No spending day

I decided when I woke up and it was a combination of light rain and heavy mist that the walk was out and this would be a stay at home no spending day.  At least it started that way.  After breakfast, back to the two poached eggs regime, I went out to the garage, fired up the treadmill and walked for an hour.  Actually reading a book while plodding along is rather restful.

I came in and did some work around the house.  I got the Christmas Tree working again.  It took a new bulb so my no spending day was suspended while I went to Home Hardware with Precious.  We got a walk and a bulb and Precious got a cookie.  My highlight was to move the swords and knives from the living room and put them into the turret.  They are much better hung this time around.  Then I just had some nice time with Marla, playing with Precious and getting ready to go to work.

It was a very good hockey game and very restful from the first that I got there because my followspot would not start when I tried to fire it up.  Between Shannon, Simon and me we finally got it going but it took four trips up and down the stairs.  that is a bunch of exercise for the day.

The game was interesting the first two periods were all Prince George.  But in the third period the Royals came to life and did some serious scoring.  They tied PG's three goals and scored the winning goal in an overtime shoot out.

Post Christmas good day

Today was a really nice friday.  I was going to go for a walk in the morning but I actually slept in.  Must have something to do with staying up until 1am last night.  Tonight I am getting to sleep earlier.  I try to get seven hours of sleep apparently that is just on the edge for WLS patients.  They are supposed to get more. But I have too much energy for that.

But did do a lot of home stuff and Marla and I needed to get out this afternoon for some post christmas shopping.  I really wanted a new white shirt, maybe it is that urge to go Mormon.  Marla also needs a white shirt so we took off to Marks and got a really good deal with them.

We met up with Little Pam at the Garrick Head for a beer and some very nice conversation.  She is a nice girl and we had a delightful time.  A quick trip home and then I was back to the Arena for the Royals/Prince George game.  It was a really good game with the Royals winning 5-1.  Tom and Jason were not there which was really different. 

All in all a pretty good day.

Merry Christmas 2012

Today is Boxing Day but we didn't really have all that much to box up.  So with the tradition aside I left myself to a mega walk with Precious the Pooch, a little sight seeing with Marla, and a quiet night at home. One of the treats of the day was we did a walk through the Festival of Trees at the Empress Hotel.  It was very pretty and Christmasy.

 

 After that we came home and called it a day.  Precious was very tired from our walk earlier in the day.  She was tuckered out behind the couch.  

Reflecting on Christmas it was pretty good this year.  Marla and I got each other a reasonably good collection of small gifts.  I got some cool magazines, a station house for my train set,  a Roughrider gnome, and Marla got her diamond earrings, the calendar that I made for her, a new infinity scarf, and little treats and treasures.  We are sharing tickets to Burton Cummings this spring at the Skagit so we have something to look forward to seeing and another road trip.

The day after boxing day was a bit more busy.  It was normal routine type stuff.  Marla was volunteering at the Senior's Home and I took the truck out to Costco to get the tire fixed.  It was slowly leaking.  then we went downtown to Pags for lunch.  We went a little early and had to stand in line but it was nice out and we had a good time.  I sure couldn't eat much.  I think I had less than a cup of food - just tastes of soup, Capoletti, and some really good bread.  I definitely stopped eating before I hit any bad points - that feeling of a lump in the chest.  I am doing better at stopping before I feel bad.

After that we had a walk, Marla wasn't feeling so good so we hoped some exercise would help.  It did a bit and we took off to see the Gingerbread Houses at the Laurel Point.  They were very nice.  I will get the pictures up in a day or two.

In the evening we went to see Ballet Victoria's Pandora's Box.  It was nice and sweet.  We had a pre-show snack at Baan Thai.  We had the usual and it was okay.  I have really been enjoying my time off. 

this is me being social at Christmas

So I started my morning off with a walk down to Cuthbert Holmes park and back.  Precious really liked her walk but she came home covered in leaves and crud.  I cleaned up the car because it really needed it and it was an absolutely wonderful morning.  Then I came in and got all showered up and ready to head off to Leslie's for the traditional pre-Christmas dinner. 

