Talk Elections

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!

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Fantastic!  Is there any way you can ban Inks from your thread?

Being able to moderate a thread you create would be marvelous.

Yeah I would vote for that, for sure.  Or at least every poster should be able to moderate his own 'update' thread.

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...

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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!

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

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

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

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.

iT'S A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! THANK YOU BUSHIE!

I wanted to do this in the other thread, but he hadn't posted it other than on Facebook:

()KIDNEY ALERT()

YAY for people subsidizing your years of over indulging and stuffing your face!  Self control?  PSH!  Who needs it when there's free drugs!

And let's not forget that this is money that is supposed to go towards helping Native Americans who didn't have a lot of resources or opportunities growing up. No, it must go towards subsidizing Bushie and his awful habits.

I wish I could go to Denny's tonight. They give you a free grandslam breakfast on your birthday!

31 years old with one foot in the grave and the other in the poor house.  You can change this if you stop acting like a helpless.

Um... don't you know?  Jeff IS Native American.  He's as Native American as they come.

Bushie is a native american! He has a feather coming out of his a$$. I have seen it with my own two eyes!

The fact that Bushie has to take advantage of this Native American loophole to stay alive is an indictment of the American healthcare system, not him.

If it's Native American healthcare, wouldn't it be largely separate from the American healthcare system?

Bushie, do you shut down threads only to reopen them, because you can't take the heat, and hope it dies down with a hiatus?  Do you remember what I said about courage? Do you have any? I haven't ever seen much of that character trait in you. Why do you think that is?

So now that your cholesterol is higher and you're on kidney alert, are you actually going to diet and lose weight?

How high wlill my cholesterol be in the morning after all of this wine? I know I am not getting it up tonight, so I went home without shame earlier.

That's what he's always done in the past, yes.  Though that tends to be a last resort.  His preferred method is to keep the thread open, but just deflect the questions he doesn't like by saying "I'm not going to talk about this anymore.  Let's move on."  But if people keep persisting, then he resorts to thread closure.

Right, that's my point. The poor bastard has to find some excuse to leave the American healthcare system entirely, or else he'll literally die. We should be applauding his resourcefulness against a system that is heavily weighted against him.

I sure hope Bushie finds love again in this season.

No, his condition is caused by capitalism, patrick.  Bushie, just like you or I, is a victim of the horrible, cannibalistic system under which we all live.  It is offensive and counterproductive to blame one's fellow victims for their inevitable annihilation.

In other news, I am going to make an Hispanic (Guillermo - Memo for short) who hopped the border at 16 in 1987 with no English and no money, a rich man in our new business venture together. He in the ensuing years learned English (including writing it quite well), and ended up running the doors and windows manufacturing plant for the company that went out of business last November (with 60 people reporting to him). You say upward mobility does not exist. I know better. It does. I have seen it with my own two beady little eyes. Under my guidance, he now has become facile with spreadsheets, and how to construct business plans (e.g., separating out overhead from variable costs), and sophisticated cost accounting systems. He also owns two four-plexes, and his own home in Anaheim.

What did you call the company, El Toro?

No, too Hispanic sounding. :P  Golden State Doors and Windows is the moniker (I gave Guillermo a list of available names, and that is the one he picked). The Mexican maquiladora subsidiary has a different name. El Toro AFB is closed down, and the hood changed its name to Lake Forest.

Ugh. 

Don't like the name? :(

I like the name, Torie, but don't agree with the idea that what this man is doing is social mobility in any sense which acts as an apology for capitalism.

By the way, Torie, are you manufacturing doors and windows, or merely installing them?  (by 'you', I mean memo, your Mexican minion).

i second this.

i dont think inks understand how patronizing his remarks are.  'how many applications did you put in today?'  'drink tap water.'

He is not my minion, he is my partner (we each get 45% of the action, and a third guy gets 10%). He and the 10% guy get a salary off the top. We will be setting up a plant in TJ, and manufacturing the product (made to order custom, high end products), and selling them to selected stores, in SD, OC, and LA counties, and hopefully up in the Bay Area, particularly the City of SF, where a lot of retrofitting is going on, and the traditional wood look (it's not really wood (it's PVC sanded, so when painted looks like wood, and nobody else knows how to make the product this way, having tried and failed to do so (although you can have a choice of woods if you like for the interior side), or a special kind of wood from England called accoya, which is mold and moisture resistant) is in vogue. The products are just gorgeous, and to my eye, make everything else look butt ugly. I probably have about 50 of these doors and windows installed now in various properties.

An example is below. The windows are true divided light, with separate panes of glass, rather than some phony molding strip affixed on top of one piece of glass, which I loathe. The accoya they are made out of makes them indestructible. They will last for decades. (I used to live in the apartment above the garage by the way - this property was my first purchase back in 1979.)

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We go on the road his month to see if we can get the kind of interest we need to get our sales volume up to a break even point. We are about half way there in OC alone, where the failed company did most of its business, so there are existing channels to sell through with folks familiar with, and who love, the product. We are also making some improvements to it, to make it easier to install, including affixing something called "nail fins." We also want to get the product energy rated, and there is a rather complex protocol to go through to get that done.

Meanwhile we have signed a lease in TJ (which we can cancel within 45 days), so we can start the 25 day process of securing the import, export permits to move our equipment now sitting on the border in truck containers across it to the TJ plant facility immediately upon my giving the "go" signal.  

Who knew I would become something of a manufacturing guy. :)

You don't think Guillermo is an example of social mobility of the kind you said did not exist opebo? Just why is that?  

I'm assuming Torie's Finding Nemo lesson is for Bushie, but can we no longer hijack this Update?

Yes, that is a rather bad habit of mine, but I like to chat. Anyway, it is that kind of thread. And opebo keeps saying it is all hopeless for "the poors," to which I take strong exception. And then one thing leads to another. Sorry.

Seconded. Id love to see a Bushie edition of the bachelor. The girls could fight over who loves Christ more.

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!

Maybe if you stopped being such a p#ssy that would clear up.

Tough love time. Sort it out and take control of your life

Twist season finale: Bushie accidentally ODs on fish oil 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!

Agreed.

It only comes across as patronizing because the thinks that I say should be common sense to Jeff already.

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.

Again, drink a protein drink every morning for breakfast without fail. I use pro-lean matrix, and mix it with eggs whites, strawberries and orange juice in the blender, and then swallow my little array of pills with it. That is the single best thing that you can do. It will staunch your appetite for porking out a lunch for starters, and all that protein in the am actually gets your metabolism going faster, burning up more calories than otherwise. And again, this is probably the single most important factor as to why I lost 10 pounds a month - this, even while I continued to imbibe booze.

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.

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.

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.

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!

bushie walks once or twice a year?!?

thanks for reminding me again why red states suck...they arent pedestrian friendly.

That's not really their fault - the entire continent outside perhaps a few small 'dry zones' has a climate utterly hostile to pedestrianism.  Mostly it is too hot and humid, though also occasionally too cold.

It is also impossible to walk anywhere in Thailand because of the heat (100 degrees every day for a week or more now - its 'summertime' here) and humidity.  Few Thai people walk anywhere at all.

The weather does suck here most of the time, but my gym is fully air-conditioned of course. And I can park right in front. I've been going consistently for three months now. Down 8 lbs. And stronger too. There is hope for some of us stuck in affordable places. Please don't judge us all by Bushie. He's a very special guy anywhere.

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.

Sounds like a heck of an Easter. I am jealous of everyone who got to celebrate today. I still have over a month to wait for Jesus to rise.

Greeks are always late, duh!  :)

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.

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.

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.

What's this about the weather being so awful in OK that it justifies only going out for a walk "a couple of times a year"?  Good grief, doesn't anyone there own dogs?  Don't they take them out for a walk year round?  In any case, I can understand the heat and humidity making it miserable in the summer, but how bad can the winter possibly be there?  Can't you just put on a jacket, hat, and gloves if it's cold?  If I could go for walks during the winter when I was living in WI and MN, then surely Bushie can survive it in the OK winter.

And you need to watch more than one?

Different folks, different stokes...

Before I moved to Australia, the only thing I had to go on for setting my expectations for life here was Mad Max.  I've largely managed to avoid the parts of the country that are as desolate as what's depicted in that movie.

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.

I'm betting Torie has peeked in since his announcement that he won't.

Probably. Torie has always been a peeping tom.

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.

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. :)

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.

'Bwana'?

Sounds like a nice Easter. My mom made us Shrimp Scampi and Coconut Cake for desert. Both were delicious, how was the Strawberry Shortcake?

It isn't customary for people to eat a lamb on easter like the greeks? I am both shocked and disgusted by all these ham eaters on easter. Jesus was slaughtered like a baby lamb, not some squeaky pig.

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.

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.

I'm sure you've said it before, but who's your favorite team? Personally, I'm with the Royals - I usually follow until the end of June, and if they look toast, I stop following...which is essentially every year.

It's always good to aim high in life.

1) St Louis Cardinals
2) Texas Rangers

Why aren't you in the forum league?

Aaaah, so you opened a new thread, Bushie.

Well, now we can see how serious you are, as well as your declarations.

You're a joke, bro. Call it a personal attack, but it's merely a statement of fact.

So you walked a little over a mile (or at least I hope so... assuming a 20-minute mile at walking speed... maybe 25 for you).... does that mean you only had one Coke?

Dude, just let it go. There is no need for it. Even Inks should cool it. Yes, we know he is a pathological liar. Yes, we know he is a lazy ass (he will be sitting around watching baseball all day tomorrow and relaxing instead of doing something productive, even if it is just for his health). There is just no need to call him out on this anymore. Yes, we know he is a joke and we should just let him be because obviously he won't change.

Good point. He deserves to relax and treat himself at least two days.

Inks, I had only one coke all day long and that wasn't until dinner.

Today, since I won't be walking outside because of the heavy rain and cold weather, and thus can't get to a mile walked, I will be drinking water and my V8 juice, which in reality is a lot better than a coke.  It's not perfect, but it's a little more than water and it's not drenched with high fructose corn syrup.

I suspect you don't drink diet coke but the "real" stuff. You might as well just shoot up sugar.

I drink both Regular Coke/Dr. Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper.

I have never understood why people found giving up regular sodas so difficult. Sure, diet tastes different, but it can't be that hard! Just a little self-control.

I used to be a huge regular Coke fan and despised Diet. Now all I drink is diet if I'm drinking soda. It really wasn't that difficult...

I also only drinking soda with certain foods. I never drinking soda by itself.

The next step is ditching soda all together. Soon!

Why was inks giving bushie a hard time over weather apps?  Just to be a prick?

Diet soda is just plain disgusting. I'd rather just drink tap water than that crap.

So...do that?

We've had two solid days of moderate rain with a total of 2.5-3.5" in most of the Oklahoma City metro.  It has been really cold with temperatures in the high 30s to near 40, and Northwest Oklahoma has had a little bit of wet snow, but it has been exactly what we needed.  The rain is supposed to be out of here by sunrise Thursday and we'll warm up ahead of another storm system coming in late Sunday and staying through at least Wednesday.  Late Sunday - Tuesday we should have a lot of organized severe weather with heavy rain, flash flooding, large hail, damaging winds, vivid cloud to ground lightning, and tornadoes.  Wednesday, we'll have another strong cold front come through knocking us back from the 70s to the 40s with lingering rain.  This week and next week will put a huge dent in both our short term drought and our long term drought.

