What a trip!

It's been a while since I've posted anything here.  I stumbled upon my blog after going through some of my bookmarks and felt like I was taking a trip back in time.  I started poking through a bunch of old posts and it is quite a revelation reading back my thoughts.  It's been about 6 years after writing here last.  One thing that has remained consistent though, is my constant battle with weight.  At my peak in January of 2016 I weighed 275 lbs. 

I know, crazy.  How did I let myself get that bad.  Well, it has a lot to do with constant eating, trying to follow the Canadian Food Guide and indulging in too many carbs.  Today I'm not quite that bad.  I am currently sitting at 225.0 lbs and here's a recent picture.

One thing you'll probably notice is how grey my facial hair is and how little hair I have on the top of my head.  Funny how getting older will do that to a guy.  I've been dabbling a bit with some Intermittent Fasting.  I'm hoping this time I can finally get below 200 lbs.  I've dropped a little over 40 lbs since November 2018.  Perhaps this time I will make to my goal.  Hopefully I remember to post here if I do!

Ciao for now. 

Winter Hiking Maps

I thought I would post some scans of some maps that I scanned in so that you can see where I've been out to in the mountains.  It also comes in handy when I post a trip I'm planning to take and as such you can also refer to it to see where I'm headed. :o)  Enjoy!

Click on the photo's to view them on my Picasa webpage.  Click on the captions below the photo to launch the map in a separate window. There you will be able to zoom in on the map.

Kananaskis Snowshoe Trails

Snowshoe Trail Map page 1

Snowshoe Trail Map page 2

Kananaskis Cross Country Ski Trails

Cross Country Ski Trails Page 1

Cross Country Ski Trails Page 2

Ribbon Creek Trails 

Ribbon Creek Page 1

Ribbon Creek Page 2

Chester/Sawmill Trails 

Chester/Sawmill Page 1

Chester/Sawmill Page 2

Snow Shoeing - Peter Lougheed Park - Chester Lake

I managed to make it out for my first Snow Shoeing trek of the winter!  Yaaaay and there was much rejoicing.  The friend that I had been pestering to come out with me, decided to go even though he didn't have any snow shoes.  Instead he just wore some really comfy moccasins and tried to stay on the harder packed snow of the path.

We ended up going out to Chester Lake in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.  It took us almost 2 hours to get out there and the hike itself ended up taking ~3 hours (round trip).  It was beautiful out there though, despite the grey cloudy skies.  The weather was pretty warm too and I think me and my buddy ended up dressing a little too warmly for our adventure.  I think I'll have to do some research on appropriate clothing before venturing out again.  I will also have to track down some gaiters or snow pants too.


It took us a little longer than I thought to get up to the Lake itself and after 2 hours we had finally made it there.  I think if we do this a little more frequently it wouldn't be so bad on the next attempt.  Strangely enough, going down was much quicker and we made the return trip in just 45 mins! :o)

I hope my friend is able to get himself some snowshoes before next weekend though, as I'd like to go out again.  It wasn't a huge set back for him this time around, but there were several occasions where his foot punched right through the path and he ended up burying his leg in snow. lol.  I'm sure he was soaked by the time we wrapped up the hike.  Snowshoes would definitely have kept him on the top side of the snow. ;o)

I'm not sure that we'd do the same trail again, but there is plenty of snow out there so I'm sure we'd be able to find something that would make for a great excursion!

The Start of a New Year!

Jan 2012

Here we are and it's Jan 6 2012! Wow, 2011 sure went by fast.  The new year is starting off right for me.  Even though I put on 8 lbs over the Christmas holidays, I managed to loose the last of it today and I'm now back down to 210 again.  :o)  On the down side, I didn't hit my goal of 200 by the end of 2011 and didn't quite make my revised goal of getting to 205. :o(

Still I have lots of positives still to draw from my progress so far.  I have lost 40 lbs since June which is a great accomplishment in itself.  I can also take consolation in the fact that I haven't given up yet.  I'm still motivated to hit my goal weight of 185.  Just the fact that I have been able to drop all the holiday weight I put on is very encouraging to me.  Normally I loose on average 2-3 lbs a week, but in just 6 days I dropped 8lbs.  This tells me that it was mostly water weight that I had put on, but still... I'm pleased it's gone.

Some days it can be easy to feel like you've been set back when you don't loose any weight.  Or worse, there are days when the scale tells you that you've put on more weight despite your best efforts to loose it.  So sometimes it is a constant struggle to stay motivated.  But it goes both ways too, and I have days where I feel ecstatic that I've dropped a pound or two unexpectedly.

It's on those days I really have to enjoy the moment and remember the feeling of what it's like to move towards my goal.  I have to breathe in the success and imprint it on my psyche.  I must push myself to want that feeling more often so that I can stay motivated to keep on track.  So I look in the mirror, and instead of looking at the work I still have to do, I see the progress I've made.  I notice the small details of what improvement looks like.  Oh sure I notice the pants feeling looser and the belt moving up a notch, but I also look for other visual clues too.  I notice more definition in my abs, or my arms or my shoulders.  I even notice the features of my face standing out more too.  My cheekbones are gradually becoming more defined and my face is starting to look thinner.  I even can see my adams apple sticking out more too.  My neck is more slender and doesn't look as thick as it once did.  These small things are what drives me to keep going.


Yes it might seem vain to look at yourself in the mirror and study these details but it isn't done for self admiration, but more so for the pride in coming so far and knowing that I don't have much further to go.  I also have noticed the physical fitness levels have been getting better too.  I can go longer on the elliptical trainer and at a much higher resistance without increasing my heart rate.  I'm still hitting between 150-160 bpm, which is still below my max of 170 bpm.  I can curl more weight and I can do more pull ups.  I have also noticed that I can take the stairs near the c-train station without loosing my breath as quickly or for as long.  My legs are stronger and my recovery rates are improving too.  These are all great benefits that I'm enjoying along my journey!

