Wednesday, March 14, 2007

How can we even explain how much we did today?! We slept in again so that we would be well-rested to start off our day kayaking!






After getting some food at the kayak place (they had a restaurant upstairs), we went over to the Experience Music Project, which included: the history of guitars, Jimi Hendrix exhibit, and then of course...singing booths..





Knowing us we were hungry by then, so we got a cheap bite to eat over at Dick's, where they have $1 burgers.



Then we went to the Jazz Alley, where Greg Adams (an awesome trumpeter) had a great concert. We hurried after the concert to eat at an Amy Johnson-recommended restaurant called "The Pink Door". Food was great, and there was also a little trio playing some jazz. Probably one of my favorite days: exercise without knowing, great food, and great music =0)

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Today we decided to relax and sleep in. We started off around 11am with a little walk. We went on a nice trail on a mountain, then we went off-trail where Adam got stuck in some mud, I got some lovely splinters, and Peter up-rooted a tree to make us a bridge to get past a patch of thorns. We got a good work out and eventually found our way back to Peter’s aunt’s house.

After getting cleaned up we went to Downtown Portland and started off with Pike’s Place Market. We got to see the original Starbucks, the place where they throw the fish, tried some AWESOME free salmon, got some lunch, and I got to go to a really cool comic store called Golden Age Collectibles.

Then we headed to the waterfront, explored some, walked to Pioneer’s Square, walked to the flagship Nordstrom’s, and then walked back to the car.

We then drove to Key Arena and cheered on the Sonics!Even though we all don’t really care for them, we felt compelled to as the guy sitting behind us was an annoying Detroit Pistons fan. “Nick Collison!?! You got stuffed by ‘Sheed once, you don’t wanna come back! The ball don’t lie!” And MANY high pitched yells. We still had fun even though they lost. We got to combat him with “The ball DOESN’T lie! Found a weakness! Let it rain!”

We finished the day off with some fish and chips at Ivar’s on the waterfront. Even though it was late, we felt our whole day of walking excused our eating late at night.

Monday, March 12, 2007

We were planning on running this morning but it was raining. So instead we started our day by having lunch at Henry’s Tavern where Adam had some fiery shrimp, Peter had BBQ chicken pizza, and I had salmon and mashed potatoes. Henry's also had really great root beer...yum.




Afterwards, we went to Powell’s Books, the largest independent bookstore in the world. It was HUGE. The store takes up an entire city block. It has color-coordinated rooms to indicate different subject level. It also had a rare book room where they had early editions and original printings of a number of books.



From Powell’s we went to the Nike Factory Store where we tried to take advantage of Portland’s lack of a sales tax. We even bought matching jackets.



Finally, we got up to Seattle around 8pm. Peter’s Aunt Patti has been kind enough to let us stay with her, so she cooked us dinner and we got to hang out.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Our campsite had a sign that explicitly said, “Caution: You are in bear country!”

I can’t say that I was paranoid, but I was definitely aware. So, when I woke up in the middle night, and heard some rustling against our tent, and some growling, I got understandably concerned. THEN, I realized that it was actually Adam next to me proving his qualifications for the Tour de Snore. I know that I’ve found the right group of friends because we all wake up in the morning cranky from a restless sleep because the other two's snoring kept us up. =0)

Just to give you an example, here's a resident snore chief showing us how it's done in the car.


For us, the state of Oregon will always be known for:

1. Their nice bridges


2. Their beautiful coast


3. Their SLOW drivers.

We saw mileage signs for 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 on a HIGHWAY. Is that even possible?!



Anyway, we had to improvise a little so that we could get to Tillamook Cheese Factory in time. (Including a quick make shift PEE-stop.)




Eventually, we made it to Tillamook and had some amazing cheese and ice cream.






We checked into our Days Inn City Center in Portland’s Downtown District. We found an awesome restaurant called Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, (where when you call they answer, “Hello, You’ve Hit Rock Bottom!”)

The two scariest thugs I know, showing what napkins should look like after eating wings.



A little downtown walking and we went to sleep early.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Here’s what I woke up to (Not much to see, but be sure to turn up your volume!):



Don't be fooled by Peter's appearance, that's ALL Adam.

After waking up in our absolutely funky-smelling fogged-up car, we ate a delicious and healthy breakfast at the rest area.




Since we drove a lot last night, we were able to take our time today.

We drove through the Avenue of Giants and came across this quaint looking tourist stop called “Trees of Mysteries”. Lo and behold, we recognized some of the landmarks from one of our favorite commercials.






