Update Season VI - "A New Day Dawning"

[Joe Biden 2020]

I was going to wait for another week or so to open the Update thread, but we have so much breaking news going on that I can't hold back.

I'll start with this quote from my facebook status:

Hallelujah!! If all goes well by the end of the day today, we will have a buyer for the house!!  The appraiser came out on Tuesday and before the appraisal even has come back, my realtor says she has been notified that she will receive an offer today!!! This could be over a lot faster than we thought!! Pray that this buyer sticks with us through the closing and that the closing process will go as smoothly as it did when I bought the house!

[Joe Biden 2020]

The doctor's appointment is over for six months.  He said all labs are normal. My blood pressure is high this time. I do have arthritis in my knees and need to take an anti-inflammatory daily. He banned me from Aleve and Ibuprofen and put me on kidney alert. Since my mother has bad kidneys, I have to start watching it. He also said LOSE WEIGHT!!!

I have to go back for more labs on Friday, 27 September 2013 at 08:10 and to see the doctor on Friday, 4 October 2013 at 08:20.

This is what the trip to the doctor resulted in...  I am officially in the old category...

[Joe Biden 2020]

I just filled up my new pill box through next Wednesday, April 3 and I now have 4 medications I take daily and a 5th prescription that is as needed. I have one medicine (my new Tourette's medicine) that I have to take twice a day now and one medicine, Fish Oil for my High Cholesterol, that I have to take three times a day. I just took the first fish oil capsule. This could be fun with the fish oil. Its a good thing I don't have to pay for these medicines financially!

One thing I need to change in an earlier post right after I came out of the doctor's office. My bad cholesterol is still normal, but starting to get high, so that's why everything has gone fishy. :

Oh, and I'm a long way from diabetes according to the lab results!

[Joe Biden 2020]

I just put my fish oil bottle in the freezer to mask the eventual aromas that will soon come forth!

[Joe Biden 2020]

Wait, they gave you actual fish oil, not the little capsules?

They gave me the capsules - Omega-3 Fatty Acids is the exact name.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm wondering if I'll be tasting fish all night...  I've been tasting fish quite a bit this evening since the first dose at 16:00.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I have taken 5 fish pills so far and I've definitely had some fish breath and burping!  This could get interesting as I take more pills!

[Joe Biden 2020]

I have taken 5 fish pills so far and I've definitely had some fish breath and burping!  This could get interesting as I take more pills!

Or you could act like a normal 30-year-old, most of who are not on fish oil pills, and control your cholesterol.  But to do that, you'll have to stop stuffing your face with unhealthy food.  Imagine that - you'll be skinny, which means you'll be more attractive, and you won't stink like fish!  You'll practically be a normal human being by that point!

I hear that totally.  I've already laid the groundwork on massive changes.  I just have to remember that it's not going to happen overnight, just like these bad habits didn't happen overnight.  I've already been drinking a good amount of water in the past two weeks, usually around 4-5 glasses a day.  I'm going to up that to 7-8 a day and only allow myself a coke at dinner and only if I've had at least 4 glasses of water.  If I manage to pull off 8 glasses of water, I will allow myself 2 cokes.  Some studies suggest doubling the water intake versus the soda intake.  For a 12 oz can of coke that would be 3 glasses of water (24 oz).  I don't feel that's enough given my situation.  This is why I'm going to do 4 glasses of water to one can of coke.  When it comes to food, we've already been incorporating more fresh fruits, we've got apples, bananas, and oranges as our snacks.  We'll soon add grapes.  We're trying to cut down on the amount of meat we fix for dinner.  Mom is already limited to 6-8 oz of meat a day, so I can start limiting myself to maybe 10-12 oz.  My kidneys are not in as bad a shape as hers are, but I want to take steps now to prevent them from going that direction because kidney trouble runs in her side of the family.  Her brother has had a history of kidney stones and her grandpa (my great-grandpa) had kidney disease late in his life.  That's why the doctor has kicked me off taking Aleve or Ibuprofen.  Now, I'll just take one anti-inflammatory pill every morning, and maybe some Tylenol later on in the day if I'm stiff or sore.  The doctor got on to me about my weight.  This doctor is so much better than the last one I had because he understands how serious my weight issue really is.  He's given me tools and tips on how to get this weight down so now its up to me to put it into practice.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I've had a pretty good day today.  I'll be honest, I did not do well on my diet, but it was Easter Saturday, so I'm not going to worry about it.  Tomorrow will be a little better with ham, potato salad, Bush's baked beans, and unsweetened Iced Tea for Easter Dinner after church.  It will be better than a bacon cheeseburger that I had tonight for dinner.  Since Monday is April 1 and I will have company coming in Wednesday and staying for three weeks, I am going to suspend the job search until after I get home from Africa, because by the time the company leaves around April 20 or so, I will likely have plane tickets in my email.  My father reassured me this evening that he brought me home with the intention of sending me to school.  Our finances are about to get a major lift before June 1, so they have told me that I can look in July, but don't worry about getting one and focus on going to school in August.  The program I'm looking at, which is Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) takes 7 months full time and 14 months half time.  They would rather me go to school full time and get it over with and get a really good job in March.  It is very unconventional, but that is what we are going to do.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I have taken 5 fish pills so far and I've definitely had some fish breath and burping!  This could get interesting as I take more pills!