Because if you have so many weather apps on your phone that you don't have room for anything else, that's excessive.

Less room for porn and other important things. Bushie need not be so concerned about the weather outside of Oklahoma.

Who cares? This man has actual issues.

Good Thursday Morning! I had a good 7 hours sleep. I went to bed around 2:00 am and got up at 9:10. Today is going to be a good day. I have a baseball game at 11:30 - Angels vs. Reds and then my Aunt and Uncle will be coming into town this evening between 3:30 and 5:00. My aunt will be leaving for a week from April 10-17 for Florida, but will be back in Oklahoma for another 5-6 days. Uncle will stay with his Dad in Nicoma Park all three weeks and go back home to Las Vegas with his wife when they leave the 4th week of April. This is going to be a fun April!

Sounds like a snoozer for the next few episodes. No ladies, job drama, or anything. He isn't even looking for either!

No you don't.

I haven't ready anything that sounds like "fun".

Arranging the day around watching baseball on television? Reds / Angels sounds like a snoozer.

As to soda, it's easy to give it up when you realize what it does to you and you don't want to put it in your body. It's just sugar and carbonated water with artifical flavors. At least try a Moscato if you want liquid sugar! But soda might be cheaper. Try fruit juice, then, as a substitute.  

Zubor cares!

I'd drink all month long if my April was anything like Bushie's. I can only tolerate relatives coming to town for so long...

How far did you walk today?

He didn't walk. It's too cold and rainy, and there is a baseball game on.

It's in the 40s, and it hasn't rained since 6:00 A.M. CDT.

I haven't walked today.  I've been out with my mother all day and now at Grandma's waiting for the family to come in.  They should be here between 4 and 5.  It is bright and sunny here in the high 40's, but we'll be busy all month with family and birthdays, so I will walk when I can this month.

Yet from 9:10 - 11:00, you didn't say you had anything to do.  And you've had time to come on the forum... walking only takes 30 minutes, at most.

After they leave, we'll have my Grandmother's birthday (87) on Apr 24, My pastor's 30th birthday on Apr 27, his 12th anniversary and my Uncle's 66th birthday on Apr 28 and my 31st birthday on Apr 29.  We won't return to normal until May 1!!!

I made some phone calls and sent emails.  I could have walked, but I didn't.   No big deal.

OK, but you've been making excuses for years.  You didn't become obese overnight just from not exercising once.  Unless you get in a daily routine, you're never going to actually change.

The events that have transpired are no surprise to me. He isn't walking or looking for a job. He is like a kid again, living at home like a high schooler on summer vacation, which is what I said would happened when he left Utah.

Does this surprise anyone? Just let him be fat and happy and tell his tale. I am over trying to chastise him because he doesn't care. He will always be overweight, lazy, passive aggressive, and stubborn. He won't change. I wouldn't be surprised if he never works again and merely lives off whatever government subsidies his family receives. But that is the way some people are, and it is OK.

True, I have been making excuses, and I let things get in my way.  I need to stop planning and just do it.

I believe when I see.

Don't blame you, Kal.

You realize you say this every time I point out that you've failed to stick to your "plan" (yet you actually follow through on things you want to do - like Kenya), right?  It's not raining now... go walk.

Yes, it is. This is your life, get off your a$$ and live it.

Yeah, I know I say that every time, but I'm not going to apologize for following through on Kenya, because there is no need.  We just got through with a nice dinner and a nice visit as a family.  Tomorrow morning, I don't have much going on, so I will get out and walk for 30 minutes in the morning before I start my afternoon and evening activities.  I should be able to walk Saturday and Sunday afternoon, as well.  With my family in town, my time will be limited, but I'm not going to let that stop me from trying to walk during the time I do have and drinking water when I'm not with them and iced tea lightly sweetened with Splenda for dinner when I am with them.

Its time to be candid right now:  I have had about 4-5 glasses of water a day all week, but my food consumption has not been what it should  I have been pigging out.  I weighed myself this morning for the first time in over a week and I have gained five pounds since I last weighed myself early last week.  I've gone from 264 to 269.  That along with what the doctor told me last Thursday that I've got high cholesterol, weight-induced arthritis in my knees that will travel down to my feet if I don't get this under control, and since he put me on kidney alert because of my mother, has got me concerned.  So, tonight before I go to bed, I'm going to plan out some kind of walking schedule each morning to where I can try to walk at least 30 minutes every day or as many days as I can.  I can't really plan my diet until May as I will be with my family the next three weeks and then have birthdays the rest of the month, but I can at least do what I mentioned above with the water and iced tea.  I'm going to try to go to bed earlier tonight than what I have been which is 1:00-2:00 am, so I can get up a little earlier tomorrow and walk for 30-40 minutes before coming in to get a shower and start my day.  It is time to get serious about this so I can enjoy my time in Kenya among other major benefits that don't need to be mentioned.

One thing I really like about my Indian doctor is he is concerned about my weight.  My regular doctor in Edmond was never really all that concerned about it.  He mentioned it in passing, but never pushed it as a major issue and I am the same size now since when I last saw him last April.

You don't need a master plan to eat less and exercise more. Control your portions, be active and keep yourself accountable.

You are being a molly coddled, mealy mouth man child.  That said, by all means, please proceed with your whine fest.

Yes - I remember when you first went to him you mentioned this and said you'd get in shape because of it... but that hasn't happened.

And part of your old doctor was probably that he was used to you as being overweight.  At some point, he probably realized, "Jeff hasn't lost weight the past __X__ times I've told him... there's no point insulting the man."  That's how some here are.  I'm like the Indian doctor... although a bit more abrasive.  I know you're overweight, and I'll keep reminding you until you aren't.

How about you go walk for an hour tomorrow to make up for today.

Look Jeff, this isn't hard.  I've lost 15.8 pounds in less than 3 months, just by eating less.  I haven't intensified my exercising (which, I'll admit is less than ideal during school, but over the summer, I do get out and jog).

This is your life we are talking about. If you don't let that warning concern you, I don't know what will.

I think a lot of us, myself included, want you to get better and we don't wish for you to be sick, but you are, and you could get much worse. You are 31 years old and have problems even my 90 year old grandfather does not have. And you're still making excuses. Family time, birthdays, etc. You're a grown man. You sound like you're 15 years old and have no choice but to stuff your face at all of these events. I get you are home now and your parents do not respect you as an adult, but still.

You've gained 5 pounds in a short period of time, you aren't exercising, working, and you're sleeping in, watching tv all way. I mean, goodness, come on, pal, I don't want you to die so young and that's where you are headed.

Jeff - you sound like my grandma.  I love her, but she's not a normal functioning adult.  (Although she's mostly physically healthy).

But she makes excuses all the time as reasons not to go out: "The cat needs its insulin shot."  "I don't feel good - I have a cold." (I've never seen someone get as many "colds" as she claims.)  "The cats aren't used be being left home alone that long."

She's become a hoarder, and the excuse is that she'll always clean the house later.

Jeff... you have the same type of personality.

I'm not trying to insult my old doctor or question his practices.  He's an excellent doctor and I was under his care for 16 years from 1996-2012 and I never had any real complaints with him.  In fact, I still have his number on standby for major emergencies that I would feel more comfortable with a regular doctor than a tribal   The reason for that is the Indian Hospital is in Ada, Oklahoma which is a good 75 minute drive from my house.  My old doctor is associated with Mercy Hospital which is in NW Oklahoma City.

I'll definitely get out and walk tomorrow.  It will be a beautiful day, and I want to take advantage of it.

What I really would like to do is try to remember what I did between November 2011 and March 2012 when I lost 25 pounds and go back to doing that.  I do remember I switched completely from Coke and Dr Pepper to Diet Dr Pepper and Coke Zero.  I had several real sugar Cokes in Kenya that got me hooked back on Regular Cokes.  Anymore, though, regular Coke or Dr Pepper tastes fattening and is starting to not taste as well.  Right now, I'm drinking a Diet Dr Pepper since my fish oil capsules taste terrible with just plain water, so I have to have something other than plain water to wash it down with.  Normally, at this time of night, I have some V-8 to take my medicine with, but tonight I decided to have a Diet Dr Pepper.  I know DDP is not necessarily any better, but it is calorie free and still is satisfying like pop generally is and does not taste fattening or sugary.

So, that is my goal, to recall everything I did 2 winters ago and do that.  That would at least get the weight off if nothing else.

At least when I'm with my family, we'll have proper meals (meats, vegetables, fiber, etc) and won't have any fast food.  I will just limit myself to one plate and one piece of pie for dessert and trim the portion sizes just a bit on that one plate so I don't overeat.  Tonight, I made a mistake.  My grandmother made my favorite pie, Pumpkin, and I had one for dessert, but an hour or so later I went back and got another piece of pie with a little more Vanilla Ice Cream to top it off.  I should not have done that.  My mother is having to do the same thing, trim her portion sizes.  She was able to do it this evening and still felt a little hungry after her dessert, but she didn't go back for seconds and did not have anything else to eat or drink the rest of the night save the little swig of Diet Dr Pepper to take her medicine.

I'm still going to enjoy myself while I'm with the family, but I can enjoy myself without over indulging.  In fact, I might enjoy myself more if I don't over indulge.

I might treat myself for my birthday as my Dad will be grilling hamburgers weather permitting, but that's about it.  I'm not going to let my family's company stop me from trying to at least cut down and walk when I'm not with them.  Then, once everybody leaves and the birthdays are over on May 1, I can go full throttle into this diet leading up to my trip to Kenya.

Rather than cover the taste with water alone, why not cover the taste by immediately eating some small piece of food, like a small piece of bread or cheese or something?

Take them with bread. That's how I take pills.

I have heard those fish oil pills lead to some smelly, fishy burps. Maybe it helps to take it with some soda?

Do you frequently have dessert with a meal? One dessert is superfluous.

So I'm thinking and hoping by the looks of it that Zack went out a had a few and Bushie has returned to a full on troll spree.  All is right with the Atlas Forum.

That is true, and it helps to take them with soda or fruit juice.  Although, my burps haven't been near as bad as I thought they would be, so that's a blessing.

Only when my grandmother cooks do we get a 10 course meal and dessert because that's how she was raised.

When my mother cooks, we don't have dessert and maybe one side dish.

Sugar is your biggest enemy. Everytime you eat it, it spikes your insulin, which tells your body to store fat. Don't eat dessert with every meal. If you're going to do that, you may as well not diet. Just eat a meal. That's it. Does your family always have pie after they eat?

I still have little confidence in a diet because I don't think you or your family knows how to eat properly. You were all raised on "good ole country food" which is heavy on the red meat, fried, covered in gravy or full of animal fat. It's GOOD, trust me, I remember my grandmother used to cook crap like that a lot when I was a kid and I would eat it all the time, but I learned when I turned 16 or so that I couldn't do that forever. My grandmother made the same excuses you made - she gained a lot of weight after she turned 75 and fell. She gave up. She even said she "wasn't supposed to exercise" even though we begged her to get her weight under control. She died at 80 of a massive stroke. She lived 4 years really after she let herself go. She did have breast cancer too during that time, but still, her weight was an issue. Don't let that happen to you.

