Even the Sun Shines...

... on a dog's ass.

I caught a break. After being a waiter for all of about 2 months, I've moved up in the service industry. I have secured a full time bartending position at The Melting Pot in Durham. It may not be considered total fine dining - I'm not exactly sure. But it is a step in the right direction. Ticket prices will be high and I'll be pouring a lot of wine.

What else has been going on? Got 2 new tattoos (the above pic). In case you haven't noticed, I'm still learning how to post to my blog, so I ended up placing the pic at the beginning of the post rather than in this paragraph where it belongs.

The tattoo on the left wrist is the Irish symbol for the future (my personal translation). The tattoo in the right wrist is the Irish symbol for the past (again, my personal translation). To me, they serve as a reminder to always look towards the future, but never forget your past.

More tattoos in the works, however I will need to get down to my ideal body weight before I get them. Can't be showing off a new chest tattoo unless I'm in pristine condition. The Craig family's planned cruise at the end of March '08 is helping with that. Gotta be in the best shape of my life if I'm gonna be on a cruise ship.

Anyways, that's pretty much it for now. Drop me a line and tell me what you think of the new tattoos.

Peace, I'm out.

Loc

Life is Swell

I'm beginning to realize the benefits of leaving my cush office job and moving into the service industry. Since making my way into the world of "servers", I now see that membership has its advantages.



Today is Monday.

It's about 9:40 am

I haven't showered.

I haven't shaved.

I'm still in my underwear and wife beater.



I'm sitting here thinking about what I'm typing and realizing how sloppy I am right now, however I like the fact that I don't HAVE to do these things yet.



There are a few select items on my to do list that I would like to accomplish today - go to the bank, go talk to CJ's principal (refer to post titled "Aging Gracefully" to see how I really feel about items like these). There are also a few items on my to do list that I feel I HAVE to accomplish today - call and light a fire under Gooch's graphic design company, research purchase of concession trailer.



Life is swell. I feel a lot less stress since leaving the office. I'm making more money as a server working close to the same number of hours. I consistently have customers that either request my table or ask if I am the owner - which indicates to me that I have a promising future in the restaurant industry. Home life is better now that I can spend more time with CJ and his activities and spend more QT with The Mrs. I've also had more time to focus on exercise and diet. With a 5 mile run/60 mile ride coming in 2 1/2 months, time is limited.



For now, gotta go. Time to shit, shower and shave. Gotta look good for my relaxing Monday. And if you're reading this while at work, make sure you bring it up while at the water cooler.



Peace, I'm out.

Aging Gracefully

I'm not 18 anymore. No matter how much I think I may be the same as I was when I graduated high school, I'm not. I realized this about an hour ago as I was sitting at lunch listening to two people discuss the happenings of the day. I know it sounds amazing, but I don't look, act or think like I did 14 years ago. The strange thing is I feel no different.

Or do I?

As I listened to the guys talk about contracts and home purchasing, I found myself thinking "man, I'm glad I don't have worries like that stuff in my life."

Or do I?

Even as I sit here typing this blog, I can't help but feel like Doogie Howser at the end of another episode - closing in on some final thoughts after a moment of epiphany.

Perhaps I have lived for so long "not worrying" that I now fail to identify things that I should worry about.

Co-pays, mortgages. Hey, why did they change the PTO structure? What's that pain in my back? Should I declare 0 or 3 on my tax form? What the hell is this lawn watering diagram all about? Did I pay the Visa? How's CJ doing in school? Shit, CJ is writing below his level. Why is this bill so high? Weekend to-do lists. Does the oil need changed? Nope, just did that. But now the brakes are making noises. Wow, so are my knees. Why did they send another lawn watering schedule? Am I supposed to keep that? Utilities. Man, am I getting fat. Crap, better do a load of laundry. I wonder what color would look good in the kitchen. What's that smell? What's that bruise? What's that ache? What's that noise?

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a constant run of what goes through my mind - I'm not a freak or anything.

Or am I?

Nah. I've just realized that I'm not aging as gracefully as I thought I was. Is this a midlife crisis? I hope not. That would mean I only have about 32 more years on this spinning ball of dirt.

Wait, maybe that attitude is the heart of the problem right there. "I hope not. I need more time." After 32 years, a few run-ins with misfortune, reading headlines, towers falling, family/friends passing, wars waging, aches aching, hearts breaking, yadda yadda yadda, I think for once in my life I understand what is meant by "tomorrow is never promised".

I have a chance to do what no one in my immediate family has done yet - set the foundation for a legacy. I have tremendous opportunity in front of me that I have yet to fully tap into. I have a son that is very smart with a love for creativity. I have a wife that is extremely supportive as well as successful in her own rights. I have a family that provides unconditional love and unwavering support in everything that I do. For some reason, I feel I have yet to find my niche in the system. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough. Maybe it's right in front of my big Italian/Irish sniffer.

