Good start, familiar slide

Well today was supposed to be the first day of the new me on the pH Miracle and it was off to a good start. Salad for breakfast. Low blood sugar reading. Sunrise yoga. Lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. That's where it started to unravel. The salad was alkaline and pure but one little muffin led to another and the disaster was on. I was reading the book at ST and it talked about a transition. If it had said do it this way, the right way, and avoid sugar and all the evil acid-producing items I would have followed it. But it said it was ok to have a "transition period" that's where I went wrong. One too many muffins led to ....well I don't need to go into all the details here but tomorrow is another day, a working day, my Monday. So I'm going try to get back on the right track. But I do suffer from some demons. It's in my blood. Heredity. If I'm strong I can get on the right sugar-free path. And by sugar free I mean no baked goods, no wine, no beer, no cheese. If someday I can put the same devotion to those goals that I have to going meatless the last 4 1/2 years I'll succeed in disabling my diabetes. It's a work in progress. Today was a good start, tomorrow I hope to follow through to a good finish. And that would mean not using the comps I have to Terribles pool party. Alas, the dilemma I face between fun and health. I think in the long run I'll win but it's a constant struggle.

Now back to Buffalo 66 the Independent movie about a devout Buffalo Bills fan who is too stuck on the Bills to realize her son just got out of prison. I'll battle on like the Bills and someday win this fight but it's not going to be easy. Namaste (may the spirit in me salute the spirit in you).

  

The pH Miracle -- Alkalize or Die!

OK, here we go again. After a couple of false starts I'm back on track to a natural cure for diabetes. The pH Miracle. The key? Your health depends on the pH balance of its blood, striking the optimum 80/20 balance between the alkaline and acidic content in the body by eating certain foods. I was already on the right path but now coffee will be replaced with wheat grass. Salads and green vegetables for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's the price anyone has to pay to be free of health ailments and prescription drugs.

It's not for everyone but as my acupuncturist said you can't help those that won't help themselves. But if you want to lower cholesterol, lose weight, end indigestion, get off of insulin this is a proven effective program. Eating the right kind of food is the single most important thing you can do for you and your health. And you don't have to go totally Vegan like me, you can even eat turkey! The worst offenders are dairy products followed by animal protein, white flour, processed foods, chocolate, coffee and alcoholic beverages. Have I lost everyone yet?

And now for that never-ending question: Where do you get your protein? Have you ever heard of anyone dying from a protein deficiency? Americans eat way too much animal protein. That's why more than 50 percent have high cholesterol levels. But did you know there is plant-based protein? It's true. Wheat grass juice is 25 percent protein. Vegetables carry all the amino acids (the building blocks of protein). Not every veggie contains every one, but by eating a wide-range you are getting all the essential amino acids. Here are a few veggies with their protein per calorie in parenthesis. Alfalfa sprouts (40%),  Broccoli (49%), Cauliflower (27%), the list is endless. And of course there is protein in beans and soy milk, soy nuts, etc.

Best of all, alkalizing allows "Green" athletes like me to increase athletic performance by building stamina and muscle as well as pure energy. Well I'll be the Guinea Pig. Let the experiment begin!

"Even if our efforts of attention seem for years to be producing no result, one day a light that is in exact proportion to them will flood the soul." --SIMONE WEIL

Sunrise Run to Sunset Park

By the time I got to Sunset Park yesterday morning at 6:15, the sun was already a few degrees above the horizon. So this morning I left home at 5:55 and witnessed a beautiful sunrise as I was heading east on Sunset Road toward Sunset Park.

Today I re-committed to get my healthy lifestyle back on track. Somewhat out-of-sync since Mom's visit in April, sidetracked by the Alaska adventure in June, challenged by a career change and derailed by Don's visit last week somehow my good diabetes numbers were not too pretty. I'm not blaming anyone but myself. But like a free pastry at the Hilton, it doesn't take much to tempt me. Like my acupuncturist advised I should be as faithful to avoiding sugar in food and drink as I am to avoiding meat.

 Despite a good running program, I'd gotten away from my faithful Ayruveda practice. My regular yoga teacher Anne, returned to teach tonight after a 2-week vacation to London and Paris and after a little de tox tea and some chakra balancing meditation I feel that I'm back on the right path again. Just like the Red Sox, who just ended their 6-game skid with a 5-4 victory over the Angels tonight.

It's only Wednesday and I already have 21 miles on the running shoes. That's about triple my work commute mileage. The new job is still a work in progress but hopefully things will work out.

"The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you."--John E. Southard

 

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Up at 5 a.m. to beat the heat, we proceeded on to Lake Mead. Don had seen the Hoover Dam on his last visit but had yet to experience the Tunnel Trail. Long gone are the trains and tracks that helped build the damn dam. Today hikers, bikers and runners can enjoy a broad view of Lake Mead from a flat grade cut into the side of solid rock.