But I said it before and I will say it again - the only way Bushie turns this around is by becoming his own man, shedding the ways of his parents. But he won't do that because he feels it is insulting to them even when he and his parents are slowly dying because they are so unhealthy. At least my grandmother lived 80 full years of life. Bushie already has these problems and he is 31. I can't imagine what else has to happen for him to get it. Perhaps he will be like my grandmother and continue to refuse. We saw how her story ended.

It's been a very long, but very enjoyable day.  I walked for about 45 minutes this morning, then left for my grandmother's at 10:45, got there at 11:00.  My aunt who is a retired CPA helped me with my taxes this afternoon as it was a lot more complicated than usual for someone who knows hardly anything about taxes.  It's a good thing she helped me because it took 4 hours to complete.  We probably could have gotten them done in 2 1/2 hours, but we had to print some Utah forms out on my grandmother's computer and that took forever to update the Adobe Reader and all of that.  It took probably a good 60 minutes just to do that, then we took a break and visited for a bit.  It was more complicated because I had both Oklahoma and Utah to file.  I'll get a decent sized refund back, so the 4 hours was worth it.  We had dinner at 5:00 which was just Vegetable Beef Soup and Cornbread along with Iced Tea.  I had one bowl of soup and two small cornbread muffins and one small slice of Italian Cream Cake for dessert.  Tomorrow, it will get even busier, because my mother's cousins are coming up from Fort Worth at Noon to visit.  They will only stay until Noon Sunday, but we'll have 9 people for dinner tomorrow instead of 7.  Then, on Monday, my Uncle Alan (Mom's brother) and Aunt Teresa will be coming down from Kansas City around 1:00 or 2:00 and leave on Tuesday.  So, we'll have 9 people over for dinner again Monday night.  My Aunt Sherri, the one who helped me with my taxes, is heading to Florida Tuesday morning for a girls weekend with some of her girl friends.  Her husband will stay with his Dad in Nicoma Park until she gets back next Tuesday, April 16.  When she comes back, we'll have a couple they are friends with fly back with them, so we'll have 9 people again for dinner from Tuesday, April 16 until everybody goes back home on Monday, April 22.  Mom, Dad, Grandma, and I may sleep for 10 days straight...

You really need to take up drinking. At least then you'd have a good excuse to sleep for 10 days.

And as expected, your dinner was about as bad as usual. Two pieces of bread. 1 serving of the vegetable soup. And a piece of pie. :P

Oh, Bushie. You just won't do. ;)

Um.. you criticize some people's habits and then use as an example of what is wrong with those habits the story of some old lady dying at 80 years of age?  I have news for you bub, everybody dies at about that age - in fact she did much better than average.

Opie, I'm sure someone with such finely honed epicurean sensibilities as yourself knows there is a difference between mere survival and living well. Taking a bunch of pills and finding a brief walk a challenge, at what is supposed to be your prime, is not a enjoyable way to live.  All it takes is a few simple changes and the quality of life will improve.

I don't believe for a minute he walked a minute, much less 45 minutes.

Sounds incredibly overly optimistic to me.

As with many things in life the answer to this particular issue is rather simple. Eat less and exercise more. The tough part is asking yourself the hard questions. You can run away from that for decades or never bother to ask for fear of the answer.

Yeah, it's crap. I let myself get out of shape in the last 6 months by a combination of colds (one bad one), surgery and making excuses. Before that I was about 20lbs heavier then I wanted to be and gained another 10lbs. Finally started getting back into the exercise phase and my lower back and legs have been killing me and that's only with 30lbs, Bushie has about 150+ extra weight so I imagine he didn't do it because he can't.

I don't know - I mean, eating is one of the few enjoyments in life, and exercising is very unpleasant, and in any case you die regardless of what you do... so, the whole rationale of your recommendations is dubious.

Well if he got the app I told him about, he could friend me and I could confirm his claims...

As a fat there are tremendous downsides to being tired all the time, putting limitations on what you can do, what you even want to do. Further, you don't need to be an ascetic to achieve more energy and aesthetics is just a sideshow.  You feel better and think better about yourself and your surroundings.

Ultimately the whole weight saga is just a symptom. When one continually, almost ritualistically beats themselves up; food, retreat and these aspirations enter to try to balance it all out.  

Hey, guys.  It's been a long, exhausting day visiting with family, but it was fun.  I am very exhausted right now, but will stay up until midnight and wake up around 8:00.  I'll leave here around 9:30 in the morning so I can get ready for my music special in the service.  My cousins and I are singing a contemporary piece called "Shout to the North".  Tomorrow is an off day with family, I just have church in the morning and in the evening.  I'm going to try to fit in a walk right after I get home from church tomorrow afternoon for about 30 minutes before I settle in and watch baseball until church time again.  Monday is another big family dinner with Pork Tenderloin being served.  The rest of the week should be pretty low key before it picks up again the following Tuesday, April 16 for another 6 days.  Although, that week doesn't look as brutal as they'll be with his side of the family for a night or two and give us a break.  The last 8 or 9 days of April look nice and easy with just the four of us celebrating two birthdays.

Oh, and I did walk the other day, but unfortunately, when I tried to download the app it gave me an error and I couldn't download it.  I gave up for that evening, but I will try again pretty soon, I've just been caught up with family, hence why I haven't posted much the past two or three days.

I've been doing some calculations.  I am very obese, but my ideal weight is not extremely far away and within eyesight.  At my current weight of 267, I am only 67 pounds over my ideal weight, which is 200, and only 52 pounds over the high end of my goal range.  That is not astronomical when you think about it.  A normal weight for me is about 190, but I think if I can get down to 200-215 eventually, I'll be fine, or at least in much better shape.  It is a lot, don't get me wrong, but I see so many people who are well north of 100 pounds over where they should be, especially in Oklahoma.  If I'm only 50-70 pounds, then it is very doable what I need to do and really shouldn't take too long.  If I can lose maybe 5 pounds a month, I'm only talking like a year of solid commitment.  I can do this easily.  It is well within my realm of capability.  I just have to get started.  I know what to do, so now is the time to just do it.  This next week will be great for getting started as I won't have any family commitments other than Monday night and Friday night dinner with some friends, but I've got a great opportunity to take advantage of wonderful weather and really start walking and getting serious.  Tomorrow will be a good day, Monday up until 17:00 will be a good day, all day Tuesday-Thursday, Friday up until 17:00, all day Saturday-Monday the following weekend will all be great times to take advantage of.  I've got this.  It's time to rock and roll tomorrow!

Why are there so many fats in OK? And y'all don't even guzzle the booze like I do... It's insane.

It's the "Old Country Cookin'" that you mentioned earlier.

Plus middle-America's overt hostility towards pedestrians and bicyclists, of course.

And this is why you should be embarrassed.

Your ideal weight is not 200 lbs. You've stated previosuly that you're about 5'8".   But there's no need to set some distant goal. Focus on doing the right thing now. Do you not have fat clinics in OK? A coworker here goes to one and has lost quite a bit of weight on some sort of stimulant.

Baby steps, I guess. Weighing 200 pounds is far better than 267, but he will not achieve that goal as long as he is treating himself daily to pie and other unhealthy things. It is a matter of changing his lifestyle, and even with his family's current medical conditions, it doesn't appear like they care. There is always an excuse for that piece of cream pie or choosing not to take that walk.

Focusing on the scale is stupid.  Ray Rice is 5'8 212. Obviously this is a silly comparison, but it calls to mind the larger idea that the goal should be to feel better.  Losing some weight and being more active will make someone healthier, have more energy and a side benefit that you will look better.

Now this is all moot because it is quite clear that Bushie is already bargaining with himself. The family, the weather and who knows what next week and month (Kenya?)

Yes, we all know that BMI doesn't work for some people.  Jeff doesn't fall into that category.

Well this is true because from the sounds of it he is in much worse shape than the BMI would suggest.  General point is say he was a healthy and energetic 230, who cares what the scale might say.

Because at 230 he'd have no difference then where he is now. His goal should be 170 but I doubt he'll ever get below 250.

Yeah, sure... but at 230, he won't be healthy and energetic.  His body fat percentage would still be massively higher than it should be.  Unless he magically puts on a bunch of muscle, but that's not likely to happen.

I did manage to have three glasses of water today, although I will admit my lunch was the pits.  I ate okay for dinner, but my lunch was not good.

I've learned something.  Do not step on the scale when you have company, because no matter what I do, with several glasses of water a day and a brief, brisk walk most mornings, my body still seems to find the pounds.  So, I'm going to focus on what I need to do for the next couple weeks until everybody leaves, but not worry too much about it.  Worry gets you nowhere and only shortens your life.  When the company is gone, I'll be playing catch up until I go to Kenya.

The thing I don't get is everybody is saying it's extremely easy to take just a little bit when you have a 10 course meal set out in front of you, everybody else is filling their plates and their bellies, and you don't want to offend the host.  The toughest thing for me is limiting myself to one plate AND trimming the portion sizes on that one plate.  I do not want to leave the table still hungry, because I will inevitably go for an extra slice of pie in an hour or so that I don't need.  I don't need to stuff myself so much that I'm miserable, but its tougher than it looks to just take one helping of everything, or most things.  I'm not saying it can't be done, and it may be easy for those who are used to doing it, but for someone who is used to getting seconds, and occasionally thirds of several things on the table, it's a big change.  I've got a big dinner tomorrow night, so we'll see how I do limiting myself to one plate.  I'm just going to focus on limiting myself to one plate and then work on trimming the portion sizes a bit when I know I can successfully cut out the seconds.  When I get past the company and the birthdays, things will settle down quite a bit and it will be much easier to get into a routine.  I will not watch what I eat on my birthday, though, because it is wrong to diet on your birthday, unless you have a medical condition that requires you to do it.

Unless that medical condition is morbid obesity, in which case, you can still say, "Screw it! I want cake!"... Is that really the argument you're making?

I'm talking conditions where the doctor has given you a specific diet, such as diabetes or other conditions that restrict what you can eat.  Obesity itself doesn't restrict what you can eat, just that you should restrict what you can eat.  There is a big difference.  Plus, one is required to enjoy themselves on their birthday at all costs even if that includes pigging out.  They only get one birthday a year.

So, to answer your question, Yes. :)

Dieting does mean you will be hungry sometimes. That goes with the territory. Otherwise you will weigh 267 pounds until you die.

What did you eat recently that was so bad?

Also, it shouldn't offend the host if you aren't stuffing your face at each meal. How many of these things do you go to? I know I pig out sometimes at big functions, but I am not overweight so I can afford to on occasion, and I love eating, but my diet tends to be a healthy one where I genuinely enjoy eating healthy food over crap. But like I said, this is about your health, where you are morbidly obese. Offending the host shouldn't be a concern when we are talking about your life here.

And, oddly enough, according to the lab results, the doctor said I'm closer to Hypoglycemia than I am to Diabetes.  My lab range was 4.5-6.5.  Anything 4.4 and southis Hypoglycemia, and anything 6.6 and north is diabetes.  My result was a 5.0.  They are going to check my blood sugar again on September 27.

