day by day

I had a rough weekend.  I felt like I had a kidney stone coming on.  That sharp pain in my back is very familiar.  So I decided this would be a good time to get rid of some of the lab requests I have stockpiled and go get my blood tested.  Yup, I am anemic - again.

Aside from the stabbing pain in my back every now and then Marla and I had a great time being artsy craftsy in the afternoon.  We went downtown to see the Fibrations show on the lawn of the St. Ann's Academy.  It was all really interesting.  Marla got to try out spinning - It is definately a learned skill.  I don't think she will become a spinner but she had fun.

It was also nice bumping into a bunch of people who we know.  Dallas from the gardening crew and Susan B among a whole bunch of other Camosun retirees were there.  Something I really liked was all the bright colours of the wool and the fabrics. 

Monday was a bit of a down day for me.  I did a few kilometre walk but for the most part I just hung out with Marla.  Any day hanging out with Marla is a good day.

I spent a lot of time doing my homework, I have a presentation for Tuesday to do.

Tuesday,
Well my presentation went very well.  I was very comfortable and worked my stuff.

I walked home from the University 8.1 Kms  and on this very hot day it was a really nice walk.

In the evening Marla and I went down to Centennial Square to check out the food trucks and the start of the fringe.  It kind of sucked, so we went to Shari's Halibut House for fish and chips.  But instead of Chinese food we actually had fish and chips.  It was okay, but felt kind of manufactures.  I think I prefer Brady's.

We came home and ended up giving Precious a bath.  She is really good in the tub.

putting one foot in front of the other

I was up early, about 6 and thought this is a good day for a walk.  My friend Christopher was busy this morning so we couldn't do our usual walk.  And Precious the Pooch has a sore foot, I think she has pulled a muscle in her foot, so I decide that today I would go solo.  I started my walk about 8am after my usual breakfast and headed off into the Victoria morning.  Best of all, I was walking with my new shoes.  I am back in Aasics - my favourite style of shoes and a little smaller now - I can wear size 11s.

My normal walk is to go from home to downtown Victoria and see the Inner Harbour.  It is about five kilometres away and it is a really pretty walk.  The walk was really nice, except I forgot my water bottle, and when I got down to the Inner Harbour the Dragon Boat races were underway.

I walked all around the Inner Harbour and continued through James Bay to the breakwater at Ogden Point.  It is quite nice walking out on the breakwater now with the railings up on it.  I didn't think I would like them but they are quite nice.  And it does open the walkway to people with physical challenges.

From there it was the usual trail that Chris and I take out to Beacon Hill park and what was once the world's tallest totem pole.  By the cricket pitch and up to the Christ Church Cathedral.  Finally I scooted over to Chinatown, through Fan Tan alley and then retracing my steps to home.

When all was said and done I walked 21.4 Kms or half a marathon.  I did it in just under four and a half hours and when you discount the twenty minutes when I watched the dragon boats, I think I am in good order to do the Goodlife half-marathon in October.

It was a pretty good walk and I felt great after it.  The rest of the day was wonderful.  I hung out with Marla and we watched two CFL games.  Both games were awesome, but best of all was that Saskatchewan won in the final plays of the game.

I had a good day.

I think all I do with my blog is catch up

So it has been three months (May some time) since my last blog.  Here I am and it has been quite a summer.  Looking back, shortly after the Burton Cummings concert in Bow, Wa, Marla and I caught the Golden Princess to Alaska from Seattle.  It was one of our best cruises we have ever been on and I promise I will write about it at another time.  It was an awesome trip.

I started with doing a week's run of Beauty and the Beast at the Royal on follow spot.  It was a very good show and it was just too bad that there was no advertising for it and the audiences were very small.  Then it was working at the College for a photoshoot and a video shoot.  It was nice working there for a while.  I even came back and worked for a while filling in as an AV Assistant.  

In July I was back in University - this time taking courses in Ceramics AE303A.  It was an Introduction to Pottery and I really enjoyed this course.  Opportunity knocked with another course.  Sylvia Hosie was going to teach her last beginner tap course.  I am finally small enough that I cannot hurt myself or others so I decided to take it.  It was a hoot.  Sylvia is a wonderful teacher and I had a great time.

Most of all I just enjoyed the summer as it raced past at lighting speed.  Marla and I took in some festivals (the Car Show, and the Buskers) but also we just enjoyed each other.  I puttered around the house.  Got used to my new MacBook Pro.  I walked - a lot.  Marla worried that I would wear out Precious going on these 10, 15 and 20 km walks from home to downtown.  

So in a nutshell - that was my summer of 2013.  So far it was a pretty good year.  Now if I can just keep remembering to write in my blog.

Once more unto the breech - well really just checking in

May 2013 - I started the month off working on a week of shows for Disney's Beauty and the Beast Musical at the Royal.  It was a very good show with the exception that they did no advertising so the audiences really sucked.  Most of the time it was less than half full. 

May 16 we took off to Sidney to catch the Washington State Ferry to Anacortes Washington.  Then we took off for the Skagit Valley Casino. 

 

 

The reason for this trip was that last fall I worked on the Burton Cummings concert at the Royal and I thought that it would be really cool for Marla to see the show.  So he was playing at the Skagit and I got tickets for us for a Christmas present.  We got to the Skagit and while we were unpacking the car a bus came in beside us.  I hustled us in to get checked in before the bus.  Marla went in to check out the room and I got the luggage.  As I was coming back I discovered it was Burton Cumming's bus so he and I had a nice chat for a while.  I told Marla about it and she was a bit ticked that she missed him.

