Once again, I am suffering from the effects of sleep deprivation after being denied a good night’s sleep. I don’t understand what that’s all about, but at least I’m getting some value from my Netflix subscription. And in the meantime, life goes on.
My big news is that tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading out for La Union, where I will participate in a weekend Hash event–The Haggis Bash. I attended once before, and it was an enjoyable Scottish-themed gathering featuring bagpipes and various competitions between the Hashers, including a beer-drinking contest, sack races, and a tug-a-war. There will be Hash runs on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning as well. I paid several weeks ago, but with my recent ill-health, I was wavering on the wisdom of attending. Now, I deem myself sufficiently recovered to participate, although I will exercise discretion in my selection of activities and trails. Wish me luck!
The Wednesday Walkers group took a 5K stroll through the back streets of Subic-town, which proved to be quite enjoyable. Only three of us (Scott, Gary, and me) participated this week, but we all shared an appreciation for a flat walk on a hot day, and we were not disappointed.
It was nice to be out and about. Eventually I’m going to have to challenge myself with a hill climb, but for now I’m content with just getting my steps in.
I stepped on the scale this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see that I’m down to 232 pounds. It’s disappointing that I’m not seeing a reduction in belly fat yet, but I’ve another thirty-seven pounds to lose to reach my goal. The belly is always the last to go, it seems.
The Wednesday Hideaway feeding was a simple success:
There were two other customers at the bar who were friends with manager Griff; everyone but me had a thick English accent. Each of them, in turn, bought me a beer, which is always a nice gesture. Of course, it costs me because Joy gets a lady drink when I get a beer. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts. Before I left, I reciprocated by getting each of them a drink. Good times.
Swan had attended an afternoon Mass at the local Catholic church. She messaged me when the service was over, and we met up at BarCelona and enjoyed a nightcap on the rooftop. Once we were back at home, we sat out on the patio and enjoyed another drink before heading to bed.
I woke up three hours later and could not get back to sleep. So I once again spent the wee hours of morning feeling “Shameless.” It struck me today how this American family struggling below the poverty line lives so much better than the majority of Filipinos. The Gallaghers call their house a “slum,” but it is far nicer than most of the slum villages I walk through. I guess it’s all relative.
Packing for my weekend excursion is next on my agenda. Later, I’ll be taking Swan out for dinner at Mango’s. Stay tuned for whatever happens next!
That’s close enough for me.
I like how the sign has no closed quotation mark. Why there’s any quotation mark is beyond me.
The belly is always the last to go, it seems.
Well, it’s a beer belly, so it’s not going anywhere.
The beer-belly phenomenon was something I began noticing years ago when I was a kid. It’s different from the “food gut” that people like me have. A food gut is more than just the gut: you get arm flab, butt fat, love handles, etc. But what I saw, from my youth onward, was these guys, mostly ex-military and huge drinkers, who would be skinny everywhere except their gut. They’d have flat asses, no man-boobs—just the beer belly.
So my thinking is that the only way to lose that huge tumor hanging off the front of the body is to quit drinking beer. The cause of the belly is obvious, and so is the solution. If a person is unwilling to do that, then he’s pretty much stuck with his tumor. Might as well get used to it, give it a name, treat it like a lady, etc. The only other way to lose the belly is to add exercise to the point where there’s a huge caloric deficit—over 1,000 calories a day. That, or diet very strictly.
Swan had attended an afternoon Mass at the local Catholic church.
So she’s a practicing Catlick. I don’t think that was ever made clear before, or did I not pay attention?
He should have put an anchor on her heart.
Okay, that “drifted apart” pun was so fucking stupid that it made me laugh.
re: “Walk of Life”
Have you seen the YouTube video series that proves “Walk of Life” can be used as the end-credit music for any movie or TV show?
Welcome to the Walk of Life Project.
Kev, when I took the photo, I noticed the lack of an ending quotation mark, and I thought of you–Kevin is not going to like this! 🙂
Regarding the beer belly, we’ll see what happens. I need to find out what about beer fuels that growth. I checked my bottle of Zero last night and confirmed it has 2.5 carbs per serving. Granted, I’ll have several servings, but still less than a slice of cake. Non-beer, no-carb alternatives like gin/soda have other issues associated with them that may ultimately be worse than being fat. Anyway, I’ll do some research and see what I can come up with.
Swan is an occasional churchgoer, but that’s the first time she’s done a Wednesday mass that I know of. She is not overtly religious (i.e., she doesn’t say grace or do the sign of the cross thing) and keeps her beliefs to herself (she hasn’t tried to get me to join her).
No, I hadn’t seen that Walk of Life Project before. Hilarious! Thanks for sharing!
Hmmm, I dont know. I dont think that there is a difference between where on your body you get fat. I think it is pretty much impossible to target fat in one part of the body and leave other parts unaffected.
(PS. Not a doctor nor do I play on on TV)
Brian, I don’t know either. I’ve lost weight before, including the belly, and I aim to do so again. The belly does seem to be the last to go. Now, if it came down to choosing between beer and a flat stomach, I would become an advocate for Fat Pride.