WHATs, WHYs & WHY NOTs!

Happy Monday pals! Hope you’re all set for turkey day in like 69 hours. Me? I’m thinking it’s gonna go 1 of 2 ways. I’m either gonna be thankful for a comfy bed & an excellent pillow & just freaking hibernate all day OR if I can wrangle a few ZZZs this week, the weatherman is promising Thursday to be the nicest day of the week so I may just venture out where the buffalo roam for some hiking trail therapy!

For those who’ve been following along, you may be wondering what’s the deal with the ZZZs??? We had that problem licked a month or 2 ago. Well, the day job has had me traveling some lately which has unfortunately resurrected a serious case of demons of the past from my former life. Back when I worked for a German machine tool builder I was on the road across all of north America & much of western Europe, 70%-80% of the time from 04-07 & during that time there were MANY days that I’d be functioning on 2-3 hours sleep due to installing technology at 1 customer during the days while programming processes nights for others, often several time zones away. So, given that lifestyle, it didn’t take me long to find the edge of sanity but during that time I also met on online acquaintance that made me laugh & shared a lot of great times with me, keeping me sane by giving me something in life to cherish & look forward to other than a bazillion random 0s & 1s. That acquaintance eventually came to acquire the nickname Sugar Bear so these recent travels, visiting machine shops around the region, evaluating processes & staying in random hotels, has released the dogs of personal swirl warfare & has uncaged my demons of the past I thought I had nearly / recently conquered. Been running on 2-3 hours sleep per night for the past few weeks again & it’s finally catching up with me. Had plans of hitting it long & hard at the side job this weekend but at only 9 hours in on Saturday, at the end of a run, I had the choice to either setup the next job or punch out & call it a day. Just considering the decision was an actual effort & when I realized I was actually so dang tired that it was a mental & physical effort just to breathe I decided to call it done. Knocked out a decent LBWO & another 8 hours at work Sunday & when I headed for the rack Sunday night I fell back into the summertime’s habit out of necessity, downing a couple Excedrin PMs, a couple Benadryl & a fist full of melatonin for good measure. Actually got 6 straight hours of sleep last night & knocked out a pretty good UBWO this AM so things are leveling back off.

So what’s all this got to do with WHATs, WHYs & WHY NOTS? Those of you who’ve followed along may recall my soul was completely twisted up, from Valentine’s weekend on, for months trying to figure out WHAT I did, or didn’t do, that blew things up that weekend until I had a seriously painful realization in July that there was a deeper issue in the WHY I couldn’t find out WHAT the problem was & somehow that painful awakening actually brought a bizarre form of semi-closure, realizing that if why I needed to know what had gone wrong apparently wasn’t important…the what itself really no longer mattered. Well, given these past few days, battling for a foothold on insomnia island, I’ve finally come to another conclusion, along with input from a few near & dear pals. What I HAVE TO focus on in order to move forward is neither the what or the why but strictly the WHY NOT! Why not allow myself to live a life worth waking up to? Why not figure out how to move on & not allow the ache in my soul to dominate my every waking moment. Why not allow myself to find a path back to happiness, which according to one awesome pal is strictly an internal journey but that’s an entire discussion all its own. So, WHY NOT?!?!?

Work hard, train hard, play hard & love deeply pals. NOTHING short of a 4.0 is any longer acceptable.

ALWAYS Admit When You’re Wrong AND…

Short & sweet…short at least for The Griz…

Worked at the side job a full long evening last night, all the while fighting my locked up stiff & sore lumbar. Had about an 8 minute cycle time so kept chatting with pals via iPhone web, being given all sorts of suggestions to help the spine so when I got home, to a carpeted floor rather than shop floor concrete, I tried out some of the yoga stretches a few of y’all had been raving about & ya know what?!?!? It honestly HELPED!!!

One thing my dad ALWAYS stressed was, to be a man, you HAVE to admit when you’re wrong but I’ve ALWAYS tried to take it a step further & point out when others are right too!

