MLK Weekend- Rolex challege update!

In my quest to lose weight (and after all that exersizing) I am down only 4 pounds to 297. I seem to go up and down and up and down. I am exersizing (cardio/lifting weights) and my clothes are getting loose. But...The weight is not dropping as quickly as I would like. I know the problem - DIET!! I really have to make my diet simple - clean chicken, fish, and vegetables with a occasional serving of fruit. Once I get on board with this I should be fine.
I spent all day watching football-but I did clean the car today! Its nice and shiny now. When its clean and running good I dont want to get rid of it. But she may have to go.
I learned Billy blanks has a new workout DVD...I saw the commercial on TV and Im going to have to check it out. Probaly not going to buy it..Need to save some money...plus I have enough workout dvds..Im not trying to start a collection. I just want to get in shape.
Getting in shape is hard work!!!!! But Im going to win the ROLEX challenge..If i have to eat cabbage soup to make the goal..Im going to do it. Ill post a picture with my next post..Im out!!

2011 is here and Im back!!

Wow..Where can I start..lets start with the bad news..I lost my Iphone!!! This really upsets me because I had a lot contact and day to day info on it!!! I had to go and get a temp phone until I can get another one . So ill have to work on contacting everyone and using my notes and email to get everyone's contact information. Ok enough about my carelessness.
"Announcement!'" I have been challeged by motoko to lose 80 pounds by my retirement date of May 31 2011. The goal weight is 220. We named the challenge "The Rolex Challenge" because she has promised to award me one upon my victory. Notice I didn't say "if". I said when and upon. Key words when you know you are going to do it. I know I have a few naysayers.. But I can show you better than I can tell you. As a matter of fact I am going to document it on this blog. So every week you can check and see the progress. Right now im at 301.5. Yep thats right. check the pics to see what 300 pounds on me looks like.

First week 7 pounds lost..

Its not exactly biggest loser stats but i have only been at this for one week officially. My official starting weight is 305 and now im down to 297. My goal is to post once a week and record my weight loss. Im going to shoot for 3 pounds a week. If those jokers on the biggest loser can drop anywhere from 8 - 32 pounds a week, then surely i can handle 3 pounds weekly. Im eating cleaner than before but not perfect, but right now thats not my major concern. Im more concerned on being consistent with my trips to the gym. I can say im doing a decent job at that.
Im going to stick with it and see where it takes me, because I know exactly what happens when you do nothing...Ive traveled that road. Lets see where a decent daily effort gymwise will take me this year in regards to fitness.
im saving money right now to grant myself prizes at certain points. 25 pounds lost will earn me some new fancy gym shoes...50 pounds lost will earn me a nice chain I had my eye on at zales, and 75 pounds loss will earn me a weekend trip to see the lakers at staples or the warriors at golden state in which i will spare no expense reasonable. If i reach my goal weight of 210-stand by, I cant reveal what im going to do..but im going to treat myself big...real big.
So to all I say continue to persue those 2010 goals.

IM BACK- for 2010

Hey all im back from my 7 month hiatus off my entries. All i can say is that Im happy to see 2010 because so many people didnt get to see it. 2009 taught me alot about how expensive it can be not to properly plan for the things you want to do. I have learned my lesson and Ill take the knowledge along with the experience.

From my vacation trip to vegas-to my suprise trip to North Carolina - I learned that there are a couple of things id like to do in 2010.

1. Im going to reread the Bible again from front t back.

2. Im going to get into shape..( I have been saying this for years..stopped-started, stopped-started,. Its a easy pattern...its like this...oh its satuday, im going to start eating clean on monday..let me grab this cheesesteak sandwich right quick..then you eat it, feeling good because you are going start fresh on monday right??Well what happens...On monday (1) you forget to bring your lunch, or (2) Somebody brings doughnuts to the office, or three..on your way from work you pass good old KFC..and you think I would rob somebody right now for some chicken wings..then you get them because you say you can start the next day...then its something else..or you go good for two weeks..it starts raining outside or you get distracted and before you know it you have missed two workout days. then you say im good for now, ill start later as you order a large fries with that chicken sandwich.

Well ive already started..and I expect fully to have setbacks..but there is no quit this year. How can I be so sure you say...because I gave myself a incentive....Also im going to chart my progress with all who read this...

3. Im going to put a effort into keeping contact with folks...Im always thinking that people are busy because im busy sometimes so I procrastinate in calling..but this year..ill call them anyway.

Ive got a couple more but those are between me and the Lord....

Right now im a little bit sore because of all days i decided to lift weights and hit the stairmaster. The stairmaster aint no joke. but everyone knows that if you arent wore out after your workout then it wasnt a workout...

Now its time for random items and observations....

1. My new favorite subway sub is seafood/on wheat. I know the crabmeat is fake but its still good to me.

2. Im pretty much done with facebook. Vicki killed it for me..Ill now read posts from time to time but i know how to contact those i need to contact and those who need to contact me know how as well.

