Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I've Been To...

38 U.S. states


visited 38 states (76%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or Like this? try: Archean

and 7 countries (they include Puerto Rico for 8, but I don't.)


visited 8 states (3.55%)
Create your own visited map of The World or vertaling nederlands duits?

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

For As Long As...

...I can remember, I have always had high blood pressure and have worried about my weight. I remember 11 years ago when I was in college and a nurse took my blood pressure and screamed "how can you be only 19 years old and have blood pressure this high"!!!!!!!! I think that it actually read something like 170/95 that day. I was immediately send to a physician and have been on medication every since then. The problem with medication is that your body becomes immune to it and it stops working. So for about 2 years, you can have normal blood pressure and then it shoots back up. That's what's been happening for the last few years.

As far as my weight is concerned, i've never been overweight. I've just always watched it go up and down. Since college I have been as low as 165lbs and as high at 210lbs. When looking at myself in the mirror, I have always looked the same. But back in May of 2005 when I moved back to Atlanta, I weighed 210lbs. That day I joined a gym and went faithfully every day. Four months later I was back to 170lbs and was quite content. But that didn't last long and I was back to my old self not exercising consistently and definitely not eating healthy. On June 25th of this year I got on a scale and it said I was 207lbs!!! Oh hell no!!!

I went back to my room and took my blood pressure and it was 157/93. I took a look at myself in the mirror and even took pictures (hell no! I will not post them) of by body. I almost cried to think that I was back over 200lbs and I could have a stroke any day if my blood pressure didn't come down.

Well, I decided to actually change some things about my lifestyle. I could no longer sit on the sofa every day, eat and watch TV. I would eventually get fat as hell and die of a stroke or a heart attack. I could no longer eat high fat, high sodium, high calorie foods. The first thing that I did was change what and how I ate. I took a cue from 2 of my co-workers and cut out all beef and pork. I added a lot more vegetables, fruit juice, and water. It was no where near easy, but i've done it. Now I will have a lil beef every now and then, but no more than once every 14 days. When i'm not traveling, breakfast is a bowl of Cheerios. Lunch is usually some type of fish or chicken dish and a whole heap of vegetables.

The second thing that I did was to get off my ass and start moving. I am not a gym person, so I found something else to do. Since I had been learning to play tennis, I decided to ramp up my game so that I could get more cardiovascular exercise. Luckily, i've not been traveling for the last month so I have been able to play 4 to 5 times a week for 2 hours at a time. I've told myself that when I do travel I WILL make time to go to the fitness center in the hotels if only for 30 minutes.

Well, the results are in people!! After 45 days of my new lifestyle, I can say that I am proud to make this post. Both my weight and blood pressure are down!!!
My blood pressure is down past the goal that my doctor set of 135/85!!!!!





And my weight is down 14.5lbs (7%).
Since i've achieved that blood pressure goal I now have to maintanin it. So i'll be taking my pressure monitor everywhere I go.
As far as my weight, I want to get down to 180lbs and i'll be happy.
Ya'll don't know how happy I am right now.
Next step is to get these finances in a better place.

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Saturday, August 15, 2009

Have You Ever Seen...

...a man so sexy that you wanted to cry???

































































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I've Been Playing...

...tennis for about 2 years. I play mainly for the exercise, but for the last few months i've actually been trying to get better and I have. My basic moves such as serve, forehand, and backhand have gotten exponentially better.

I've been going to a park located near my apartment because it's convenient and there are 3 courts there. But today, I realized another reason why I go to that park. And here it is!!!
The boys on the basketball court!!
When this shirtless dude snatched off his shirt stripper style, I dropped my raquet!!!!



And we actually do play tennis as well!!!! (And don't ask why I wasn't in the pictures!! I was taking them!!!!)





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Friday, August 14, 2009

I'm Getting Tired Of...

...going out to clubs, parties, and other events. I've been feeling this way for a while and have been wondering why this change is occuring. I noticed last year that when my friends would want to go out, I started declining and would just stay at home. But when it was just an event that involved only my crew, I was all for it. In the last few weeks, i've figured out why I have become the way I have become.

Back in the early part of this decade, I would go out and people would be out to have fun. They danced and sang and partied until the club closed. That just doesn't happen anymore. It seems that people go out to social places just to be seen. They go to do what I call S&M, or Stand and Model. They stand around with their friends and associates with drinks in hand and try to see who's looking at them.