I awoke today at 3AM, after a 4 hour nap & the pain was nearly gone! I was still stiff as a board but I can work with that! Got rid of yesterday’s last quart of water & climbed back in bed deciding to try LK's yoga knee hugs again stretching out the spine more for good measure as I drifted back off to sleep, kind of like an industrial fetal position come to think of it, which lately is fairly appropriate anyhow LOL!

When the alarm went off a couple hours later I was able to sit up & get up without any problem! Still pretty stiff though so I opted for home cardio so I could take a good long hot shower where the hot water could actually spray on my lumbar rather than like Helga’s gym shower where the water just runs down off my shoulders.

Pedaled off 240 cardio calories on the “random hills” program of my old faithful home Precor upright bike that’s been kinda growing hair for the past year then showered & felt half decent again!

Thanks to all of you who chimed in with advice! It’s amazing just how much wind pain can take outta of your sails, especially when the waves are already breaking over the deck daily anyhow!

Gonna be a REALLY long weekend at the side job. We received a 750 piece titanium order, which is HUGE for us since we mostly make custom &/or prototype surgical instruments & patient matched implants but one of our prototypes was REALLY well received by the surgeons testing it so AWAY we go!

Planning to schneak in an UBWO tomorrow morning before hitting it at the shop then we’ll have to see what Sunday brings. I’ll probably try to slip in a brief LBWO during the Elvis hour then get back after that tasty titanium bar for some more gainful distraction!

Rock on pals!!!

As the world turns...the lumbar burns

So, I mentioned having a locked up lumbar yesterday morning which eased up during yesterday’s growling LBWO.

As the day wore on it returned with a vengeance & by the time I wrapped it up at the side job last night & made it back to the Grizzly den it was NOT happy. I decided core & cardio that was on deck at Helga’s for this AM was gonna become cardio only on the home Precor bike & crashed.

Took a couple Advil PM then a couple Excedrin Back & Body but by 2AM things weren’t getting any better so I reset the alarm, giving up on the home cardio even, deeming today an unplanned rest day GRRR!

Being a creature of habit but trying to find a solution I then forced myself to crash on my "off side" which I dislike BUT that seemed to ease things up a bit & after a 3 hour nap I awoke & was at least able to get vertical WHILE breathing!

Still MIGHTY sore & stiff today, going through my typical meeting marathon Thursday, but the good news is that my latest meeting for the day, with my boss, his boss & all their cronies, got rescheduled to early next week so at least I caught a break there!

Tomorrow has UBWO on deck @ Helga's again so I’m really hoping this mess straightens out as I REALLY don’t want to miss that iron grindfest GRRR!!!

I’ve had a lumbar nerve that occasionally gets pinched since I was a teenager but the miserable thing is that the older I get the more easily it gets aggravated & the harder it is to get straightened out. Getting old just sucks!!! Might have as much or more to do with the mid drift surplus as it does with age but either way it’s a real pain in the…backside!

My twice weekly core work has really been loading the lower back extension station lately, 1 plate short of max’ing it out, whereas due to the issues I’ve had with the repair & reinjury of an umbilical hernia from Y2K, I’ve been running 3/4ths that load on crunches but have been doing 4/3rds the reps to keep the work even.

I’m now beginning to rethink that logic! Maybe age does bring a LITTLE wisdom but I’m thinking it still requires pain to sink in!!!

Rock on pals!

So growling causes me grief AGAIN!

Growling strikes again!

Okay, so today being hump day in the current lineup means it’s also leg day, always my favorite workout due to the sheer volume of iron tonnage per minute that gets destroyed! Awoke after about 5 half decent hours of sleep & could hardly get up! Must’ve slept twisted up or something as my lower back was one giant raging knotted spasm!!! Finally got vertical & began to motivate through the morning ritual, adding a fistful of Excedrin Back & Body to the lean protein, multi vitamin & SubTest injestion.

Got to Helga’s & it was packed again, today with a posse of sistas I’ve never seen before following a new independent 5’ MAYBE toothpick trainer through the stations along with many other new folks, plus the usual crowd. Grumbling to myself about the crowd & my still throbbing lumbar I arranged my locker, lit up the iPod, grabbed the clipboard with today’s spreadsheet & headed out.

