Back on Dat Hardbody Sh*t

Got my black a$$ up this morning to go running before work...It was cold as hell. I was out there on my "Rocky" sh*t. Ain't no other ni@@a runnin through the hood at 7 in the morning (unless it's from the police). If you haven't noticed by my lack of discussing it, I haven't worked out in about 2 weeks. Starting to feel pudgy (it's all in my mind, but who cares). I got down to 182 at one point, as of last night, I'm 188.

Watch me now...

In the Right Direction

"It's a very slow process - two steps forward, one step back - but I'm inching in the right direction."

- Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner, director of some of my favorite ever (The Princess Bride, A Few Good Men, Ghosts of Mississippi, etc.), was talking about making a movie, but I think this quote applies to my life right now. I've learned so much about myself and my own thought processes, what was right, what was wrong, etc. and I feel like 20 years from now, I'm going to look back at this period of my life as critical to the success I will achieve in the future. But given all of my progress, some days are still easier than others. Some days I feel more negative energy than I would like, but the difference is now I'm more aware of the energy I put out, and how people react to it. I've dedicated myself to the positive, not by ignoring or compartmentalizing negative thoughts or actions, but by facing the source of that negativity and conquering it. I've begun to pray aloud every night before I rest my head (I've noticed that for me, speaking aloud allows me to channel what my spirit is really feeling in a way that praying in my head doesn't. My mind tends to go all over the place when I try to talk to God within my head.), and I have noticed the effect it has on my general disposition (which I've admitted in prior blogs, can be "inconsistent").

In other news, I've been receiving compliments about my improving physique and I'm loving every minute of it. As I've said earlier in blogs, I've decided that I'm going to take every step to make the person that I am in this real world match the person that I want to be in my mind's eye, and being in shape is part of my foundation for achieving that. I have always linked physical and mental discipline, not saying that you can't have one without the other, but even science recognizes the link between diet, physical activity, and mental function. I kind of wish I would've taken before and after pictures so I could see what other people see, but it is what it is. I just know if I keep working out everyday, good things will happen. That's my fitness plan in a nutshell.

On the job side, I'm trying to find another clerk job at another prestigious law firm. In my current situation, I am learning from the big homies how to hustle, but that has never been who I am and I don't want it to be. No matter how good your hustle is, I've never been a fan of the inherent inconsistency associated with it. You can't raise a family on a hustle, but you can on a job. Plus, hustlers don't have benefits or a retirement plan, and I'm a fan of both. Call me square playa, but like Popeye the Sailor, "I yam what I yam!"

yurp.

Obama & Health Care

Watched Obama's address to health care on Obama and was, as usual, hopeful after another of Obama's "preacher-esque" speeches. I agree that universal health care is a moral issue, not a political one. How we treat the least of us says a lot about the best of us. I do not call myself democrat or republican, but do tend to vote for the democratic candidate simply out of my "lesser of two evils" logic. While I do agree with the Republican ethos of financial conservatism, I do note how they, like most politicians, choose to assert these "core beliefs" when it suits them best. Obama properly noted that it was Republican policies that gave the nation a trillion dollar deficit, and find it extremely hypocritical that their main criticism is how much universal health care would cost. Indeed, the progressive in me says that no one should have to pay for health care. Why even toy with the idea of a public option? If I could choose to get government subsidized health care at a cheaper cost than private, what halfway intelligent consumer wouldn't choose the public option? The fact that the US is the only advanced nation without a universal health care system doesn't suggest that Americans are smarter than everyone else. It just means that we are behind. Honestly, I don't believe Obama when he says he can pass this health care reform without adding any money to the deficit, but I will say that it shouldn't matter. Some things are so much more important than the national deficit. Shouldn't the right to see a doctor if you're sick or injured be one of those things?

Sidenote: Hopped on the scale today and say 185.4. Doing it without losing any strength on my bench press. I recently started a routine of 300 bicycles in the morning and 300 more at night before bed. I'm a little tipsy because I had a couple drinks to celebrate my man's b-day at the studio tonite. I'm bout to go do my 300 now. You can call that discipline ladies and gents .

Health Update

Scale says 189.0!

Did 21 pullups today!

Losing weight but getting stronger...hooray for me!