Wednesday Weigh-In 20100728

It's easy to eat smaller meals when it's so hot.

Waist = 37.25"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Pre-Vacation Car Adventures

I was in the process of buying another car while planning our trip to DC. I set things in motion several weeks beforehand when I asked my mechanic to track down another used Subaru Legacy wagon for me. Our current model needed brakes, a new timing belt and was leaking oil. The Check Engine light had been on for over a year, and you could feel the springs in the seats. But when I visited him, I saw something on his lot that I liked much better -- a gleaming silver Audi wagon. As I approached it to check on the price, I jokingly told myself I'd buy it if it was under $6000. The price? It was $5990. But then I saw that it had 160,000 miles on it, so I stuck to my guns and ordered the Subaru.

A few weeks later, no Subaru, but the Audi was reduced $1000. So I asked about it. One thing led to another, and I borrowed it to drive home for the night. It was the most responsive car I ever drove. It accelerated and cornered like it was reading my mind. But the braking was spotty. And a few times I actually had trouble bringing the car to a full stop.

I drove it back the next day and complained about the brakes and a few other things, one of which was that the key would sometimes not turn in the ignition. He said he'd fix that in time for me to drive it to NY on the weekend. But when I picked it up the night before the trip, the brakes were even worse. So I drove it back, and I drove the Subaru to NY.

He finally got the brakes working better, although they seemed to pulse a bit from the rear. He ended up replacing both rotors in the rear in time for my trip. But when I went to pick it up again, the key wouldn't turn in the ignition! It was the night before my trip, and I was stuck in my mechanic's parking lot when I should have been driving home to pack and get to bed early. Fortunately, the mechanic was still there, and it wouldn't turn for him, either.

So I wound up driving home a loaner -- a Volvo S70. It was actually a fairly nice car, despite having 87,000 miles on it and a somewhat stinky interior. The morning of our trip, we loaded our stuff inside, and I turned the key and ... nothing happened. The battery was dead.

Fortunately, this was a Thursday, and I quickly jump-started it with our Ford Escort and then drove to the mechanic. I called ahead, so he had a battery all ready to drop in. Then after another ten minutes to obtain the code for the stereo, we were finally off. And that was the last car problem during our trip, not including the trouble we had on Tuesday and Wednesday finding a parking space at the Park and Ride.

Shadow Shot Sunday Street Scene

It's time for vacation pictures! Today's shots are from Eastern Market in DC.



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Trip to the District of Columbia -- The Capitol

Last week we drove to Virginia to spend a week with a cousin. Two of our goals was to ride into DC to visit The US Capitol Building and The National Zoo.

Unfortunately, this didn't pan out. The high heat and humidity made even the thought of strolling among large smelly, furry, panting beasts unfathomable. I'm referring to the zoo, now, not the Capitol.

Yet, the heat deterred us at the Capitol, too. Or rather, it was the security guards that deterred us, the ones that insisted that we do not enter with the bottles of water we carried with us for survival. It's not clear that we could even bring in the empty backpack owing to the size limit of 12" by 14" on bags. And we couldn't simply leave our possessions outside the door since that was a security risk. Their suggestion was for one of us to stay outside with our belongings while the other entered and explored the building. I didn't mind staying behind, but my wife's usual confusion about directions was made worse from the combination of high heat and pain meds. And I had no interest in going in alone.

We tried to explain how it took us an hour and a half to get there by way of driving, subway and walking, and it would take the same amount of time to return home, and that the water was vital for us to prevent dehydration and to take prescription medication. The response was, "Please step away from the entrance."

The fact that security at the Capitol is even higher than at airports suggests that Congress is behaving in a manner that invites retribution. Maybe if our lawmakers felt less isolated from the water-bottle-wielding general public, they'd act more responsibly with our tax dollars.

I wouldn't be surprised if security later insist on having us remove all our clothes before entering the Capitol. After all, a tourist could easily throw a shoe at someone, or use a belt as a whip, or use a bra as a garrote. Of course, we wouldn't be allowed to leave our clothing on the premises -- we'd have to undress at the Park & Ride and ride the transit system naked.

Anyway, you can find the official list of prohibited items here.

I Could Do Anything If Only...

This post was inspired by this thread on Barbara Sher's message boards....

What's holding you back? Complete this sentence:

I could do anything if only...

... I didn't have so much responsibility.
... I had more confidence.
... I had more courage.
... I had more energy.
... I had more time.
... I could learn various techniques quickly (welding, car repair, plumbing...)
... I didn't have to deal with the mundane (like working, eating, sleeping).
... I weren't so lazy.
... I had more trust in other people.
... I had unlimited resources.

What about you? What are your excuses?

Wednesday Weigh-In 20100721

Aside from devouring an entire package of cookies a few days ago, I seem to be back on my regular diet.

Waist = 37.25"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20100716

I feel much fatter from my vacation. It was really hard to avoid wheat, and I caved in to many desserts. But I'm only two pounds heavier and have an extra 0.5 inch around my waist.

We did a lot of walking, but it was a slow kind of stroll that didn't do much for my metabolism.

Waist = 37.75"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20100707

I've been extremely busy. Sorry, no time to write nice stuff. At least I'm keeping in good shape!

Due to vacation issues, next week's Weigh-in won't post until next Friday!

Waist = 37.25"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.