Just 2 Percent

New Year Resolutions

Normally, I don't make them. Usually, I make a joke about taking up a new vice such as smoking cigarrettes or drinking hard liquor. However this year,  there are two things that I've been struggling with for at least 8 years: 1) My weight; and 2) I still suck at the guitar.

Regarding the first, I started packing on the weight probably in 1999/2000. I didn't have a car so Michelle would take me to the train station and I'd get a ride to my parents house in the evening and wait for Michelle to pick me up. I remember sitting on my ass watching television and eating my mom's great dinners. When I started working at SoCal Gass in 1998, I weighed 190lbs. and wore size 34X32 pants. At my heaviest, I reached 245 and my size 38's were getting too tight. I've lost some weight, but I haven't gotten rid of the size 38's. For a brief period in 2006, I worked out pretty consistently for 5 months and was able to just fit into my 36's. Right now, I'm probably around 230.

Part of the problem people run into when setting a New Year resolution is they are too general and don't contain measurable results to track progress. In addition, they usually lack what I like to call a vigilance system.  Resolutions are made, some initial effort is given, but there usually is not a lot of maintenance/follow-up.  So this year, I'm committing to two things I hope will help me achieve my goals.  First, I will post a weekly blog that highlights my successes and failures when it comes to eating and excersizing. Second, I have created a weightloss spreasheet that I will make public using my gmail account. I will track my weekly weightloss against milestone and end goal weight.

Now for my second resolution this year, since I was seven years old I've wanted to learn how to play the guitar. That was the Christmas I received my first guitar. I remember the guy next door to me played the guitar (he lived outside his parents house in one of those old silver trailers). However, I never received any training and worse yet, my dad restrung the guitar to be left-handed because I am left handed. However, if you know anything about me, you'd know that I'm pretty much as ambidextrous as one can be and I play the guitar right-handed. So, instead of picking up the guitar at an early age, I missed those golden practice years of sitting in my room with nothing else to do except homework and thinking about girls.

I took lessons when I was living in Oceanside and it helped tremendously. I have no natural talent myself, however I do pretty well with instruction. Once Michelle and I moved to Murrieta, I stopped taking lessons, and I have not made much headway since then.

So, in order to reach my New Year resolutions, I'm taking two steps today. I got up and walked two miles this morning in the fog. Later today, when Gabe takes his nap, I'm driving over to Guitar Center and inquiring about lessons. Wish me good luck!

Santa in Murrieta tonight!

Each year, Santa visits our neighborhood along with Frosty, Rudolph, and an asortment of Christmas carolers and helpers. Last year, we froze our butts off for 2 hours waiting for the fat guy to show. This year, right on time.  Here is another picture of Gabe screaming his head off with Santa. I really enjoyed this last year, and it was just as fun this year. Gabe definately had more fun than this picture indicates. Frosty gave him a candy cane and Gabe loved it. He also helped by yelling Ho! Ho! Ho! as Santa went on to spread cheer in another neighborhood.  Merry Christmas.

Oh! LED Christmas Tree

Parents came down and helped us pick out a tree and decorate it.  This year is all about the LED. I chinced out on the house lights, putting off replacing them until next year. However, I was at Target this morning and couldn't help myself and I bought new Christmas tree lights. I like them as they are much brighter than regular lights, they don't get loose, and will not burn out, ever.

A lot going on this weekend. We threw Gabe a big birthday party at March Airforce Base in Moreno Valley on Saturday. We had the party inside a C-131 which is basically a big cargo plane.  Afterward, we got to walk through an airfield museum and airfield with retired aircraft including an SR-71 and a Cobra helicopter.  Of course, Gabe's favorite part of the museum was a little train underneath a Christmas tree.

Another fun thing we did tonight was attempt to take a picture of Gabe and Sarah for our Christmas card. Here are the top runner-ups, Michelle will make the final decision this week:

Gabe's birtday is actually this Tuesday, December 12th. So if you want to wish him a happy birthday, post a comment here and I will make sure he gets it.