We made a quick stop in Eureka (We found it!). Had some good lunch at Hurricane Kate’s, walked around downtown a little bit, and left for our campsite.

Some scenic shots:







We arrived at Redwood Forest around 5pm and got to explore a lot. We skipped stones for awhile and walked along the Smith River. Then, Peter came up with the brilliant idea of going INTO the river. Adam was game, and after lots of convincing, I decided to go too. We all got in and wanted to cry.




After climbing up back to our campsite without shoes, we set up our tent, dinner, and our campfire. We had some personal conversations, played some cards, and then got cozy in our tent.

Friday, March 9, 2007

“This is How We Do Spring Break”

For some, that quote might be a prelude to heavy binge drinking or lounging on a beach of an island, for three of us…it translates to chasing birds and sleeping at rest areas.

Our spring break started off with relative ease. We hopped into our snack-filled Kia Sorento, and after a few obligatory stops (our apartments, McDonald’s) we were on our way around 7:45am.

We traversed the 5 quickly making our way outside of Los Angeles. PCH had practically any traffic, and while our morning had started off with muggy weather, the coastline drive was gorgeous for a majority of the way up. Here are some scenic shots:






We also got to check out the Hearst Castle visitor center (didn’t have time for the castle itself). Our trip hit an exciting note when we took the 17-mile drive near Monterey. We got to hang out on the beaches, Peter made a new friend, and we even got to see the 18th hole for the Pebble Beach golf course!







Afterwards, we breezed through Cannery Row (the inspiration for Steinbeck’s novel of the same name), and eventually made it up to San Francisco.

We were a little later than we had hoped and would not make it to our planned campsite of China Beach. So, while trying to contact all of our native SF friends, we ate some calamari, chowder, and fish and chips (I ate a shrimp pasta which was inevitably a bad decision). Afterwards, while Peter was fruitlessly trying to find us a place to stay, Adam was cautiously watching over me as I was so close to vomiting so many times (pretty, I know).

Since we couldn’t find anywhere, we decided to get some of our driving done at night (since the closest rest area was about 2 hours away). In addition to telling embarrassing stories, we traversed the foggy mountains and ended up at a rest area around 2am. We got situated and tried going to sleep, for which Adam apparently had a talent. Instead of Peter and I being the loudest snorers (as accustomed to being), Adam shuck the entire car. (It probably didn’t help that we were all within 6 feet of each other in an enclosed space. Peter and I got some sleep, but most of our night was spent giggling about Adam’s narcolepsy. He would be talking to us, laughing at jokes with us, and then literally TWO SECONDS later, within the same breath, he would be snoring up a storm!!!




Great first day of our long-awaited spring break road trip.

And just so you know, THIS, is how we do spring break.

The Week of Gary (for Serious this time)

Did you hear that? Wait...wait a minute there it is again....*KERPLUNK*. That was Week of Gary falling to its miserable demise. Of all of my expectations (6 total), I completed half of one. But let me highlight a realization I arrived at last week.

• Partying several nights leads to 1) inefficient workouts, 2) unhealthy late night binges, 3) loss of money.

Was it a fun week? Yes and no. But my continuing to feel immobile is unacceptable, repulsive to me. That said, let's try it again.

THIS time, I'm going to be in seclusion (b/c I sort of need a break from everything). I really want to test myself, see if the hard work I put into something can produce the results I want.

• Still working out everyday
• New song or two
• Figure out some recording stuff
• Catch up on reading
• By doing some work at work
• Get to the low 270s, preferably 270 itself (I'm at 279 right now after a few days of 283)

Gotta do it for me.

Day 2

Yesterday ended with a *SPLAT*.

I had pasta. We're talking A LOT OF CALORIES. Eh.

This morning I had yogurt (170) and a Kellogg's diet bar (90).

Disappointed? Yes, I am.

Day 1 recap

Rather than talk about how annoying yesterday was (because of frustrating classes), I'd like to focus on the good.

• Good: I ate in some moderation.
• Breakfast: 3 eggs (210 calories), 4 thin pieces of ham/turkey (40), 1 piece of 7-grain toast (100 calories? i need to check)
• Not so good:
• Lunch/Dinner: turkey sandwich, macaroni and cheese (1800-2000?)
• Good: Exercise was okay
• 10 minutes on the bike (burned 100 calories)
• maintained weight for biceps, triceps, bench
• walked a mile at the track

Today turned out to be pretty good:

• Good: Exercise was brutal
• Peter indicates this means our work out last night (8 hours prior) was effective
• Couldn't do all the weight I did last night, but certainly tried
• 30 min on elliptical - 400 calories
• Weighed 276.2lbs
• Not so good:
• Same breakfast as yesterday, but with some tater tots
• Gonna have a salad for lunch, some pita chips and hummus for dinner

woot.