3. Im considering giving up pork...Ill keep you posted on this one..I need to control the B/P.(blood pressure)

4. I keep seeing the informercial with the same little boy and girl who needs help in africa..and its the same scene...and the same boy. Why hasnt the people filming this kickedin a few dollars for some potatoes and vegetables? Id be more inclined to give if they showed me different people everytime who needed the help. whenever i see the same sad face, im thinking someone else is spending that money and not little akebe.

Well gotta go...

Back from Sea

I just got back from my first underway period in about 13years. Being on a aircraft carrier is just like I remembered it. The ship is built like a maze, with lots of ladderwells and hatches that you need to go through to get were you need to go. What does mean to the layman who has never been to a ship, Lots of climbing narrow stairwells. Sleeping in a small coffin size rack (bed) stacked 3 high. 30-100 people showering and using the same bathroom, which only has 3 showers, 5 sinks and 4 toilets. 12-16 hour workdays. Sounds difficult? It is...But guess what, you get used to it. and it comes natural. The only thing that hurt me was the fact that I havent to long ago had knee surgery, so the old knee was acting up for the first three days. But after that, I was good.
My new job is taking me some time to get used to. Im learning on the fly, while ensuring that my 12 guys are being taken care of. Mind you that only 4 of my guys work in my office, the other 8 have different jobs and responsibilities when we go to the ship, but im their supervisor, and they have to see me for everything. Then If I cant solve the problem, then I go to my supervisor, who pretty much wants me to use my own judgement. Which you learn to do very quickly in the military. The more you supervisor is out of the office, the better. Taking care of the people is not so difficult for me, the difficult part during this sea period for me was traking correspondence, reading evaluations and correcting as neccessary, and reading and rewriting awards packages. Not to mention you see the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer every day and they all know me well, because Im the only one for my rate and rank in the squadron. I cannot just blend in and work. They all have to come through my office for something, because we take care of their paperwork before they sign it. I havent even began to talk about the different things they want me to take on while im here. As you know from reading my previous blogs, I have made a few mistakes while learning the ropes. But you cant let mistakes or missteps slow you down. To be honest, my only advantage is my experience in being passed taskings or jobs that take me WAYYYYYYY out of my comfort zone. With all this being said this two week underway period -seemed like two months. The days stretched out longer than any days I can remember. And when it was time to go and we got off the ship, It felt like we had broken out of Shawshank. (If you dont recognize that reference, check out the movie "The Shawshank Redemption). But on the positive side, the food wasnt to bad(they have a chicken line-(a line where you get only chicken, drummettes, fried, baked) a black mans dream. And im not being stereotypical either, if you would has saw us eating them wings and legs, you would know. The desserts were not that great though. But this was the biggest difference from my last ship, They let you serve yourself, like a buffett line. So you know when they served barbque ribs you seen us with plates stacked to the ceiling with ribs, walking trying to balance the stack to your table. You know I couldnt figure out why we had so many hefty people on the boat with all the stair climbing and walking around required on a daily basis. But when you see those heavy plates at breakfast, lunch, and dinner - then it all becomes crystal clear.
Overall the ship wasnt that bad. The ship is huge - its like the caddilac of the ocean. But my offices is right below the flight deck, so all you hear is jet engines taking off and landing during flight operations. Its pretty loud, but eventually you tune it out. Every morning every one cleans during "spirit" for one hour (7:30-8:30) and you have to clean for the whole hour, dirty or not. Dont be caught not cleaning during this time. Unless you are supervising the cleaning.
Internet connectivity isnt the greatest. And you cannot access your personal email while underway. You have to use your official email address to get mail.
I have to load some software so I can post my pictures I took before we pulled in. Ill update later.

