Yet another observational blog.

I recently decided to put my time back into professional wrestling.  The reason is simple, really: I was bored.  Life isn't the same without professional wrestling, and my main reasons for not wanting to do it any more have since been removed from the equation.

On a related note, I recently found out that I'm part of an organization that destroyed someone's life.  The funny thing was that we, as an organization, were totally unaware that we were destroying this person's life, or even how we did it.  But they say it's the case, so...

On yet ANOTHER related note, it's amazing how well the teamwork in this organization has improved since we destroyed this person's life.  We're starting to run like a well-oiled machine...something that many of us were frightened wouldn't happen again.

Since starting CrossFit, my understanding of my body's capacities, both from a genetic and an age standpoint, have changed considerably.  I am able to do things that I never thought I would do.  I understand my strengths and weaknesses.  I know what to expect when I start an effort, and have the knowledge that, even if I can't do something quickly, I can still do it.

I will never beat the people I work out with in terms of time taken to perform a task unless the task requires such power and strength that everyone else can barely perform it.  There are a few workouts we've done that involved tasks that only I could perform.  Unfortunately, those are few and far between.

On Saturday I was involved in a workout with some of the other SPW folks prior to Punkslam.  At one point we were running.  A few people were starting to line up behind me, so I moved to the outside and said, "go ahead and pass, I'm not going to go any faster than this."  The response was, "but you have lightening bolts on your outfit!" to which I responded, "yeah, and I run about as fast as a 240 lb bolt of lightning can!"

I no longer have to selectively accept tagged photos so that the ones that get me from the right angle are posted.  My body is quickly approaching the shape I want it to be in...approaching 1 year of CrossFit!

Oh, and remember: girls are pretty, girls are nice, take your chances, roll the dice.

I have decided to cancel my Halloween Party.  Mostly, it's for the exact reasons why I didn't want to have the party to start with...it's a lot of work, and I didn't want to do it all myself.
So, sorry for those who were looking forward to it.

Ok, my diet right now is focused on gaining strength and mass.  I think I want to lose more weight (probably in a vain attempt to get my abs to start showing), so here's what I'm going to have to do to get down to 225:

*  Be more strict about Paleo:  I cheat.  A LOT.  I need to be more aware of my cheats and limit them.
*  Reduce my milk intake:  This is going to hurt, because I rely on whole milk for much of my protein and calories, not to mention I've grown to love drinking it.  I credit milk with much of my strength progress, but I drink about half a gallon a day, and it's responsible for keeping some fat on my frame.
*  Limit fruit to meals:  I've been snacking on fruit a lot.  These are extra sugars that I can cut out of my intake.  This is simple...I'll just go back to nuts as my snacking choice, and limit fruits to my meals as a dessert item.

And finally, there's the last item:

*  Push harder on CrossFit:  I don't know how realistic this is; it feels like I'm killing myself every day already.  :)

Sometimes I feel like I can't be satisfied in my relationships; can any one woman ever give me exactly what I'm looking for?
Then I laugh at some of the hilarity that I've experienced in my dating life since my divorce.  Here is a quick inventory of my significant relationships since then, and why they ended...

Sarah:  She was seriously an alien.  There was no identifying with that girl.
Renee:  I could never do right by her...all she ever talked about was what was wrong with me.  Additionally, she was a passive-aggressive manipulator.
The other Sarah:  Too young.  She was oh so sweet, but in a different place than I was.
Cate:  Yeah, I'm not commenting on this one right now.  :p

I was sort of worried that I've had too many relationships (meaning that I concern myself with using and discarding women), but I guess 4 girlfriends in 6 years isn't bad.

Watch this video.
This is a tweenbot...a simple little device with spinning wheels, and a smiling face armed only with a little sign telling people where it wants to go.  Watch as numerous random people in the park, for no reason other than they want to help the little guy, correct his course and help him get where he wants to go.
Stuff like this makes me cry.






The tweenbots site claims this little guy made it to his destination. In fact, every tweenbot ever released has made it, sometimes including being saved from obvious danger. The video was shot with a camera hidden in a purse.