A good quality Elliptical Trainer

Now that I'm really starting to notice the physical fitness improvements, I'm really looking forward to doing more activity.  I keep bugging a friend of mine to go snowshoeing with me and sadly I've been watching the winter disappear without getting out to the mountains.  So it looks like I will have to reach out to other people and groups if I want to enjoy this activity.  I think I might have to call up the Calgary outdoor club and get myself on the invite list to one of their next outings.  I'm not totally discouraged though, I have faith that my friend will eventually go out to the mountains with me a couple of times this year.  I'm sure as he gets more focused on his own weight loss goals, then things like snowshoeing will allow him to achieve them faster too.


Yet snowshoeing isn't the only other winter activity I hope to tap into.  Back in December I signed up for swimming lessons with another friend of mine.  He too has wanted to take lessons for a while.  I know what you're thinking... you're 40+ and you don't know how to swim?  Yes... it's true.  It's on my bucket list of things to do and I'm finally getting around to doing it.  So for the next 10 weeks I'll be swimming on Monday nights at the Y.  I'm really looking forward to being more comfortable in the water and if I happen to loose another 1/2 pound a week while doing it, then all the better! :o)

A chin up bar for my door frame

You know the best part of my weight loss journey so far?  It's that I haven't spent any money on a gym membership.  Nope.  I don't have to get up early, drive to a gym, spend an hour there, shower, drive back and then go to work.  I don't have to fight for time on equipment or worry about whether the person before me wiped down the piece I'm about to use or even feel guilty about not going on any particular day and loose the benefit of the money I'd be paying for the membership.  Nope.  None of that. :o)  I put in 20 mins on my elliptical trainer, and another 20 mins into using my weights for a grand total of 40 mins every morning before going to work.  I know hey?  When I did have a gym membership, I was spending easily an hour and half to two hours of my day working out and making the trek back and forth from the gym.  I'd have to say I'm getting the results I'm looking for without that extra hassle.

To be honest, most weeks I only work out 4 days a week.  Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with Wednesday off in the middle.  I deliberately make sure I don't work out on the weekends other than the activities I happen to partake in.  I do this so I don't feel guilty about missing a workout.  If I go away for the weekend and can't do any exercise, then my routine is not impacted at all.  If I decide to sleep in, or stay over at the girlfriends place (I'm thinking future state here....) and I don't do a workout on Saturday or Sunday, then I'm still good.  I do my workouts during the week and before work in the morning.  I find that if I get up early enough (which means going to bed earlier, sadly...) and do my workout before going to work, then the rest of the day is mine to do with as I please.  I don't have to suffer through a long work day and still have to worry about fitting in a workout once I get home.  My evenings become flexible this way.  If the boys decide they want to go out after work to shoot some pool, watch the game or go to a movie, then I'm in and doing it guilt free too.  I still have to get up early but at least I will have already done my workout for the day! :o)

$100 worth of weights

The home made Kettle Bell

You can set yourself up the same way at home if you like.  Of course, you can workout at anytime you like for as long or as frequently as you like too.  It's not as hard to get going as you think it is.  I actually spent quite a bit of money on my elliptical trainer, but you can pick them up on kijiji for about $150 bucks.  I also didn't spend more than $100 dollars on my weights which includes a home made kettle bell, and two dumbbells.  I can swap the weight out on any of these pieces. Once upon I time I had picked up a "Pro Stretcher" for my calves for about $20 bucks and I also bought a chin up bar for my door frame (not sure how much that was).  If you get the chin up bar, make sure to reinforce the door frame you plan to use.  I had to tack in a bunch of extra finishing nails on the one I have to keep the trim from coming off.

In reality, all you really need to start with is the kettle bell.  It works out your legs, back, arms and shoulders.  If you do the Russian Kettle Bell Swing properly, you will also feel your abdominal's tighten up too.  I use the elliptical trainer as a way to get in some low impact cardio, but you could run if you like being outside or do stairs in your own home.  The Russian swing will also get your heart rate up in a hurry too and will give you a great cardio workout in addition to building and strengthening your muscles.  

I complemented the kettle bell with two dumbbells.  This allows me to focus more on my arms, shoulders and triceps.  I do push ups for my chest and I use the pull up bar to add some definition to my back.  Voila - that's it!  Oh and the calf stretcher can be replaced by doing stretches up against a wall somewhere.  I bought it because of the terrible shin splints I get, and the calf stretcher does a great job of loosening up the lower part of my legs.

A "Pro Stretch" calf muscle stretcher

It's such a simple setup but it has been working well for me. As I add more muscle, I will be able to loose the weight a little bit easier.  I'm not looking to bulk up and become the Hulk so really all I'm looking for is a little more definition in my physique.  With my heart condition I really don't want to replace fat with a bunch of muscle anyway.  My heart would have to work just as hard to pump blood through added muscle as it would through blubbery fat.  Some muscle is good for me, but not too much.  So with that goal in mind, my "home gym" does exactly what I need it to do.

If it works for me, it might work for you too!

2011 Is Almost in the Books

Dec 2011 at league Pool Night

Another year has come and gone... well almost gone.  With only a couple of weeks left in the year this will probably be my last post till 2012.

On Friday I make the trip north to visit my mom for the holidays.  Only this time I don't have to drive all the way to Fort McMurray.  What a blessing that is! Most of my Christmas holidays have been spent in the great white north and though I do have some great memories from those times, I'm not sad that I no longer get to spend time up there.  The trip to St Albert will be a much nicer drive if  for no other reason than the fact that it will only take me 3 1/2 hours instead of 8!

It will be a much quieter Christmas too.  My sister and her husband bought a house in October and have now moved into it.  So it seems we will be enjoying turkey at their place this year!  I will be staying with my mom at her house though, since my sister is expecting company in the form of her in-laws for the holidays. What should make things interesting though, is that I will be travelling with my cats this time!

In all the time I have owned my cats (going on 6 years now), I have never taken them farther than the vet's office.  In fact they have only been to the vet twice and both of those visits were in the last 2 weeks. *cringe* I'm not sure how they will handle the drive up the highway for three and a half hours in the truck with me while I sing along with the Christmas Carols.  I'm a little worried about taking them to my moms house for other reasons too actually.