Clambered onto the 1 open upright bike, missing it’s pedal straps GRRR!, & proceeded to get the heart rate pumped up to 80% MHR while warming up the southern regions then headed for the lay down leg press sled where I start out. Luckily the posse was just moving away so I dialed in the shoulder pads, set the starting load at 600 & contorted my aching torso in. I always run 5 sets alternating ankle / calf press / stretches then reposition for ATTG full stroke leg presses, wash, rinse repeat, 13 reps per set today. By the last set the pump was feeling good from the hips down, the sweat was already rolling, & the lower back was apparently absorbing the Excedrin as it was down to a dull throb!

While rising I noticed about half the posse looking over towards me & just figured they were amused by my clumsy dismount technique not really thinking about the usual growls the last set or 2 generated. Of course they were all huddled up around the leg curl station where I usually go next & toothpick was demonstrating with like 60 LBs in motion so I ambled over to the abductor / adductor rigs waiting for a couple ROTC gals who have been recent regulars to finish up then did my 150 LB sets there 13x14x13 each, again noticing posse members looking at me as we passed each other, trading stations.

While cranking 150 LB seated leg curls 13x14x13 I was really beginning to burn the hamstrings and the last 13 were a real growlfest so as I was dismounting toothpick finally approached me jaws running 90MPH with a nasty attitude raging in her eyes! I popped an earbud glaring down at her standing about nipple tall & asked if I could help her?!? With her hands on her hips she exclaimed (in her best squeaky voice) that she was trying to teach these women about getting in shape & my “excessive grunting” was rude & distracting! I told her I was sorry that my workouts actually focused on building muscle rather than just toning but that I didn’t think I was being any more rude than 6 people traipsing from station to station tying them up, socializing as they each took turns half heartedly going through the motions! You could’ve heard a pin drop for a second then about 4 of the usual AM crowd began laughing their tails off & toothpick spun an abrupt about face & led the posse over to the dumbbell rack area where they spent the rest of the time doing mat work. Whatever!

So I proceeded over to the standing glute back kick station & knocked out 2x13ea L&R @ 150 LBs and there’s this 50ish year old, anorexic, 5’6” blond, 1950s librarian lady, honest to goodness horn rimmed glasses & all, working the abductor / adductor stations immediately in front of the glute station. As I’m heading back towards the bikes to unwind before grinding out my last set of stations she’s changing stations & tugs my shirt sleeve as I pass. Thinking “OMG, NOT AGAIN!” I stop, turn, pop an earbud, & seeing her smiling I ask nicely “Yes?” She giggles & says she agrees with me about toothpick & her posse, blushing like a little school girl. I just smiled back & told her I just hope toothpick isn’t the owner’s daughter! She just giggled and walked off.

A couple hours into flying the desk now the lumbar is stoving up again so I’m thinking a walk around the building at lunch may just be in order, after I get out of this next meeting that is GRRR!!!

Some days you just gotta roll with the flow I guess! I’m just glad I didn’t end today’s workout with toothpick’s attitude LOL!

On the personal swirl side ... well ... now that I've pretty much extracted my head from my nether regions I've just gotta keep working on that cranial enema I've been in need of for months. Pretty much all the cards are on the table, the smoke has cleared & the dust is settling. Now to see if I can get my head screwed back on straight without causing any further collateral damage since that is what I've been trying to do all along, albeit not so successfully. Just need to get my heart & head back in line without causing any further grief.

Rock on pals!!! Your crazy Memphis pal, Griz

After 96,800 LBs of LBWO ground & growled away!!!

The ONLY constant in life is change...

So, yesterday was tough all around & even more so than expected for several. I’ve been facing some difficult personal struggles these past weeks / months & shared some of the deepest soul rendering details with one close & dear yesterday but not until after she broke some terribly worrisome work related news of her own that made my timing totally suck & made me feel even worse than I could’ve possibly expected about the entire situation.

There’s never a good time to share the raw edges of your soul when they can have a negative impact on others dear to you, but the cosmos & Murphy just seem to be on point these days; aligning troubles to multiply their effect on folks. As any of you who’ve followed these rambling adventures of the Griz know, bringing angst, hurt, or even simple aggravation to anyone dear just tears me up & it seems the older I get the more so that effect impacts my soul.