The Week of Gary

Well, it has regretfully been awhile. Nevertheless, I'm back in action after a relaxing yet uneventful weekend. I did, however, go grocery shopping, and am looking to minimize my purchasing food at school. I got yogurt, protein bars, ham/turkey for sandwiches, vegetables for tuna salad sandwiches, and hummus w/pita chips. In addition to my diet, I'm looking to this week to be relaxing, fun, eventful, productive, and inspiring. Here's a glance:

• consume around 2500 calories a day
• 500 crunches at least 3 of the days
• still workout everyday
• go out every night
• do all my hw/reading
• write at least 1 more song (maybe 2, we currently have 8 songs w/lyrics and chords)

My intent is to lose 10-15 lbs within the next 2 weeks. Oh yes, it is possible. And it is okay for me to do. It's go time!

Gotta get through this...

Come on...let me get to 275 please.....277.8 today. I needed that boost this morning. Almost a month now of this and if I didn't show any signs soon, I would've been UNHAPPY.

Nevertheless, some improvement.

Last night was fun. 7 games of racquetball (about 1hr 45min) and then a mile at the track (Peter/Adam did more). Then we hung out at Trojan Grounds just telling funny stories and reminiscing about good foods we want to eat but shouldn't! Feelin the annoying stress of school right now...gotta get through this.

WOOT PART DEUX!!!

adrenaline's still going into tonight's 2 hour racquetball foray.

- 279.3lbs today! Not really a big improvement since I've been here before (once during this diet, 4 or 5 times in life), but i take it more for it's significance - frankly i'm tired of seeing the first two numbers be 2-8.

- ate a 12-in italian sausage sandwich w/caramelized onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, on oats and seeds bread from malibu subs. and kettle chips. i could've picked a healthier choice. wouldn't be surprised if i go back up over that dreaded 2-8-0 mark.

- feelin pretty sore today though. i really pushed it yesterday by upping the weight on everything. oh well, it's a good kind of sore =0)

WOOT!!!

Feelin good!

- did the 500 crunches that I wanted to
- showed improvement in all of the weights I was lifting
- 45s on the bench
- 100 on lats, butterfly
- 25 on bis, tris
- did about 2 miles walking
- ate a chicken caesar salad with a turkey sandwich today (wanted to eat breakfast, no time)

and, to make it better, feelin more organized, and got some adrenaline right now.

to give you something to do when you're not reading this blog, check out WOOT

there's a woot off right now, gotta love it!

Is it possible?

Well, this is going to be another Gary-downer post. While in the shower I've realized that for the past month, nothing's changed. I'm no closer to my weight goal, the CD has not progressed any further, and I'm just more tired than usual. How can it be possible that I've wasted an entire month?

Yes, I do feel better in shape, but I still weigh the same. My body is still the same.

The diet is going to be running full steam ahead tomorrow, but I'm feeling like that's all I am, full of steam.

I'm going to keep trying things until they work. Whatever it is, I'm going to keep trying.

• I heard once that Usher (haven't heard of him in awhile) did 1000 sit-ups/crunches a day. 1000! I feel like that would take me two weeks to do a 1000.
• I heard that holding in your stomach and holding for a little bit, is the same thing as a sit-up.
• I'm combining the two. I'm going to see if I can do (I'm setting the goal a lot lower b/c I'm not Usher) 500 sit-ups/crunches/holding in my tummy for one day. If I can do it one day, I'm certainly going to keep going. I'm always interested in a challenge. This one might, again, be too lofty. Oh well, I'll let you know how it goes.

-edit-

Crunch Count
9:00am - woke up
10:00am - 300 crunches
2:40pm - 500 crunches total
(these pseudo-crunches I'm doing aren't as strenuous as regular crunches, but I'm starting to feel it).

not hungry

After racquectball today (which i thought the frist game went well, but everything else was jsut ok) i went to Jamba Juice and got a medium sized Light drink. I dunno how many calories or what but light is better than a reg. one. For lunch at 3:20 I had a full turkey sandwich from wolfgang and a liter of water. before class i refilled my bottle and drank most of it during class. today i haven't been really hungry throughout the day but we still have a couple hours to go. i think tonight i will try to eat a "light" dinner. have fun tonight guys :)

Tired

Blah. Today's the first time I've fallen asleep in class this school year. By the time Thursdays come around it's difficult because we've already worked out 3 days, plus we've got Wednesday night cardio/weight lifting, and a couple hours later we've got racquetball. Anyway, my diet started today.