It seems that in the last month, one or both of my cats has decided to start spraying on my carpets and on my stuff around my house.  I had them checked out for crystals and other issues but they seem to be relatively free of medical problems (actually Crush needs a tooth pulled to the tune of 1400 bucks! ouch!).  So it appears that it might be a behavioral problem. I'm trying to see if using an open litter box makes a difference. The theory goes that the closed litter box traps extensive dust in them when they "scratch" and aggravates their sinus'. As a result they may be peeing elsewhere to demonstrate their displeasure.  They may also be pissed at me for a number of changes that have occurred in the last month or so as well.

They no longer get to sleep in my room at night, and since I can't trust they won't pee in there during the day, they're not allowed in there period.  I also put in a new pool table downstairs which is where their food used to be (now upstairs by the water dish).  There was lots of stuff for them to play and hide in before, and now it's pretty empty except for the table itself - which they're not allowed on (for obvious reasons).  I also haven't been home as much since I've started increasing my activity so they may not be getting the loving they need either.  It seemed like I was out of town every second weekend during the summer and fall so that might have affected the amount of "me time" they get too.  *sigh*

Well, if they come with me to St Albert for a week, they'll get all the loving they can handle.  My mom really enjoys their company and if she has enough lint rollers handy she will give them plenty of nurturing.  Not to mention my sister.  She too loves how friendly my cats are and will scoop them up for some lovin' too.

Luckily Crush and/or Tang have not been spraying in the last few days so hopefully the behavior has come to an end. If that's the case, they should enjoy the trip to St. Albert next week in spite of the long car ride.

On a side note, I hit another milestone today in my weight loss objective.  I tipped the scales at 210 lbs!  Yup I'm down over 40 lbs now with only 25 to go before I hit my "hold" weight.  Another 10 lbs and I'll be below 200 which I haven't seen in about 10 years! wow.  I really hope I can be good over the next couple of weeks and sit somewhere around 205-207 by the 31st of December.  *fingers crossed*.

On that note, I'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! 

The Dating Game - Part 52a

I'm not sure how many times I'm going to play the dating game.  Each time I "tag in" I think it will be my last.  *fingers crossed*.  I keep hoping that I will find love ever lasting and just be able to enjoy life without the sadness of not having anyone to enjoy it with.  So each time I hold my breath, screw up my confidence and jump in with both feet, hoping that someone will find me interesting/attractive/funny/exciting enough to want to date me.  

That doesn't sound particularly confident does it?  I suppose in a way it isn't.  I mean *I* know that I'm a catch. I have lots of great qualities to offer beyond physical attraction.  I'm pretty sure any girl would be lucky to have me.  I guess I just have never been "that guy" which all the girls are drawn to.  Perhaps it's better this way though.  At least when someone finally decides that they want to try dating me, they've pretty much got it figured out and know that I'm worth it - at least beyond the physical sense I suppose.  

After my last relationship I did a lot of soul searching and tried to figure out what it was that I really wanted from a relationship, and whether or not someone else out there wants the same thing.  I've also changed my views on Long Term Relationships (LTR's for short) and what they mean to me as well.  

I've come to the conclusion that most people get together for some sort of short term need.  Whether that is sex, a combined income, similar travel desires, or even just someone to go dancing with.  When people decide that they want an LTR, there is usually some subconscious thing that the other person provides for them that makes them feel "fulfilled".  

Sometimes a girl is looking for a father figure, or the boy needs a "mother' to take care of him, or one of the two is an introvert and needs and extrovert to bring them out of their shell.  Once these subconscious needs are fulfilled, then the need for the relationship goes away.  Maybe the boy has turned into an extrovert as well and no longer needs another extrovert to help him get there.  Now he needs an introvert in his life instead.  Whatever the reason, 2 people will suddenly find themselves incompatible because they have "grown" as people. Sometimes relationships end well when both people realize that they have grown in different directions, can acknowledge that and comfortably move on.  However when one person outgrows the other, it usually ends badly.  One has grown, while the other has not.  

Why am I telling you all this?  Well, because understanding this has helped me to see that my idea of a Long Term Relationship needs to change.  I no longer look at a relationship as something that will last forever after. It is rare to see two people that continually grow but not outgrow each other.  I hope that I find a relationship with someone where we end up in a lifelong journey together and continually find new reasons for loving the other person. 

Maybe I'm a little jaded though.  I'm not sure that my next relationship will be my last.  I hope it is, but if it isn't I recognize why it will likely end sooner than one of us desires.  You'd think that would keep me from wanting to dip my toe in the dating pool.  I guess I still desire the companionship that comes from having someone close to you.  So even knowing that it won't be a "forever" thing, I still want to enjoy what I can from my next relationship.  Growing and learning about myself is still a good thing. :o)  

I guess that just leaves me with a decision about how to get there.  I've had some great experiences with online dating, so why mess with a good thing?  I'll probably try a new service like Plenty of Fish or Match.com.  I've tried some other dating sites before, but I think it's time for a change.  That just leaves me with the task of coming up with a good description, some great photos and some confidence in myself!  

Lets do this thing! 

The Big Switch

I currently own a factory unlocked 32 GB iPhone 4 that isn't tied to any particular carrier.  I happen to use it on Rogers but am seriously considering switching to Telus.  I paid over 800 bucks for it direct from Apple.  It's probably still worth close to $800 on the free market.  In January, I plan to test that theory and sell my  iPhone 4 on Kijiji.  

Obviously I am utterly dependent on technology and specifically my smart phone. I can't help it.  I'm a techno junkie.  Actually I'm just a gadget junkie and seem to drawn to bright shiny things that make me want to buy them.  I'm not alone though, and I'd dare say that once you have had a smart phone, you can't go back to not having one.  The same things people will say about my compulsive obsession with my smartphone, have also been said about Microwaves when they first came out.  I dare you to take away someone's microwave today and see what kind of reaction you get! Better count your fingers after you try that.  