I had a great NSV happen this morning.  I was fidgeting with my wedding band and I discovered that I am now small enough that the ring fits on my thumb.  It is like I drop a ring size every two months.  Marla and I were planning to get the ring re-sized in February so we are right on schedule.

The Christmas social was really nice.  It was good to see some old familiar faces and they had nice compliments for me.  My ego really liked it.

Marla and I left Leslie's about 3pm and headed downtown.  I am after some hiking shoe and found a great deal on Timberline hiking shoes at Atmosphere.  Normally they were $109 but today they were $54.  I am looking forward to having some good walking shoes.  And also being able to keep my feet warm.  The downside was that theyhttp://www.urbanspoon.com/r/317/1431297/restaurant/Downtown/Garricks-Head-Pub-Victoria are size 13 I was kind of hoping for 12s but this will do for now and as Marla says "All Shoes size differently."

We shopped a bit downtown, Marla tried on some nice dresses at Bryan's.  She looks really cute in the sparkly ones.  Then she went for glam in Roberta's Hats.

We were a bit hungry and thirsty so we tried out the newly renovated Garrick's Head Pub.  http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/317/1431297/restaurant/Downtown/Garricks-Head-Pub-Victoria

We came home and settled into a nice quiet night.

its beginning to look a lot like christmas

Today is December 22nd and I am finally getting into the christmas spirit.  Up until now my life has been very hectic with work at Camosun, work in the theater (Royals Hockey, Chantel Kreviazuk and Burton Cummings) all in the last couple of weeks.  The weather outside has been frightful with lots of storms and general yeechyness.  Lots of wind and rain and little opportunity for walking.  I finally got out today when Christopher and I got to go for a walk along the ocean front with Precious.

I have been having a good time getting Christmas presents.  I like christmas shopping.  I like making up presents too.  I am kind of excited to see if Marla enjoys her presents.

Of course the big item is my impending retirement.  This is the first time I mentioned it here but I am going to retire from Camosun College at the end of January.  With holidays taken into account I have less than 20 days to work before I hang up my spurs.  I feel bad that my leaving will be at the root of some big changes for the difference but also it is time for the department to change.

I am looking forward to retiring in every way except for maybe the serious drop in pay.  On the otherhand I am really looking forward to more time with Marla, being able to study in daytime courses at UVic, more theater work and just generally enjoying life.

I need to remember that I was given a gift of this wonderful surgery to change my life and ensure that I don't fuck it up.  I worry about that sometimes.  But I am also trying to make the appropriate changes and my body tells me when I did something stupid.

Seattle Musical Theater Roadtrip

Seattle Musical Theater Roadtrip

Okay so this was a trip of indulgence. I wanted to see a couple of shows which were playing in Seattle and the stars fell in the right position so we made off for the Emerald City. We took off on the Friday of the November 11^th long weekend. There was some question of how we would go to Seattle – our choices were: the clipper (too expensive and stranded without a car), the Sidney Anacortez Washington state ferry (not a bad idea), BC Ferries from Swartz Bay (but it is a longer drive with Border waits) and finally the good old Black Ball Coho (Still kind of expensive but it at least was a different route). So we found ourselves pulling into the Bellevue Street Docks for the Blackball at 9:20 on Friday morning. We didn't have any reservations since we were flying be the seats of our pants. The direction guy said “Maybe we can get you on; its a bit iffy.”

But for some good reason, which I am very thankful, we ended up being the second last car allowed on the ferry. Maybe next time we should get a reservation. The trip was very uneventful. It is only an hour and a half crossing so we spent our time watching old tv shows on my nook. It is a nice way to pass the time watching Spin City and Taxi. The crossing was very smooth and we pretty much stayed put in the observation area. Not a lot to see, 22 miles of flat water with fog holding close to the waterline.

We were among some of the last cars off the ship but our timing was good because we hit a very fast customs line up. After a few questions of where we were going and me letting it slip that we were off to see the Addams Family (that was supposed to be a secret from Marla) we were heading down the highway. Our first stop was the 7 Cedar's Casino near Sequim. It is a nice little casino and I see they are doing more renovations to make it even larger. It is a place where we can pick up lunch for not too bad a price. This time they had a strip loin roast which is cut down to make excellent steaks. I really liked my small piece. Eating for me wasn't much of a challenge here. I may have mentioned in other posts that I like buffets because I can pick and choose what and how much of it I want. True I did have a little more than usual but my smaller stomach stops me when it has had enough.