Well, having either one at 31 is not good news.. :P

If that isn't enough reason to actually diet, I don't know what is. I am not saying don't enjoy your birthday, but it is just another excuse you use to avoid getting your diet under control, albeit better than "my grandma cooked and I didn't want to offend her by not eating 4 servings of country fried steak and cream pie."

Diabetics can still eat things that everyone else can eat; it's all about balancing your sugar intake and insulin levels.  Just because you're diabetic doesn't mean you can't eat cake; it means you shouldn't have the whole damn cake.  And the same goes for obesity.

And if it really was just pigging out on your birthday, that'd be one thing.  But we've come to know you... the next week it'll be something different.  "It's French Canadian Thanksgiving... I can't not eat then."  Then the next week, "My aunt's best friend's grandmother's cousin-in-law is coming to town and cooking for us; I don't want to be rude and not eat."  Then, "My mom made fried stuffed lard balls; that's my favorite meal.  I can't not pig out for that!"

Well, if you keep drifting closer to hypoglycemia, it's possible that you're hyperinsulinemic, which would make sense, since you're overweight.

Actually, the diabetic "diet" is what the rest of us should be eating regularly. Diabetics aren't on a diet, they are just told by their doctors to eat like the rest of us should.

Quite true, but nobody obese or not should eat the whole darn cake.  There is something called self control.  Granted, I don't have much, but I do have enough sense to just eat one slice of cake, two at the very most.


Fair point

Exactly.  You SHOULD balance your sugar intake with your insulin, because that's how it is supposed to work, but the body (in non-diabetics) is able to quickly produce insulin in instances where it has to in order to meet demands.

Think of it like a rainy day fund - a family should balance their budget, but if they have an emergency arise, they may have a rainy day fund that they can take from.  But if you raid from the rainy day fund all the time, eventually it won't be there anymore.

Not a perfect analogy, but close enough.

So start now!  I'm not advocating anything extreme.  I'm not saying don't have cake and ice cream; just don't have too much cake and ice cream.  Start your diet today--there's no point in waiting, because if you keep waiting, you'll never start.

He won't ever start. This much is clear.

All he has to do is start eating normally, like not having pie after every meal, not eating 3 servings of dinner each night. I am not sure how the people are in his parts, but not eating 3 helpings is not offensive here. No one really wants to see you pig out uncontrollably.

Bushie, what do you weigh now? It's a lot more than 267 isn't it?

This morning, I weighed in at 271.  4 pounds higher.

Eek. You really will be 300 soon at this rate.

Jeff, there are BMI charts that don't even go that high... What the hell are you waiting for?

Speaking AS a diabetic (one who is not overweight), yes diabetics can eat whatever they want, so long as portions are reasonable, and the carbohydrates being consumed are covered by the insulin dose.  I have dessert quite regularly.  Just one piece, though.  :)

There's another reason to avoid most pies I've tried. They taste like [inks].

How tall is Bushie?

What part of me have you tasted?

True.  Like so many foods corporatization has ruined pies.  One has to engage in a strenuous search to find a decent pie (home-made, with lard, etc.).

Why?  Is it wrong to abstain from shooting meth and going to the prostitute on your birthday too?

Let me shorten this up for Torie, who reads this in spite of his affirmation that he never will again and is probably ready to pop an aneurysm:

Bushie took a brief brisk walk from his house to the car, then from the car to granny's front door.  He's eating like a crazed lunatic and weights 275, not 271, because we all know he lies.  He has no intention to stop pigging out and won't reduce his portion sizes by a morsel until May, maybe. 

By his own word, he has gained 10+ pounds since he came home in a month. For someone his size, that is insane.

And it's not like he's tied down to a desk job at the moment, which makes it difficult for him to find time to exercise.  He has all the time in the world to exercise every day.

Right. He just doesn't care. Baseball games on tv, not wanting to offend people who cook for him, feeling hungry. All of those things take priority over health.

I don't understand how one can possibly stuff that much food into his mouth to gain 10 pounds in one month without at least heavy drinking.

It's probably possible if he's eating pie multiple times a day, lots of fried food, heavy gravies, drinking regular cokes and other soft drinks, and basically eating sugar all day long with no exercise whatsoever (walking to his car and back doesn't count, I don't count walking to the parking deck and back as exercise when I do it every day). It sounds like it is the norm for his family to "stuff their bellies" at every meal.

Like I said, once he got back into that environment, he would go downhill, and I nailed it.

I've reconsidered not weighing myself until the company leaves.  I need to weigh everyday so I can make sure I don't go too far off track.  Plus, I just can't go three weeks without weighing!  As of this morning, I am back down to 269, a drop of two pounds from yesterday morning.  I'll be walking around Grandma's property for about 30 minutes right after I get over there.  I'm leaving at 10:30, so I should be able to walk from 11:00-11:30.  My family won't be in until around Noon or shortly thereafter.  Tonight, I will limit myself to one helping and will drink water throughout the day again.  I'm not going to let the excuse of family completely stop what I'm doing, and I have never said they would completely stop me.  I just have to do what I can in the face of a lot of other factors.

Also, how does one have a 10 course meal?

You do know that you are supposed to celebrate birthdays once a year, not once a week, don't you?

10 was probably an exaggeration, but a 5-7 course meal is very common.  Generally, the meat is the first course, corn, mashed potatoes, green beans, baked beans, dinner rolls, salad.

And desert

Plus dessert which when we're not having company is usually banana pudding or coconut cream cake or strawberry shortcake.  When we do have company, it's normally at least peach pie and pumpkin pie as the choices.  My mother is diabetic, so she only has a small bowl of pudding or some sugar free cookies for dessert.

My grandmother used to fix a German Chocolate Cake, but since I can't have chocolate due to it giving me migraine headaches, she stopped.

Oh, normally I consider courses as appetizers, soup, salad, amuse, entree, dessert, etc.. Not each side item. But I get it.

Normally, I am fine with splurging on your birthday, but you splurge nearly every day, and you're fast approaching a medical condition, so you may have to diet on your birthday!

Why don't you follow her example?

You should try my usual desert, which also happens to be a traditional desert: a piece of fresh fruit.

Maybe try having meals without dessert? Typically I never eat dessert except on rare occasions or holidays/birthdays. Sugar is what gets you. Your family already has diabetes in it, so you should be more afraid than you seem to be.

We only have dessert when we're at Grandma's.  On our own, we have a one course meal with maybe a slice of bread and no dessert.  When we go out to eat, we will have a dessert once in a blue moon.

Without company, we're only at Grandma's maybe a couple times a month for dinner.

Then what's packing on the weight? I guess the general country cooking in general. Good stuff, but man, unless you're active, which you aren't, it packs on the pounds.

I only gain weight when there's company in town.  Most of the time I hold pretty steady.  What prevents the weight from coming off is when we're on our own, we are more tempted to get fast food.  They just opened a new McDonald's just 2 1/2 miles from us which is right across the street from Braum's, another burger place, Sonic, and Little Caesar's.  There is a Mazzio's just 5 1/2 miles away in McLoud.

Yeah but usually that weight must stay on considering you weigh 269. Or you just have company in town all the time. I eat a lot too when there is a special occasion, so I get it, but I tend to not keep it on when it's over. Hell, last weekend I celebrated my own birthday, a friends birthday and a family friend, so I ate constantly, lobster, lima beans, salads, chinese, cake, but I cut back after that!

You should just eat what your mother eats.

Before they came, I was starting to drift down closer to 260.  I think I bottomed out at 263-264 before they came.  I was losing a little bit because I was drinking 5 glasses of water a day, cutting back on what I ate, and walking just a bit.

http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm

Over the 98th percentile. He'd also have to lose 40 pounds to even get to the 95th percentile. Wow.

You do realize that drinking water does not cause you to lose weight? Rather, it only keeps you from consuming more calories than you already are through eating.

Yeah, drinking water doesn't help you lose weight. It does keep your system clean, flush out some of the excess sodium, which no doubt you have, and is better for you than drinking regular sodas, but it only helps you in that way. Simply sitting around and drinking water all day while eating the same things will do nothing for you.

In any event, you will have to make the conscious decision to really limit your sugar intake before anything will happen, and that means not drinking any regular cokes or eating pie during the day. I am not going to be a stickler like Inks - you can drink diet soda all you want, or crystal light mixes for tea, lemonade, etc, because I know drinking water all day all the time can be boring. And since you don't drink booze, those are some alternatives. All of calorie free.

The point of drinking a lot of water (beyond keeping your organs such as your kidney well perfused) is that you can eat less and still feel full. If you just eat the same amount and drink more water, it's not going to do anything for you.

Torie is probably going to die after Bushie at this rate.

The rich have more to live for, certainly.  There doesn't seem to be much point for the poor to go on any further.

More procrastination and excuses.

Not this one.  If you'll read the entire post and the post from last night that relates, I said I was not going to as of last night, but i've reconsidered that idea.

I tell you what. The weather must be changing as my arthritis is screaming at me...

Jeff, stop eating like a pig, go out and walk, and then come home and put in more job applications... get your life in order.

[/thread]

The fact that Bushie sounds more like my 90 year old granddad than he does my parents is scary enough with all this talk of diabetes and arthritis.

then why cant you stop pigging out on your so called 'home cookin' due to it causing your obesity?

Because it offends his family.

Bushie, why don't you just admit to yourself that you are living scared. You can never commit to anything for the long term. You half ass everything and say you're trying, when you really aren't. You hedge- everything.  I guess it makes you feel better giving yourself this mental out: that you will really get em and knock em dead next time. News flash my friend, you are running out of next times.  The alternative means that you will either succeed or fail on your own terms. Trying and failing can be an incredibly useful, character building experience. Continually banging your head against the wall across well trod territory leads to stagnation and regression.

Stop lying to yourself and others.

I am home for the night.  I thought I was done for a week, but I still have one more dinner tomorrow night.  This time, it will be Taco Salad.  I did well tonight, only having one plate.  It was a 5 course meal with Pork Tenderloin, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Baked Beans, and Dinner Rolls.  I had one small slice of pumpkin pie for dessert, but overall today has been a much better day.  I even made my portion sizes a spoonful or two smaller.  I only had about 8 oz of the meat.

The fact that your portion sizes were (at least) 3 spoonfulls... yikes.

Did you walk today?

Having just one or two spoonfuls of mashed potatoes and the other sides will not cut it.  I eat so I can feel full.  If I had just one spoonful, I would be starving after dinner, which is unacceptable, and would be counterproductive as I would go back later for more unhealthy stuff.

I did not take a walk today, I didn't have time as I was visiting with family from 11:00 am through 7:45 pm when I left.  I only get to see them once a year, so I was not about to interrupt our conversations just to take a walk.  I was brought up to believe that others, especially your family, are more important than yourself even when it comes to health, so when family comes in, you need to spend time with them.  Absolutely no one is allowed to call the way I was raised wrong or obsolete.  No one is ever allowed to say that.

Oh shut up Jeff. It is an excuse with everything. The others may blame your family but you being unable to even walk (are you 2 years old now), feed yourself properly, and support yourself fall squarely on you. It is really time to bail on this thread just like Torie because you are incapable of taking any responsibility for anything and have no desire to change.  You just sit and troll us Remember that The Lord helps those that help themselves.