And don't dare speak!! Oh my!!! You get the "who are you to speak to me" look with a grab of the chest!! Why the hell are you going out if you don't want to interact with the other patrons of the social environment? I just don't get it. I remember once I spoke to a brotha and complimented him on his jeans because they were quite unique. This muthafucka turned his nose up at me and then turned his back to me. At first, I was going to let him HAVE IT!! But what would that do? Absolutely nothing but run up my blood pressure. So I just walked away.

Last week, I attended a BBQ hosted by a guy that I know. We got there pretty early so we were able to see who all was coming in. Me being the person that I am, when I walked in the door, I spoke to those already in attendance. I noticed that as people came in, they didn't speak to others that were already there. Why the hell not? As the crowd grew, people started retreating to their corners with their friends with drinks and food in hand. After a while (and a few drinks), I got kinda tired of what I was seeing. I recruited 2 of my friends to go with me to speak to and introduce ourselves to EVERY person at the BBQ!!! And we did!!!! You should have seen the looks on faces!!! People were utterly shocked that we would do such a thing!! How dare you have the audacity to speak to people and introduces yourselves. Oh no they didn't!!! Oh yes the hell we did!!

I think that's one of the reasons why i've cut waaaayyyy back on my going out. I didn't go to the annual white party this year. I only go out to a club maybe 1 time a month. I don't do parties that often anymore. What I do is hang with my crew a lot more. Instead of trying to meet new people, i'll concentrate on improving the relationships that I have now. I don't need to go out to do that.

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Monday, August 10, 2009

I Made These...

...all by myself!!!!








These 2 pieces made up the wooden headboard from my old bed. The bed broke when I decided to jump my ass on it one day while this dude I was dating was laying on it and the entire bed HIT THE FLOOR. After getting a new bed that day, I just couldn't part with the headboard. So I took the 2 pieces apart and stored them in the garage for the next year. I knew I had to do something with the with them.


Well last week, I got bored and decided to to a little decorating. I went to Home Depot and got 2 cans of spray paint and some painter's tape. I taped off the sections I wanted to paint and got to work. Let me tell you that spray painting is not as easy as it one would think.

I then went to a dollar store and bought a simple black rimmed $6 mirror and used wood glue to secure it against the former headboard. I mounted the shelf on the wall and put the items you see pictured on it.

After all was said and done, everyone who saw the mirror and shelf thought that I had purchased them from Ikea or somewhere!! Nope!! I am proud to say that I made these myself!!!!

Now I have HGTV fever and am wondering what to do next!!!

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Sunday, August 09, 2009

Tuts Me Barreh!!!

Please watch this and please check out 2:29 when he hits his first "HIGH" note!!!

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Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Just Some Random Stuff

1. I sleep naked. I've been doing this since high school when I went to Upward Bound each summer. I used to have my own dorm room, so I just slept naked. I think that I started because I used to sweat a lot when I slept (not so much now) in undies and a tee. Now, when I meet someone new and we stay the night together and I get in the bed with clothes on, I can't sleep for anything.

2. I get tongue tied when trying to talk sometimes. I always have and probably always will. If I think about what I am trying to say before I say it, my pronunciation is perfect. But if i'm just talking and go too fast, it's all gibberish.

3. I'm scared of long strands of hair. That shit freaks me out. If I see a strand of hair on a bed, a toilet, or anywhere, I am prone to vomitting on the spot. I saw a long strand of hair on the plane today hanging from the overhead bin and walked to the other aisle. Nobody else saw it and people must have thought I was crazy.

4. When I wash my hands, I either close my eyes or stare at myself in a mirror. I just noticed this today. I also noticed that I wash my hands a lot more than is normal.

5. I smell my food. I have only recently started doing this in the last 3 or 4 years. When I started, it was very seldom that I did it. Now it's EVERY time I eat. People have started noticing, but I have also realized that i'm not the only person that does it.

6. When I drive, I slightly lean to one side or the other. I have not idea why I do this, but when I try to sit upright, I just feel unconfortable. I've been trying to sit upright more often so that I don't jack up my posture.

I wonder what quirky things you all can admit.

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Monday, August 03, 2009

He Got Her Together!!!

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