Memoirs of a Soon-to-Be Former Fat Guy

Good morning!

I write this after a long night. No, that does not mean that I’ve been up all night. It just means that it was a learning experience.

See, my office recently celebrated a milestone. Some two million work hours without a day-away case. Basically, that means we are working safely. That’s saying something… we’re a printing company and there are presses, tow motors, basically all sorts of heavy stuff that can do serious bodily harm if not respected. To go two million hours without anyone being maimed or killed or worse is pretty good. As such, they decided to throw a “make your own sub” party to celebrate.

Now, given more former girth, I don’t have to say that I was always a big fan. Think about it… piles upon piles of unhealthy meats and carbs, not to mention that you could thrown some lettuce and tomato on top and kid yourself you were making it healthy. Don’t get no better than that.

Of course, just because I’m embracing a healthier lifestyle doesn’t mean I don’t like lunch meats and I wanted to participate, because, well, it’s like a bonus. So, as I trudged down to the party site (step… thump, step… thump) I concocted a strategy for making the most out of my sub experience. I obviously couldn’t have the roll… a little too much bread, but I thought why couldn’t I have some meat and cheese? After all, it’s protein and protein is important.

This wasn’t how I planned it, but it was my reality

So, I picked up a slice of provolone, a slice of American, and one slice each of bologna, salami, ham and turkey. The cheese and turkey went down fine. One bite of the salami was enough to make me pitch it… nasty. The ham, though, was very fatty. VERY fatty. And, well, it didn’t stay down long. So, lesson learned. Stay away from fatty meat. In this case, advantage: Joe.

In other news, the toe that just won’t heal has caused me six weeks of issues. After multiple visits to the podiatrist, I’m not feeling confidence that it’s helping. I understand that he thinks Betadyne will dry the wound, but it doesn’t seem to be healing. I dug into my bag of tricks and discovered some prescription stuff that the wound care doctors had given me for a prior toe issue and have opted to go that route. So far, it seems to be working pretty well… if I don’t show marked improvement by my next appointment, I’m ditching Mr. Foot Guy and going back to the wound care doc, who is named Paul Rogers. And no, he doesn’t periodically tour with Queen. Different spelling. Either way, I have to do something, because this is killing me to be so inactive. Plus, sleeping with one foot hanging out is kind of a pain in the ass.

It’s funny, though… even the boys have noticed my frustration level. I was at the fitness center yesterday and although they keep telling me to not get down about it, it’s so hard not to. The wearing of the boot, coupled with the uncertainty of when I’ll get it off just really wreaks havoc in your mind. If I knew that I had “x” number of days to go, well, it would really do wonders in making life a little better. Or, at least, give me an idea of how long my sentence will be. I know I shouldn’t let it get to me, but that little voice is there in the back of your head saying, “Remember, Brian, thou art mortal.”

So, this upcoming weekend is National Train Day. I’m planning on meeting up with a friend at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and touring the equipment they will have on display. It’s always nice to ride the rails and since I’m an equipment geek, I like to walk through the various trains and private rail cars they have on display. We had discussed going to Washington, since they are offering excursions on an Acela trainset, however, given my new eating reality, we thought it best to just make it a day trip. Should still be fun.

At any rate, hope that everyone has a fun weekend and that you can kick back and enjoy some weather that will supposedly be very nice. Talk to you more after Train Day.

Song of the Day: She Sells Sanctuary – The Cult