Boo

Welcome aboard the Train Activeonly. Good call on giving up the smokes. I wondered to myself before I quit: will I ever be able to relax again? The answer turned out to be an emphatic yes. In fact, getting off of the nonstop rollercoaster of get a fix, withdrawal, get another fix, withdrawal...led to me feeling more relaxed. Commit to the process and you too will get there. Quitting smoking is one of the best things you will ever do for yourself.

If enough is good, more than enough is better. And...it's that kind of thinking that led Boo to quit drinking.

I worried about being around other smokers when I decided to quit. Strange thing is: from the very start, other people smoking didn't affect me one way or the other. I was indifferent to it it all. Take it as it comes.

Taking inventory of Christmas decorations and making plans for turning the house into a Winter Wonderland. This will be Miss Maddie's first Christmas and we're going big-time this year. We have already been collecting decorations along the way. This morning I bought more lights, a six-foot tall Santa Claus decoration, and an inflatable Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that lights up. Sugar Britches asks me: "are we overdoing it?" I replied: " we're just getting started."

It's been a while since I checked in on this thread. I've remained consistent with the workouts and over the last couple of weeks have started to clean up the diet. I designed a program that is both effective and efficient. Workout four days-a-week(Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday). Start off with fifteen minutes on the Concept 2 rower. Then strength work: Monday and Thursday (Squats, Overhead Press, and Bench Press) Tuesday and Friday (Deadlift, Chin-Ups, and Farmer's Walk). And I finish up the workout with five rounds of boxing on the heavy bag. I've decreased the volume on my strength work dropping the number of sets to three and keeping the reps at five. I've reached that age where you need to make sure you're not getting diminishing returns by doing more volume.

Something magical about that number. Good job WeegieWoman.

Detachment is a powerful tool when dealing with stressful situations. We conditioned ourselves for years to believe that smoking relieves stress. A stressful situation pops up and our default setting is to reach for a smoke. That's when you have to step back from the situation and give it good look. Take a little pause for the cause and calm your mind. You already know what the right answer is, but emotions can muddy the mental waters.

It takes time, but you'll get there. During the early days of my quit, not smoking felt really weird. Now, the thought of smoking a cigarette is so weird it is difficult for me to comprehend. Buckle up, knuckle down, and drive on.

Way to go Mac.

Welcome aboard Jswiss. You've done one of the best things you can do for yourself by quitting smoking. Good call. Physical exercise and deep breathing exercises helped get me through the worst of the cravings during the early days of my quit. Stay the course and enjoy the ride.

Feeling slightly more high-tech than I was this morning. I finally broke down and got a new cellphone this afternoon. Didn't really have an option. I needed to download an app for work and my phone was too old. It said something about "iOS is not supported" or some such thing...I don't know, I don't speak robot. Now, if I can figure out where to insert the floppy disk in this thing I'll be making good time down the old information superhighway.

What kind of paper are we dealing with: single ply, double ply, triple ply, recycled? There are multiple variables in this equation. I don't want to quote a job based on incomplete information.

Watched the movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood last night. Good movie...not great. The soundtrack was one of the real highlights of the film.

My approach is methodical but simple. I found the optimal number of sheets and the optimal way of folding said sheets. Now, the process repeats itself automatically. There is no way to say this with any humility: there is a subtle genius in the way I go about my life.

It's looking that way Jillar. I'm a folder. I fold the same number of sheets the same way every time. I like consistency in the process. Plus, folders use less paper. And in the wake of the great toilet paper shortage of 2020 that makes us the heroes in this debate.

Good work John. Congratulations.

Damn. John Prine is gone. Jerry Jeff Walker left us last week. And now, Billy Joe Shaver has passed away. The music will live on forever, but there are now many good songs that will never be written.

This song legitimately scared me when I was a kid. It didn't help matters that one of my friend's older brother told me the song conjured up the devil. He waited until Ozzy said "Oh No!" and snuck up behind us and started screaming. That guy was pretty cool most of the time but could be a real dick at other times. And on a lighter note...

Thanks Doreen. The only rolling songs I could think of were the theme song from "Rawhide" and I did a little rearrangement of a Creedence Clearwater Revival song. I call it "Proud Maddie." I know Limp Bizkit did some awful song called "Rollin'", but I struck that song from consideration immediately. Part of my job as a father is to protect my daughter from terrible bands like Limp Bizkit.

Jerry Jeff Walker, aka Scamp Walker, aka The Great Gonzo rode off into the sunset. Many a memory is brought back to life with each and every Jerry Jeff song I listen to.

Great job Layla. Congratulations.

Roger that! Stay the course Christine.