Because of this, combined with my upbringing, I try to be the best friend / person I can be, bringing others what happiness I can while trying my best not to cause anyone dear to me any type of hurt. Trouble is; life just doesn’t cooperate well sometimes & yesterday was certainly one of those days. I know many of my friends have expressed that I need to learn to focus on bringing myself happiness, at least now & then, but I acquire my greatest happiness through that of dear ones so these two factors are intimately intertwined for me, like it or not.

This week & beyond is undoubtedly going to mark a rough stretch & a period of tremendous adjustment that I honestly have no frigging idea how to surmount just yet but like any journey, it has to begin with the first step & can only be completed by not giving up.

All of that being said, this morning marked the first workout in Helga’s NEW House of Pain (AKA ATC Fitness)! The only constant is change, that’s for SURE!!!

Mixed feelings abound! Everything there is nice, clean & functional BUT there isn’t a single clock in the place, the stations are much closer together than before & are organized in some bizarre total body circuit sort of fashion, each is situated so that nearly every resistance station is directly facing the occupant of another & the locker room merits a paragraph all of its own!

There are 2 brand new Concept II cardio rowing trainers still in their boxes & several large flat screen TVs setting around the joint still in their boxes as well so it’s going to be even nicer soon but I spent this morning searching for stations & wishing I’d worn my pedometer! Once I finished yesterday’s missed UBWO I actually (quickly) sketched the place out on the back of my spreadsheet, noting each station I care about, so I can attempt to revamp my sessions in an efficient, productive, time effective, order.

Nearly all the equipment came across from Helga’s old place so not much new to try, add, or learn. Miss Snooty even had her spandex in a bunch scowling as she hunted stations & being miffed staring folks in the face as she worked out rather than teasing the old geezers with her butt as she went along LOL.

ATC advertises “Around The City, Around The Clock” having SEVERAL 24 hour locations around the Memphis metro area & for an extra $5 per month you can utilize any of’em anytime & also get free tanning. Since I’m quite fair skinned & none of the other locations are AT ALL handy for me I stick to the cheapy $15 per month for my location with no tanning but lots of folks opt for the premium route. Well, this being the latest, supposedly greatest, location there were LOTS of new folks there this morning who claimed to have been going to the next nearest / newest one so hopefully the new location will be good for their business!

Now about the locker room…apparently the locker arrangement itself was developed by some anal retentive industrial engineer / bean counter as they are the 6’ tall but double stacked variety to maximize the possible number of lockers per square foot of wall space but these short little lockers do not even allow a decent shirt to hang without piling up in the bottom BUT the showers must’ve been designed by some psuedo masochist NBA player as the shower heads are AT LEAST 7 feet above the shower floors & can not adjust to spray below the chest line / shoulder blades of this 6’2” bruin! They do however have AMAZING water pressure blasting out of nearly 100 surgical needle jet nozzles to remove ANY sweat or oil that could possibly be on ANY surface you can direct them towards. I can only assume this is why you absolutely can not aim them anywhere near the tender nether regions but something tells me the ladies aren’t going to be extremely happy much below the collar bones unless their into some serious frontal pain!!! There’s a cool lil Asian gentleman / AM regular who’s timing & mine generally run pretty close & that poor fellow said he could barely reach the shower head to even attempt adjusting it let alone get into its flow!

The only constant in life is change so I guess, as stubborn & impatient as I am, I just need to suck it up & get better at dealing with it!

Rock on pals.

Sincerely, your crazy Memphis pal Griz

Taming Life's Industrial Roller Coaster

Happy Monday pals! So this weekend was supposed to be spent cranking long hours at the side job but that effort got derailed by human error as the buyer planner somehow sourced the wrong grade of material for a hot job SOOO had the vast majority of it off. Spent some time Saturday walking the hills & hollers of the Grizzlyhood before stopping in to catch the tail end of my beloved Razorbacks near miss with Ole Miss LOL! Also flipped in & out of the Vols VS Bama game hoping to see somebody finally knock Bama off their pedestal & for the first half it seemed there might be hope but once again the depth of Bama’s bench prevailed GRRR!!!