Sometimes that is a little frustrating because I would truly like more tastes and more quality of foods. But then on the other hand I know that I have my limits and not eating as much is my choice. We continued our drive listening to classical music and an audiobook about George Carlin. We crossed the Hood Canal, which is a very cool long bridge, and then made it to Kingston to catch another ferry across Puget Sound. Sunset over the water was pretty.

We finally found our way to the Residence Inn in Bothel, Washington. I like staying here. This trip we are in unit 232 for a few days. So I took the time to unpack. Then we figured out we were hungry so we drove over to the Outback in Mill Creek. It is becoming a regular stop. And seeing as we can split our meals it comes out to be a pretty good deal. After supper we went to get some supplies and do some shopping at Fred Meyers. I upped our USA phone for another $10. We must have been right on the line for time since we were able to keep our phone number.

We were late getting to bed; still a little hyped from a day of travel. But we zonked right out and went to sleep. The next morning I was up bright and early and went for a two hour walk as the sun came up. It is a really pretty area to walk behind the Residence Inn. I came back for breakfast (scrambled eggs and sausage patties) and then got Marla going for the day.

We drove downtown for the matinee performance of Wicked at the Paramount Theater. I wanted to get us down there a little early so we could get parked and settled. We found ourselves a $7 a day parking spot at the lot on 6^th and Olive. Then we started our slow walk up to the theater. We have lots of time. Our first distraction stop was at the Barnes and Noble at the Pacific Center. Why are so many places in Seattle called Pacific? I headed towards the humour section, mostly because I saw some interesting books about Mad Magazine. But the real treasure was coming across a collection of Berkley Breathed books containing all the Bloom County comics. This was a delight because in the 1985 collection I found our favourite cartoon about everything is changing and nothing ever remains the same except the good old taste of CocaCola. At that time Opus the penquin says “this coke tastes different” in reference to the 'new coke'.

Next we downstairs and checked out the major portion of the bookstore. I love going through books. It is a wonderful feeling to know there is such an eclectic set of knowledge and fantasy in all of those tomes. Finally we left the store and crossed Pine street to go to Von's.

We like going to Von's. It has a magnificent bar, great food and a fine location. We settled down for a small lunch before the show. Since we were pretty much in a saloon we thought we might as well have a drink. Marla went for a Helfenwizen wheat beer and I had a brandied cherry martini. It sounds like a girly drink but it was still pretty good and potent enough to strip paint. For lunch I had clam chowder. It was excellent, very full tasting and very creamy. Marla had a salad and something else which I currently forget. The something else would have been enough.

We killed some time, had some wonderful conversation and then headed up the hill to the Paramount. Along the way we stopped at the Hyatt to check out the lobby and also pop into our favourite steak place Ruth Chris. We haven't been to a Ruth Chris in ages and I was a little leery about going back since I can not eat very much. But we talked with the front desk and they say it is no problem to split a meal so we are going to put it on our list for when we return.

I like going to the Paramount. It is a beauty of an old theater. It has a Middle Eastern quality to its design and it is very beautiful. Our seats for Wicked were in Row N of the House Right side. We were two seats off the aisle so the really were not that bad. I would not want to sit any further out or further back than that.

Wicked the show is very good. It is more spectical than play. But the songs are enjoyable, there is lots of flash and money on the stage. We had a good time. The highlight for me is to watch Marla enjoying the show.

We left the show and it was just starting to get dark outside. One of the reasons I like going to matinees is because it is easier to get out. Or so I thought. Traffic was a nightmare. It took us nearly a hour to go a dozen blocks. But once we were on I-5 we headed out to see Gerry and Jan at their place in Federal Way.

We had a very nice visit with Gerry and Jan. So nice to talk with old friends. After a while we headed back up to Bothel and called it a night.

