of all, how can you ask high school aged kids to go to Disney World and not let them ride the rides? That is absolutely absurd! That's like telling a kid, "Ok, I'll take you to Dairy Queen, but you can't get any ice cream." What's the point?

Second, These kids deserve a reward. Band kids bust their rumps all during the summer, all through football season, all through parade season, and all through the fall and spring concert seasons (and yes they overlap) just to bring glory to the school. So if they want to go to WDW, then by God let them! Hell, I think they deserve a few beers while they're at it! Rae, can I get an Amen?

And Finally, We all know that that school is NOT paying for the trip. The parents and the students are. So, until the school coughs up the dough they have no place telling the kids what they can and cannot do on THEIR trip that THEY earned and that THEY paid for!

Of course, this is just my humble opinion. What do you think?
________________________________________
Sorry for the language tonight, I just got riled up. This story reminded me of my HS "reward" trip.


My senior year, our band director decided that he was going to take us on a trip. We had two choices that we could vote on, Disney World or Memphis.


The Disney trip would have consisted of marching down Main Street (my ULTIMATE dream) and a concert in the MK. The rest of the time would have been spent doing as we wanted. NO extra rehersals.


The Memphis trip would have consisted of performing during the half time show of the Liberty Bowl with Little Richard, marching in the Liberty Bowl parade down Beale St., a field competition, and 3 extra rehersals. For fun we would go to the Liberty Bowl rodeo (Rednecks of the World, UNITE!), tour Graceland, and eat at Hard Rock.


With the work/play ratio, needless to say, the band voted unanimously to go to Disney. Everyone was so excited and fundraising started immediately.


3 weeks later, the director cancels the Disney trip. No explanation was given. Just the Disney trip has been canceled.


Less than a week later, Der Führer (as we later and continue to call him) tells us that HE has decided for US that we WILL go to the Liberty Bowl, that it is a performance and we WILL go. All we could do is say "Ja Wohl, Mein Führer!"


So, we went and it SUCKED!!! The rodeo (as they all do) sucked, the half time performance was with like 30 other bands, we sucked at the competion, the parade was only down a block, and we had to sit through a 6 hour long football game (which is just a glorfied game of keep away - sorry). I had my dream crushed for a football game! To this day, I loathe the sport.


The band was so pissed at der Führer that they revolted and deposed him. He left the next year.


So there you have it. The reason why Disney band performances are such a sensitive issue for me. And if I had a rotten tomato, I would throw it into Der Fuehrer's Face!
________________________________________

Since I used some references that some may not get, I thought I would explain myself:


"Der Fuehrer's Face" is an Anti-Nazi propagnda film created by Walt Disney during WWII. It stars Donald Duck dreaming that he lives in a land ruled by nazis.


Here is link for more information and some interesting facts:
http://www.answers.com/topic/der-fuehrer-s-face


And here is the cartoon itself:
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/Der%2BFace/video/xvdyu_donald-duck-der-fuehrers-face_fun

If you watch the video, be sure to watch the entire thing and listen to the words of the song. Otherwise, all you will see is Donald as a Nazi and I don't want any of you offended.

Just Another Post

Hey guys! Nothing much to report here. Things have been utter chaos at work because of band camp. My office has been turned upside down and I have a mild case of OCD, so I'm about to have a nervous breakdown! It's amazing to me how college aged band nerds forget the basic things (i.e. horn, mouthpiece, reeds, valve/slide oil, etc.) they need for a band camp. Oh, and how hard is it to keep up with music and drill charts?! Jeez! I swear I passed out 1000 copies to the same people. I told them the next time they lose their music, I'm going to kill them! Oh well, sorry to get all band "genius" on you guys (Rae will understand!).

Anyway, because of this chaos, my training has suffered slightly. I've only been able to squeeze in a few 4 mile wogs here and there. I guess that's better than nothing. I'm hoping to do a 8 to 10 mile wog this Saturday. We'll see.

Cornfest 2008 10k Results

Ok guys... Here are my results for this year's Cornfest 10k.

I did what I sought out to do and did my 10 miler. However, I only timed the 10k portion of the wog. The time was 1:24:14. Again, I don't know if that's good or bad. This run was pretty good for me. Beautiful weather helped alot.