What's that you say?  iPhone 4S instead?  Ummmmm no.  

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not an Apple fanboy.  Yes yes, I own a bunch of ipods, and I own an iPad 2, as well as my iPhone 4.  I don't have a MacBook or any of their other computing products even though I have entertained the pervasive thought of getting one.  Truthfully I can't justify the price of a macbook just for the sake of trying one out.  Not even used.  

"Those crazy mo'fo's on Kijiji want next to new prices for stuff that's years old."

The worst part of that, is that they actually get those prices.  Cra-zay-zee!  I will however take advantage of that ridiculous Apple pricing on used products when I sell my phone.  So yes I own some apple toys but I don't consider myself a die hard.  My PC works great.  I know how to support it and there's very little that a Mac would do that I can't on my PC.  Definitely not worth the switch.  

I digress.

Essentially I am tired of the Apple regime and the new iPhone 4S is not enough of a step up from my phone for me to want to buy it.  I don't think much of the new Siri feature either and having seen Google's voice software, I'd have to give it the edge.  There's nothing really that I'd be missing if I didn't get the iPhone 4S.  I also tire of Apple creating restrictions in their App Store.  Their proprietary iTunes software is a little annoying and I definitely worry about letting Apple handle my stuff in their "cloud".  The price they charge for space is outrageous too.  I'm tired of their whole system really.  

I know this sounds crazy, but I want a change. 

Galaxy Nexus

If not the iPhone 4S then what am I considering as a replacement?  Well, I'm really considering an Android phone.  A few friends have them and after playing with them I think I was a little surprised by how slick they are now compared to when they first came out.  The touch interface has really improved, the resolution is comparable to the iPhone Retina display and they horsepower under the hood is great too.  They take great pics and often times better than the iPhone.  Video recording is available in 1080 HD and the number of applications that are available now has increased tremendously.  A lot of the apps that I currently use on my iPhone are also available from the Android Marketplace.  The switch will be relatively easy and I don't imagine suffering to many growing pains.  Sure I'll have to learn a new interface, which means getting comfortable with all the tricks and tips that come with using an Android O/S but I think it will be worth it.  

Not to mention the new version of the Android O/S is now available to certain models of the phone as well.  It is called Ice Cream Sandwich or ICS for short.  Many existing models will benefit from an upgrade but release dates for the update haven't been written in stone yet.  Only one phone currently has it installed natively  and that is the new Google phone called the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.  

Galaxy S II

The phone that is widely considered king of the Android phones is the Samsung Galaxy S II.  That is until the Galaxy Nexus came along.  They are very similar in specs but most reviews I've read, put the Nexus a rung or two above the S II.  The new Motorola Razr is also a decent competitor but is close but not close enough from what I've read. 

So for me the choice comes down to the brand spanking new Galaxy Nexus or the Galaxy S II.  I like the display, speed, and new Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) that the Nexus offers.  However, the Galaxy S II will take a micro SD card, takes great pics/video and is already available to the Telus network.  The Nexus will be offered by Telus once their network is upgraded to LTE - which probably won't happen till the new year sometime.  Unfortunately the Galaxy S II doesn't come with ICS right now.  I know it is slated for an upgrade though, but that too will probably not happen till the 1st quarter of 2012.  

So I think I'm going to wait till the new year to make a final decision.  Once the S II gets the ICS update then things might swing in it's favor.  I also want to make sure that I can switch to Telus and so if the Nexus is only available to Bell as an alternative, then I'll have to think really hard before I switch to them.  

Which phone would you pick if you were me and wanted to get an Android phone? 

End of Weight Loss competition #2

Well, we started competition #2 on the 13th of September and it wrapped up today - roughly 12+ weeks later.  I managed to drop 22lbs during the competition and did well enough to take 3rd place.  Yaaaaay and there was much rejoicing.

For my efforts I received my entry fee back plus a couple bucks for coffee. So I'm pretty happy with the results.  If I had lost another 6 pounds during this time, I would have taken first place.  Crazy huh?  That's only 1/2 a pound more each week.  So instead of loosing 1.8 pounds a week, I would have been in the lead if I had been averaging 2.5 lbs per week and would have taken home $144 instead of $24.  *sigh*

Still I'm pleased that I was able to stick with it.  On the scale at work I weighed out at 215 lbs and at home it was 212 lbs - must be the difference in weight for the clothes I wore today. ;o)  I have about 12 - 15 lbs to go before I'm comfortably below 200 and then another 15lbs to hit my "hold" weight.  I'm getting there, slowly but surely.  It will be interesting to see the effect that the Christmas holidays has on my diet now. lol

At 2 lbs per week I hope to hit my hold weight in about 15 weeks, or sometime in late February - early March.  I was originally hoping to be down below 200 by the end of December, but I'll be closer to 206 or 207 by then I think.  I'll keep you posted.

By the way, how do you like my winter beard?  This pic was taken a week after I shaved off my Movember Mo'stache. :o)

Dec 7 2011

Here's something you'll get a kick out of.  This is a pic of me taken 10 years ago.

Oct 2001

Something for the Christmas Season

Found this little clip on youtube.  The Calgary Phil Harmonic collected tweets about how to stay warm this winter and then compiled them into a song and had their chorus sing them!  Very Awesome!!

Back to Zero

I couldn't decide what to do with the 'stache so I decided to get rid of it and start from scratch.  Up next is a beard.  Stay tuned.

The end of Movember

Hard to believe that a month of fundraising for Movember has come to an end.  I didn't quite make it to my goal of raising a thousand dollars.  I managed to reach a little over half of that though and helped contribute $600.00 towards prostate cancer.  I'm very pleased to have so many good friends kick in a few bucks towards a good cause.

I thought for sure that my social network on twitter would kick in a few bucks too, but sadly not a single person from Twitter made a contribution to my campaign.  I'm hoping that they found someone else to support through the month of Movember, but I would have figured that someone among my 300+ followers would answer the call. I also prodded my Google+ network for a contribution and didn't have any luck there either.  So much for the power of social media I guess.

