a milestone

Over the past several weeks, I've really been cracking down on being healthy (minus the whole cigarettes thing; one step at a time). I've been re:reading an amazing book recommended by my doctor--"The Culprit & The Cure"--and have been putting into practice what it's all about: embracing a holistically healthy lifestyle. Essentially the book is all about (a) diet and (b) exercise. I've been learning a lot about the ins-and-outs regarding why eating a "prudent" diet (one adhering to the Nutrition Pyramid), and it's fascinating to see all the health benefits associated with a diet consisting mainly of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. I've been putting this into practice, and I've been feeling great. Regarding exercise, my doctor (who, I should add, is also a good friend) gave me a $500 mountain bike for free. I've gotten pretty pumped up about it, and I've been riding it whenever I can. This afternoon I went for a 20-mile ride along the Miami River. It was beautiful, sunny, exhilarating, and I feel great (albeit exhausted). Needless to say, this is a big break from what I've been doing since January, and already I've lost eight pounds. I'm looking and feeling good, and I'm itching to get on the bike again. I plan on biking to work Sunday. That'll be fun. And bad-ass. I'm re:doing the whole "monthly weigh-in" thing, except now focusing not so much on weight loss as on muscle growth (although weight loss does play into it, just not to the degree it did a year ago). Here's the last picture taken (sometime in August of last year, I think):

the dayton days [63]

Me, Jess, and Carly tree climbing!

Monday. Carly, Alison and I grabbed dinner at Panera Bread. Carly was ranting about all the work drama. Jessica had commented, "Everyone's just being so damned selfish and lazy!" We went to the house Cars is sitting and tried to get the big-screen in the basement to work but failed. I left around midnight. Carly asked me, "Do you fancy Jessica?" "Why do you wanna know?" I said. "My cat senses tell me that you do," she said. "Well," I said, "I do, but I don't know in which way."

Tuesday. I watched UFO shows all morning and went to work 11-7:00. Jess & Faith had a big heart-to-heart in the back. It was pretty secretive, and when I went back there, I said, "I'm just working guys, so if you don't want me to overhear, don't talk, because I'm listening." They laughed. I later found out that their "talk" was about me and Jess. Faith noticed our chemistry and was asking Jessica about me right then and there! Ha. Jess smoked with me on my 10 before heading home. I went to the woods at North Park to smoke. The old high school stomping grounds. I got groceries at DLM and a different cashier flirted with me (not the J.W. chick). The whole thing started with her saying, "Are you still in high school? 'Cause you sure look it!" Who the hell says that? Guess my haircut DOES make me look younger. Damn it. Dinner was a Greek pita sandwich with red pepper hummus, cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts, baby spinach, and feta cheese.

Wednesday. I worked 6-1:30 with Jessica, Joanne, Asenath, and Tony. Good times. J.J. came in and remarked, "Hey, who's the ten-year-old on bar?" Haha. It was warm today and strangely snowed around noon. WTF Ohio? Jess & I went to see Carly at her house-sitting gig in Kettering. We went to the store by goodies and then by Carly's apartment. We shotgunned beers in the lot and then a cop pulled up and we played it cool. In Kettering I fixed hamburgers on the grill out back and Jess made guacamole and Carly squeezed some fresh oranges for O.J. Cars bought some bubbles so we played with them for a while and Jess & I climbed a tree house. We went to Grant Park, traversed some creeks and climbed some trees. We relaxed back at the house until pretty late. Jess & I fooled around with the weight-training machines in the basement, and she was shocked I could do 100# on the pulldown bar. "You should start working out!" I told her I do, but my muscle tones far more than it builds. Regarding Jess, (A) I really enjoy spending time with her, (B) she's a really great girl, and (C) I caught myself flirting at least once and stopped because (D) despite all this, I don't know if I like her like her. And maybe it's due to my own insecurities? But she seems far outta my league.

Thursday. Ams called Mom around 2 AM, was pulled onto the side of the road sobbing and having awful anxiety attacks. At 3 AM Mom, Dad and I got down to Cincinnati and picked her up from Mandy's. I drove her car to Dayton and she rode with me, and we talked about all the stress in her life. We got back home around 6 AM and I didn't sleep before work. I was scheduled 7-3:30 but pending the circumstances, Wade was gracious and let me leave at 9:00. After twelve shots of espresso I was still SO tired I couldn't focus. The lack of sleep coupled with all the stress did a number on me. Mom & Dad took Ams to see Joe. I ran out for some O.J., 'cause I was feeling sick, and went by work to share some laughs with Carly, Betsy, and Asenath. I felt bad for only working two hours this morning, but both Jess & Cars agreed: family comes first, ALWAYS. Regarding Ams, she's doing a lot better. Sky hurt her mouth playing with sticks. She whimpered and wedged her head between my legs and I held her until she felt better.