You need 3 spoons of mashed potatoes to be full?  If you drink more, this will fill your stomach, making you feel full.

You didn't have time, yet you had time to post 10 posts on the forum today.  You came on at 9:53 and posted until 10:43.  That's plenty of time to walk.

I didn't say you had to ignore your family, but if you were raised to be 270 pounds and sit around for an hour on the Internet when you could be walking, that's wrong.  If you were raised to eat 3 spoons of mashed potatoes as part of your meal, when you're 270 pounds, that's wrong.

But I doubt you were raised that way.  If you really were raised that way, then your parents did a horrible job at parenting.  But I don't think you were raised that way.  I think this is you making excuses for yourself.

Get off your fat, lazy butt and actually go for a walk... every day.  It's not hard--I promise.  You WILL keep making excuses unless you change, and I'd be willing to bet that you'll be dead by the age of 60 if you don't start making some major changes.

Stop spooning 3 spoons of mashed potatoes.  Drink lots of water, especially with your meal and after.  That will make you feel full and keep you from eating.

I mean, if you're not going to change, why do you even go to the doctor?  What's the point?  A little bit of fish oil isn't going to save you, and how much is it costing you?  If you don't care how long you live, then that's fine... but in that case, spend your money gorging yourself on bacon and lard so you can at least live a happy, overweight life instead of wasting your money on fish oil pills pretending that you're actually trying.

Culture, guys, it is all about culture. He won't change, and he will not be with us much longer. It's really sad too. But you can only do so much for someone before you have to give up.

You misconstrued what I said (which is normal, I guess).  I never said I was raised to sit on my butt and play on the Internet, rather I was raised to treat other people and the relationships with them, especially your own family, as more important than yourself even when it comes to your health.  I was born in the 1980's, but I was raised in a 1930's and 1940's mentality where relationships were the key to survival.  Oh, by the way, the 1930's mentality is NOT obsolete and should be brought back at all costs.  It is so much better than the 2010's mentality.

I posted on the forum while I was visiting with my family.  It's something called a tablet.

You really don't know what I do on a daily basis, so you really have no right to judge me and condemn me and yell at me for not doing what I should be doing.  Do I judge you and condemn you for what you are doing?  And, don't use the crappy excuse "well, what I do is better than what you do."

I do care about losing weight, but don't people realize it is a lot harder when family is around?  No one can expect me to keep the same routine with or without family.  I am doing what I can, but one day is not going to kill me.

I don't want to die early, but I also refuse to be old and miserable.  I would rather die young and happy than old and miserable.  Plus, when I die, I will have had the last laugh because I will win.  I just don't want to die too quickly.

Have you forgotten that I am not paying anything for my medication?  Those fish oil pills are not costing me a dime.  The blood pressure medicine, not a dime.  The Tourette's medicine, not a penny.  The anti-inflammatory, not a thing.  The only thing I have to pay for is the gas going to and from the pharmacy which is 45 miles round trip.

I am not upset by any of this, I am just pointing out the weaknesses and inaccuracies in your story.

While it is very hard right now, I have never said I was not going to not do what I can.  Missing one day every now and then is not going to kill me, especially when my diet was a lot better than it has been.

When the company leaves and the birthdays are over, I will really get down to business as things will settle down, but I will do what I can now.

You seem to think I have given up.  Not so fast, my friend.

Inks, a "spoon" isn't really a standard unit of measurement, is it?  We have no idea what quantity Bushie is referring to when he talks about eating "3 spoons of mashed potatoes".  How big are the spoons?  Bushie should clearly weigh every meal he eats (or measure its volume with water displacement) and report back to us.

Wait a minute...

You're honestly telling me that you think it is more rude to tell your family, "I'll be back in 30 minutes; I'm going to take my daily walk" than it is to sit and play with an iPad while you are "visiting" with your family?  That's the most backwards, messed up thing I've heard all day.

No, Jeff, playing on a tablet when you're supposed to be "visiting" is the rude thing to do between those 2 choices.

I'm guessing it's on the bigger side, rather than the smaller side.

There's not even a copay?  Oh - that's lovely... the Indians are subsidizing all of your poor habits.  You should be even more ashamed then.

When you're visiting with family for 10 hours or however long you do these things, do you just sit around and talk and/or eat the whole time?  No one else in your family would have an interest in going outside to get some fresh air, or even going with you on a walk of 30 or even 20 minutes to get some exercise, such that you can continue whatever conversation you're having with them while walking?

I think the way you were raised is wrong and obsolete. Oops.

No... I don't believe this is how they raised him.  Rules of Southern Hospitality don't say that you can't take a walk while visiting with your family, but you can sit and play with your iPad for an hour.

Of course it's BS, but most things he tells us are. I just felt the urge to do the forbidden!

Well you should be more careful next time... you might drive him over the edge, leading him to lock the thread... FOR A WHOLE WEEK!  GASP!!!!!!

You're right. I did not consider the terrible effects my behavior could have.

His Dad has to work 28 out of 30 days this month (for obvious reasons).  I doubt anyone thinks he's rude for not hanging out all day with the family.

I read this and immediately thought of Bushie:

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681708/we-should-measure-our-food-in-exercise-not-in-calories

The way he regards his parents is just mind-blowing....

Fortunately, his father at least has good health benefits, since Bushie sold him Ameriplan a few years ago.

Why don't you go on a walk with your family members?

And I already know how Jeff will respond when he comes on today... he'll walk back his statements a bit and concede some points (the typical, "You guys are right, but...") and then move on to a different topic, not addressing anything substantial that was said.

I want to specifically address Nix's accusation.  I am not blaming anybody for anything.  I'm just saying that's how I was raised, but the onus falls on me to make the most of the time I do have when not in the family's company.  I'm the one to blame for not utilizing my time  to myself effectively.  I can't pin this on my parents, my company, my grandmother, or anyone but myself.  I was just saying how I was raised.  As Inks would point out, yesterday I was with my family from 11:00-8:00 pretty much.  That's 9 hours.  That leaves 15 hours I could have done something productive besides sleep.  Today, I will be with my family from basically 1:00-7:00.  6 hours.  Leaving 18 hours I can do something worthwhile.  So, I'll post for a little bit this morning, then get a shower, take my medicine, and get outside and walk for maybe an hour to make up for yesterday.  That way, when I get home this evening, I can relax and watch baseball without feeling guilty that I didn't utilize the time I was given.  Then, tomorrow, I can walk after the rain moves out.  It will be chilly tomorrow, highs in the 40s, but I can still put on a heavy jacket and walk for at least 30 minutes.

I'm just curious - can you describe what spending nine hours means? Is it nine hours of sitting around, talking? I don't know what I would do that would have me continually in their presence.

Talking, mainly.  Watching a little bit of the news occasionally, Grandma likes Fox News (ugh...), get dinner ready, but mostly visit with each other.  Since we don't see each other that much it takes a while to catch up.

Jeff, if you had time to be on the forum, you had time to walk.  It really is that simple.  It doesn't matter how long your family was there... that's not relevant at all.

I couldn't hang with my family for 9 minutes, much less 9 hours.  He's a warrior, that Bushie.

Is it that you couldn't hang out with your family for 9 minutes, or they couldn't hang out with you for 9 minutes? :P

Oh I'm sure it's quite mutual, Inks.  ;)

That is exactly what I'm saying.  If I was over there for 9 hours, that leaves 15 hours.  24-9 = 15, no?

Plans have changed a little bit for today.  Instead of having dinner with the family, we will just have lunch together and then my family from Kansas City will leave after lunch to get out ahead of the weather that's supposed to come in later this afternoon and evening.  So, I should be home by ~13:00, so that's plenty of time to take a walk this afternoon.

My point is that your family time shouldn't even be part of an equation... it's entirely irrelevant.  Don't worry about adding or subtracting anything.  Just walk.

Christ Almighty, 9 hours visiting with family members? I'd rather die.

Um, yeah 9 hours? WTF?

Yeah, what the hell?

Those are the types of situations that practically beg me to go on a run.

That's a shame.  Because you were clearly raised in the wrong way.  Hell, your parents owe you quite an apology, because you got screwed.

How was I raised improperly?  Treating others as more important than myself?

If you really believed in that, you wouldn't be leeching off your parents like you are.

That sort of self-denying behavior is actually pretty destructive to other people as well as to yourself, even if it seems like the "right" way to behave. You end up being manipulative and letting other people down and making yourself a burden to them by not taking responsibility for your own actions. That said, it's hard to reach people who are in that mindset.

Playing on your iPad while you have guests over is not treating others as more important than yourself.

Come on, Jeff... this excuse is probably one of the worst ones you've had so far.  It's absolutely ludicrous to say that it's rude to leave to walk while your family is in town, but it's not rude to sit on your iPad for an hour in front of them.

I imagine a lot of the family time is simply sitting around looking at each other. They may have the TV on, occasionally talking about some news event, etc. I doubt any of their lives are that interesting to where they have 9 hours worth of stories to tell, and they have phones, so it's strange that he seems like they haven't spoken since seeing each other last time.

I've done 9 hours with visiting family if I don't get to see them often.  Phones are a partial substitute, but phones aren't that good for group conversations.

Now that I have a break for the next week and no family obligations until next Wednesday, I can really focus on what I need to do.  I took a 40 minute walk this afternoon and enjoyed the hot and humid weather.  Tomorrow, after the rain moves out around late morning, I'll put on my heavy coat and take another 30 minute walk or so.  I'm going to develop a routine that I can keep even while the company is here again late next week and while the birthdays are happening in late April.  It is time to get serious about this, and now is the perfect opportunity to do so.

Tomorrow, after I go on my 30 minute walk, I've got to run down to Shawnee and get my medicine refill that I called in today and then go by the Vocational Tech School (Vo-Tech) and talk to them about their CAD program.  I, along with my parents guidance, have decided that after I get back from Kenya, I will go to school for Computer Aided Drafting and wait for a job until after I get out of school.  I just refuse to get stuck in another dead-end call center again, so it would be better for me to wait and focus on school and then get a job next Spring.  My house will be sold by the end of May, so that will be $800 back in my pocket every month including the Utilities.  I am going to live here at my parents while I'm going to school so I don't have to pay rent or utilities or cable tv and all the amenities.  While I'm going to school, I will be paying down my credit cards so when I move to Kenya in 2016, I won't have as much debt.  My goal is to be debt free or nearly debt free when I move so I can focus more on the ministry.

http://transportation.stanford.edu/pdf/caloriecalc_walk.pdf

Bushie could've burned 340 calories just by walking and thus spending "only" 8 1/2 hours with his family instead of 9.

School and work are not mutually exclusive.

Very true, but if I work, I can probably only go to school part time (there are no evening classes) and that would make the program take twice as long, probably extending into late 2014.  The goal here is to focus exclusively on school, so I can get done with school fairly quickly and get into a career as opposed to just another dead-end job.

Then work part-time at night.

I haven't ruled that out.

You seemed pretty definitive when you said this:

Bad wording.  I should have said a career-type job.  A part time gig is still on the table.

So have you bought your ticket to Kenya yet?

The money has been locked in, so they are probably going to purchase the tickets by the end of next week.