I did manage to guilt a few colleagues into slapping their name behind a donation and for that I am also very grateful.  It is good to see that there is support there even if Twitter failed me. lol ;o)

One particular glaring omission was contributions from my family at large.  My mom, sister, and brother-in-law all made contributions and for that I am happy.  Surprisingly even though I have 3 other family members afflicted with cancer, no one else outside my immediate family felt compelled to donate.  wow.  I suppose they have bigger worries I guess (and I'm not referring to the members of my family suffering from cancer - they should NOT feel obligated to contribute but should be a beneficiary instead!).

Lastly I was floored that I did receive one anonymous donation.  I was elated that someone out of the blue would put down a few dollars on my campaign.  I suspect that I know this person based on the private message that was left for me on my Movember website but would definitely love to know who it was. :o) Thank You.

So if you didn't get a chance to visit my site, you can go to http://mobro.co/Jaicin to have a look at my gallery and see how progress was made on my Mo'stache.

Here is a pic taken on the final day of Movember. 

PS:  I think you can contribute till the end of Dec 2011 if you still have a desire to make a donation.

Stomped! On. :o(

Well, I was supposed to go to Stomp! Last night but I got a last minute email Thursday morning from my date saying that she couldn't make it. She of course offered the standard excuse "couldn't find a baby sitter" but I'm not so sure I believe it. I just happened to notice that earlier in the week in her twitter timeline, she had mentioned getting a new boyfriend the previous weekend. Yup, made the date with me last week, then went partying with another friend on the weekend and they hooked up.

No big deal really except I was expecting her to cancel sooner when her priorities changed. So I made an inquiry on Monday "Hey still looking forward to seeing stomp on Friday?". "Yup can't wait". Huh. Go figure. I thought for sure I was giving her an out so she could say something like "You know what, things have changed for me and I can't go anymore". No. I get the - "Yup, I can't wait" response.

If she would have cancelled on Monday at least I would have had more time to find another date or at least sell the tickets (which were just a smidge over $175 by the way). Nope. Instead I'm scrambling last minute on Thursday trying to find someone to go with me or at least sell the tickets. I'm practically begging my friends to help me out and in the end I had to drop the price just to make it attractive enough for a friend to take them off my hands. At least I sold them.

The funny thing is that this is the second time she stood me up. Well you know what they say. Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me. I won't make that mistake with her a third time.

Happy Birthday M

I'm not sure if you still read my blog or not but Happy Birthday M!  Today is Nov 22 and I was just reflecting how much fun we had on your birthday when we first met a few years ago.  I had a great time at the Loose Moose and think about it whenever I pass by there. :o)  This Friday I'm heading out to see Stomp again and can't help but think how you, S and myself had such a good time when we went to see it the last time.  :o)  Anyway... Happy Birthday and congratulations on another successful lap around the sun!

J

A night out at the Q

So I was trying on some of my "skinny" clothes the other day and found some stuff that I haven't seen in a while.  How do you like the Dragon shirt I'm wearing?  I bought that on a business trip to New Jersey a bunch of years ago.  When I picked up this shirt I also bought a cool looking spider-man shirt similar in style.  The best part about rediscovering these clothes was the jeans I tried on.  I was able to do up the 34's I had - mind you just barely, but still I was pretty happy at how close I am to fitting them again.  It has definitely motivated me to keep going on the workout plan! :o)

Flying Colors

Well, I just had my 6 month check up with my Cardiologist.  I passed with flying colors.  My cholesterol is better than it was 4 years ago when I was in better shape than I am now.  In fact my LDL is now at 1.49 (well under the recommended 2.0 measurement for heart patients) and 4 years ago it was 1.55.  Plus I eat 3 times the number of eggs per week than I was eating back then too.  Go figure.  I'm still down about 35 lbs with another 15-17 to go for my first major goal and then another 15+ after at which point I will hit the hold weight at about 185 or so.  I'm doing pretty good but I have to keep focused.  Sometimes it is so easy to give up when we get close.

In other news my Movember Mo is coming in nicely. :o)  If you wanna donate before Dec 10 2011 (I think) then feel free to visit my Movember page at http://mobro.co/jaicin There's a gallery there where you can point and laugh at my lip caterpillar. ;o) For those that are just not up to clicking the link, here's the latest progress pic.

Holy Crap - It's set up!

Ok, this is a short post.  I just wanted to show off a picture of my new pool table!  I've been wanting one for quite a while now.  I have spent  many hours scouring the classifieds and doing research into what type of table I wanted.  In the end the size of the table really governed my decision.    Due to the stair well configuration in my place, a small table would be the only thing that I'd be able to get downstairs into my "man cave".  In this case a 3.5 x 7 foot table is what would work in my space.  Not only did it fit down the stairs but it also allows me plenty of room around my table as well, and easily accommodates a 5' cue around every side.  

The table you see here is a Dufferin 3.5 x 7 and was originally covered in a purple felt.  Although it looked great in the former owners basement, the purple felt just wouldn't work for me.  So before setting it up in my basement, I put in an order for some Championship Cloth in a Khaki color which you can see in the photo above.   Ordering the cloth though, was just one step in the process towards getting my man cave set up!


I actually had to spend a bunch of time emptying out the side of my basement that I would dedicate towards housing my new table.  It meant purging a great deal of junk and relocating a bunch of other junk that I still have yet to go through.  Sometime over the course of the next month I'll sit down and wade through the rest of it to make another purge.  


Once I had the space empty I knew that i had to put some sort of floor covering down so that me and my company would have something comfortable to stand on while playing some 8-ball.   So last week I ordered some very cheap carpet and underlay and brought it in to my basement on Friday.  I've always known that I wouldn't spend a lot of time and money finishing my basement so I decided to install the carpet myself.  In this case I just kept things simple, and cut everything to fit and just used double sided carpet tape to secure the carpeting to the floor.  It doesn't look anywhere near professional but it will do the trick for what I need it to do. 

