Wrasslin..

When I was growing up in St.Louis, every sunday morning Wrestling at the chase was on t.v. It was a local wrestling showcase at a downtown hotel, that included what were at the time, and would become some of the biggest names in the "sport."
I distinctly remember Kerry Von Erich, and trying to emulate his "Ironclaw" on my step brother. I remember thinking that some day I'd workout and have muscles like the Von Erich brothers. It was the first time I thought about being an athlete, or that there was value in having muscles. It had nothing to do with girls, It was all about kicking butt (cut me some slack I was 7). I had a little weights set hollow bar with some plastic covered weights. I did endless curls. My parents bought me a weight bench, and every other weekend for a while I would "work out" with my dad. My parents decided I needed to do it more often (little chunkster that I was) and they moved it to my mom's house and instead of "working out with my pop," they 'made' me work out by myself. I rebelled and didn't touch a weight again till high school. Professional wrestling was the thing, that was what made me decide that I wanted to be "big and strong." As I got older I fell back in and out of the wrestling thing.
As a kid: it was super cool.
In highschool: "ah B.S. that's all fake."
In college: A bunch of the guys would get together and watch Monday night 'RAW' together, drink some beers (or not) and hang out, but it was a social thing more than a wrestling thing.
Afterwards... there was the steroid thing.
I admire the physiques these guys put together, but it can't be worth it. They're over worked, beat up, and juiced out of their minds (in my opinion) and it's taken a devastating toll. These real life super heroes, complete with tights and catch phrases are O.D.ing, dieing young of heart attacks, or flat out losing their minds. It's a sad state of affairs, but I still have a soft spot for it. Much like a lot of people (especially women) who saw Rachel McLish compete in the 80s must be sad to see body building going the direction it has, but still want to love the things about it that drew them in initially. Something's gotta give.
I'm glad I got out of it what I did, it's just too bad these men who were my heroes are now used up, or dead.
Mahalo.

You're doing it wrong!

Yesterday I saw a H2 with a Minor threat sticker on it. Someone has a problem with their listening comprehension.

This week is all about rest and recovery. I am only doing some light mobility work and relaxing. It's harder than getting the workouts in. I am designing the next 12 week period. It's going to be focused on lifting heavy and getting some rowing in. Last period was focused on rowing with some lifting.

Goals for this session:
break 350 squat off a 12" box. (current 315)
245 bench. (current 210)
work on technical rowing.

obstacles to over come: work, week vacation in august, family reunion in july, the usual suspects of sloth, injury, stupidity.

Ahm suhfistkated now.

Favorite insults:
Crap-tard (one who is so full of crap it retards their intellect, has nothing to do with 'special needs' folks)

Assmitten.

Twat-waffle (thanks to the wife for this one)

Turdball. (this is what I call Tenzing the cat when he's being.. well a turdball which is a solid 60% of the time)

Weekend update!

working working working.
wednesday night I came in at midnight, worked till 2:30 am, went home slept for 90 minutes, went to practice, then went back to work.
Thursday, I worked all day, packed and went to bed.
Friday drove down to Vancouver, Wa. Took second in our heat in the Mixed 8+, took 3rd in the final. Ate dinner at chevys.
Saturday, rowed the men's A4+.. finished did not place. Rowed the Men's B 8+ finished, did not place.
Sunday helped people get to their races, and generally hung out at the races. De-rigged the boats, and slapped them on the trailer. Drove home.
Today 12 hours at work and counting. I'm pooped and could end up staying here for another 2-3 hours.
Hopefully someday I'll get back to blogging.
Hope someone out there's getting some rest.
Mahalo!

Dick Nixon says...

Thumbs up!

Ok, that's just SICK..

The Punk Rock Thing..

When I was in College and a good bit of highschool, I listened to HardCore and Punk rock music (Youth of Today, Bold, Minor threat, Gorilla Biscuits, the business, 7seconds, Screeching Weasel, Sham 69.. und so weiter) The philosophy, and the energy appealed, and still appeals to me. For most of this time, I looked how I look now: short hair, Levis, chucks/docs/barefoot, and some sort of t-shirt. I tried some of the other stylistics of that sort: fred perry shirts.. I still have a few I like. Flight Jacket served me well for years, but I've long since taken the badges and buttons off it. Dyed hair lasted about 3 days, too messy, I sweat too much. Piercings were fun, but they are all gone. I have a couple tattoos and plan to get one more, but the logistics of it are.. complicated.
Anything more than that never felt like me. A lot of it had to do with being in St. Louis. The scene there was very exclusionary. I was never "More punk/skin/ruder than you." It's just not in my makeup. It was too much work for validation from people, too many of which I thought very little of (the others were my friends no matter what I looked like).
For the people in this world want to rock dyed hair, mohawk, a jean jacket covered in badges, tie-dye, black nail polish, khakis and a blue oxford shirt: if it's you, that's great! But it doesn't make you better/worse than anyone else or really all that different. Have fun and be happy with the way you look, but a way of dress is not a way of life, and vice versa. Clothes are a covering, and a means of expression, but they don't tell who you are. They say what you want them to. Don't mistake someone who doesn't care to express themselves to you for someone with nothing worth saying.
Happy Tuesday!
Mahalo.

random bits..