Shit, it's Friday. Did I bring the garbage to the street?

It's time to buckle down and start creating my legacy. I begin by saying that I'm no longer 18. In fact, I'm glad I'm no longer 18. At 18 I was only beginning to set the foundation for a life that would echo through eternity.

I'm old. I'm starting to get grey hairs. I'm overweight.

I'm a husband, I'm a father, I'm a business owner, I'm a friend.

Life doesn't look so bad after all.

So I'm blossoming a little later than everyone else. Why else do you think I have this man-boobs. Better late than never, though.

And as for aging gracefully? Fuck it, I'll worry about that later.

Rome Wasn't Built In a Day

And neither is a cyclist's body. I'm doing my best, though, to lay the foundation as quickly as possible. My training progress has been decent. Not too strenuous - the life of a father, full time employee and new business owner is time consuming. However, I've been progressively pushing myself just enough to keep it interesting. I've found a new way to pass the time while riding - video games. With a 57 inch television and a Wii sitting 15 feet away from the tip of my ride, it certainly makes the training sessions interesting. And it keep the wild-man interested while daddy gets a workout in. Don't get me wrong, I realize that I won't have a tv and a Wii to pass the time on the roads, but it's helping to get my butt accustomed to sitting in that saddle for now.

I've been mixing up my training the best I know how. Although I've been doing a pretty primitive workout, the progress is satisfactory. I pass the time at my boring job with a pretty brutal pushup routine. I started with sets of 15 a few weeks ago, and I'm now up to sets of 40. I thought it would be a nice way to build some muscular endurance. I now ride 5-6 days a week, alternating between liesure, pace and brisk rides. While riding, every 4th minute I tighten the tension, get out of the saddle and grind it out for a minute. Now that my riding sessions are approaching the 30 minute mark, the 3rd or 4th standing sessions are really burning up my legs. I also get a nice brisk run in 2-3 times a week. Nothing difficult, just a brisk 2-3 mile jog.

My training partner (Val) has been out of town the last couple days. I'm looking forward to her return so I can get in yet another daily exercise routine. Hey, 5 minutes for 300 calories isn't that bad. I gotta get those endurance sessions in anytime I can.

So the not-so-distant plan is this: Val and I are entering the Myrtle Beach Bi-Lo marathon relay on the weekend of February 14-17th. That Saturday we will be running the marathon relay. We hope to have 5 people on our team (which will be sponsered by Gooch's Barbeque Sauces) so we can each get a decent run. Then, Val and I will be riding the 63 mile bike ride on Sunday. It'll be a good opportunity to see where we stand with our training, and it gives us something tough to work towards in a short period of time. I'm not expecting the ride to be too difficult since there aren't too many rolling hills at the beach. I'm sure the distance will be pretty challenging, though.

That's about it for now. As usual, thanks for visiting. More updates to come.

Loc

Let the Transformation Begin

Last night, I bought the first piece of equipment that will help Val and I cross the finish line at next year's Livestrong Challenge - a Star Trac V-Bike.

Upon getting the bike home and adjusting the seat and bars, Val and I were ready to give it a spin. Val put in a nice and brisk 30 minutes. I followed up with a brisk 30 mins with 4 minute climbing intervals (my bike lingo may be primitive, but I'll pick up on things as I go). Tonight, after softball, I'll be doing another quick 30 minutes, and I expect to be in fully intense riding sessions by early next week.

I've found one problem, however. With the bike being a spinner - fully mechanical, not electrical - I currently have no way knowing what my speed or cadence is. I'm not sure if adding meter to the wheel is going to work, or if it's even possible. So right now I'm only able to judge my riding sessions by my heart rate, my stopwatch, and the ever so reliable exertion scale method used when running.

Nonetheless, I will prevail. I'm not training to be competitive or anything. I just want to be able to safely ride the Livestrong Challenge.

As time goes on, I will keep posting on my training progress.

In The Beginning, There Was Code.

And it was good.

1st post, woohoo! This is it, folks. The Craig family has official joined the world of Blogs. Many fun things to come.

Let's see, what's going on right now?

We're starting training for a 100 mile bike ride in Portland next year to support cancer research. Check http://teamrigel.blogspot.com/ to read all about the one this past weekend. Team Rigel holds a special place in the hearts of the Craig family, and the cause they ride for has a lot of meaning to us. Can we make the ride? Right now - no. In a year - no doubt. For all the pain cancer brings - both physically and emotionally - a year of training is a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

The Craig family is also participating in a weight loss contest with some friends. Since Val is pretty much at her ideal body weight, I guess winning this thing is up to me. I have plenty of pounds to drop, so I accept the challenge.

Gooch's Wing Company officially received it's LLC status. Pretty soon my BBQ sauce will be a common household product, right up there with Heinz. Well, maybe not that big.

That's all you readers get for now.

Peace, I'm out!