Next up would be the lights.  Another friend came over and helped me out with the electrical and  within about 3 hours we had a new light hung where the table would sit, relocated some track lighting for where my dartboard will eventually be relocated, and hung another chandelier style light in the corner. It looks pretty cool given the surroundings it lives in. 


Lastly the toughest part had to be done.  Another great friend came over and helped me to get the table set up and re-covered with my new cloth.  That entire process took about 8 hours (including some help from my electrician).  The hardest part was putting the new cloth on the rails and the table.  Surprisingly, setting up the frame and making sure it was all balanced went extremely well.  

Now I have my new toy set up and I look forward to the many hours I'll be spending on it to  improve my game.  The next challenge will be to keep my cats off of it so they don't wreck the beautiful new cloth that we painstakingly installed onto the table. Not to worry though, I do have a cover for the table. :o) 

Movember

Well, if there's one thing I'm good at it, it's growing hair.  Ok, maybe not on the top of my head, but everywhere else it seems like I can just hold my breath and grow some hair.  This of course seemed like a natural fit for a Movember competition...

What is Movember you say??  Well, if you think about all the types of cancer and the different fundraising platforms, then Movember is one of those but for the guys.  In Movember we try to raise money for prostate cancer (the #1 cancer that men can get).  We do this by growing a lip curtain.  Yup... a cookie duster, soup strainer, pillow tickler, pushbroom, flavour savor, lip caterpillar, or less commonly referred to as the nose mullet.  Starting on November first and ending at the end of the month, men everywhere are growing a porn stache to raise money for prostate cancer.  


So with my secret super power of facial hair growth, I decided to raise some money for a good cause and have decided to participate in Movember.  If you would like to donate some money to the cause, then please visit my MoBro page at: http://mobro.co/jaicin  


As you can see form this picture I'm currently working on a "Horseshoe" or "Trucker 'Stache".  It'll be a 'beaut' when she's done.  So visit my MoBro page to follow my progress and see where I end up after all this wraps up! :o) 


Since this is a short update, I thought I would also let you know how I'm doing on the weight loss front.  Do you remember this guy on the left?  Yup.  If you guessed Fat Jason, then you'd be right.  I started my journey in June at the tender weight of 252 lbs.  This picture was actually taken in Vegas just before I started my goal to lose a bunch of weight.  


It's 5 months later and I've finally met the first part of my goal - which was to lose 30 lbs by the end of August.  Well it took a couple of extra months but I finally hit it!  Slow and steady wins the race right?  I'm now sitting at about 220 lbs and hope to lose another 20 before the end of December (which was my original long term goal).  Hopefully I can stay on track and get there.  


It hasn't been easy and I'm now finding that the weight isn't coming off as regularly as it was before.  I'm still doing the same things and I have added exercise but it seems like the body has quickly adapted to my routine.  I'll have to find some ways to shake it up a bit and stimulate  the metabolism again.  


If you have a weight loss journey that you'd like to share, feel free to post a comment or add a link to your blog.  I'd love to learn new tips and techniques!  

Back up to speed

My new camping Hat! 

Well, it's been a while since I've taken the time to post anything here and I know you're just dying to find out what's going on in my life, so I guess I'd better man up and deliver the goods!


Not much.


Ha! just kidding.  It's been quite a busy summer for me.  I've been out of town almost every other weekend for most of the summer.  The weekends that I stay behind seem to be jammed with activity too.  I think my cats are wondering who am I these days and are starting not to recognize me anymore. 


Ironically enough, they're not the only ones.  Hopefully you can tell from the picture, but I've dropped a bit of weight since the beginning of June.  I'm now half way to my goal!  I'm down about ~25 lbs and hope to loose another 25 before the end of December.  There are a couple of special occasions along the way that I have to contend with but hopefully I can manage to enjoy them without putting too much weight back on.  I'm averaging about 1-2 lbs a week without too much stress.  


For a while I was pretty dedicated to exercise and was pretty active even outside the gym.   Unfortunately I injured myself playing softball this summer and not only ended up tearing my calf muscle but also severely bruising my heel as well.  I loved playing ball though and it wasn't until my last game that I finally started to put it all together.  They let me play first base (my favorite position) and I stretched to make some great outs and then my stick finally came alive and I was smacking the ball out into the field for some solid base hits.   It's been well over 10 years since I picked up my bat and glove and even despite the injuries, I loved it. I hope they invite me out again next year! 


Now that winter is approaching I'm hoping to break out the snow shoes and get out to do some more of that this winter.  In the meantime I have had a chance to buy myself some new toys.  To be fair I also need to sell some toys too so that I can afford the new ones.  Hopefully I'll be able to find some buyers in the spring when the markets are more attractive to a potential buyer. 

2001 Goldwing 1800

What did I buy?  Well, I finally found a bike that I can really enjoy for some longer touring.  I now own a 2001 Goldwing 1800.  It has a ton of chrome on it, so I'm sure I'll be spending a butt load of time polishing it.  The "wing" does have some nice accessories on it though and I think I got a great deal for the bike.  When I tore my calf muscle this summer I missed out on a ride that was planned with a couple of friends of mine (Darren & Christian).  It would have been the "maiden voyage" with the new bike and as it happened I ended up staying home and spent the weekend being jealous of the trip my friends were able to go on.  Hopefully next summer I'll get a chance to try out the route they ended up taking while I had my feet up trying to heal.  


I was pretty motivated to take the bike out in spite of missing out on a great ride and ended up enjoying two other trips down into the US.  We had a fantastic ride down through Lolo Pass and then a couple of weeks later we took route that spanned Washington, Idaho and Montanna.  On that ride we saw some beautiful scenery near Kettle Falls, Thompson Falls and Kalispell.  We managed to take a run through Glacier Park for the second time this summer and rode the "highway-going-to-the-sun" route up through Logan's pass.  It was fantastic.  


On one of the trips I picked up an HD cam for the bike as well.  You can check out some of the videos from our trips on my youtube channel if you like.  Now that I have some new mounts for the camera, I'm hoping that I can make the footage even more interesting the next time we take the wings out. 