That was the theme of the weekend, I bumped into Cummings a couple times when we talked about hockey, Victoria, and basketball.  Marla missed each time :)  I had a couple of great walks and runs at the Skagit.  they have my favourite hotel swimming pool.  We did a bunch of shopping at Freddies and then caught the concert the next day. 

 

It was a really good show.  Great music from the seventies.  The theater at the Skagit feels like a high school gym.  We had a really really good time. 

 

Then we took off the next day for a night at the River Rock Casino.  there are a few nice things we like about the River Rock.  Of course there are the beds, the view, and the room where you can watch airplanes landing at YVR.  The other cool thing we did at the River Rock was to slip next door and see the Richmond Night Market.  It is kinda tacky and cheap, not to mention cheesy but it is fun and I like the cultural exchange.

 

 

 

To be continued.

 





WLS 18 month check in

Mea Culpa -
It has been ages since I posted anything so this will be the start of a collection of posts.  But first the overview.  Seeing as this was originally about my weight loss journey here is how I have progressed.  From my heaviest weight of 339 I am down to 234.  That's 105 pounds!  I feel great.  I have gone from where size 48 pants are comfortable to where size 36 pants fall off.  My eating sucks.  Dr. Amson said that after my surgery I could eat anything - just not a lot of it.  He was right.  I can eat just about anything as long as it is only in a small amount.  So I graze. A lot.

What I can eat -
Soups - especially ones with meat in them.
Meat - if it is rare
Veggies - cooked
Veggies - raw but only if massively chewed.
Eggs - best if they are poached and not overcooked
Shrimp
Nuts
Beef Jerky

What I can't eat -
Ice Cream
Raw Veggies
Pineapple
Apple - raw
Oatmeal
Mayonnaise
Most Salads
Salmon
Doughnuts
Chow Mein


What I shouldn't eat but sometimes have a bite
Bread - the only bread I will have is when we eat out at Pag's or Olive Garden.  And where I used to have 10 pieces now I have one or two.
Peanuts - devil temptation food
Pizza

Things that have been great since my surgery - I have really got into doing exercise.  I especially like walking.  I regularly work out and try to get two or three 10k walks a week.  I am even at the point now where it is difficult to rest for a day.

I wholeheartedly recommend having this surgery but whoever gets it done has to know that they cannot return to their old life without gaining the (or at least some) weight back.  Weight loss surgery is only the tool - most of the changes have to happen in your head.

week two of this retirement thing.

Well I made it through my first week of retirement.  So far so good.  On the bad side, my plan for getting up and going for early morning walks got a little thwarted first of all that it is bloody cold outside in February, dark too.  Also, I got busy.  On the good side, I have been pretty relaxed.  I have been enjoying my time with Marla.

Today was nice, I went out for lunch with Anne and Kathy.  It was great to share some time with old workmates and friends.  I think seafood chowder or clam chowder is becoming my favourite soup.  I tried making fresh tomato soup, which was really good, but only made 1.5 cups of soup.  I have to try thiagain.

I worked on a couple of Royals Hockey games.  Good games and good times.  my downfall is the buffet of cookies they leave out.  I have got it down to a limit of four per night.  One before the game and one ofter each mid-period commercial break. 

Tomorrow I am working on the Tenors and then I have a week or so off.  Most of it I should be using for my studying.  I have been working of making my memory right.  So I am trying to learn some Shakespeare speeches.  I am starting with All The World's A Stage - Jacques' speech from As You Like It.  It took three days but I think I have it -
All the world's a stage,
and all the men and women merely players.
Their acts being seven ages.
They have their exits and their entrances
Each man in his time plays many parts.
First the infant, mewling and puking in the nurses arms.
And Then the whinning school boy with satchel and shinning morning face
creeping unwillingly to school.  Then the lover, sighing like a furnace,
with a woeful ballad made to his mistresses eyebrow.

Then a soldier, full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard. 
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel
seeking the bubble reputation, even in the cannon's mouth.

Then the justice, with fair round belly and good capon lined
eyes severe, with beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances, and so he plays his part.

he sixth age shifts to the lean and slipp'red pantaloon. 
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
his hose, well saved, a world to wide for his shrunk shrank,
His big manly voice turning again to childish trebles, pipes and whistles
in his sound. 

The last scene of all to end this eventful history is that of second
childishness and mere oblivion.
Sans teeth, Sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Retiring - ready, set, what - go

An now I am retired.  I think if you ever want a self validating experience resign after working at the same place for 33 years.  I felt absolutely gluttenous from the week long of splurge of saying good bye, hugs, and wishing good thoughts.  There was a departmental party where there must have been about 80 people dropping in to wish me well.  I felt so focused.

It was a wonderful send off.  The week wasn't all that much fun from the transition point of view.  The guys were a bit unhappy about how my leaving will affect them and I had a lot of catching up to do despite my planning.  But it is all done.  I am sure the department will carry on well without me. 

So now I have started my retirement phase.  I wonder what it will bring.  My standard answer is that I will: 1) return to school to complete my degree in history 2) continue with theater and stage work 3) travel and 4) write.

I have secret desires too.  I think I would like to act - maybe I will audition for a show to see what happens.  The other thing I want to do is exercise more.  so precious the pooch is in for a lot of walking.

I will tell you more as it happens.