I live in Arkansas, I spent most of my weekends in Tennessee and I vacation in Michigan. These are the three states that make up my life, and they are all on the 2008 list of top ten fattest states. I can only conclude that my presence somehow leads to people cramming their face holes with Krispy Kreme donuts.

At the risk of becoming a one trick pony, I have to mention my quest to 100 pushups. Last night was the most physically taxing workout yet, but it was also the easiest, which I think means I’m already getting stronger.

Finally, with tomorrow being the 4th, and all the upper-ups in Germany at the moment, it’s really empty in the office this week. I kind of like. I just sit in my corner and do whatever without anyone bothering me. As an added bonus, we’re getting hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch today. I’m so hungry already, I plan on eating four of each.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 10:07 AM | Comments (4)

At the end of last night’s workout I could definitely feel the tiniest bit stronger. I had the best finishing set yet, which was actually surprising for me because just prior to doing the pushups, Kathryn and I had taken a three mile walk around the neighborhood, so I was already feeling tired. But finish strong I did, and to celebrate, I took a shower and went to bed. That’s not quite true. I took a shower and crawled into bed where we watched an episode of Reaper and an episode of Sealab on the computer.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 08:32 AM | Comments (0)

By yesterday evening, my inner shoulders and pecks were pretty sore. Last night’s round of pushups was pretty intense. And by intense I of course mean painful. Today, my arms feel weak and just a little bit shaky, but the soreness has gone down quite a bit. I struggled through the last few reps last night, but still managed. I’m a little worried that I won't be able to make it through tomorrow’s go around, but we’ll see.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 09:46 AM | Comments (6)

How many pushups can you do? Last night I maxed out at fifteen, which was a little surprising. I think it helped having Kathryn counting out loud for me. Lest you think I make a habit out of having Kathryn count how many reps I can handle in some sort of misplaced effort to show off my machismo, let me explain that I had to find out my max because I’m starting an exercise program. One I found online that promises to allow me to do 100 pushups in just six weeks. Will it work? Who knows. I’m doubtful, but I figure if I blog about it, I’ll be much morel likely to at least continue trying.

After the initial workout last night, I’m not sore, but I can definitely feel that I did something. I’m interested to see what I’ll feel like after the next go around on Wednesday.

If anyone wants to play along at home, this is the schedule I’m following (even though I maxed out at fifteen, I’m still using the 6-10 column because I’m pretty sure the other one would kill me).

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 09:35 AM | Comments (0)

This is the last Michigan post, I promise.

Click here to see pics from the trip. I have massive high-res ones on my laptop, but I'm saving space on Flickr, so if you want a good one to print, let me know.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 08:15 AM | Comments (2)

Things I forgot to mention in the last post:

Kathryn caught the biggest fish while Bryan managed to catch four rocks.

We wrapped a catfish in a red handkerchief to avoid getting pricked, and it looked fabulous.

I dropped my new slider phone in the sand, and now it’s a bit sluggish in opening.

When Grody was a little too excited for a family picture Bryan had to cover it with his hand.

We must have played close to twelve rounds of Apples to Apples over the course of three nights.

I had my first taste of pickled bologna since I moved out of Michigan, and it was fantastic.

We had a mini-keg of Oberon in honor of Don.

On one of our flights, as the plane was taking off a kid behind us said, "We blasting off. Weeeeeeeee!"

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 09:47 AM | Comments (2)

This past weekend my family converged at the old cabin on Lake Michigan. Mom rented it for the week in order to spend some time together and finally spread Don’s ashes. The trip was eventful to say the least. Kathryn got things kicked off by getting some sort of stomach bug the first night we were there. She was up most of the night clutching her stomach and slept until nearly dinner time the following day.

Monday evening we walked down the beach to a secluded spot in order to spread Don’s ashes. After we said a few words and shed a few tears dad spread the ashes along the beach, from the massive dune Don used to climb to the shore of the lake he used to swim in. Dad waded into the water to put some of the ashes into Lake Michigan, but he didn’t notice mom’s dog Saki wading in after him. As Don’s ashes blew out of the urn, they were carried by the waves straight toward Saki who, ever the optimist, was happily drinking from the lake. That’s right, my mom’s dog drank my uncle.

After our little ceremony an old family friend treated us to a short memorial squeezebox concert featuring amazing grace and a handful of old Irish tunes. From there, we honored Don by heading to a nearby casino and gambling for an hour. Don must have been watching over us because I can most of us actually doubled our money. After that, we headed back to the beach for the last bit of the memorial, celebrating Don’s life by shooting roman candles and bottle rockets out over Lake Michigan. All in all, I think it was actually a quite fitting tribute to my Uncle Don.

Much of the trip was spent visiting old memories, and I think we all had fun. Despite being slightly chilly and overcast most of the time, a few of us still managed to get a little sunburned. Though dad rightly speculates that it could just have easily been windburn.

This morning I came back to work with a few new projects on my desk. So it’s back to the grindstone for me.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 01:37 PM | Comments (2)