Awoke Sunday & decided not to let the day go to waste even though it was a gloomy one. Knowing that at lunchtime today I’m heading for a 2 day supplier audit 4 hours away in Arab, AL I decided to hit UBWO, LBWO, Core & HIIT all afternoon yesterday, figuring I could possibly catch the Detroit Lions beating those crazy yard birds from Atlanta on the gym TVs but I could only catch them during my 10 minute cardio intervals as all the iron arena TVs were either tuned to NASCAR or the TN Titans game GRRR! Oh well, turned out just as well since my loveable loser Lions decided to return to their roots anyhow LOL!

Warmed up with 105 HIIT calories on a 5K spinbike program then progressed through a thorough upper body beat down. Next I hit the evil elliptical for 130 calorie jaunt which then led to a complete lower body thrashing. After beating the getaway sticks completely I took a 110 calorie hill climbing dreadmill stroll to spread the acid built up in the quads, hammies & glutes evenly then moved onto my final core sets closed off by a 95 calorie upright bike cool down, still keeping the pulse above 80% maximum recommended heart rate for such an old Griz. All of this had Griz good & soggy sweaty but feeling great for having set a new single workout total tonnage PR of 203,400 LBs of iron ground across 140 minutes grind time averaging 0.73 Tons per minute which isn’t anything spectacular BUT having held that average basically across 3 hours with HIIT mixed in wasn’t half bad!

Arose this morning REALLY feeling it in my lower back, from (180) reps total, across 3 sets of 60 @ 240 LB each on lower back extensions, & lugging a set of lead arms to boot into the shower! Now, having arrived at the workplace, I’m killing time prepping for the 4 hour trip, printing off all the required checklists, previous audit findings & Standard Operating Procedures to keep me occupied tonight at the hotel. I’ve been told this is a gorgeous region and my hotel supposedly sits on the banks of Lake Guntersville which is part of an AL state park. MAYBE if there’s enough remaining daylight I might get lucky & find a hiking trail nearby but it’ll be just my luck to get lost & wind up hearing banjos in Bama again!

Actually kind of looking forward to this trip & dreading it all at the same time! Travelling & evaluating company’s processes used to be a BIG part of what I did when I worked for the German grinder company but in the same breath that brings back lottsa uber fond late night memories long gone that I really don’t need piling up on me right now. Oh well, life’s a series of ups & downs, good & bad, happy & sad, an industrial roller coaster of sorts. Gotta learn to make it all work one way or another!

Rock on pals! Being a Hampton Inn, not sure if they will have any kind of fitness gear or not but as Al would say, it’s 80% diet anyhow so I WILL do my best to behave on the road food & catch y’all Thursday if not before!

There was a Grizzly loose on the beach!

Okay, so Griz finally took a lil vacation & had a good time! Some Bodybuilding.com pals had been planning a meet & greet shindig in Panama City Beach, FL to coincide with the city’s wine & music festival, as well as the planner’s birthday! I wasn’t positive I was gonna make it down for the longest time but in the 11^th hour managed to pull it off! Unfortunately the city’s fest got canceled but then again that may have improved things since it wasn’t packed & wouldn’t have been rock & roll anyhow LOL! Now also, before we get into any incriminating evidence to follow keep in mind #1 I HATE cameras & #2 I’m not tanked in ANY of these shots but rather have eyes which are sensitive to light, flashes especially! We didn’t consume anywhere nearly enough alcohol of any type to get this silly!