Friday. I worked 5:30-noon with Wade, Joanne, J.J., and Jessica, then led a coffee seminar. I went to North Park with Ams to smoke, and back home we watched some "Strange Science" documentaries and she went back down to Cincinnati. Dylan and I are going down tomorrow, one last hoorah before he leaves for Africa for two years (Peace Corps). Mom & Dad went to bible study. Jessica asked me to come to her art crit Saturday. Too bad I already have plans. She's moving to Wilmington at the end of the month; our hangout times may drastically decrease.

Saturday. I worked 6-2:30, and then Dylan & I went down to Cincinnati. We spent the day with Mandy, Blake, Rob and T.J. We got lunch at The Spicy Pickle, then bubble tea from across the street, and I took over 100 pictures goofing around on the Claypole House front porch and then messing around at C.C.U. We played 007 and then Dylan and I headed back home in a thick blanket of mist. I dropped Dylan off and picked up cigarettes, then spent some time driving through neighborhoods cloaked in fog. I had to drive so slow, could hardly see. Carly recommends that I "lay low" regarding Jessica, that she's not ready for a relationship, evidenced by her "sailor activities" in D.C.

Sunday. I spent the day running errands with my sunroof rolled down (eighty degrees out). Dewenter and I grabbed Kabuki for dinner. He went to his grandpa's, and Joe came by the house to drop off a Cannondale M500, a mountain bike that runs for $500 now. Shiza. A gift to me. Dad & I fine-tuned it, and I'll take it out soon. By June I want to be able to bike to work. "That'd be so cool!" Jess said. Maybe I can impress her? I went by The Marketplace and saw Danny (from work and C.C.U.); he got written up 3x today. How does that happen?

re:living the past

Long and winding night drives is something of Cincinnati I dearly miss. Months ago I ran into my C.C.U. friend Katie at a party at the Claypole House, and we talked about how we used to go on drives and smoke cigarettes and drink orange juice, sharing conversation and laughter late into the night. These drives became a staple of my life, since I love(d) smoking cigarettes, and I couldn't do so on campus. I had a plethora of tried-and-true routes, most of which snaked around Cincinnati, passing down by the stadiums, or which followed the river east to the beautiful, picturesque town of Mariemont. I'd get out of my car and walk around the old stone church and sit on the stone wall encircling the cryptic graveyard. Other times I'd drive to Indiana, or go south into Kentucky, plunging into the countryside and parking at another abandoned graveyard and sitting on the hood of my car looking up at the stars. On clear nights you could almost see one of the Milky Way's arms. Now that I'm living back home, I can smoke on the front porch. There's no need for driving. But last night I went on such a drive, inspired by the thick mist cloaking everything.

The last time I saw mist like this was in Chicago last year. You couldn't see the tops of the skyscrapers, and when we rode up the ferris wheel, the skyline seemed to be emerging from an unbroken blanket of fog. At 2:00 in the morning I drove through the mist, at times going only 25 mph because I couldn't see ten feet ahead of me. I took the above picture along 73. On these drives, just like the olden times, I think about life. Things I want to do, things I want to accomplish, where I'm going in life, shit like that. I used to be so full of dreams, but disappointment ravaged me, and a sort of bitter stoicism spread through my veins. Now I don't hope in much at all. I try to enjoy life and friendships, and I try to love other people and be a decent human being, and a lot of times I fail, but that's what happens when you're so accustomed to living a life of darkness. There's grace and mercy for that. Last night I ran into my co-worker Danny at the gas station. He's getting his degree in psychology and aims to work with mentally handicapped kids. I used to want to do that, but then I decided to do ministry, and I ended up with a B.S. in Biblical Studies and no desire to become entrenched in all the church politics that ravage nearly every church I've ever been a part of or worked with. So I'm not sure what I'm doing with my life. Danny's employment at Starbucks is like a "filler" job; but for me, what is it? Will I be there the rest of my life? *GULP* I hope not, as much as I love it. I want to do something meaningful, something that will impact others, something that will make a difference in the world--whether that difference is limited to a select few or a vast number is irrelevant. I want to enact change in the world, I want to be a positive force. 

going-away party

In less than two months, Dylan will be heading off for staging in Philadelphia and then across the Atlantic to South Africa for in-depth cultural training, and then he'll be in Mozambique villages for two years working with the African AIDS crisis with the Peace Corps. He has become friends with several of my regulars down in Cincinnati, due to many trips down. Everyone wanted to say bye, and we wanted to have a good time, so Dylan and I trekked down to the City and joined up with Rob & Mandy, Blake, and T.J. for an afternoon/evening/night of fun. We went out for dinner at The Spicy Pickle in Clifton, then polished it off with an assortment of bubble teas from an Asian joint down the street (and by Asian, I'm pretty sure Thai). We spent the evening goofing off at the house and then traversed C.C.U.'s campus taking tons of pictures. So much laughter and rich conversation. We wound down with coffee back at the house, watching Disney's "Oceans" documentary. I'm going to miss that man when he's gone, but it'll be a fantastic reunion when he lands back in the States come 2013.