My weight has leveled out, it appears, at around 246 lbs.  I still watch the pounds slowly tick down, but I keep gaining a few pounds back every time I have a cheat day, which then go away over the next few days to a week.
That's fine, really.  I'm still gaining muscle, so that means I'm still losing fat.  Just slowly.
I've also pretty much completely shifted to my modified Paleo diet.
Here is my current diet/workout system:

8am:  Turkey sausage, 2 eggs, portabella mushrooms, berries, whole milk
10am:  Oats & Whey protein shake
11am:  Chicken and veggies, whole milk
4pm:  Protein shake w/ BCAA and Creatine
5pm:  CrossFit!
6:30pm:  Chicken (or Salmon) and veggies, yogurt, fruit, whole milk or fruit juice
Some time during the day:  multivitamin, fish oil, glucosamine

If I get hungry throughout the day, I eat a handful of roasted nuts (I need to find a place where I can get these unsalted) and drink a glass of whole milk.
My estimated protein intake at this point is somewhere between 180 and 200g.  I still intake relatively more carbohydrates than I should, but the number is WAY below what it used to be.
I won't be removing milk from my intake.  Strictly speaking, that violates the Paleo diet, but it's a ready source of protein and calories that my body needs.  The same goes for the protein shakes.
The yogurt will probably go soon, since the fruit I'm eating at dinner time does the same job, but does it better.
I also need to find different ways to prepare my lunch and dinner.  I *love* breakfast, but I eat lunch and dinner the way I do because I know it's good for me.  Alternative food sources, and alternative ways to prepare the food are needed.

I'm recording this here for two reasons:  I want to refer back to this as I refine it, and a few people have asked me about it.
This is my current weight-cutting diet and exercise program.

8am:  Corn Chex and 1% milk (TODO: find a better nutritional alternative)
10am:  Oats and whey protein shake, supplements: tribulus, multi-vitamin, glucosamine, thermogen
Noon:  Chicken breast (or fish), veggies, 1% milk, supplement: fish oil
2pm:  Supplement: thermogen
4pm:  Hi-5 protein shake, supplements: BCAA, creatine
5pm:  CrossFit (if I haven't sweated entirely through my clothing, I haven't worked hard enough)
6pm:  Chicken breast, veggies, fruit juice, fruit, yogurt
9pm:  If I'm hungry, I'll eat whatever I feel like (TODO: as I wean off of eating garbage, replace this with a healthy snack)

I'm going to stay with this program until my weight loss levels off.  Then I'll aim at correcting the 8am and 9pm intake.
Right now I feel like I have problems getting my body to accept all of the food I'm trying to feed it, and the weight is still flying off.  I'm a little concerned I'm not getting enough protein (guidance is around 200g for my lean body mass weight; I think I'm getting more like 160g), but the improved 8am and 9pm meals down the road should be built to resolve that.

Notes from last night:
*  CrossFit hurts.  I'm a naturally strong runner, but put me in a situation where I have to run and then do 10 pull-ups, and do it all over again (and AGAIN), and it's cruel and unusual punishment.
*  The operatic version of Ave Maria makes me cry.  I've come to realize that one of the only remaining ways into my heart is through my faith.
*  I struggle to find things to say if I'm asked what I'm scared of.  Gay buttsecks is the only thing that I can easily say I'm frightened of.

Ok, there's a whole lot of ground to cover, so let's fire these suckers out:
*  Halloween party was, in a word, amazing.  It took a lot of work, however, and with the likelihood that I'll join the Freemasons soon and help plan and build their haunt for next year, it's unlikely that I'll do it again.
*  Have you ever tried to patch someone up with superglue and band aids?  It's not as easy as you might imagine it being.
*  I stayed at home and handed out candy on Halloween night.  I had a surreal moment where a trick-or-treater came to my door and said, "hey, it's a professional wrestler!"
*  The Terror is done performing for a few months unless someone approaches us and asks us to play some special event.  We'll be taking advantage of the time to write new material, refine our existing material, and prepare to record a full-length CD.
*  I've begun the long crawl back to fitness.  The Deck of Doom is not your friend, but it's a great work-out.
*  Cate continues to prove why she's the best/most supportive girlfriend I've ever had.  I shouldn't need to to say more than that; most of you have probably seen her in action.  Not only is she supportive, she supplies the common sense that I lack so that I don't seriously injure myself acting like an idiot (as I'm prone to).
That's it for now.  I hope things are going well for all of you in your corners of the world.