But, there is no way I am staying home at this point.

So I assume you've stopped applying for jobs?

How could he "pay down" his credit cards if he's not working? Does Bushie have a sugar daddy?

If he has no income, he must be getting help from someone.  My guess would be his parents.

Prayer.

There's really no reason for him to think about getting job right now if his parents are willing to subsidize him. He needs to get his physical and mental health problems under control before he dies. That's all he should be working on for now. It'd certainly be a big step in the right direction if he got over this silly Kenya fantasy which is just that - a fantasy.

If it's true that his dad is working 28 days a month, I really don't see how that's a sustainable situation.  That's 2-3 days of buffer room per month... that's really not a lot.

I went to the Metro Technology Center in Oklahoma City earlier this afternoon to investigate the Computer-Aided Drafting program.  I found out that the class will start on Monday, 5 August 2013 and will take 9 months instead of 7 months like I thought, so I would be finished by the end of the school year.  There are three disciplines within the CAD department, Civil (roads, bridges, etc), Architectural (houses, office buildings, etc), and Engineering.  I chose the Architectural side, because that will work the best both here and in Africa.  I will go in this coming Monday, 15 April 2013 and take the Compass Test, which is basically an aptitude test to see if I could make it in CAD.  I'll go in about 11:30 am and it will take me 2 1/2 - 3 hours to complete.  I will have the results within 20 minutes after I finish the test.  After I finish the test, I will be put on a waiting list to get into the program which I would be the 5th one down.  She said that if I get on the waiting list by the end of April, I should have no problems getting started on 5 August, but if I can't then they start adult students every 2-3 weeks throughout the semester, so I could start middle August or early September if I don't get in on 5 August.  The hours will be from 07:40-10:15 for the morning session and 11:25-14:20 for the afternoon session.  If I went all day, I would be finished in May 2014.  If I went half time, I would be done Spring 2015.  With that said, I will likely look for a part-time evening job in July while I'm not going to school so I can have that established by  the time school starts.  She said the program is self paced, meaning I will have a text book and a workstation and will go through the lessons at my own pace with the aid of the teacher.  There will be very little if any classroom lecture.  After the class is over, I can either get an internship somewhere, or get a job using my CAD, and I have the option of applying these for college credit at OSU-OKC or Oklahoma City Community College for further education at no additional cost.  Even if I decide not to continue on in August 2014 at one of the colleges mentioned above, the credits will be there on my transcript should I decide to go later on.  After I get on the waiting list on Monday, I am going to start the process of applying for financial aid.  The program would be ~$2500 with tuition and books, so financial aid would be helpful in any amount I can get it.

1. I can't see you doing computer-aided drafting.
2. The class is self-paced?  If you're as diligent with class as you are with your dieting and exercise plans, you might finish before 2020.

How are you going to pay off the $2,500 if you don't know you have a job right after?  Why not get a job and save up money and then take the class?

1. I've always been interested in architecture.  It involves higher math, such as Geometry and Trigonometry, both of which I have taken and did pretty well in.  The aptitude test will tell me more and if not CAD, it will tell me what I would be good in.

2.  Fair assessment, but it is not self-paced at home, it is self-paced in the classroom and it will be in an area that interests me, so I should be fine

3.  They'll have a job-placement service at the end of the program, so I should be fine with that.

I'm looking forward to investigating this program further and getting into it.  I'm smarter than what I look, and I know I'll be able to handle it.

I'm going to do something quite different for me.  I'm normally not a golf person, but my Uncle who is still here while his wife is in Florida is a huge golf fan.  After I take a nice walk, I am going over to Grandma's with him the next four days and watch the 2013 Master's Golf Tournament from Augusta, Georgia.  I would love to hear his commentary on the biggest golf event of the year.

I started reading this paragraph thinking "Wait, Bushie isn't going to golfing is he?"  Then by the end, I realized that all was right with the world again when I read that you were only going to watch it on TV.

I would like to go golfing one of these days, but at this time I'll be a sofa spectator.

Are there any outdoor activities you have an interest in, other than walking?  You have all this free time between now and the start of your schooling (minus trip to Kenya).  Is the Oklahoman summer so miserable that it's wise to just hide inside the air conditioning all day long, or might anything entice you to go outside?

The main one is not really exercise, miniature golf.  Summers are hot, but you get used to them if you've lived here long enough.  I would like to try to take up real golf, but I don't want to go swimming for my balls!  I don't want to pay for lessons, either.  I don't care to rock climb or go on a ropes course.  Now, at a church camp in Southern Oklahoma I did swing out over the creek like Tarzan in 2009.  That is no joke!  I guess my weight has a lot to do with my lack of interest.  I can't swim, so I'm afraid to do much around water, although I would like to go to the Great Wolf Lodge in Dallas, an indoor water park.

What about finding a basketball court somewhere (whether inside or outside) and shooting hoops?  Not necessarily the most strenuous activity in the world, but at least it's better than sitting around all day at a computer or TV.

What about frisbee golf?  That doesn't require any knowledge other than how to throw a frisbee.  Are there any frisbee gold places in your area?  Any friends who might want to play that with you some time?  Again, not the most strenuous exercise, but at least it gets you outside, walking around.

Also, you live in a supposedly first world country.  How is it that you can't swim?  Didn't they teach you  how to swim in gym class when you were in school?

What kind of American public school has its own pool to teach kids how to swim in? Most Americans learn to swim, if they do, through private swim classes. About half of the population can't swim, and this is especially true of poor people.

I occasionally shoot hoops, especially on Wednesday nights after church.

I love frisbee golf, I forgot about that one, but I don't know of any organized activities for that around here.

I took swimming lessons 2 years in a row from a private, certified instructor at her home pool in the early 90's in a group of about 4 other kids, but they never took hold, because I never learned to relax and trust the flotation devices. I was too focused on not drowning that I never learned to swim.  I never had swim lessons in gym class, it was all activities that required sneakers and gym shorts, not swim trunks such as foot races, tag, freeze tag, basketball, softball.  I got a lot of exercise in grade school gym class, but the gym classes stopped after the 6th grade and i never took PE in Junior High or High School, because I hated to run.  As strange as that sounds, as a kid, I did not like running, and I hated my parents see me run.  I still don't like it and that is one of my big problems.  In fact, I hated performing for my parents in most anything.  It was a big step just to take band for 7 years, and it's only been in the last few years that I have felt comfortable singing in front of people.  I only took band because I came from a band family.  My father played the baritone, my mother played the clarinet, my brother played the french horn, and I played the tuba in our respective high school years.

I went to Choctaw schools, and the high school adjacent to my east, Harrah High School, had swim lessons in their PE classes since they have an indoor pool that is open to the public every year from June 1-July 31.

They even have a swim team.

I went to an American public middle school (in a suburb of Milwaukee) where there was a pool and they taught swimming.  But yeah, I already knew how to swim before that.

Hm, that's weird. The middle school I went to for one year had a pool outside, but we never used it during gym class. It was actually technically a public city pool and was only open during the summer (even the school swim team practiced at a private club pool about a mile away). Otherwise I don't think any of the public schools in my city had their own pools. Maybe it's a suburban thing? That just seems like an incredibly expensive/unnecessary luxury.

Every few days, Bushie has another marathon tv event. I'm a pretty lazy guy, but I can't see staring at the tv for hour after hour. The tv gets boring pretty quickly. I still say he needs some drugs to get him moving around a little bit. Obesity is a disease of the brain, first and foremost.

So you're saying gym wasn't mandatory after the sixth grade?

What the [inks] is wrong with Oklahoma?

Not sure what I have to do with this... I've never been to Oklahoma.

Morbidly obese people like Bushie probably design the school system, and they know how exhausting that hike from the last parking row to Wal-Mart can be. They're just thinking of the children and trying not to wear them out too much.

By the way: If you think trigonometry is "higher math"... ::)

Yeah, geometry and trig were both required in my high school (although trig was part of "precalculus").  It's not higher math until you at least get to pre-calc, although even that is pretty basic compared to calculus and differential equations.

You need to at least be able to differentiate and integrate to pass 13th grade (in Hesse at least), and at that relatively basic level, I certainly wouldn't yet call that higher math.

My high school had an indoor pool and the school had been built in the 50's and been there the whole time. And every high school in the area has one too. You probably just went to horrible, poor urban schools.

What the heck do you mean - some form of speed?  I hear people that use those types of drugs are quite thin.

i dont want to be rude inks.  but...

you seem to be berating bushie more than encouraging him.  you come across as someone who is quite miserable in your own life.

you constantly tell him to apply to jobs.  fine.  but then i seem to remember you telling him something like: 'i wouldnt hire you and i work in food service...' 

and i should add it really doesnt matter one damn bit what you can or cant see bushie doing.  your visions of bushie's future are irrelevant.

we all agree bushie needs help.  professional help.  continually berating him isnt going to push him to get that help.  trust me on that.

I absolutely support Bushie watching The Masters this week. I will be doing the same thing. At least he isn't watching some other silly TV program. He can learn something about history!

I'll be watching it all afternoon today, about 3 hours worth tomorrow, and Saturday and Sunday remain to be seen.

Tomorrow evening, I'm going out to eat with some high school friends who live nearby.  There two older kids have autism, and the only place they will eat is at a certain Mexican Restaurant in Midwest City, so I will have Mexican food tomorrow night.

I know the question will come up, so I'll just answer it now.  I'm leaving at 13:30 to go over to my Grandmother's for the Master's, so I'll take a walk at 12:30.

()

Bushie needs to take my going to shows and dancing and moshing idea seriously. It would've been easier in SLC obviously.

Make sure you drink a mint julep for two...

Display name:  Play Ball Bushie
Username:  BushOklahoma
Posts:  16231 (5.476 per day)
Position:  YaBB God
Date Registered:  February 27, 2005, 03:02:34 pm
Last Active:  Today at 01:50:17 pm
Current Status:   Online   

So you walked at 12:30, your time, eh? 

I went out and walked a bit earlier.  I just got back in.

Besides, I'm always online even when I'm not at the computer.  I never log out of the forum on my own computer.

That's not how it works.

Right.  Did anyone really believe he was going for a walk at 12:30 so he can go to granny's at 13:30?

I wouldn't hire him in anything based on what I know.  But if he got a job and stuck with it for a couple years, I'd potentially hire him.  Not all employers are as picky as me... it doesn't hurt to try.  But the more times he quits and moves to a new job, the harder it'll be.

It times out after 15 minutes.  If you're "online", you were online within the last 15 minutes.

Maybe it is a suburban thing; my high school had a (very nice) pool. I hated the swimming unit of class.

I'm about ready to head out to watch the last few hours of Round 1 of the Master's.

We're taking a break from the Master's for supper.  We'll probably resume about 5:30.  We're watching it on DVR so we can skip the commercials.

You really sat down at your computer, typed that out, and thought people would care?

I've been tracking the Leaderboard on my tablet, and when we broke for dinner, I switched over to the forum.

I'll call CNN.  Paul, can you contact MSNBC for me?

We'll watch the last 3 1/2 hours of the tourney after we eat, which we'll eat in about 5 minutes. 