• had a turkey sandwich, small caesar salad
• hopefully something healthy and small =0)

It's funny b/c I was talking w/Adam about how I would leave my house feeling slimmer, but see myself as the same size (biggie) later on during the day. He said it's b/c we're taller in the morning b/c we stretch out when we sleep, and during the day gravity weighs us down. Hmm!

Weekend's almost here, thank goodness. Finally gonna have some more time to work on the CD.

Ends

It's been awhile b/c I was gone on a retreat this weekend. While it was refreshing to get away from the stress and struggles of everything at USC, I still find I'm battling with my weight.

I'm finding different meanings in the phrase "question yourself". I usually question myself in what I see as a constructive manner, critically for the sake of improvement. Lately, I've been second-guessing myself, unsure of how I'm acting in some superficial situations.
My self-consciousness has reached new highs.

I'm at the ends of this. It's time to move to another stage. I'm too impatient to wait for results of having worked out everyday (three weeks in now).

Starting tomorrow:

• smaller portions, different foods, a more food-conscious self
  


• more efficiency, better organization, a more productive lifestyle
  


• pushing the limits of creativity, accumulating knowledge, a well-read, unique perspective
  

A golden day. I need a brand new start. (ironically from the song Start)

An Integrated Life

As I've reached the 10th day of the new workout regimen, I've discovered two things:

1. It is difficult to not complain. I'm constantly talking about how tired/sore I am to my two partners, and they're polite enough to tolerate it. I want to move past the whining and just do it. It probably furthers my exhaustion too when I claim that I'm tired (b/c I'm used to being that) when I'm not necessarily.


• The irony - I'm complaining about how much I complain.


2. It is difficult to not let this consume my life. Other than trying to find a post-graduation job, all I think about is the exercise. I tell practically everyone I see about the new workout plan. That's stupid because I'm not doing it for them, so I'm not interested in having expectations drawn for me.
   
   • Nevertheless, it is a big deal for me because I've never worked out consistently like this. It's something I'm really excited about. But when this workout routine becomes normal, then I will have a better grasp on things.

What's frightening to me is this blanket of apathy I'm surrounding myself with. I've considered apathy to be a huge problem. I don't understand how you could just not care about something. Maybe it's not apathy, it's a mix of boredom and numbness.

Weight

• I'm 281 on the dot today.
  

Tuesday

• Food - I ate a herb sausage calzone with a side caesar salad and macaroni and cheese. I had a margarita later at the Justin concert (<---amazing).


• Exercise - I played an hour and a half of racquetball.

Wednesday

• Food - I ate a calzone (sausage, hash brown, eggs, tomatoes, cheese) and an express meal (two sausages, two eggs, 2 pieces of wheat toast, hashbrowns) all for breakfast. For dinner, I ate my fried rice again.


• Exercise - 10 minutes of stairmaster (worst machine created ever. I wanted to die even though I only did 10 minutes), 15 minutes of bike.

Thursday

• Food - I ate a spam/egg sandwich this morning. Yum! I might eat the same thing tonight!
  
• Exercise - hour and a half of racquetball this morning. Really fun except I got hit the hardest I've ever been hit in the head. Played ok though. Scores were something like: (A-P-G) 15-7-2, 15-10-7, 15-12-9 (we were stuck at 0-0-0, 2-2-2, 4-4-4 on the last game).
  

Catch-Up

Gotta catch up with all the posts.

Weight

• Has been fluctuating a lot, i'm right around 282-3 right now.

Saturday

• hour and a half of tennis in the morning
• Wendy's breakfast - chicken sandwich, 5 chicken nuggets
• McDonald's lunch - chicken sandwich, french fries
• CPK dinner - spinach/artichoke dip w/chips, 3 pieces of bread w/butter, sausage pizza
• probably the healthiest day of eating in the history of diets

Sunday

• REST DAY!!!
• breakfast - plate of my home-cooked fried rice w/eggs, hot dogs, rice
• dinner - ramen

Monday

• minor lifting of weights
• late lunch - meatball sandwich w/french fries from bistango
• dinner - panda express - half fried rice/half chow mein, orange chicken, black pepper chicken, crispy noodles

Blah, not feeling great, but some good things are:

• Justin Timberlake concert tonight!
• Not feeling sore anymore.
• Obama looks like he's running, here's to hoping for a job.
  