This weekend was the Sacramento Horror Film Festival.  I spent the majority of the weekend there helping out behind the scenes.  That meant lots of horror movies and music (and I walked away with the inspiration for two new songs).
I'll be honest, I watched both of the other bands that played the Festival looking for things to steal from their performances.  From Insect in particular, I learned that lights and lasers (and the general visuals) can be used to overwhelm and saturate an audience.  Their music reinforced to me that focusing on the visual aspect of a performance is very important.  I am a musician, but more importantly, I am an entertainer.
Sunday rolled around, and I spent the day getting ready for the Sacramento Horror Film Festival performance.  It might be entertaining for you to read Cate's take on the day here.  I personally got a kick out of her interpretation.
Much of the day involved mixing batches of blood for use that night.  Along with the theatrical blood (which is very expensive) I brought blood based on a "Buckets of Blood" recipe using Cherry Jello, food coloring, and water.
To make the rest of the blog short, by the end of the band performance I was literally covered head to toe in blood.  It had soaked all of my clothes, including my socks *inside* my shoes.  I had two SPW flyers stapled to my chest, and hit CJ with a weed whacker.
I played the rest of the set with flyers stapled into my chest.
We have one more show this haunt season on the Day of the Dead (November 1st).  You should plan on being there.  You can find details on The Terror's MySpace page.  In fact, while you're there, add The Terror to your friends.

Check out The Fright.  I don't think they're a well known band (yet), but they have the sound and look down.

Next weekend:  Ramon's Halloween Blow-Out, and Supreme Pro Wrestling's Halloween Show!

As I've slowly become a better drummer my role of keeping the rest of the band on track while playing a song has become more apparent.  I've learned that my Snare continually communicates song pace to the other members of the band.  I've taken it as a core element of my job to keep track of the song progression and measure count.  I've learned ways to communicate with the rest of the band that a transition is coming up by varying my playing style slightly.
Last night The Terror was working on "This Haunted House."  This song was written by CJay and I (along with contributions by everyone else, including my daughter, but CJay and I know it best).  The bridge to this song is *very* long, though, and the other two strings members of the band were having problems keeping count.
The solution?  Add a drum roll to the beginning and end of the bridge, and brief drum variation in the middle so everyone knows where we are.  Essentially, I'm doing a few extra things to communicate to the members of the band where we are in the song and keep the transitions on track.
Can't keep count?  Don't worry, the drummer will do it for you!  HAHAHAHAHA!

We were talking about the Beer BRAWL show this weekend.  It's out of town, and I'm starting to get bored of always being a zombie, so I suggested we go light makeup for the show and take the blood with us.
CJay responded by saying, "Samhain."
I said, "yeah, exactly."
It's awesome to work with people who know exactly what you're talking about and share the same artistic vision.

Hey, if you haven't received an explicit invite to my Halloween Party, don't sweat it. 
Here's the deal: I sent out a cheap invitation that took me 5 minutes to make to a select few folks (mostly the folks that I know will be very busy during the Halloween period and I knew needed to set the date aside way ahead of time).
In the meantime, my brother has designed and handed to me my "official" invitation that will be going out to everyone in just a FEW DAYS!
So, seriously, unless you're a fuck-tard (and you should know if you are) you'll get an invite.  No worries!

As for the party itself, Cate, Christina, Vanessa, and I have been working 2-4 hours a weekend visiting costume and Halloween stores, decorating the house, and planning.  We just started getting to the outside of the house this past weekend.  The house is looking *beautiful*; you should stop by to take a quick look if you get a chance.

I've dropped the idea of "fair game" zones.  Too many people expressed concern over those and wanting to avoid them.  The problem with that is that it takes a lot of work to make those operate correctly, so if people are going to avoid them it sort of makes the effort not worth it.
Well, actually, it *really* makes the effort not worth it.

I'm considering establishing an annual dedicated horror music event (all genres).  I'm curious what you folks might think about that.

For those of you who didn't know, our world comes to an end on October 14th.  Please see this video.



Not to belittle this; I hope to God the aliens arrive and shake things up here, however...
This reminded me of this video:



Enjoy!

Today was a day full of "best ever."

First off, my drum instructor, Tim Metz, is the best drum instructor ever.  Today I talked with him about Into Bedlam and the challenges I'm facing playing their music.  He transcribed portions of their music for me into sheet music (something I was having problems doing), and gave me some drills to strengthen me in my weak areas for the music, then taught me a new drum stroke to make things easier.
If you're looking for a drum instructor in the Sacramento area, Tim Metz works at The Drum Lab, a school that entirely focuses on drums.

The Axe Gang theme from Kung Fu Hustle is the best murder music ever, but partially because of how it's incorporated into the film.  Gangsters dancing, carrying hatchets, and murdering their rivals.
Who would expect a convincing series of murder scenes to occur set to this type of song?  Even more, for the murderer to look so cool while doing it?

Reality Bites Back is the best reality show on television ever.  It's sort of a guilty pleasure to vicariously and voyeuristically enjoy reality shows for me, but it's far more entertaining when the people on the shows are professional comedians.  Funny screwed up situations become even funnier and more screwed up.