2008 KLR 650

Now as it turns out Christian and Darren were also exploring the back trails on a couple of KLR 650's they bought.  At first I wasn't really too keen on that type of riding and didn't have much interest in getting a KLR as I didn't really picture myself on the back of a dirt bike.  Well that was my first mistake - believing these were dirt bikes.  They are definitely not dirt bikes.  Like their classification implies, they are dual purpose bikes, meant for both street riding and trail riding.  A metaphore that Darren likes to use when describing the KLR is "rock crawler".  It truly is more like a rock crawler than a dirt bike.  Low RPMs with decent horsepower and a "go anywhere" frame, these bikes are great for getting off the main roads and into the back country where the scenery can really be breath taking. 


My second mistake was in believing that I would have no interest in doing any trail riding.  Well one night while I was hanging out at Christians place, he throws in an instructional video on Dual Sport Adventure Riding.  It didn't look that hard and these guys were filmed on their dual sport bikes in some great locations having a lot of fun exploring the "not so" beaten path.  It looked like a lot of fun, and the video really changed my perception of what type of riding that Christian and Darren were interested in doing with their bikes.  


Not too long after and I find myself scouting the ads on Kijiji and the autotrader.  I told myself I wouldn't buy a bike unless I could get a really good deal on one.  Boy did I find a good deal.  I picked up an 08 with only 2000 km's on it for about $3500.00.  They are currently selling for $5000.00 and up.  It was hard to pass up and so now I own 3 bikes (if you include my v-star that I need to sell).  Two weeks ago I finally had a chance to take the bike out and learn how to ride it.


We picked McLean creek to visit since it had a campground that we could stay at for the weekend and access to some great OHV (off highway vehicle) trails for us to play on.  This weekend we plan on going back to get some more experience and to try out some new trails.  I'm really looking forward to it! There will be about 6 or 7 of us out to do some camping and riding and should the weather become uncooperative we'll probably hide out under "tarp town" and play some board games while enjoying some Baileys and Coffee. 

Christian with his 10+ fish!

In addition to getting out on the bikes and playing softball, I even manged to get out do and some fishing this summer too.  Another friend of mine - Darren B - took us out on his fishing boat to a small fishing hole just south of Nanton.  Apparently you can't help but catch fish at this place, unless your name is Jason.  Darren and Christian pulled in 20+ fish between the two of them, while I only managed to hook one.  Yes.... one damned fish.  Truthfully I think it felt sorry for me and hopped on my line out of sympathy.  In the picture is my buddy Christian with his 10th or 11th fish. 


Our day started out with great weather but by the time we pulled off the lake, it had dropped 10 degrees and the wind picked up to the point where it wasn't much fun being in a boat on the water.  The line up to the boat launch was 15+ deep by the time we decided to call it a day and we ended up waiting for over an hour just to get our boat back on the trailer and out of the water. 


Along the way I've also taken in the Global Fest fireworks as I do every year.  There is a clip on my youtube channel of some of this years show as well.  I just love fireworks and was happy that I could make it out for a few different nights during the fest.  Jodi, Christian and I went a couple of times and then by Sister and Brother-in-law came down to see the finale and we went to check them out again that night.  As always they are spectacular and I highly recommend this event if you have nothing to do in the last couple weeks of August next year. 


Oh... minor foot note... t'was my birthday on 14th.


Unfortunately the summer can't be all fun and games.  I've spent some time doing domestic chores, helping friends out with their home projects and even tackling my outstanding chores too. This past weekend I finally re-grouted the tile in my bathroom shower.  That will teach me to do it properly the first time round!  


Coming up in the next couple of months.  Thanksgiving is the second weekend in Oct so I'll be making a trip up to Edmonton to celebrate with my mom.  Also in Sept is a comedy night that my friend Jodi invited me to.  In November we're getting a bunch of people together to go to "Just for Laughs" which should be a great time.  I'm really looking forward to those two comedy events. Of course at the end of October is Halloween.  I have a costume picked out this time round so hopefully it still fits by the time I need to use.  No I'm not telling what it is... I'll post a pic up here after I get a chance to use it though! 


Well, I'm sure I've forgotten a few things but I should probably wrap this up.  Talk to you soon!

A little more peace of mind.

It's been 35 years since our family moved into a condo in Ft McMurray.  Today the transaction completes that will sell my childhood home to someone new.  All those memories that are tied up in that home are safely tucked away in my noggin', but I don't think I'll ever be back there to visit again in my lifetime.  My mom, the only occupant for the last 2 years, has just finished moving out to her house in St Albert.  Today begins a new stage of her life, and I can't begin to imagine how scary this is for a widowed woman of 68.  She will be living with my sister (and her husband) for a while, but mom's intent is to sell the place in St Albert and find a more suitable retirement location before the end of 2012.  

Moving to St Albert was no small feat mind you, and last week I spent some time in McMurray helping her pack, clean, dispose of garbage and move all her worldly possessions to St Albert.  It is quite a task to reconcile two different philosophies of how to decide what stays and what goes during a move.  I personally go by the rule of thumb that "if I haven't used it in a year, then it can probably be tossed".  Of course that rule doesn't necessarily apply to items that carry a large sentimental value or to other items that just can't be replaced anymore. My mom however, has a hard time throwing out anything that is still in good working condition or that might be useful again in the future.  I can understand that, but given the time crunch we were facing, it definitely made things challenging.  Now I should clarify that she did turf a great deal of stuff, so she did make great strides in reducing what needed to be moved to St Albert.  It just meant that we ended up moving a lot of boxes that might have been left behind if it had been my move.  What is really scary to think about is the fact that over the last 2 years we had already started purging and moving stuff down to St Albert in advance of the sale of her condo. 

Something you should know about my mom is that she is an extremely generous and kind woman.  She wants to make sure that everyone around her is comfortable.  She is also a stickler for detail and frets over little things that you and I might not give a second thought to.  One of the things I found amusing during this move was my mom's desire to bring in cleaners to make the move a little easier. Of course their help would save us a bit of time when it came to the point that we had loaded the truck and were ready to head down the highway.  It shouldn't have surprised me that mom wanted to make the life of the hired cleaning staff a tad easier as well to make sure that things were relatively clean before the cleaners actually arrived.... who were there... to do cleaning.   