When I read God's Word, He used a murderer (Moses), an adulterer (Abraham), a coward (Gideon), an adulterous murderer (David).  I don't find any body who had it all together.

I am fully behind Freddy Couples if Tiger can't win. I've been pounding bourbon and mint juleps all day so I am reafy to go!

We're going for Mickelson, Garcia, and Couples in that order.

We do not like Mr Woods.

Why? They are all adulterers, just in smaller capacities.

It's not that, Duke.  It's just personal preference.

Anyway, we were about 40 minutes from being finished with the DVR of Round 1 and I had to bail out and head home because my knee was really starting to hurt.  I'll go back again tomorrow for a bit from 3:00-5:30 for Round 2, but then I'll have to leave to meet my friends for dinner at 6:00.

Absolutely. Bushie can't will his way out of obesity any more than a schizo can will himself back to reality. We're dealing with brain chemistry here. You can get mucuna pruriens 100% legally on amazon.com. It's not quite as good as adderall but same idea. Increases dopamine. Gives you motivation and focus. Makes you not eat as much. Not for those with heart conditions or prone to mania though. Mandatory legal disclaimer: consult your physician first, yada yada yada.

You're really a mess, aren't you?

What does your knee hurting have to do with going home?

Just watching those golfers exert themselves by swinging a golf club is enough to put stress on his joints.

Wow, that stuff sounds great!  I need some of that.  I have no desire to be thinner but I would like to be able to 'do research'.

I could have changed chairs, but I didn't.  I had to come home and take some Tylenol.  Grandma only has Regular Strength Tylenol and that stuff laughs as it goes down and doesn't touch anything.  I need at least extra strength Tylenol and even that is not really that effective.

I... I... I don't... really?  You drove home to take extra strength Tylenol?  Why didn't you just take an extra (or two) pills of the regular Tylenol?

I could have, but that wasn't the only reason.  It was already starting to approach 21:00 and I had a baseball game I wanted to watch from 21:00-00:00, so I came on home.  Since the doctor took me off Aleve, that has taken away the drug that helps my joints the most, so now I have to resort to ES Tylenol.  I may see if I can take Advil which is supposedly a little stronger than Tylenol.  I don't know if its outlawed in the no Aleve and no Ibuprofen order from my doctor.

1. You never mentioned the baseball game... I honestly think you didn't know you could just take more Tylenol.
2. Aleve is naproxen; Tylenol is acetaminophen, and Advil is ibuprofen (as is Motrin).  So if he's banned Aleve and ibuprofen, then no, you can't take Advil (these are basic things that you should know, by the way).  But why were you taken off Aleve and ibuprofen?

He took me off Aleve because I'm already taking prescription Naproxen as my anti-inflammatory, and to take Naproxen and Aleve would be hard on my kidneys.  My mother already has bad kidneys, so he is trying to preserve my kidneys as long as possible.  He's taken her off Aleve and Ibuprofen.  Prior to this last appointment, I was just taking the prescription Naproxen as needed for headaches, but now that he has told me to take them every day as an anti-inflammatory for my arthritis, he doesn't want me to double up on Naproxen and Aleve at the same time.  I thought Advil and Motrin were ibuprofen, but I just wanted to make sure.  I'll just take ES Tylenol for now.  Perhaps I'm dumb, but what about Bayer?  Is that ibuprofen?  I'm trying to find something stronger than Tylenol without violating the doctor's orders.  It's probably a fruitless search, but it doesn't hurt to try.

As to your first point, that is true, I didn't know I could take an extra pill or two or RS Tylenol, but I still wanted to catch the Rangers/Mariners game last night at 21:00.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to take a walk for a bit.  I'll be back by the top of the hour.

I assume you mean Bayer as in aspirin (although they also make Aleve), in which case, it's aspirin.

Leave him alone, he's walking........oops, no, he's online........nevermind!

He leaves his computer on and logged in... he mentioned this a day or two ago.

Somehow it magically posts stuff on facebook too!  I want one of those laptops!

Aspirin's great.  My favorite.  I take some almost every day, in powdered form.

Cocaine is not aspirin opebo.

I just posted on facebook that I was going to take a walk right after I posted it on here and haven't posted either place until now.  I just got back from a 35 minute walk.

bushie is your grandmother in better physical shape than you?

Is playing games still popular in Oklahoma? I haven't played a board game unless it involved drinking in forever.

Dude... Settlers of Catan... it's awesome.

Haha, I wish!  If I had some of that stuff I could probably 'do research'.

I would say I'm in better shape than she is.  She has scoliosis for one, plus she is a survivor of both breast cancer (1994) and bladder cancer (2007) as well as memory loss (1989).  She has fallen twice in the past 4-5 months, but neither fall producing more than a scratched up face.  I have started taking her trash to the curb every Tuesday Night.  She can only go one or two places in a day otherwise she gets tired out too easily.  I have a lot more stamina than what I let on.

You mean you haven't been telling the whole truth, and your unhealthiness is due to pretty much pure laziness?  Nawwww..... that can't be true.

I sig'd that.......but it belongs in the comedy and oldies threads

Actually he only said he was healthier and had more stamina than an extremely old woman who has survived multiple cancers, has scoliosis, and memory loss..

It's not like it's the first time he's talked about stamina or getting tired out.

Why would one take prescription naproxen when it's sold OTC extremely cheaply? Just as with the tylenol, take an extra pill or two to get the dose you want. Not complicated.

Some great golf on today. My two favorites are atop the leader board. Go Tiger, go Freddy!

Golf is the best thing to watch on a Sunday to take a nap, it'll put you right to sleep. Now, playing it is a different story, i'm good at the long game but not at the short game. Almost never play so that would be the reason, but watching golf is the same thing as watching paint dry or the grass grow.

bushie just so you know, no one here is buying that you are actually walking.

hey if you dont want to walk.  fine.  your business.  but we can tell when you are lying...since youve made a habit out of it.

If Bushie does walk, I wonder how fast he walks. He should at least try to hit 3 mph.

In the counterfactual hypothetical world where he would follow through an exercise routine, I would strongly encourage him to discuss it with a doctor first. Don't want to give him a heart attack from the exertion. Bushie, prove me wrong. Please. It's not often I'm willing to admit I was wrong about anything. This could be a slam dunk case.

This is good advice. Though if he can't even walk 3 mph on the flat ground of Oklahoma without the threat of a heart attack, he wont' live long.

If he would download the app and add me as a buddy, I could confirm the walking...

If Bushie can't walk without having a heart attack, I am afraid he won't be with us much longer. He already has more healthy problems than most 60 year olds.

Remember when I predicted that Bushie dies before Torie?

I had a much enjoyable afternoon and evening.  I watched the Master's again for a couple hours this afternoon and then spent a nice evening with my best friends from high school, enjoying some pizza, watching Kitchen Nightmares w/ Gordon Ramsay, and playing UNO Attack.  I may watch Round 3 of the Master's on my own tomorrow or I may just watch baseball.  I'll probably get out in the morning and take a walk to work off some of this pizza.  The thing is now, I may have a workout buddy that I can do this with, so it should start becoming easier to stay motivated.  She has been trying to lose weight for a few weeks now since the end of February and has only been able to lose four pounds.  I haven't asked her, yet, but I may go over to her house occasionally and walk with her and her youngest son who will be 4 in June.  She's got a nice neighborhood we can walk in, or I might go with her and her son to the zoo some this summer and just get some exercise in.  I'll probably ask her over facebook tomorrow if she would like to be my workout buddy.

Oh, and Duke, don't get any ideas because she's been married for nearly 10 years.

Well, when you get the Naproxen at no charge to yourself, then it's cheaper than the OTC Naproxen.

Anyway, I'm headed to bed, folks.  I'm going to try to be awake before 10:22 like I was yesterday morning!

Do you have relatives in Iceland Bushie?

()

I did at one time, but that was back in the 90's.  My cousin's husband was stationed in Iceland.

It all starts with that fateful Facebook message. ;)

Bushie is seducing a married woman?? What a great plot twist!

You'll find this funny, but when I was dating Susan, this friend told us point blank that if she had not married her current husband, she would have married me.  I was flattered, but very embarrassed at the same time and I had to scramble to douse the situation, because Susan was getting a little hot under the collar...  Talk about awkward...

Oh - well then that's the perfect person that you should be spending even more time alone with!  You could "work out" at her house!

She's happily married and has three kids, the older two are non-verbal autistic.  So, that dream will have to remain a dream.

And people never cheat?

She will never cheat on her husband, and I'm not going to do anything to tempt her.  Her husband is a wonderful man and is a great father to his three children.  He is diligent to take his wife and his children to church every single Sunday and usually only miss one Sunday a year when they take the children to Disney World each June.  He is a hard worker, having been at his job for 6 1/2 years with no signs of layoffs or cutbacks.  They have been married for nearly 10 years.  He is the epitome of what a father should be for his family, the spiritual leader of his home, always worshiping His God while leading His children in the ways of Jesus Christ.  He is not perfect, but there has only been one perfect man in the history of the world, and they nailed Him to a cross.  I would not change their marriage for anything.

As I am listening to Billy Graham preach a message in Hamilton, Ontario from 1988, I am thinking to myself that as of Midnight, I will be just 15 days from my 31st birthday and from beginning my 32nd year!!  Age 30, my 31st year, has been an eventful year.  When I turned 30, I was finishing up my time at Dell, then spent a little bit at Xerox - Oklahoma City in June-July, then took care of my mother during a difficult August, and then got sent to Utah where I spent the next 5 1/2 months.  On February 19, I had to move back home with my parents and here I have been since.  Some would say that being 31 years old and living with your parents is considered a failure.  It is not a failure at all.  What is happening is the preparations are being made for my calling into Foreign Missions in the Republic of Kenya.  I have come a long way in my first year in my 4th decade, and I still have a long way to go, but my future is as bright as its ever been.

Yet she made a weird statement saying that she thought about marrying you... ok, Jeff, you can continue being naïve.

That was 3 years ago, and I think she was just trying to encourage Susan saying that she's got a pretty good guy.  I really don't think she was serious and definitely was not thinking of leaving her husband or cheating on him.  She is as committed to her family as any mother and wife could be.  Even if she did leave her husband, I would not marry her.  The main reason is I am not trained to handle two autistic children that are nearing 9 years and 8 years old respectively.  They are sweet children, and I love them as a niece and nephew, but I don't think I could handle it.

So what's the story on getting that exercise app?  We're all dying for proof to see that you're walking.

I haven't tried to download it in a few days.  I've let other things get in the way.

It takes like 2 minutes to download an app... why don't you do it now?

Could you repost the link, please?

http://www.endomondo.com/download/

It's downloading now.

This is an app that allows Inks to stalk Bushie?

More like an accountability partner.

It's taking a while to install the app, probably because I'm having to use a Wifi connection as there is no cell service in this house.

I've got it on my tablet now, which is a wifi tablet, not data connection.

You've got what on your tablet?

The app.

It's a GPS-based app.  You're not going to carry your tablet around when you walk, are you?

Alright, the app is installed on both the phone and the tablet.  I'm not sure what kind of time I'll have tomorrow, as I'll be at church pretty much all day except for maybe an hour or two in the afternoon, but I'll see if I can get some time in.

No, but I installed it on the tablet for the heck of it.