Things I did on my Vacation

Not the best picture, but it is proof that I have my Christmas lights up the weekend after Thanksgiving this year. A first for me. I took Thanksgiving week off from work and enjoyed the 9 days away from work. While I was at home, I had several projects that I wanted to tackle. While I didn't get to them all, I did manage to cross a few off my list.

Here is what I accomplished:

1. Cleaned spare room (no easy task, let me tell you) and donated extra clothes to charity.
2. Finished office filing including Michelle's CSR paperwork.
3. Hung Christmas lights
4. Removed dead ice plant from hill (75% done)
5. Fixed hill sprinklers (50%, some new ones aren't working right)

Doesn't look like much, but every little bit counts. Trying to get as much done and the house looking good before the holidays. I want to slow down this year and enjoy the season with Gabe and Michelle. He's going to be a lot of fun this year.

Thanksgiving 2006

Michelle, Gabe and I spent a few days at the beach in Oceanside just before Thanksgiving with Michelle's family.  Place was right on the beach, so the view was nice and the sound of the waves crashing brought me back when I lived in Ocean Beach.

We spent Thanksgiving at my sister Kim's this year in Corona.  Had a good time, although I've been fighting a cold.  Dinner was good, always goes too fast though. Played wiffle ball on the sportcourt and fell off a skate ramp riding a Razor scooter and knocked the wind out of me.

A few updates, we got our first dog about a month ago. Sara is a yellow lab. We picked her up when she was nine weeks. She's already doubled in size. I added some new photos in the album so make sure to check her out.  I also added some pictures of Gabe at the beach. He's getting so big and he's talking a lot. However, he's still not making too much sense.  Although, I've notice his jibberish does have structure to it and he will repeat the same two word combinations. His latest one is something like, "Awyan Apee!" I don't have any idea what this means, but when I repeat it, Gabe looks at me and says, "Yeah!"

Gabe understands most verbal commands we give him. Commands such as, "Gabe, turn off the TV" and "Gabe, stand up so I can wash your belly" he executes on cue. Commands such as, "Gabe, come here so I can change your diaper" or "Let's go to bed" his selective hearing comes into play and I don't exist.  He also has down most of his major body parts. Michelle will as him to point to his head, and he does. He can also point to his feet, eyes, ears, nose, butt, and peeper.  Lastly, one thing I've noticed with Gabe is he's a great imitator. The other day we were watching Ryan's baseball game and I took him over to the bullpen which was empty. I stood on the mound and pretended to throw a pitch. After a few times, Gabe walked up, did his best effort at a windup and threw an air ball down the pipe. Tonight after dinner, Taylor got Gabe dancing to some music. She'd tell Gabe to do this and do that, and Gabe did a pretty good job at copying her dance moves. Must get the coordination from his mom.

Root Cause Analysis - An Example

[WARNING: THIS IS MY LONGWINDED ATTEMPT AT EXPLAINING SOMETHING THAT HAD PLAGUED ME WITH FRUSTRATION FOR ALMOST FOUR YEARS]

This year, instead of celebrating Labor Day in observance, Michelle and I participated by doing an insane amount of physical labor. On Friday, we took Gabe up to Big Bear to help clean-up the yard at the cabin.  At first glance, it didn't look like the job was going to be too hard. However, after approx. 15 trips to the dump and what had to be atleast on 1 1/2 to 2 dumpsters full of pine needles, we got the yard into decent shape. One more weekend trip before snowfall should do the trick.

We came home Sunday afternoon and after a quick nap I decided to mow the backyard lawn in preparation for a bbq the next day. Now, ever since we've lived in this house, I've had a problem with the backyard sprinklers. There has always been a few areas where the sprinklers do not cover and the grass either is dead, or just barely living.  I've tried adjusting the spray heads and or replacing them on atleast three occasions.  Each time resulted in frustration because the new sprinklers performed just as poorly as the ones I replaced.

