It’s a two gig DJ weekend for me. I’ll be playing this song at least twice this weekend. It is awesome!
Take a listen to The Potbelleez, “Are You With Me”.
June 20, 2008
The Market Thing.
So Earl and I needed a few items from the market to get us through the weekend to our traditional grocery day. I had a total of 12 items on my list. Back in the late 1990s we could go to “Great American”, a chain of relatively small neighborhood markets. It was a little more expensive (as the stores were locally owned) than the big box stores, but it was convenient and it was always busy when we went in there. (It was also the site of the Great Chip Incident of 1999 but we’ll save that for another blog entry).
In the early oughts it was decided that two Wal*Mart Supercenters within 10 miles of our home was not enough and therefore two more were built. So, we now have four; within 25 miles of our home we have FIVE Wal*Mart Supercenters. Now THAT is selection. I hate them.
Unable to compete with these monstrosities, as well as the larger big-box grocery stores that surround the closest Wal*mart (“Always White Trash, Always”), Great American subsequently closed. The building was torn down and it was replaced by a gym that only opens between 9 and 5 on weekdays. So when we need something from the store, we are left with two choices, grab it at the local convenience store where everything is VERY expensive or drive eight miles to one of the big box grocery stores. These stores are so large you have to take a bus to get from produce to dairy. It’s not convenient and you have to deal with all the traffic that surrounds the big box arena in a local suburb.
All I want is a place where I can pick up a few items. We live in a large town, I can’t be the only person to feel this way. If we were to win the lottery tonight I would push to have a neighborhood market built right here in our lovely neighborhood.
Until then, I hate grocery shopping.
Motivated.
After sleeping in for a bit this morning, I awoke to a paw in my face (reminding me it was tuna dispensing time, logic would dictate that it was not Earl’s paw that was in my face at the time). After doing my various Daddy duties I went downstairs and started my morning ritual of checking out various blogs.
It was then that I saw the wooftastic shots posted by BrettCajun. I’ve been known to look at a few pictures of good looking guys in my day but when I saw Brett’s photos I said to myself, “if he can look that good, so can I.” I mean, we’re nearly the same age. It’s not like I’m trying to flatten my stomach to look like one of my college classmates or anything. I want to feel good about myself. I’m not nearly as heavy as I was back in 2000-2001, but I’ve crept up the scale a little bit and it’s mostly in my gut (hello beer!) So (insert favorite deity here)-damn it, I’m doing it.
I laid down a few ground rules that I plan to follow: 1. Beer consumption is limited to Saranac Thursday nights. I can’t cut out beer out of my life completely, that will lead me down the path to failure. I’ll renegotiate the beer with myself when I get to weight goal number #1 (there are a total of three). 2. No more sleeping in until I get a headache on my days off from work. I’m up exercising and getting all brisk with myself. This includes working out before work. 3. I will continue to use the new Wii Fit on various nights of the week just to keep myself in check. 4. I will continue to climb the stairs to my third floor office everyday and I will shun elevators and escalators whenever possible. 5. I will not eat after 7 p.m. unless something weird is going on with my schedule. Fat grams are always in the single digits and calories are kept at a reasonable level. 6. I’m back on the bike as soon as the sun decided to make an appearance.
Long, long ago a psychic at the State Fair told me that I wouldn’t make it to 40. I intend to prove the bitch wrong.