Two for One

Two posts tonight...

Energy fluctuates throughout the day, but I'm finishing tonight sort of low energy. Tomorrow's the end of our first week with a tennis session.

Thursday

• Breakfast - Jamba Juice Lite - 500 calories
• Mid-Breakfast - 3 croissants - 450 calories?
  
• Lunch - turkey sandwich from Wolfgang Puck's - 600 calories?
  
• Dinner - Chano's steak nachos - 2000 calories?
• Weight - 281.2lbs (back up)
• Exercise - 10 min of bike, 4 games of racquetball

Friday

• Lunch - half of a turkey/avocado sandwich on wheat bread
• Dinner - "The Carnivore" at a restaurant that I forgot the name to.
  
• Flank steak, lemon chicken, sourdough bread, mashed potatoes, sweet italian sausage
• Exercise - 45 minutes of lifting weights, 30 minutes of elliptical (440 calories lost)

Have It Your Way

at BK. Yup, feeling exhausted this morning. Got 6 hours of sleep, woke up late for work, body aching, bought Burger King b/c I was incredibly hungry and lazy. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so I ate a lot as a pick me up. It didn't work.

Weight

• 278.2lbs (net loss of 2.9lbs)
  

Food

• Breakfast (9:30am) - I ate 2 Croissan'wiches (400-499 calories each) and a large hash brown (300-399 calories)
• Dinner (7:30pm) - I cannot control myself at buffets, I need to stop.
• 5 egg rolls
• 2 slices of pizza (one cheese, one hamburger)
• one piece of ham
• one piece of salmon
• one salad with hard boiled eggs, mushrooms, bacon bits, croutons, caesar dressing
• over 2000 calories

Exercise

• Weight Lifting
• bench press - 4 sets of 10 reps at 115lbs
• squats - 2 sets of 10 reps at 115lbs
• butterfly - 2 sets of 10 reps at 80lbs, 100lbs
• triceps - 2 sets of 5 slow 15 sec reps
• over the head, 3 sets of 10 with 25lb dumbbell
  
• biceps - 3 sets of 10 reps at 25lbs

Powerless

Hopefully the video works. -edit- To add to my frustration, I forgot to rotate the video. I'm too tired to change it. Enjoy regardless.

Weight

• Today, I weigh 281.6 pounds. Pretty much same weight as yesterday
  

Food

• Lunch and Dinner (3:30pm)
• 12" meatball sandwich w/provolone cheese on wheat bread - 1000 calories gained?
  

Exercise - Tuesday - Racquetball

• Three good games of racquetball for about an hour - 500 calories lost
  
• 10-15 min of elliptical - 200 calories lost

Music

• "Powerless" is actually the title of one of the songs we have for the album. It's a song written to reflect my absolute inability to talk to those I'm attracted to. Fitting for today=)

Bonus

• My article was published in today's edition of the Daily Trojan. It's not meant to be a provocative piece, just a reflective one. Check it out here.
  

No Battery

My camera is unable to capture my first entry, so you'll have to wait for video until that's fixed.

Nevertheless, here's the vital stats:

Weight

• Today, I weigh 281.1 pounds
• My goal is to weight 250 by graduation (May 11, 2007).
  

Food

• Lunch - chicken pesto sandwich - 600 calories?
  
• Dinner - one mixed plate of
• 4 pieces of beef with mushroom sauce
• large helping of mashed potatoes and gravy
• noodles with 5-6 shrimp
• 5 -6 pieces of ravioli with tomato sauce
• 3 small pieces of french bread
• calorie total = over 2000

Exercise - Monday - Cardio

• Elliptical - 30 minutes - burned 460 calories
• Row Machine - 10 minutes - 2000 meters - approx. 300 calories
  

More than a New Year's Resolution

College is arguably the best time of one's life (aside for those who don't go or those who just flat disagree). Not to say I haven't had a formative experience, but false hopes and disappointments have tainted a large portion of the past 4 years.

That's about to change. Over the course of the next few months (graduation is May 11, 2007), I am going to actively pursue several goals which I would have previously thought unachievable. I'll be keeping you posted along the way.

The three main topics you'll be hearing about are:

- my pursuit of losing weight and ultimately feeling good
- my and my best friend's work on our CD
- my spring break road trip from l.a. to seattle and everywhere in between

So, without further ado, here we go.