Did you guys watch the opening ceremonies last night? All I can say is WOW! That was one of the best ceremonies I've seen. And the little boy Yao Ming was holding was adoreable!

Anyway, thanks guys for a great run! See you next time!

Beijing 2008 is Here!

同一个世界同一个梦想

One World, One Dream

Mongello! The Olympics are here. Are any of you going to watch the games? I'm only planning to watch the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and maybe some of the Fencing and Swimming matches, but other than that I'm not planning on watching any of the others. I kind of have bitter political reasons for not liking the olympiad being held in Beijing. Kind of like having the 1936 Games in Berlin, but I digess. I guess I'm too political for my own good.

Anyway, Deb asked me to give details on how my Donald run went so I'll try to answer her questions. I felt pretty good up until about mile 6, then my knees starting to hurt so I slowed down and started feeling better at about mile 8. After that, I felt great. I only stopped twice, but that was just long enough to tie my shoes. Speed varied from strolling to full running.

I've lost another 2 lbs! I'm now at 208!!! I haven't been in the 200's in about 3 years! YAY!!!

Next stop, 190's.

Good luck everyone in tomorrow's Cornfest!!!

Just Takin' it Easy...

Mongello everyone. I've just been taking things easy this week. After my Sunday "trek", my body demanded a few days off, so I gave in (the last thing I want is a strike!). Also, I don't want to over due it as we're all preparing for Cornfest. So, today I only wogged 3 miles (29:58). Just trying to maintain for now.

Diet has been going well. After my cheat moment the other day, I'm starting to recover. I haven't lost anymore weight, but I can feel it.

Work has been total chaos! We're getting ready for Band Camp next week, so that means that I have to drag out all of the music, organize it, make sure all of the parts are there, make copies, then put them into folders. Then next week, I get to work at the actual Band Camp. And then on top of that, the week after I move up to Clinton and start my Band Camp at MC. Fun, Fun, Fun! Well at least I get paid, that's all I'm after!

How many of you are on Facebook, Yahoo Messenger, or Skype? If you're on either of these let me know. I'll add you (that is if you want me too. I mean if you don't, don't tell me! Haha!).

How is everyone else doing?

Veni, vidi, vici...

And that is exactly what I did. I came, I saw, and I conquered.

As you can probably tell by my snobish demeanor, I did exactly what I said I was going to do. I came to the park, I saw the challenge, and I conquered Donald's house! All in 2:54:08 (Ok, I'll admit... Is that good or bad?).

I have decided that until the summer is over, I am going to do all of my running first thing in the morning. This mornings run was heavenly! Cool breezes, no sun, no mosquitos, and no people! Pure Bliss! I'm not normally a morning person, but if getting up at 5 am means those things, I'm all for it!

Oh, and pardon my ranting and use of colorful language last night, but I was pretty hacked off at myself. But I'm better now. I'll add a food report later tonight.

See ya!

I tried!

I had EVERY intention on running a full 13.1 miles today. But this blasted heat kept me from it. I went at 6:00 this evening (my usual time), thinking that since the sun would be going down, it might be cooler. WRONG! There were no clouds and no breeze (except for the one that was like someone was breathing on you). It was like running in a sauna. No, I take that back. At least a sauna doesn't have this damn humidity! Needless to say, I didn't even come close to making my goal. I only got 2 miles in before I said "To hell with this! Oh wait, I'm already there!!!".

So, I AM GOING to get up early tomorrow and finish what I started. I'm hoping that I can get up around 5ish to 6ish am (before the pits of hell burst open) and get my 13.1 miles in then. Then I can say that I accomplished my July goal! A little late but completed none the less.

I'll keep you all posted...

Hey! I was on a Podcast!

Have you guys listened to AATM yet? There was some serious Team Voice love going on this week. Rae gets her own segment where she mentions Deb, Heath gets an email read, I get called, and I call out Mike's number (Funny!). I didn't sound like a babbling redneck did I?

Anyway, I'm glad July is over. That means that I only have 2 more months of this "Hell on Earth" summer heat. Then maybe, I'll be able to train like I'm supposed too.

My miles for July was 83, so Rae, add that to our tally!