The thing about cleaners is that they need something to clean in order for their services to be a practical investment.  If it had been up to me, I would have leveraged their time to tackle all the hard messy jobs that I'd rather have someone else take care of.  Not my mom.  Together we tackled things like - cleaning the stove and fridge.  We did touch up painting on the concrete basement floor (which by the way - the basement is unfinished).  Mom also had my sister doing touch up painting on the baseboards.  The bathroom was another task my mom tackled and she made sure she had the shower cleaned prior to the cleaners arrival.  My sister brought her "steam cleaner" and so between the two of them, they vacuumed and steamed the carpets prior to departure. This left things for the cleaners like... dusting, wiping down the walls, sweeping and mopping floors.  Fairly easy stuff if you ask me.  They were booked for 4 hours (2 people) and I'm pretty sure they only had about 1 hour and 45mins worth of tasks to do.  In the end I think my mom might have saved a bit of money by having most of the tasks done before the cleaners came in, but considering the last minute change in U-Haul vehicles and the extra $$ that was spent there, I don't think the savings really balanced out some of the other expenses. 

She's my mom though, and I love her, so if she wants to hire cleaners to "tidy up" then who am I to argue?  

We did have other challenges through out the week though.  The toilet seat in the bathroom finally gave up the ghost.  It is not normally a big deal when that happens, except that my mom had a custom low flow toilet installed many years ago, and parts are hard to find for the model she picked up.  We did manage to find something at Canadian Tire that would work.  

We also had to change out the light switch in the bathroom too.  It appeared at first that the switch was broken since after changing light bulbs we couldn't get the lights to go on.  So we bought replacement bulbs - just some cheap 60 watt soft white bulbs.  After replacing the bulbs it seems that we still had some issues though.  The darn sockets seemed to have a short in them, and if you screwed in the bulb and moved the socket in any way, the lights would go out again.  

Something I found personally amusing about the new bulbs (once we got them working) was that they provided less light than the old 100 watt bulbs, and the new bulbs threw a yellow light instead of a bright white light.  We had 4 days left to go before move day, and mom had to get the proper "soft white" bulbs for the fixtures so that she could do her makeup properly.  Crazy, I know, but when someone is under a lot of stress they tend to make decisions that are just off the beaten path. 

That wasn't our only setback during the week either.  On Monday we had gone to Shaw to arrange for disconnection, and new hook ups to be added to the St Albert house this week.  Phone, cable and internet were all to be disconnected on Aug 15th.  We could return equipment early if we wanted though and did so considering that we were leaving the condo on the 12th.  This created some hoops that we had to jump through at Shaw though and as a result moms services were cut off on the 11th - 4 days early.  We really needed the phone for at least 2 more days which meant that I had to go back to Shaw on Thursday last week to get them to reconnect everything - only to have them disconnect them again today (Aug 15). 

Nothing ever goes smoothly during a move but I am grateful that those were the only setbacks that we suffered.  In the big scheme of things, they were pretty minor.  No one died which I am really happy about.  Considering all the grief that I gave my mom over some of her decisions, I half expected to wake up to a pillow being thrust into my face. 

I also was able to keep from re-injuring my leg.  My torn calf muscle is healing nicely and I was able to be quite helpful even though I couldn't assist with the big furniture pieces.  There were a couple of twinges, but nothing that made me think I'd over done it.  The leg continues to heal and hopefully by the weekend it will be in tip top shape.  

My diet did suffer a bit though.  I tried to be good - honest I did.  My moms birthday was on the 9th and I think that was the beginning of the end of my discipline.  We went out to a really nice buffet diner on Tuesday and I partook in roast, mashed potatoes, chicken cutlets, and veggies with melted cheese on them.  I even had some desert to honor my moms birthday too, even though she declined to have anything sweet at the end of her meal.  To her, an extra helping of mashed potatoes was the perfect type of desert.  I offered to throw a candle in them but that never really panned out. :o)  

The next morning I was back to diet breakfast but by the evening I was enjoying my last plate of "Moms Kitchen" fries and gravy.  When my sister and her husband came up on Wed/Thurs I was back to eating MacDonald's breakfast, Burger King lunch, and Montana's supper.  Damn it was good but definitely not part of the "plan".  Don't even get me started on the food we ate at the diners along the way back to St Albert. 

Still, I only managed to add 3lbs at the end of the week.  Considering that I usually loose 2 lbs on average I guess that means I'm probably up a net gain of 5lbs. over the last 10 days. I'm back to the diet today, but I think it will be a few days before I notice any changes again. 

I did take time to say some goodbyes while I was in McMurray.  After all this would be my last trip up that highway to this remote city of 80,000+ people. I did a memory lane trip around the city and visited old hangouts, and places from my childhood.  There were a few places I didn't get a chance to stop in at before leaving but for the most part I'm happy with the places I did get to see before leaving one last time.  I also managed to stop in to visit with my good friends Lee and Verlayne.  Hopefully when next they are in Edmonton or Calgary I'll get a chance to visit with them again. 

Despite the emotions and physical trials of the last week, I was still really happy to spend time with my mom.  She's the only parent I have left and I really cherish the moments I still get to spend with her.  Make sure you spend some time with your folks before you no longer have that option.  I'm a grown ass adult, but I still like the comfort that comes from knowing that my mom is still there for me if I need her.  With that in mind, I'm really glad that she is now closer and living in St Albert.  She is near family and I no longer have to worry so much when she doesn't pick up her phone when I call.  At least now I can get a hold of someone else who will be able to check in on her for me.  The peace of mind is really priceless.  

I hope mom enjoys the next year or so in the house she owns in St Albert.  Retirement should help her to relax and should give her more opportunities to smile.  Then, before you know it, we'll be doing this all over again into a new house in her dream location - wherever that may be. 

Until then, I'm just going to enjoy what is.