Movie Observations

I havent blogged in a while i know. I cant say that i couldnt have because there are several events that I could have blogged about but sometimes that procrastination bug kicks in and you let something go for a minute which has turned into a good thing for unwinding, sharing and documenting experiences, as well as keeping all those interested well informed as of what is going on with me. Im going to breifly touch on some things that I saw in the past few days that made me think.
I went to the movies the weekend before last on a whim because I went to blockbuster to return the last three CD's of "The Wire" that I rented. (I can say i am addicted to watching that series and I intend to see every last episode until the last one) When i came out of blockbuster, I zipped by the theater and saw that Tyler Perry's new movie was out. So I checked my watch and lo and behold it was about to start and ( at 2:00 in the afternoon I knew it would be the cheapest time) I went ahead and decided to see it. I was thinking at that time I would probaly be the only one in the theater watching that movie, checking the time and looking at the people in line, I felt Id have the theater to myself! But after grabbing my bag of corn, and going inside I have to say that i was suprised to see it almost full of people, not only that only a handful of us were black, the rest were of asian and latino descent. All of mixed ages. Now I knew Tyler Perry was popular, but I didnt realize how broad his fanbase was. After I watched and enjoyed the movie, I saw that not only did they watch the movie, they all sat patiently while the credits rolled afterwards ( At the same time they were showing excepts of Madea talking with Dr. Phil).
In my mind, All I could think of if Tyler Perry could imagine all this success back in the days when he was struggling, and how wise it was of him to make plays and movies which showcase normal everyday struggles, the importance of family and friends, and the importance of prayer and faith in God. I can easily see why he is so blessed. I feel that its Gods way of saying and showing that when you put Him first, there is no limit to His blessings.
Any body who knows me, knows that I love cars, especially fast ones. Every now and then I see a sleek new Corvette, Porsche 911, or Ferarri and automatically I think to myself, Man It must be nice being them (drivers of said cars) then you look at your car and I feel I have a ways to go to being successful. But God will quickly point out to me how blessed I am, because not soon after Ill always see somebody on the side of the road in a rattletrap, or ill see people waiting in the hot sun or wind at a bus stop, knowing that the bus is probaly running late. These things remind me to stay in my lane, thankful for my blessings, and even though I am always striving to improve I cannot take what I have now for granted. Because I am smart enough to know that it can all be gone in a nanosecond, and I can be walking from point a to point b as cars pass me by.

Uncommon

So far being at the squadron I have learned that I am going to have a lot of responsibilities and that includes tracking alot of things. So I am learning things fast and working hard to retain everthing as I learn it. My supervisor and sponsor are ready and willing to turn everything over to me and pretty much let me run the show. I just havent figured out yet exactly how im going to do things Its hectic and will be stressful for a while until I learn everything and bring my self up to speed. But just like anybody I want to do a good job and support the mission as best I can. Everyone knows me already and they call me by my rate. Which should be pretty easy because Im the admin LPO and its not exactly easy to blend in when you are 6"3 and weigh 295. No one would pick me as the "admin guy" If they didnt know already what I did.
Right now my "Book of the Year" nomination is "Uncommon" by Tony Dungy. If you dont know he was the former coach of the Indianapolis Colts who was the first black head coach to lead a team to a Super Bowl victory. Have you ever read a book and you read a sentence or paragraph that is so profound that you have to read it out loud to make sure the knowlege stays with you. You want to remember it and use it whenever a situation requires a certain decision. I always choose a book based on the criteria that if I open it up to a random page, start reading and the story draws me and and flows to where I want to keep reading right there in the store, Its a good chance Im going to buy the book. But this book is on the money. Its about finding your path to significance. What make this book insightful for me is that Im always interested in how people overcome different obstacles on the way to success. I enjoy hearing about the failures and the lesson from the failure. The book talks basically about Coach Dungys experiences and how he strives to do things in a way which God would approve. Its written with Christian principles, but with simple common-sense lessons which he learned and applied to become successful. I read the whole book in four days, even when I should have been sleeping I was reading the book. Its a excellent guide for the young male who isnt sure how to carry himself in this day and time. I could go on and on but I wont. Buy it for yourself and see.

Well anyway the lessons from this book helped me feel better about a embarrassing mistake I made today. We were all in a room for training and after the training, the MasterCheif(highest ranking enlisted guy at the command) was talking and he asked if anybody had anything to put out. My cheif whispered in my ear about some worksheets that needed to be sighned. So i wanted to wait till he finished to put the information out. And thats what I did. However I learned that before he talks he askes "Does anyone have anything to put out ?" Then everyone who has something to say, then says it. However after everyone spoke, He started speaking on other things. After he finished and I said " I got something to put out" and i told the people about the worksheets that needed to be sighned. Well it turns out that I spoke WAAAAAAAY OUT OF TURN. After the MasterCheif speaks, the meeting is officially over and nothing is to be said. What ever you say, you supposed to put it out before he starts speaking. But I didnt know that. So he walked out, and my supervisor and sponsor, looked at me kind of shocked but amused. So the mastercheif turns around and says, PS1 I need to talk to you. So I go and he politely explains to me the way it goes. And he was cool because he knew that i didnt know the rules. And i think everyone else knew, that I didnt know as well. I know im going to catch some good natured flack for my gaffe, and I am still embarrassed about it. But overall I had to realize that sometimes you are not going to get it right. And although I know this, reading Coach Dungy's book helped drive this point and many other points home. I have my own way of doing things but looking at certain things from his perspective in the book convinced me that I need to change the way I look at certain things. What seems like failure or misfortune, could be God's will to prepare you for whats ahead. I can relax and chill because when I give some guidance and talk to younger folk than myself, I can include my mistake at the squadron as a tool/example on the importance of attention to detail and knowing the proper protocol before you speak to a group of people.
Im going to save this book to stay in my personal book archive. Only the best and most informative books get this great honor. Let me know if you read it.