Xtreme!!!

July has been a heavy month to be sure. The weekend of the 4th was a much needed deviation from the madness of Corporate America, I spent the weekend with Rachel and her family in Walnut Creek and then spent the rest of the weekend here in the city. I took on the project of painting my room, and as nice as 12' vaulted ceilings look they are an absolute beeyatch to paint and the whole project took me 3 days. Fortunately the result is much better.

This weekend is the SF AIDS Walk, and since Rachel works for them I've been conscripted to help out. Get this, because I demanded a job that didn't suck in return for my coerced participation, I get to be in charge of a fleet of golf carts and get a walkie-talkie. Obviously, this pleases me and anyone else who had walkie-talkies growing up. Its going to be an intense couple days for sure though. Saturday is a two-hour orientation so the incompetent people who volunteer can be told what to do (only to screw it up later), and the rest of us can have our time wasted. On Sunday, I'll be there from something like 6am to 6pm. As much as I bitch about this though, I know it will be fun and I'm paired up with Rachel's dad (who is a cool guy) so it should be fun (in contrast to the excruciating amount of bullshit I'm sure to incur).

Next week, on Monday night and during the day Tuesday, I'll get to hang out with my sister and I am super stoked. Kim and I haven't really spent a lot of time together since I moved to CA and I'm really looking forward to doing a lot of the fun stuff in the city she hasn't seen yet. Things we're going to see include SF Ferry Building Farmers Market, Land's End (not the store), the Marina, and possibly Pac Heights and the Wharf. We're meeting up Monday at about 6p, so hopefully I'll get to show her around Russian Hill before everything closes for the evening.

12 Goals Update:

The gym is brutalizing me. That fitness goal being hit by mid-september is going to be a Herculean challenge as I had no idea how freakin' outta shape I am. I've been going regularly, and I've noticed some minor improvements, but it has only been two weeks. Hopefully the gains will get somewhat more exponential, but I really enjoy the workout plan I'm on and look forward to going to the gym.

Abalone diving looks like its going to happen in September and I'm really looking forward to it. All the permits, etc. is going to cost somewhere around $80, but I'm going with my roommate Nick and a co-worker of his, so I think I may actually get to go twice since we all feel the need to get our money's worth.

The healthy diet thing is going well. Cooking at home allows me to knock out some of those new dishes I want to cook (see goal #6). Its been a high protein, low fat/carb diet while I work on losing the last of the weight I want to lose and get past the initial gains from working out. As soon as I get to the "regular workout", then it'll change slightly and I'll have a little more freedom (see: addiction to powdered doughnuts, Ben & Jerry's Mission to Marzipan).

Relearning Arabic is going to be tough and is probably going to be reduced to buying the Rosetta Stone set. I'll probably look more into that around Christmas (ironically enough).

That's all for now, folks.

Enjoy.

12 Goals (update)

This weekend was intense in that I had a ton to do and got all of it accomplished. I think it was the first weekend that has happened in 3 years or so.

An update to the 12 goals I posted last week are that I learned to make Guacamole and Salsa Verde and I established my fitness goal after having a free physical trainer session at the 24hour fitness I just joined that totally destroyed me.

My goal is to do all the workouts below using either my body weight or weights equal to the same amount.

Bench (150lbs): 3 sets x 12-15 reps
Squat (150lbs): 3 sets x 12-15 reps
Dead lift (150lbs): 3 sets x 12-15 reps
Seated Row (75 lbs): 3 sets x 12-15 reps
Biceps (25lbs): 3 sets x 12-15 reps
Dips: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
Bike: 30 min @ 75+ rpm

Given where I am right now, my goal is to be at this level by September 18th. It's going to be pretty tough, but I'm confident that once I get past the initial gains and actually get into the routine it will be easier to progress more quickly.

Here are the recipes for the two things I learned to make this weekend.

Rachel’s Guacamole
4-5 avocados
½ (ish) red or white onion – chopped
1 lime – juiced
1 bunch cilantro – finely chopped
1 jalapeno – take out seeds, finely chopped
Garlic salt
Cayenne pepper

Mix in large bowl.

Salsa Verde
1 1/2 lb tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 Jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
Salt to taste

Cut tomatillos in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.
Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, chili peppers, sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed.
Season to taste with salt.
Cool in refrigerator.

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

Enjoy.