making it rain: koala style

Amanda was in town for two days, and it was great to hang out with her. I love her so much and sometimes I wonder if I show how much she means to me. I mean, I know she knows that I love her; but I want to make sure she doesn't just know it but that she sees it. Today we went to North Park when I got off work and traversed through the woods to a spot with a fallen tree where back in the day my friends and I would gather till sunset drinking Jones soda and cradling skateboards. Oh, such good and innocent times. Well. Maybe not innocent, but definitely good. I'm friends with only a handful of the people I knew back then; Dylan, Tyler, and Dewenter. Three. I can count them on my fingers. Great friendships born in the days of our youth and continuing strong today amidst all the changes our lives and our selves have gone through.

Tomorrow Dylan and I are going down to Cincinnati. Grabbing dinner with Blake and Mandy in Clifton, then nabbing some bubble tea, spending the evening doing God only knows what. Half the fun is not knowing what lies beyond 7:00. I have Sunday off and am planning on seeing Dewenter for a while, maybe take Sky to the dog park. 

It's 9:30 and I must be going to bed: heading into work at 6:00 tomorrow morning. So for now it's goodbye. But before I put Sky down in her bed and crawl into my own, I'm going to take a shower using my new collection of identity-driven shower stuffs. I'll be making it rain... Wait for it... Koala style. Thanks to Carly for showing me the way.

bubbles & tree climbing

Carly, Jessica and I met up at a house Carly's sitting in Kettering for a not-quite-epic-but-great afternoon and evening. We picked up some groceries at Kroger and Jess made delicious guacamole and Carly made a red potato and Brussels sprouts dish, and I ignited the grill out on the patio and threw down three one-pound burgers and thick-cut bacon for some gourmet-style burgers. Dressed the meat with garlic, red pepper, and Cajun seasoning. Carly bought a bubble wand at Kroger and we spent a good hour playing with it out on the patio after lunch. The picture above is taken amidst our frolicking. Carly went inside and Jess and I attempted to climb some trees but failed, and wanting to climb trees so badly, we talked Carly into showing us a nearby park. 

The three of us headed out and we hiked through the woods along an overflowing ravine and Carly led us to a tree she used to climb in her youth. She scaled the tree like a cat and Jessica and I fumbled over our own feet as we trekked up to join her. Carly climbed the highest, and Jessica and I stopped about halfway up, refusing to go further for fear of slipping. Jessica nearly fell once, and my work shoes have no traction, so I didn't want to risk it. The picture to the left is taken by Carly: Jessica and I pretending to be Grade-A bad-asses. I use "pretending" because, after all, we weren't bad-ass enough to climb higher. Oh well. I don't have the agility I used to have, despite my daily practice of pilates. We spent the rest of the evening back at the house, messing around with all the strange contraptions in the basement, trying to figure out how to watch a movie--"Why do they make technology so complicated, anyways? One function, one button. It should be a rule." Eventually we gave up and just crowded around the dining room table and French-pressed some coffee and paired it with some cheeses and raspberries, and Carly fresh-squeezed some orange juice. Orange juice is one of my weaknesses--along with "Gilmore Girls" and pop music--so I was pretty stoked. Alison and Devyn came over around 10:00, and we hung out with them for a while, but both Jess and I had to work in the morning so we left the party right when it was getting started.

tonight: Greek

Over the weekend Mandy introduced me to a curious little dinner recipe. After my trip to North Park, I went to D.L.M. and bought the ingredients. Feta cheese. Baby spinach. Alfalfa sprouts (I put that shit on everything). Roasted red pepper hummus. And a cucumber. Back home I wedged all this between two pieces of pita bread. OMG. Amazing. I'm eating it all week for lunch at work. Here's a picture of it:

[NOT FOUND]

Damn it. I forgot to take a picture. 

I meant to. But once I fixed the food, I was so excited I forgot.

Yesterday I got my haircut. Cut it pretty short. 1" length. Shortest I've had it in a long time. Some people think it makes me look older. Others think it makes me look younger (e.g. J.J., who remarked, "Who's the ten year old kid who just walked behind the bar?"). Apparently so did the high school girl who checked me out. She looked at me all weird and asked, "Are you still in high school, because you sure do look it." Who the hell says that to a stranger? Who the hell says that to anyone, for that matter? I told her that I have actually graduated college, and then she went on and on about how cool that is and kept making stupid high school jokes. I realized by her batting eyes and wide grin (resplendent with braces) that she was actually hitting on me. I quickly gathered my things and left. Sometimes I hate looking young--the only girls who flirt with me are in high school, at the most! 

Okay. Now I'm going to go work out, then crawl up next to Sky and put her to bed. This time I have a picture (Sky sleeping in the arm-chair this morning). All she does it play fetch and sleep. A pretty great dog.