1) It drives me nuts when a radio station (mostly country radio) dubs in local teams, or it's own name into songs. Leave it the heck alone. If an artist wants to declare his love for a team, don't put words in his mouth. Also, you're not that great of a radio station. We are not fooled into thinking that the artist wrote a special song just for you.

2) There are 4 "young adult" books in the Amazon top 20. Come on people, read grown up books.

3) My nose still won't stop running.

4) Everything I've READ about this book makes me wince. I can't tell if this very thin woman actually believes this stuff, or if she's just selling a big ole batch of "whattheywannahear."

5) I am a pretty awful party planner. I had 5 people at my college graduation party. I had 2 people at a get together I threw a few years back, and 1 person at a BBQ at my place this weekend. My wife sets something up we have 30 people at our place. You can't even walk around in there. Maybe I'm not as charming as I think.

6) One of the discussion boards I check out from time to time, a woman actually asked if lifting weights would cause her to be infertile. I was shocked and appalled. Did people actually believe this back in the day, or were they really trying just to "keep women in their place." I have no place in my definition of "attractive" for someone who is willfully physically incapable. Lift weights, run fast, jump high! Be an athlete!

7) for you father's out there, Happy father's day.

8) Congratulations to Dr. 1% she is awesome in her fabulousity and is 100% bonafide.

1:17 PM..

And I've already blown through an entire roll of toilet paper. To say my nose is runny is an understatement.. the good news is, I feel better, and have been eating a bit more. Hopefully this will be the last "I'm Sick" blog entry.

Better..ish.

Yesterday, from about 10 am on, I kept saying "as soon as I finish this, I'm going home and going to bed." I ended up leaving work a whole 15 minutes early. I know I'm sick when I have no desire to eat. I went home, forced myself to eat a few eggs, and went to bed. I got up, spent some time on the couch, and forced myself to eat a bowl of cereal, and then went to bed. Yesterday I got almost 12 hours of sleep and 1/2 of my usual intake of calories. Today, I feel better than I did. Hopefully I'm on the mend.

Who left the Flu open!?

I have been sick all weekend. I still feel like reheated dog crap.
Friday night I was fine, lifted legs, all was well. Went to bed with a scratchy throat.
Saturday morning, I slept through my alarm, and missed practice. Got up and had breakfast with the wife. Lay on the couch all day working very hard to keep some part of the room in focus. Slept late yesterday. Went to coffee with SJ. We had a good chat even though I was spacey as hell, and babbling like... well alot. Today I am at work, because I have to get some stuff done. I have not eaten, and really have no plans to. I am cold and sweaty. I am going to go home as soon as I can and get some sleep.
Mahalo.

Devil's in the details..

Normally the majority of what is written by T.C. for T-nation falls under mildly guilty amusement. Don't get me wrong, he knows his audience, he writes pretty well, but I am an outlier of that audience. Occasionally however he writes something funny, well thought out, and worth reading.
His Lifter's homage to the devil's dictionary is pretty good.

Personally we did some race pieces with another local crew this morning.. we got waxed.
It happens. I am a little frustrated with some of the guys. Not because we got beat, that's out side of your control, you go as fast as you can and if the other crew is faster, you tip your had and keep working. I was/am frustrated because when it became obvious that we were going to continue to get beat, they resigned themselves and limped through the last few pieces. It's ok to be slow, it's not ok to give up. Beyond that, I feel I rowed pretty well, and some mornings you're just happy to be out there. The water was flat, the sun was out, and that was good enough.

This afternoon.. I get a haircut!

No big plans this weekend, which is just the way I like it.
Mahalo.

I may have had a donut..

Now I don't feel good.

I don't wanna go to rehab, no. no. no.

I'm not going to rehab, and apparently neither is Amy Winehouse. I have had that song stuck in my head for about a week now. It is catchy and resistant to antibiotics.

Once again, this will be a brief and burning missive. It will have to slake your thirst for more until I can escape my cruel captors.. or buy a laptop so I can be the blogness from home.

Workouts are lagging a little bit. Rowing practice has geared way up in preparation for the regional regatta in two weeks, and I am pretty crispy... deep fried that is. This week will be my last heavy lifting week until after the races. I am very good at enforcing a taper, but at the same time I hate it. I'll make it through two weeks.

Saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At world's End this weekend. It was fair. A good popcorn movie with some funny parts. I like the series for the most part.
Some critics are panning the movie as convoluted, I disagree a bit. It's disjointed. The producers started shooting without a completed script, and it shows.
There is one scene, that really struck me as funny. In my opinion, they used a body double for a scene where Orlando Bloom kisses Keira Knightly on the knee. They rather awkwardly avoid showing a full shot of Ms. Knightly and her bare leg. Probably because while her thinness makes her a viable female lead, her emaciated stem isn't very photogenic all by it's onesy, savvy?
Oh well, such is the world we live in.
Mahalo!