MyTunes Monday: Requiem For A Soldier

This might sound familiar to you. It's the theme from "Band of Brothers." If you have never seen that miniseries, I definitely recommend watching it. Happy Memorial Day folks.

MyTunes Monday: Sex & Violence

Two-A-Days

In my seemingly never-ending quest to be happier with my body, I have taken a few steps of late. The last couple of days I have been exercising twice a day. Once when I woke up right before I eat breakfast. That is ab time, usually while watching the previous night's "The Daily Show" or "The Colbert Report." I found an ab  routine that is pretty rough, but doesn't take a very long time. Then I go running in the afternoon sometime between two and three. I average out at three miles, but it is not running the whole time...more like 90ish percent. Clearly I need to get back into the cardio shape that I had back when I could knock out six miles in a day. Those were the days.

I'm in the process of getting used to this routine as I've only been doing this for a few days. I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but when these waves of motivation arrive, I ride them and ride them hard (get your minds out of the gutter). I do have to say that while I feel myself getting a bit stronger, it's a bit wearing. My abs have been in a pretty constant state of soreness, though it is ebbing over time. One of the ab exercises takes its toll on my lower back which, when combined with my upright running posture (necessary for proper breathing so I can't really change it) is pretty stressful. There is also my almost constant fatigue. Before running today, I was lying on my bed for about 40 minutes half asleep most of the time. Pretty much the same thing happened the day before, except it was post run. Of course part of that is not getting enough sleep at night. Have I ever mentioned how I hate napping during the day? I've never liked it. It makes me feel like I'm wasting sunlight which, given my quasi-S.A.D., is a very bad feeling. I'm thinking it would be good if I took a day off for my body to recover and come back stronger after. Like I said though, these periods of drive can be fleeting and I want them to take me as far as possible for as long as possible.

My motivation right now is two-fold. One, the big 3-0 is around the corner and I remember saying that I would have a six-pack by then. Things haven't gone as planned (like having two pints of Ben & Jerry's in three days this past weekend at over 1000 calories a pop), but I believe the goal is still within reach. The second motivator is the warm weather. I think the cold has finally broken for the season and there are lots of fit shirtless lads about (if that sentence sounds weird, it's because I've been watching lots of British tele of late). Sometimes I see a guy and think "wow, he's hot" and "I need to go running" simultaneously. Where I live, there is a lot of that. Hopefully enough to keep me going for at least a few more weeks.

A lot of the advice I have been taken when it comes to exercise and diet has come from Insane Home Fat Loss which you can find on FaceBook HERE and you can find them on YouTube HERE. And now it's time for me to head to the grocery store and find something to eat. I'm starving.

5 Foods You Think Are Healthy, But Aren't

Dreams of Steel

If you've been reading this blog over the last year or so, you know I'm a huge fan of "A Song of Ice & Fire" (a.k.a. A Game of Thrones). I'm currently watching the third season and rereading the third book, "A Storm of Swords." I have also watched lots of clips on YouTube and watched some episodes on DVD. It's such a great story. However, a problem has arisen over the last few weeks. The story is starting to mess with my dreams.

Last week, I had a dream where I was literally fighting for my life. I was on the verge of being killed by two men. I was screaming for help but no one came. I was defending myself by any means which I could...which was not much. When I finally awoke in the middle of the night, I was drenched in sweat, heaving for oxygen. You can probably guess that I didn't get back to sleep, meaning I got less than four hours that night.

The following night I had another dream yet not nearly as bad, though it was not nearly as bad. In this dream, instead of fighting for my own life, I had just heard about a family members death and was deeply in mourning. I awoke in the middle of the night again, yet not with the start of the previous night. I didn't even bother trying to get back to sleep this time, so I had a rough 48 hours (at least).

I had another such dream last night, but this one escapes my memory. I do remember, however, that it was unpleasant.

I'm almost at the end of the book and there are four more episodes left this season. As good as the story is, I need a break. It's taking too much of a toll on my sleep cycle, which is negatively effecting how productive I am during the day.

Bad King

I spent virtually all of this weekend hanging out with my neighbours and their friends. Seriously, from Friday afternoon to Sunday night, except the hours I was asleep. They had a shindig at their place on Saturday night. Apparently at some point that night, my roommate’s dog (King) got loose from our place. This has happened before and usually it is not a big deal. It kinda was this time. During his wanderings around the neighbourhood that night, he found a skunk that ended up spraying him. I didn’t realize this until Sunday morning when I was coherent again. So now, the bottom floor of my place smells bad, although not as bad as you might think. The smell has faded quite a bit, but it’s still quite unpleasant. It’s supposed to warm up a bit later this week so week should be able to open up some windows and get some air flowing. At some point the dog’s owner tried Febreezing King. He didn’t like that.

I wish I could say King probably learned his lesson, but apparently he has gotten skunked on multiple previous occasions. He’s actually a pretty smart dog. Unfortunately, he isn’t smart enough to learn to leave skunks alone.

MyTunes Monday: The Dead Sea

Who Watched Porn?