Or you could act like a normal 30-year-old, most of who are not on fish oil pills, and control your cholesterol.  But to do that, you'll have to stop stuffing your face with unhealthy food.  Imagine that - you'll be skinny, which means you'll be more attractive, and you won't stink like fish!  You'll practically be a normal human being by that point!

I hear that totally.  I've already laid the groundwork on massive changes.  I just have to remember that it's not going to happen overnight, just like these bad habits didn't happen overnight.  I've already been drinking a good amount of water in the past two weeks, usually around 4-5 glasses a day.  I'm going to up that to 7-8 a day and only allow myself a coke at dinner and only if I've had at least 4 glasses of water.  If I manage to pull off 8 glasses of water, I will allow myself 2 cokes.  Some studies suggest doubling the water intake versus the soda intake.  For a 12 oz can of coke that would be 3 glasses of water (24 oz).  I don't feel that's enough given my situation.  This is why I'm going to do 4 glasses of water to one can of coke.  When it comes to food, we've already been incorporating more fresh fruits, we've got apples, bananas, and oranges as our snacks.  We'll soon add grapes.  We're trying to cut down on the amount of meat we fix for dinner.  Mom is already limited to 6-8 oz of meat a day, so I can start limiting myself to maybe 10-12 oz.  My kidneys are not in as bad a shape as hers are, but I want to take steps now to prevent them from going that direction because kidney trouble runs in her side of the family.  Her brother has had a history of kidney stones and her grandpa (my great-grandpa) had kidney disease late in his life.  That's why the doctor has kicked me off taking Aleve or Ibuprofen.  Now, I'll just take one anti-inflammatory pill every morning, and maybe some Tylenol later on in the day if I'm stiff or sore.  The doctor got on to me about my weight.  This doctor is so much better than the last one I had because he understands how serious my weight issue really is.  He's given me tools and tips on how to get this weight down so now its up to me to put it into practice.

OK, you said you were going to make changes months ago, yet you're still obese, and haven't really improved that much.

Why are you basing your Coke intake off of your water intake?  That's not going to help much.  If you have 4 glasses of water and a Coke, yet you sit on the couch all day or you have 8 glasses of water and 2 Cokes, not much has changed.

Why not base your Coke intake off of how much you exercise?  Say, if you exercise by walking a mile (and that means going out expressly for walking, not including any walking you would have to do that day), you get 1 Coke, but if you walk 2 miles, you get 2 Cokes?

Oh, I definitely agree I need exercise.  I'll be honest, I've been lazy in that regard.  I get outside and walk maybe once or twice a year.  My mother and grandmother have talked about walking around our property, but we haven't done it, yet.  I'm seriously thinking about one of these days going down to the Harrah Park just a few miles away that has a nice walking trail.  Whatever it is, I need to get up off my lazy bum and get moving.

[Joe Biden 2020]

OK - so agree to my proposition.  You can have as many Cokes as you walk in a day.  Trust me, man... that's not hard or extreme.  Ideally, I'd say limit it to Cokes per miles jogged, but we can work our way up to that.

Sounds like a plan.  I will walk Monday Morning while its still cool out, then while I'm watching Opening Day Monday afternoon and evening, I'll do some other conditioning such as triceps, hamstrings, biceps, and such.  I would start tomorrow, but I'll be leaving for church at 8:30 and will be busy with family through about 14:00 or 15:00.  While I'm watching Opening Night Baseball tomorrow night I can also do some triceps, hammys, etc.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I am going to make a pact with myself. I am never going to read this thread again. Period! (Unless there is a report perhaps, and then I might check the post.) Bushie doesn't even want to have a f'ing conversation. It is all about him, all the time, the fat narcissist. It is as if he is deaf. I'm done. Jeez! You are very lucky that  I'm not your parent, that is all I have to say (unless you have really severe mental problems that you are not fessing up to - like some form of psychosis, in which event you need to get back on your meds). 