A while ago we had Verizon come out to install phones, cable, and dsl. In the process, they broke a sprinkler line on the side, front yard. I eventually fixed it, however I did not realize that the pipe was broken in two places. A few months later, the other break (what must have been just a hairline crack to begin with) gave way and I had flooding again.  This time, I just capped off the line because I thought it would only effect the three side sprinklers which mostly just get my truck wet. Unfortnately, it also served as the delivery source for the backyard lawn sprinklers. Instead of fixing it, I reburied the line and went to Lowe's to buy a hose sprinkler and promising myself that it was just a temporary fix to get me by until I fix the broken supply line.

Another five months went by and my lawn was suffering. The problem with a hose sprinkler is that you have to remember to go out each day and turn it on. Both Michelle and I started off good, but lately had been neglectful.  After mowing my dying lawn last night, I decided I was going to fix the broken pipe. I succeeded after one unsuccessful attempt and two trips to Lowe's and one trip to Home Depot. However, as I said earlier even before the break, the sprinklers never worked quite right. After testing my repair and seeing that I had considerably low water pressure, I went on a mission to find out the root cause of the problem (while I was supposed to be helping Michelle get ready for the bbq).

At first I checked for any broken sprinklers and big leaks and even removed a very large flax plant in the process (I hate them and I am glad I killed it, would've been sweeter if it were Arbor day). Although I found a leaky sprinkler, fixing it was not going to dramatically increase water pressure. By this time, I had to start getting ready for the bbq and decided to ask my friend Mark for his advice. When he arrived I asked him what would cause low water pressure? We replied with two options, 1) Leaks, broken pipes; and 2) Two many sprinklers on one line.  I thought about number two during several unsuccessful attempts at fixing them in the past. After counting them up, we both decided that 12 sprinklers were too many for one line.

What transpired next is a good example of root cause analysis and the potentially wasteful work that almost came out from it. After a bit of brainstorming, the first viable solution was to put in a separate line and split the 12 sprinklers into two sixes. While this solution was not impossible, it would be very labor intensive and time consuming and I'd have two timers which in turn would add complexity plus increased maintenance to the system.  The second good idea generated was to shutoff as many non-essential sprinklers as we could which would increase the overall water pressure. I identified five sprinklers and we adjusted them so no water would flow. However, after the first test, still no improvement in water pressure.  What we did find was a pool of water forming in one of my planters. One of the five sprinklers we shutoff was buried deep under some bark on the edge of the property line. Through some digging in a very tight place, we uncovered a broken sprinkler head adjacent to the yard drain pipe (a long pipe running from the backyard to the front yard which allows drainage to occur in the event of flooding). Mark had noticed the unusual amount of water coming from the pipe in the front yard in an earlier attempt to identify leaks, but dismissed it as regular runoff since we were running the sprinklers continuously to find the leaks.

In the end, the problem was a broken sprinkler head in a remote area of the property, behind a giant Bird of Paradise and under decorative tree bark. Flooding, which usually is evident with a broken pipe, was masked by the fact that the broken sprinkler was right next to the yard drain so instead of flooding, the water would just drain unnoticed through the drain pipe.  Mark and I found the root cause of the poor performance, capped-off the broken sprinkler, and dramatically increase water pressure. The problem existed before I moved into the house and has continuously frustrated me over the past four years. Now, the sprinklers are working great, and I have good coverage. I am looking forward to bringing my lawn back to new life.

Gabe's Playroom

Michelle and I have been working on reconfiguring the front room into a dedicated playroom.  We've never used the front room much and by turning it into a playroom, we've achieved two objectives: 1) Keep the TV room free of toy clutter; and 2) Open the house up by using the front room more. Last week, Michelle and I found ourselves hanging out in the other room while Gabe played.

Over the weekend we bought a wooden trainset and train table. Everytime Gabe and I go to the bookstore, I can't tear him away from the train they have there, so we got him one off of Craigslist. Michelle bought some eductional posters such as colors, numbers, and letters and has been practicing with Gabe. The other night, I heard him repeat 1, 2, and 3. It is amazing to think that in a few more months I might be having some simple conversations with my sun.

I've posted some other pictures of the playroom and just other random pictures of Gabe in the photo album, take a look and enjoy.