So after a 9 hour drive, thinking I’d NEVER get out of Alabama once I entered, I finally arrived at the hotel where we were all staying only to find my room was on the ground level & only had a boardwalk between the patio door & the bay’s beautiful beach!!! The event planner Lavona, AKA Steely or Palomino Steel, had flown in from Canada the day before & she was on the 3^rd floor with an awesome view. The locals, Rick & Mylissa AKA Flabouy or Marine & Mylissa1 or Myl, who acted as event hosts live very nearby so it was all good! Once I got out of the car & vertical I walked around the hotel & who do I run into heading for the pool but Steely! Now keep in mind all of us have been cyber pals for ages, years more or less, but hadn’t ever “met” so of course from her pics I knew it was her in an instant but the voice & accent is ALWAYS an experience! You feel like you know folks but when you “hear” them for the first time, do they EVER sound like you imagined? NOPE! Here’s this gal from the far Western reaches of Canada sounding like she just had tea & crumpets with the Queen or some shrimp off the Barbie from down under maybe LOL! After a big ol’bear hug we sat by the pool & chatted for a while, awaiting the arrival of the locals to head for dinner before the arrival of my roomie flying in from OKC. The locals arrived & Myl sounded pretty much as expected, knowing she was a Texan where I have family kept the imagination pretty close there then Marine walks up…dude looks even slimmer in person & yet again, for some reason the imagination had this gruff drill sergeant voice in mind but NOPE, just a smooth normal dude! We chat for a bit & head out for some dinner as Myl had been messaging me that she was starving as I’d crossed the last 2 counties of AL! We hit a neat place for dinner that had awesome patio seating & some really good grilled mahi mahi! As you’ll see later Marine ISN’T 7’ tall but is rather standing on something to tower above the gals LOL!

After dinner we booked out to the airport to pick up my roomine, Bret AKA balanc or BAC, & headed back to the hotel to check in, unpack & plan the evening’s festivities! We all met up in Steely’s room since she had a kitchenette & an awesome view for a couple celebratory libations to kick off the weekend then set to deciding the night’s upcoming events. As the sunset I could just tell the tempo of the day was about to take a steep turn upwards LOL! And BTW, what a gorgeous sunset it was!!!

 At the stroke of Midnight Steely donned her she devil horns as it was officially her birthday & those horns NEVER came off until that day was DONE, she claimed to have even slept in’em LOL! We had settled on hitting the largest club in North America which is just 15-20 minutes away BUT upon arrival we didn’t pass their dress code! Here this is, a beach bar & they don’t allow certain types of shorts OR tank tops so we went next door to another place that turned out to have a really good live band so all was well! Steely decided before we tore into any drinks we needed to burn off a few calories so we latched on & did some quick lifting before settling in!

After we’d chatted about all sorts of things poor Steely was getting stiff, prolly from being treated as a barbell, so I decided she needed a neck & back rub as her b’day gift & after her initial OUCH! She settled in & seemed to enjoy every minute of it, telling me that this entire engineering gig has caused me to miss my true calling! I’m pretty sure she liked her gift but judge for yourself LMBO! (Have I mentioned I HATE cameras?)

So now, after the girls had been out dancing for a bit while Marine, BAC & I discussed various relationship issues, challenges & opportunities that we’ve been battling this year Marine proceeds to prod me to get dancing, BAC as well. Bret didn’t take any coaxing but I’m NOT a dancer PERIOD! I can weave & bob with the best of’em but that’s it! Eventually Marine said, “Get off your fat @ss & get out there!” So, I complied!

We eventually had enough of the club scene & headed back to crash somewhere around 3AM & poor Bret found out what a tired Grizzly sounds like, snoring an entire chorus solo! I have sleep apnea but when I’m traveling for just a few days leave my pump behind & MAN did HE regret it! I awoke about 8AM & noticed BAC was already getting around so I said I hoped my snoring hadn’t bothered him & his VERY first words were, “Dude! Have you ever been tested for sleep apnea?!?!?” I explained the deal & he said, “Well the snoring was bad enough but the stopping was worse! You’d stop & I’d wait & wait & finally you’d fire back up!” to which we both laughed about at several points during the day! We got around & headed to a local greasy spoon b’fast buffet then came back & hit the beach where Bret finally realized that apparently the devil that sits on my shoulder & tempts me had made the full trip however the angel from the other shoulder had apparently gotten burnt out & bailed somewhere crossing AL! Bret later mentioned he thought maybe Steely had simply drowned the angel to keep me from being a total wet blanket 5^th wheel all weekend!