The Update is definitely not for everyone!

[Joe Biden 2020]

I had a very nice Easter today.  I went to a wonderful church service this morning and had a great Easter feast with my parents, grandmother, and a family friend.  Ham, potato salad, baked beans, iced tea, and strawberry short cake.  Then, I had a nice Easter nap.  Now, I am finishing up Baseball Tonight on ESPN and about ready to watch Opening Night Baseball between the Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros.  During the game tonight, I'll be doing some little exercises working out things like triceps, biceps, hammy's, etc.  I am not going to bed until April 2013 arrives in Oklahoma City.  Monday morning, I will get up earlier than normal and go out and walk about 30 minutes in the yard.  The cold front is not supposed to come through until the afternoon, so I'll have some nice conditions to take a walk.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Jeff, do you have a smart phone?

Yes, Android

[Joe Biden 2020]

Jeff, do you have a smart phone?

Yes, Android

Alright - there's an app call Endomndo: http://www.endomondo.com/home ... you can track different kinds of workouts.  It wouldn't be a bad idea for you to start tracking your walks on there so you can know how you're doing.

Thank you.  I am currently in the process of clearing out space on my phone to store this app.  I will definitely be tracking my workouts.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Clearing space? Is your phone chalk full of porn?!

Haha! No, it's full of a lot of Sports and Weather apps.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Clearing space? Is your phone chalk full of porn?!

Haha! No, it's full of a lot of Sports and Weather apps.

Weather apps?  Why do you need multiple ones?

They're mostly Local News Channel Weather Apps.  I've got the Weather Channel, several Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City news stations.  I have the ones for Oklahoma so I can watch severe weather coverage live on my phone even if the Direct TV goes out due to the heavy rain.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Clearing space? Is your phone chalk full of porn?!

Haha! No, it's full of a lot of Sports and Weather apps.

Weather apps?  Why do you need multiple ones?

They're mostly Local News Channel Weather Apps.  I've got the Weather Channel, several Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City news stations.  I have the ones for Oklahoma so I can watch severe weather coverage live on my phone even if the Direct TV goes out due to the heavy rain.

Why would you need local apps?

So I can watch severe weather coverage from our local affiliates.

[Joe Biden 2020]

So, it is April 2013.  It is the beginning of the 2nd quarter of 2013.  It is also the beginning of my birth month.  4 weeks from right now, I will be celebrating my 31st birthday, the beginning of my 32nd year.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Good Monday Morning and Happy April!  I got 8 1/2 good hours of sleep this morning and now I'm going to go outside and walk for about 30 minutes since I'll be in my office chair in my room vegging while watching Opening Day Baseball.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I had a nice walk outside.  I walked for 35 minutes.  Now, I'm planning out my afternoon.  I'm looking forward to 12 solid hours of baseball from Noon to Midnight.

[Joe Biden 2020]

You have to plan to watch 12 hours of baseball? I am going to drink PBR and watch baseball most of today, but that didn't require lots of planning.

I've got to plan out my fantasy baseball lineups (I'm in 4 leagues).  I'm figuring out what games I want to watch on my MLB.TV subscription as well as the MLB.com app on my tablet.  Plus, I have to get a window up to track my fantasy baseball.  Yes, this time of year my OCD flares up.

[Joe Biden 2020]

How much will you see your kids when you're in Kenya?  Daily?  Will they call you daddy? 

Daily, and I probably won't be called daddy.

[Joe Biden 2020]

It's been a pretty good day of Opening Day Baseball.  I'm finishing up a very entertaining Phillies vs. Braves game and will be watching either the Cardinals vs. Diamondbacks on ESPN2 or Mariners vs. Athletics on MLB.TV if the Cards/DBacks are blacked out which Cards games are generally blacked out in Oklahoma City.  I guess we're in the fringes of the St Louis market.

I did manage to down 5 glasses of water today, so not all was lost this afternoon.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Opening Day Baseball 2013 is in the books.  I had fun watching four games today and keeping track of all 12.  I'll be hitting the sack between 1:00-1:30 am and waking up somewhere around 9:00 am.  I probably won't be doing any walking the next two or three days as its supposed to be heavy rain and very cold - prime conditions for pneumonia, so I'll have to resort to drinking water and doing some indoor exercises.  I've got one game tomorrow afternoon - Baltimore vs. Tampa Bay and then two games in the evening.  My main goal tomorrow other than relaxing is taking care of my laundry.