The next morning I was so stiff I could barely move. I felt very old as everything was sore and creaked. I don't think it was the bed and it shouldn't have been the walk from the previous day. Maybe it is a bit of the flu. I had a nice long bath, I don't usually have baths but this one felt pretty good. I was wondering if we should slip into Seattle and see the pin ball museum but frankly it just seemed like a nice quiet day. We did drive over to Lynnwood and see if there was anything I could get at the Big 5 sporting goods store but not really. Our next stop was for lunch at the Olive Garden. It was good as usual. We tossed with the idea of going downtown or going back to the hotel for a nap. The nap won. So we slept for a couple of hours and I felt a bunch better. Then we took off to downtown to watch the Addams Family musical at the 5^th Avenue Theater.

I got us down there about two hours early with the view that it would be easier to find a parking spot nearby and go over for lunch. The parking spot worked out okay. We ended up in the Hilton lot which is connected to the theatre via an underground walkway. But we forgot to take in the fact that there was a football game on and the bar was really really busy. Making matters worse, on sunday night there is nothing open around the 5^th avenue theater. Although we did do some window shopping we ended up just waiting for the doors to the theater to open so we could get in out of the cold. Marla found herself to sit for a while and I picked up myself and Addams Family the Musical t-shirt for the collection.

The Addams Family Musical is a delight of a show. Check your brain at the door, enjoy the jokes, and just have a good time. It is macabrely harmless. I was very happy to see Marla enjoying it. She liked it more than Wicked. I especially liked Fester and Wednesday. But all in all it is a perfect example of my kind of show.

There were no troubles getting home, none of the traffic jam issues that we ran into on Saturday. We were both pretty tired but we got watching this really interesting documentary on Hugh Hefner. We couldn't finish it so I hope I can find a place to download it.

The next day we made our way back to home via a short stop in surrey for another visit to an olive garden for lunch. I really like getting soup there. We zipped off to the ferry and just missed the 3pm but since it is a holiday weekend I don't think we would have gotten on anyways. So we finally did make the 5pm ferry so we got home early enough to unpack and get ready for tomorrow.

It was a really nice weekend. We had a wonderful time and between you and me, I can't wait to do it again.

its been a whole year

Well it has been one whole year since my RNY surgery.  What a year it has been.  From my heaviest weight before I started seeing Dr. Amson (339 lbs) and my day of surgery weight (299 lbs) I am down to 320 and feeling great.  My life has pretty much returned to normal.  Or at least it has returned to a new form of normal.

So lets start with the physical changes.  I have gotten smaller, much smaller.  At my largest I work a tight size 46 pant and was likely more comfortable in size 48's.  Today I usually wear size 36s and have actual hips.  My shirts have gone from XXXL to L.  This is especially true in t-shirts.  My hands have also gotten smaller. My wedding ring used to be tight on its ring finger.  Then it was falling off when I went swimming so I did the old 'wrap tape' about it.  Then I got a second ring to hold it in space, then it moved over to my pointer finger and is now still pretty loose there.  One other thing is that I do tend to get cold more often so I will wear more sweaters (especially hoodies)..  But the real joy is making that transition to smaller sizes and getting support from my friends.  One guy at work gave me like 15 pair of nearly new pants. Then another friend passed on some really cool and once expensive shorts.

And when it comes to shirts, I have run into a few issues.  I started off wearing XXL and larger shirts, but now my wife kind of made fun of me because they have become quite sloppy.  But I really don't want to buy new clothes since I am still changing.  I think the thing that has really baffled me the most is my wedding ring. I had to move my wedding band from the ring finger then to my middle finger and finally it now occasionally rests on my pointer finger.  I had to buy a new band just to hold it in place.  I don't want to get it resized until I have been out of surgery for two years and I am sure I have stabilized.  The real catch is that the ring is 35 years old and may not re-size all that well.  We shall see.

The other big physical change is my interest in exercise.  For years I exercised to help lose weight but it didn't always work.  I developed a fitness class for overweight men.  I have a walking group.  and it was something I did first to demonstrate my commitment to fixing my health and secondly because I enjoyed it and the companionship.  But once I had my surgery and the weight started coming off I could go faster and further.  I started walking faster and after about six months I started running more and more.  I often have to go between buildings at work and I began running between the spaces.  It gets a lot of interesting looks because many of the people who have watched me as a fat guy for years are wondering who this jogger is.

I will have to type more on this, but leave it to say I am happy, healthier, and very very thankful.