Michelle is addicted to Craigslist

Thanks to our friend Cindy, Michelle is addicted to Craigslist. She goes on it daily to look for used toys for Gabriel. She particularly searches for little tikes stuff. So far, she's bought an activity cube from Escondido, a motorcycle and airplane from Riverside, and three of these cool boxes with bendy wires that Gabe can move blocks and circles of wood around.

We've turned our front room into a playroom so that we can put all of his crap into one place. In order to make room, we've sold/are selling the furniture we had in that room and are using the money made to save up for a larger activity cube with a big slide and a Thomas Train table, tracks and engines/cars.

I've signed up to flickr.com. This is a website you can use to post/share photos. I learned about it from my friend Jamie. In order to allow potential buyers to view what you're selling on Craigslist, you must have your pictures saved to a website. You can get to my flickr site by clicking here.

I will post some pictures of the new playroom and some of the toys that Michelle as bought for Gabe.

The Squat Monster Has Awoken

As I have mentioned before, Saturday is squat day. It all started in early April, not wanting to attend another SIOP conference barely fitting into my suit pants, I started going to LA Fitness. I get a free membership through work and have started/stopped several times over the past two years.

Three months seems to be my survival rate. Over the past five or six years, I've started and stopped probably a dozen times, never reaching my goal weight of around 185 or 190 pounds. Actually, I have not been that weight since probably 1998, when I first started my internship at SoCal Gas. I'm at 234 pounds right now. The lightest I've been in a long time was 218 pounds when I was training to do a century ride in Mammoth with Alan and Dave. Being at that weight and arriving in Mammoth at three in the morning proved to be a bad combination. I only made it about halfway.

I'm in my fourth month now and hopefully at a turning point. I feel much better thanks to making cardio the first priority and weights second. I'm a little  discouraged that I haven't lost any weight yet, however I feel much better. I'm primarily concerned with losing inches in my waist which has grown tremendously over the years. I have five pairs of wool slacks that are my first goal. Right now, I can put them on, but tucking in a tshirt and dress shirt aren't really a good idea. The sad thing, the pants are size 36 inch waist.

Enough talking about weight and waist size and wimpy cardio training talk. As I mentioned last Saturday, I squatted 405 pounds one time, setting a new Dave weightlifing record. Yesterday, I got a late start because Michelle wanted to hit some garage sales in the early morning. I went to the gym after hanging out by the pool which isn't really a good idea. The sun takes a lot out of you.

While we were out, I picked up a new weight belt and some knee wraps after I tried unsuccessfuly to find my old ones. After a half hour on the bike and fifteen minutes hitting the heavy bag (I'm training to be a cage fighter), I went in to do some squats. I didn't feel particualry strong when I started. I warmed up with two sets of 135 (one plate on each side) for 15 reps. I then moved onto 225 (two plates on each side) and did that 15 times. I then put on the knee wraps and new weight belt, something I had to get used to. I'm not used to my big gut in the way and didn't like how the weight belt felt at first. I was surprised that my 12 reps of 315 went by pretty easily and with good form.

I decided I felt good enough to squat 405 again and loaded the plates (four on each side). I love how the bar starts to bend a little at this weight. It really starts to bend at five plates (495) althought I've never used that weight before, but used to see guys all the time at the Spectrum throwing this weight around. I got under the bar and lifted it. At first it seemed heavier than last week on my shoulders, but I decided to go for it. My first rep felt really good, so I decided to do a second. It felt even better so I tried a third. Each rep felt better than the previous. All in all, I did eight reps, a real set.

Afterward, I felt elated. It is hard to explain, but squats "release the evil" in me (a term I stole from Little Nicky). I can only relate it to the Squat Monster. A creature that has remained dormant for a decade or so but is now raging. Don't expect anytime soon a blog stating the 495 pound squat record. My back is not anywhere near strong enough right now to handle that weight. I will have to start incorporating some deadlift into my back and shoulder routine. In three months time, it might be possible. More importantly, I am really hoping that by September I will fit into my dress pants nicely.

Man Strength (sort of)

When I was 13, my grandmother bought me one of the those cement weightsets and a workout bench from BEST. I remember my first feat of strengh vividly. I put all the weight I had (it was a 110 lbs. set) on the bar and benchpressed it.  Feeling proud, I then asked my parents if I could upgrade to a cement weightset so that I could fit more weight on the bar.