We proceeded on the 4.5-mile round-trip trek and found a few volunteer photographers to operate the mini cam. It was a beautiful calm day, mostly shaded as the hot sun had yet to reach its intensity. I took a little detour on the return route as Don slowed down to take in the breathtaking view that will be delivered in a future photo album to loyal readers of this journal.

Hungering for a non-salad breakfast, Don persuaded me to take him to IHOP where I was fortunate to find a vegetarian omelet on the menu. On Don's last full day here I frantically searched for a few remaining fix-it items. All I could find was the guest bathroom sink's stopper that had been rendered ineffective by Haven sleeping his large cat frame in the sink. At first it looked like another trip to Home Depot but Don was able to repair the original part. The other fix was so easy I could have done it. The reason the kitchen clock had stopped was the battery had died. Time no longer stands still.

Now time is running out on Don's 2006 visit we only have time left for a run at Sunset Park and an early Red Sox-Yankees game on ESPN. Then the fun ends as Don flys home and I return to work at my new job.

Taking Care of Business

The last two days have not been all fun and games. It's been fun, games and Don fixing stuff around here.

The fun. Yesterday I took Don on the Calico Tanks Trail at Red Rock Canyon. No one I know has ever been on this trail before. It's a moderate to difficult climb behind the Calico Mountain range. It's too steep and rocky to run. Eventually you get to a "tank" or a small body of water that you'd never expect to find in the desert. It's a lot of rock-to-rock climbing and eventually you can see back into the Las Vegas valley from an angle that is usually only viewed from an aircraft window. Later that evening we were complimentary guests at a pool party where we enjoyed free food and beverages.

The games. We watched and wagered on baseball and football and enjoyed moderate success. Exact results cannot be divulged due to IRS and spouse monitoring of this blog.

The work. Earlier Don had repaired my vacuum cleaner and washing machine but with some free time before the Red Sox game today he was able to repair my shower slow-flow water issue with an unknown (to me) plumbing part and something called caulking (also unknown to me). Then he fixed the guest's room closet hanger that until now could not support very much weight. He even told me my car's shaky handling was caused by a tire issue and soon I found I needed a new set. One had a bubble and two others were cracked. After 60,000 miles I guess it was time for new tread on my truck. I couldn't find anything else for Don to fix so we enjoyed the Red Sox come-from-behind victory over the Tigers.

 

Night on the Town

Once again it's great having out-of-town visitors cause it gets me out on the town. Don and Cassie McCoy are visiting from Batavia, N.Y. The father and daughter made the trip in a remarkable 34 hours with only one overnight in Nebraska.

Engineer Don was the perfect guest as he fixed my vacuum cleaner with a $2 belt and my leaking washing machine with a hose adjustment. Even though I had a 6am run through Sunset Park and worked 8:30-4:30 on the fifth day of my new job I had to take the hillbillies from hicktown out on the town tonight. No expense was spared as I took them to the Las Vegas Hilton buffet. Fortunately my former coworkers were nice enough to comp us to the culinary feast. We proceeded on to the Fremont Street Experience where they enjoyed the light show in the sky. We went into the oldest continuous casino in Las Vegas the Hotel Nevada where Cass enjoyed her first gambling experience and we all contributed to the hotels positive balance sheet.

Don and Cassie are off to LA Sunday while I am off to another day at CBS. Where today they gave me my first cell phone. And I didn't think I would ever get one of those contraptions.

 

A New Dawn

Today I embarked on perhaps the final frontier. My last career. A job that will hopefully take me to retirement at Computerized Bookmaking Systems or CBS. It was such a great feeling on the 4 minute and 41 second drive. The same time it takes to win the 1-mile race at a high school track meet.

When I started my work station was clean, pristine and a bit sterile. So I tacked up an environmental calendar and a 2006 Buffalo Bills schedule and changed the computer's screen saver to a Lewis & Clark trail scene. Other photos and mementos will soon follow.

My new co-workers were so helpful, friendly and low key. We trained on typical fixes we'd make to common problems we'll field at a leisurely pace. It'll take time, but soon I'll be an intregal part of the team. By mid-afternoon I was helping a casino fix a problem with the wrong track name printing on it's betting slips and I felt like part of the team. The day was broken up my many coffee and tea breaks and Internet web surfing of my favorite sites: AOL, Red Sox, Buffalo Bills and a few others. By the weekend I'll have a TV hooked up at my desk to the in-house cable TV system

They're excellent about giving me time off for a dentist appointment Thursday and friend Don's visit next week. It's all good. I may even ride my bike to work tomorrow.