I just did a couple quick test walks with the app.  I marched in place in my bedroom very softly to see how it works.  I managed to burn 7 calories. :P

I'm about ready to leave for church this morning.  I've got a busy day ahead of me.  I'll be at church from 9:45-12:30. After church I'll be going back over to my grandmothers from 12:45-15:30 to watch the first half of the Final Round of the Master's.  From 15:30-17:30, I will have another Kenya Meeting and then I'll be at church again from 17:45-19:30, so I probably won't be home until 19:45-20:00.

How does one go to church for an entire day? A service lasts an hour or two. Maybe lunch and chitchat with the people there for another hour or so.  That's not an entire day.

Our Dear Friend is now using "military" time? Yes. Oh, yes.

He selectively uses it.  I think it was from his days in Ameriscam.

I love when Bushie talks about marching in place. It always make me laugh!

Read my post again.

I'm at Grandma's getting ready to watch the Masters. We're getting a late start on purpose so we can skip the interviews and commercials.

I've always been fond of military time. I really started using it in Kenya.

Yeah, that's what I figured...

Kenya 2013 Update:

The plane tickets should be purchased this week.  The deadline to have the down payment of $1500 is due tomorrow, 15 April.  I should have an email with the tickets and flight itinerary this week and, of course, the writers will let the viewers know what the itinerary looks like.

The other notable update is the dates may have changed ever so slightly.  It looks like we're leaving Friday, 21 June 2013 and returning Monday, 1 July 2013.  The reason we are doing that is we like to have church with the kids at the Orphanage on Sunday Morning before we leave for the Kisumu International Airport beginning our journey back to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

So, here are my plans for tomorrow. I will be leaving the house about 10:30 to take my Compass Test at Metro Technology Center on South Bryant Ave in Oklahoma City. I will begin the test at 11:30, and should be finished by 2:00 or 2:30. When I get finished, I will meet with the counselor and officially get put on the waiting list for the Computer-Aided Drafting - Architecture program. Then, either tomorrow evening or Tuesday, I will start filling out the FAFSA for financial aid.

Is getting this degree worth the debt you will take on? Can you really see yourself in this field? How much will it cost?

To answer this properly, I will address the points in reverse order.

It will only cost ~$2,500 including books, and I'm going to apply for financial aid either tomorrow evening or Tuesday after I'm officially on the waiting list, but either way, it won't add that much to the debt.

I have always had an interest in architecture and as a teenager, I played with the software TurboCAD some, so I'm excited.  Eventually, I would like to go into full blown architecture, but this is a great start.  It will be something I can take with me to Africa in a few years, I would just have to learn the Kenyan building codes.

I think the reward is definitely far greater than the small investment.

Bushie, why are you going to Kenya again?

I'm going because I fell in love with that place last year.  I will be moving there in 2016-2017.

Buy a round-trip ticket.

I will be heading out for Metro Technology Center in a bit to take the Compass Test.  The test is at 11:30, so I want to be there by 11:10 to find the testing center, so I will leave about 10:40 - 15 minutes from now.  I should be finished about 14:00 or 14:30, so I should be home between 15:00-15:30.  I'll probably watch some baseball tonight from 18:00-00:00 and get started on my FAFSA tomorrow.  If I can find time this afternoon, I may go out and walk for a bit.  I'm not sure what the 2 1/2 hours between 15:30-18:00 will look like, yet, but if I have time, I will get outside and walk for about 30 minutes, and if I do, I'll use the app so Inks can confirm that I actually did walk.

Is watching baseball for 6 hours not even slightly boring for you?

You should come to Thailand - it has all the positives with few if any of the negatives of Kenya, plus you can get a job very easily, unlike there.

Let's analyze this opebo:

Kenya:

()

vs.

Thailand

()

Kenya (http://youtu.be/_3AYM9-Pnks)

vs.

Thailand (http://youtu.be/33MAOZdQ50s)

Tough choice, friend.  :)

Having a much lower crime rate is really the only thing thats clearly better in Thailand (unless you like thai food, which I dont). Urban traffic is horrible in both countries.
Kenya is in most aspects a great country. For someone like Bushie employment will be a problem, but if he can somehow get around that I definetly think he should do it. 

I agree.  I was trying to be fair.. I would love to go spend a few weeks in Kenya if I had the money.  But for a long-term place to live I think the choice is still pretty clear.

Well, folks, I am home from taking the COMPASS test. I amazed myself with the results. It had been 11 years since I had taken my only math course in college and nearly 13 years since I took my last math course in high school. Aside from the aptitude, they tested for reading comprehension, writing, and math (pre-algebra and algebra). The max score in any area was 99. I got a 99 in reading comp, 96 in writing, and 84 in math. What's even more amazing is that just 15 years ago in my sophomore year of high school, I was still having trouble with reading comprehension and was even recommended by my school counselor at the time to read some books that help improve reading comp. I never read those books, because I hated reading (and still hate it). To ace that test today put me in awe of just how much God has answered that prayer. I was at college level or above on all three tests.

Moreover, my aptitude test showed I would be able to excel in CAD.

What kind of math was relevant in this test?

There was a lot of Algebra and a little Geometry in the test, but the course uses more Geometry and Trigonometry.  So, not a lot of the math was relevant, but it wasn't designed to be.  The COMPASS test is similar to the ACT or SAT that high school students take to get into American Colleges and Universities in that it is required by all applicants, regardless of program of study, to assess their levels.  Since I had already graduated high school there technically was not a minimum threshold that I had to cross, they just suggested 8th grade level or above.  I scored graduate level college on the Reading and Writing and upper class undergrad in Math.

Not really.

I'm surprised Bushie hasn't made an announcement that he will suspend his diet today out of respect for the victims of the Boston marathon bombing.

Why is Bushie a Republican now?

I align more with the Massachusetts Republicans than I do the Democrats.  I'm still a Democrat in Oklahoma and after a few days, I will change my avatar back to D-Oklahoma.

Diet? What diet?  :P  I'm trying to cut down, but I am not going to call it a diet.  Diet is too depressing of a word.

Not necessarily.  I am trying to change that, but I don't let it get me down.  If I become depressed about it, I will become even more unmotivated and quit trying and am almost guaranteed to exit stage right early.  It's concerning, but it's not depressing.  Plus, I take the Apostle Paul's advice that he gave on two occasions, "For to live is Christ, but to die is gain" and "Absent from the body is present with the Lord."  Note that I'm not ready to go home yet, but if the Lord calls me home for whatever reason, I won't hesitate (not that I'll have a choice.)

What a morbid way to think

It's not meant to be a morbid way of thinking, rather knowing that this life is not all there is.

You left out the part about the 70 virgins.

As a Christian, I don't believe there will be 70 virgins waiting on me.

You're twisting Paul's words.  It doesn't mean you shouldn't take care of yourself.  By your logic, suicide would be a good thing.

Yeah, your body is a temple and you disrespect it daily and now you're trying to justify your poor health as being good because you will die earlier. You're rejecting the life God gave you indirectly with your obesity and lack of motivation to be healthy.

I never said you should purposefully hasten it, and yes, self control is one of the fruits of the spirit defined in Galatians 5:22-23.  I'm just saying if and when I am called home, it's time to go home.

Nobody is here forever. I wouldn't dwell too much on a statistical average. I would urge you to make the most of your time and to try to live a healthier life.

Absolutely.  That's what I intend to do.  I will not be perfect at it and there will be days that I slip up, some intentionally, some unintentionally.  The main thing I can do is try.

So do it!  Start exercising and eating less.

I've already started doing the latter, still have yet to get started on the former.

The Compass Test this afternoon was the beginning of a new change, a new direction, a new career in my life! No more call centers, no more dead end trap jobs, I'm going for a brand new career. Today was also the beginning of another phase of my preparation for The Republic of Kenya!

lol. Really Bushie?

In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a liberal Democrat.  I have some liberal views, but for the most part, I am a conservative to moderate Democrat.  MA Dems are far too liberal for my taste, just like OK Reps are far too conservative for my taste.

Did you walk today?

Just a little around campus in the 30 minutes that I was waiting for the counselor to get back from lunch.  I didn't have my phone with me as they weren't allowed in the testing room.

You need to get some good music and you won't be able to help not wanting to run or dance, pal. That's where your real problem lies!

Who do you think you are? BRTD?

I am not advocating you listen to that filth/shouting he calls music. Don't worry. ;)

Ha

I just got confirmation that our travel agent is working on the tickets to Kenya as we speak.  We should have them in the next few days either this week or early next week at the latest.

So why didn't you do any other walking?

Just like everybody else.

I got caught up, as most Americans, in the coverage of the Boston Bombings.

So you're playing petty politics with something that's supposedly a tribute to people who've died or been maimed, got it.

No, that's not my intention at all.

It looks like our most probable airports this time will either be OKC to Chicago to Brussels to Rwanda to Nairobi; OKC to Chicago to Qatar to Nairobi; OKC to Houston to Washington to Brussels to Rwanda to Nairobi; OKC to Newark to Brussels to Rwanda to Nairobi; or Oklahoma City to Newark to Zurich to Nairobi.

The weird part is, there is talk of going on June 21 instead of June 20. Doing that would go from OKC to Chicago to Brussels to Rwanda to Nairobi, but with a 23 hour layover in Chicago and a 22 1/2 layover in Brussels for a 63 1/2 hour trip!! Very likely not going to happen.

If we left on June 19, we'd still be looking at a 21 1/2 hour layover in Chicago and shorter layovers in Brussels and Rwanda for a 46 hour trip...

We don't want to be spending all our time in the airports!!!

I've got a feeling though that the travel agent will steer us around Rwanda if at all possible.

There's an image of a cat that I'd normally post after reading something like that, but the rules on profanity prohibit me from doing so...

Is it Tard the Grumpy Cat, or another feline?

It's another cat.

Is it Lil Bub? I hope it's Lil Bub, he's the best!

()

No.  I don't know the cat's name.  It's a gray cat with black stripes.  But this guessing game is kinda fun... it's like my old candycorn games!

Why don't you just spend a day in Chicago, rather than hang out at the airport?

In any case, you do realize that you don't need a travel agent to look up any of this stuff for you, right?  You can just go onto kayak.com, or any similar site, and input your details, including any specifications about layover lengths and the like, and it'll tell you your options.

Well if the church is buying the tickets, I'd think it's pretty much out of his hands.

See poll results

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=172092.0

I'm still not clear on what Bushie plans to do in Africa. As far as I can tell he doesn't have particular skill that will be helpful to the Africans. I like the idea of helping people, but I don't see how him flying all the way around the world does anything. Also, he's going in the summer? That should be hilarious without a/c.

Remember, while we have summer, Kisumu has winter.  My Kenya coordinator who is a native said its quite a bit cooler and rainier in June than in March (the beginning of their Autumn), so it should be better than it was last March.  Last March it was consistently 90 degrees during the day, bright sunshine, very humid because of Lake Victoria and being just 10 minutes south of the Equator.

This summer (winter), I will be going down there to just minister to the children and the orphans and love on them.  I am going to school this fall to develop skills and a trade that would be useful in both America and Kenya and that being architecture.  I would just have to learn Kenyan building codes.

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3txsby/