Bertha Update

This morning at work has been INSANE. Crazy upon crazy upon crazy. I went upstairs to go to the bathroom in one of the brief breathing moments and figured I’d take a quick pic of Bertha, seeing as I haven’t documented Bertha’s progress for a while.

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Bertha is HUGE, but she hasn’t grown a lot over the last week or two. She’s starting to open up a new leaf now, but it’s been a while since I saw any clear signs of growth. I’m a little worried about those spots on the Ficus though. Those don’t look happy.

Anyway, this will be my photo-a-day pic because I am not going to have time for anything more elaborate.

Duck and cover, it’s back to work time.

Happy Five Months

Today is October 4th. Five months ago today I had gastric bypass surgery. In honor of the monthaversary, let’s weigh in. Yes, weigh ins are supposed to be Wednesdays and today is Tuesday, but the 4th of the month is a special occasion, right?

My weigh in last week was good but a little underwhelming. I lost 1.6 pounds. This week is a little more like it. Five pounds exactly. From 295.8 to 290.8, Sooooo very close to flipping that 10’s digit. Yesterday I said I might skip this week’s Wednesday weigh in. Now that I know I am less than a pound away from the 280’s, I might actually do it. You know, just in case.

The 10’s column did flip on the totals. My total weight loss since the surgery is now 140.6 pounds. My total weight loss since the first appointment back in January is now 161.2. Sweet Christmas, that’s a lot of weight. I’ve lost the equivalent of an adult human. I googled “weight loss equivalence” and found two sites that compare your weight loss total to something relatable. Neither had a value for 160. They both had the same value for 150 that wasn’t all that relatable. They both said the complete Oxford English Dictionary. Eh. One of them had an entry for 185 that was Hugh Jackman. I guess I have a goal now. It also had an entry for 235 that was Arnold Schwarzenegger. Again, goals.

This morning before work I did my daily walkies. I watched last Friday’s episode of The Rings of Power. I was planning on going the equivalent of 3.2 miles (about five kilometers). I was so into the show that I wasn’t paying attention to the data on my watch and I was over 3.8 miles before I realized I could stop. I thought about pushing it up to four miles, but I think that would have stretched a little beyond 9:00am so I stopped. Maybe we’ll do that tomorrow. Maybe going a little extra today will shave off that 0.9 pounds and get me into the 280’s by tomorrow. Who knows. I just feel silly with this whole thing now. Hugh Jackman, here I come.

I Used to Live Here

I just dropped off my key to my parents house in Tewksbury. The house is empty. A chapter of my past is closing this week. I feel like there will be a time in the future where I am able to look back on my time in that house fondly, but as of right now I cannot see past the last few years there when I was just miserable. Fortunately there was Jennifer waiting for me like a light at the end of the tunnel.

I took a few pics. I don’t know why. The lights in this one look kinda groovy.

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Rodent of the Day

I was waiting for my lunch to heat up in the microwave and I happened to look outside and see our groundhog friend.

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I don’t know anything about groundhogs but I do know that this little sucker is adorable.

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As cute has he is, he’s isn’t even close to as cute as Lady Pachalotte of the Rhode Island Patchalottes.

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Two Hours?

I got downstairs to do my exercise and watch last night’s Walking Dead by 8:00am. Plenty of time to get through it all before punching into work at 9:00.

I went to the AMC website, brought up the episode, let’s effin’ go!

Wait…

The episode is two hours??

Noooooo!!!!

I did all of my normal daily exercise though. I walked in place for the equivalent of 3.2 miles (5k-ish) in record time. My mile splits were under 12 minutes for the first time ever. Not sure how I did that. I also did my normal dumbbells and elastic band thingie exercises too. I usually wait until later in the day for this, but they are done and done. I still might try to do 15 minutes on the bike at lunch time. We’ll see.

Tomorrow is October 4th, so there will be a monthaversary weigh in day. I might skip the usual Wednesday because of it. Here’s hoping for good numbers.

Okay, bring on the Mondays. Sadface.

NCAA Hockey and Other Random Stuff

I did something yesterday that I haven’t done since early 2003. I followed a UMass Lowell Riverhawks men’s ice hockey game. I say men’s ice hockey but I don’t know if Lowell has a women’s ice hockey team or not. They didn’t when I was there, but I am hopeful that they do now.

It was after the 2003 season that the athletics department tried to sell the school radio station out from under us and I swore they wouldn’t get a second thought from me until the athletic director was gone. Well, I found out not long ago that he is finally gone, and has been for a few years. He wasn’t fired though, he retired. He should have been fired. Hell, he should have been thrown in jain for trying to fuck us. Whatever, water under the bridge. I can follow my old school’s hockey team again.

Yesterday was opening day. They beat St Lawrence 4-0. I listened to most of the first period. I missed the first minute or two because Bellana and her roommates were visiting. It was 3-0 Lowell when the first period ended and Jen asked me if I wanted to watch a movie (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone). Of course I wanted to watch a movie with my love. Of course. Duh.

The Bruins season opener is in a couple of weeks. October 12th, I think. UMass Lowell doesn’t play again until next weekend. I guess I am now in a hockey black hole, though the Bruins probably have pre-season games this week. I checked, they play New Jersey on Monday and Saturday, and the Rangers on Wednesday. Good.

On an unrelated scheduling note, tonight is the start of the final segment of The Walking Dead. The first of the last eight episodes. I would like to watch it “live” but if I can’t I’ll catch up on the AMC site tomorrow before work. I’m sad that the show is ending, but also ready. It’s time. It was perfect for five-six years, then it slipped for a few years, then it came roaring back. Now let’s let it end before it slips back again. There are at least three spin offs coming, so it isn’t really ending ending, you know? It’s just changing. Still, the main show is a gem and the spin offs will never quite be the same.

I still haven’t watched this week’s Rings of Power so I need to get on that. I also haven’t watched That Pedal Show and that’s unforgivable. There’s just so much good stuff to watch. Really, anything I watch during the week right now is just me biding my time for the next episode of Andor. Did you catch that the woman who played Harry Potter’s aunt in the movies played Andor’s mother? Harry Potter and Star Wars are in the same universe: Confirmed.

Okay, I need to go make Jen some dinner. Wish me luck, folks!

Gloomy Lake

The weather is kinda crummy today but in the interest of the photo-a-day thing and avoiding crowds at supermarkets I found myself taking the back roads through Salem, NH and I stopped at Canobie Lake and snapped a couple pics. They suck, but so what?

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Ducks!
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The question now is, are we going back to Vermont again? Bellana and her roommates were in Massachusetts yesterday and they stopped at the house for a quick hello. We think one of them left their coat here because there is a coat in the dining room that doesn’t belong to either of us. It’s cold out today so we may be bringing it back to whichever roommate left it. No clear plans yet, but we’ll see.