In the seventh grade, my next feat of strength was at the Gibbs house in Dave's gym. Mark, Nick, Bruce, and I had a benchpress competition. Bruce was the strongest, he benched 150 lbs. I came in second at 140, and I believe Mark eked third of Nick at 135 or so. It amazes me that I remember this after 20 years have passed.

I started working out semi-seriously sometime during the 8th grade. My workout partner was my new bestfriend Mark. We worked out 3 days a week in Dave's bedroom. A lot of good memories took place during those workouts, the most memorable was doing Donkey Calf Raises to the song Happy Trails by David Lee Roth. I had tried, but did not succeed benchpressing 200 lbs. before I finished the 8th grade. Instead it took me about half the summer and about 5,000 push-ups (having attended a 10-day boot camp at Camp Pendleton, I found myself being constantly disciplined for not making my bed right, or breaking some stupid rule).

After the camp, my parents bought me a gym membership at the Spectrum. The Spectrum was a serious bodybuilding gym next to the Riverside Plaza. These were in the days before 24 Hour and LA Fitness.  A real gym with humongous guys lifting lots of weight.  Within a couple of weeks, I was benchpressing 245 lbs.

Throughout highschool, I continued to workout pretty seriously. Before I graduated, my record benchpress was 315. Not bad, but there was a guy Ernest who could bench 405, so my feat of strength paled in comparison. However, my real strong point were my legs. They've always been strong and as soon as I started working out, I quickly developed a passion for doing squats.

At my best, probably at 17 or 18, during late summer nights with Dave Gibbs, we used to have squat marathons. This is where we'd do an insane amount of sets, something like 15 or 20 going up to 315 and 365 lbs (not real heavy, but we were doing reps of 10 to 12). I had never attempted to go any higher and I'm not sure really why. Since then, I had always wanted to squat 405 (Four 45 pound plates on each side).

For the past 3 1/2 months, I've been going to LA Fitness on a pretty consistent basis.  I've attempted to get in shape over the past 6 years probably six times, once each year and only lasting about 3 months at a time. I no longer have delusions of becoming a professional bodybuilder, I just want to fit into my size 36 dress pants that I haven't worn in about 4 years.  My workout is pretty basic. I ride the bike and walk/run on the treadmill for 35 to 40 minutes and then workout with weights for about 20. Long gone are the days where I'd workout for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, six days a week. Now I'm married and have a little one that I don't get to see as much as I like to anyways.

One thing I've done differently this time around is making cardio my first priority and always doing it first so I can't skip it. The other change I've made is to make legs my first workout each week. This way, I can't skip it either.  Saturday is squat day, and I find myself rekindling my old passion for doing them. Since I started back, I've worked myself up to doing sets of 225 pretty consistently. Once my back started getting stronger, I felt confident that I could move up to 315.  Two weeks ago, I squatted 315 five times, something I hadn't done in over 15 years.

Now, if that is all to the story, I really wouldn't consider it worth posting. However, this past Saturday, I had something extra in me. I had a good bike ride and run and had a lot of energy. I started warming up on squats and felt really strong. With 225, I did 15 reps. I moved up to 315 hoping to maybe do eight, three more than the prior week. I ended up doing 12 pretty easily. I felt exhilarated. As I went over to get a drink of water, a thought was itching my brain, "Why not try 405?"  I told myself I would be crazy to try it, I've never done it before and I've only just started working out again.  As I silently argued myself, I found myself unconsciously loading 4 plates and then I just said, "What the hell" and put myself underneath the bar. As I lifted the bar, it felt heavy but not impossible. I wasn't 100% sure if I started to go down, that I'd be able to bring it back up (that's what squat racks are for). I ended up doing a pretty decent squat. Although I didn't go down as far as I had with 315, I definately went far enough down to consider it a full squat.

So there you have it, this past Saturday I did something I had never done before and I know it sounds stupid, maybe kind of childish, but I walked around the rest of the day feeling somewhat of a badass.