After spending some time on the beach we began to think about lunch & I thought I’d dig something up but imagine my surprise! Actually one of Steely’s b’day wishes was to be buried in the sand so BAC & I had dug her a nice spot then covered her up for a while until Marine & Myl arrived!

Steely & Bret had tattoo appointments in the afternoon but Steely, Myl & Marine kinda hung out & did their own thing for a bit while Bret & I visited several local tee shirt & souvenir shops then we all met at the tattoo shop. While Steely & Bret were getting inked Myl & Marine worked a photo shoot for a local breast cancer motorcycle show & poker run. I hung out at the tattoo shop so Bret & Steely wouldn’t be stranded if they got done before M&M returned. Everyone had been trying to get me to join in & take a permanent ink memory home with me but I HATE needles plus hadn’t budgeted the $300 cost of the ONE appropriate tat I found that I really liked so maybe that’ll be Christmas, time’ll tell!

As evening came on we hit Hammerhead Fred’s for a seafood b’day dinner for Steely & it was GREAT! She had her heart set on a fresh slice of key lime pie as her b’day “cake” & Fred’s had the ticket! I’ve loved cooked oysters of nearly any kind since I was a kid & theirs were outstanding! They also had a pina colada cheesecake that was sinfully delicious! Bret, Myl, Marine & I all even sang happy b’day to Steely & her ears are prolly healing nicely by now!

Saturday night, knowing the dress code, we had come prepared & hit Club Lavela, supposedly the largest club in North America with a fire marshal capacity of like 7,000 & when we arrived the line went nearly 1/3 of the way across the parking lot but Marine &/or Myl knew some trick or secret handshake so we cruised right in! Because it was SOOO big it really didn’t seem that busy, having several different “rooms” within, that each had a different kind of music or theme. We hung out in the rock bar for a bit waiting on the band then walked around and sat by the pool for a bit. They have a large “open to the sky” area in the very middle with a pool & a stage where they hold concerts sometimes. The rock bar band that night was an Alice & Chains knock off that was pretty good but as with any bar, as the night went along SOME of the patrons were WAY over served & got really annoying! The dude standing immediately behind us was so tanked he could barely stand & kept spilling his drink on Marine’s feet! We eventually decided to depart & realized Bret had stepped out so I went one way & they went the other looking along the way, planning to rally by the pool. I walked into the adjoining room where they were playing techno tunes & had bikini clad gals dancing on the tables so I was SURE I’d find BAC in here somewhere but after just ONE lap (I CAN be a good boy) I departed & saw the crew waving from poolside where BAC had actually dozed off in a beach lounger by the pool listening to the waterfall / fountain! Apparently when they found him he was rudely awakened by an industrial wet willy administered by SOMEBODY whom Bret had screwed with earlier! Anyhow, after lots of long discussions about life, love, relationships, happiness & torment we decided since Bret’s flight home was to depart at 7:30AM we’d best head to the hotel. I ask BAC what in the world he was thinking booking a dead AM flight back after the night he KNEW we’d prolly have & he just assumed we’d drop him off at the airport on our way back to the hotel LMBO! So, after enjoying one more gorgeous moonlit night over the bay I settled in for about a 3 hour nap but this day BAC’s snoring woke me up, just as the alarm on my phone began to chime @ 6AM.

We arose, packed & headed for the airport but of course it all looked a bit different & missed a turn, getting him to the airport 10 minutes before his flight but they had NO sense of humor so he had to rebook later flights anyhow but by that time I was fueling up & nearing that miserable Bama state line.

Now, after all this craziness I pointed the commutermobile’s nose NW & proceeded to spend 9 hours alone with my thoughts, which is never a good thing. Time on my hands & mind always lead me to dark places these days, thinking back over all the fun times, both recent & more distant past but somehow that practice always ends up in parade of what all’s gone wrong making those moments SOOO rare anymore. SOOO by the time I finally made it back to the Grizzly den about 5PM I just wanted to crash but the weekend will not soon be forgotten as a string of many of those rare & fun moments shared with pals & several of the conversations have given me further food for thought regarding the hope of a better future if I can ever manage, as Marine so adeptly put it, to “Get my head outta my @ss & move on!”