PenteKing’s BodyBlog

In my last post, I lamented the fact that the elapsed time between entries has grown longer and longer. I also vowed to do better. Obviously, I have not adhered to my promise. Why not? Well, for one thing, the job hunting process is diverting a LOT of my time and attention. It’s been said before, but it bears repeating, "Looking for a job is harder work than actually working." Why is this so? You have to be "on" ALL the time. When you’re out there selling yourself, you can’t afford to have any bad days. You can’t dress a little more informally; you can’t be too tired to engage in idle chit-chat; you can’t not smile; you can’t grouse and complain when people don’t return your phone calls and emails. You can’t do any of those things because unless you’re confining your complaining to your family, you never know whether what you’re saying will get around to the wrong person. In this environment (hell, in any environment), it seems that the degree of separation grows continually smaller. It used to be six degrees. I read yesterday that the separation number is now reduced to four. Word travels faster today than it did even five short years ago. And once it hits the Internet, it NEVER dies. A careless remark, made in the heat of the moment, can come back to bite you in the butt years down the road. It’s a scary thought. So one has to be upbeat, pleasant, and engaged at all times, and that is TIRING work. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

I’m still working out; still training for my upcoming triathlon, so in that respect, I’m good. I’m just not as consistent about visiting this site and updating my blog and visiting with my bodybuilding brothers and sisters. I’m not certain my absence has been missed, but just in case it has, my heartfelt apologies to one and all. I will try (notice that this time, I did not say ‘promise’) to do better. Given my circumstances, that is all I can do at the moment.

Keep lifting the heavy iron. It’s good for the muscles and it’s good for the soul.

For someone accustomed to writing every day (in one form or another), it shocks me to realize that I haven’t posted a thing to either one of my two blogs for nearly three weeks. This must mean that I am either: a) extraordinarily busy; or b) depressed beyond all human reckoning. If honesty counts for anything, I must confess that the second option is the primary culprit.

Yes, of course I’ve been busy. Moving across country; getting re-settled; attending to all the little connections that make up one’s life (and trust me, there are MANY), these have kept my mind occupied, but depression has played a major part in my silence. Today marks the sixth (!) month that I’ve been unemployed. I know the economy is doing badly; I know that more than 15 million people have lost their jobs; I know things are tough. But those are all intellectual observations. They have little connection to the emotional side of being unemployed. MEN HAVE TO WORK! Our entire self-worth is wrapped up in how we earn our crust. Even the lowliest of occupations has worth and meaning to the person performing the duties and responsibilities associated with that job. For better or worse, it defines us as human beings. We are a species that was meant to strive, to achieve, to build and sustain something larger than ourselves. Being removed from that isolates us. It marks us in ways that we can barely acknowledge, much less articulate. It is the reason why so many unemployed men take to drink or drugs. We are attempting to blot out the pain of facing our failure.

The fact that I’m writing this is - believe it or not - a good sign. When I am depressed, I don’t write at all. When I’m happy, I write about depressing things - probably as a way of expelling the residue of those painful and debilitating emotions. Taking that into account, one would infer that I am happy, and I am gratified to report that I am. I cannot say for certainity why this is so. I only know that I am. I have confidence that I will find work. I am energized and ready to throw myself back into the fray. I’m lifting weights regularly; I’m riding my bike; I’m trying to become a better swimmer. My discipline - lax for lo these many weeks - is back with a vengenace. I can’t point to any one occurrence that has caused this turnabout, nor do I think I want to. I only know that I have weathered a dark and stormy time in my soul. I’ve survived and am ready to continue my journey.

Wish me luck.

It has been more than two weeks since my last blog. During that time, I have procured a new apartment, sold off a bunch of stuff that I no longer needed nor wanted, packed up all my cares and woes, and moved from one coast (the West) to the other (the East). I’m still not fully settled in my new digs, but I am now living in the people’s republic of Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to both MIT and Harvard. I’ve signed a one-year lease, so for the next twelve months, this is where I will be. I have high hopes that the move back to my Eastern roots will prove both beneficial and salubrious.

Rather than fly, I decided to drive cross-country. The route took me from San Diego to Yuma; from Yuma to Flagstaff; from Flagstaff to Santa Fe; from Santa Fe to Denver; from Denver to Lincoln; from Lincoln to Cedar Rapids; from Cedar Rapids to Chicago; from Chicago to Toledo; from Toledo to Cleveland; from Cleveland to Erie; from Erie to Albany; and then from Albany to Boston. I drove steadily, but without haste because I had no job waiting for me at the journey’s destination. I hope to find gainful employment in the Boston area (where the economy seems marginally better than in other parts of the country), but I have no expectation that finding said job will be an easy task. Hundreds of thousands of people are out of work, and we are all looking at the same small pool.

I will write in more detail about my trip, but wanted to share some high-level observations. We grow an awful lot of corn in this country. Never have I seen a more abundant crop. It was like kudzu - growing everywhere, seemingly without requiring the aid of any farmer to plant or tend the crop. It is no wonder so many products contain high fructose corn syrup. If not for that, the country would be buried under an avalanche of unhusked ears of corn. It was truly an impressing and mind-staggering sight.

Iowa has the cleanest highway facilities in the nation. They are models that the other states should emulate. Not only was free Wi-Fi offered at every rest stop (!), but the vending machines offered choices that did NOT include Coca-Cola or Pepsi. I was stunned to discover that I could actually purchase fruit juice (albeit from concentrate) during my sojourn through Iowa. Kudos to the state for its efforts in that regard.

In Lincoln, NE, I discovered the two pound (!!!) King Kong burger. That’s right - you read that correctly. It is 32 ounces of beef captured between two highly processed hamburger buns. The whole conconction is slathered with lettuce, pickles, ketchup and mustard, and is served with an obscenely large order of French Fries. All this for the low, low price of $4.95. May God have mercy on everyone who chows down on this monstrosity.

Chicago was its usual bustling, energetic self. I spent the day at the Art Institute, and was dismayed that I had only a few hours in which to peruse its treasures. It would take a dedicated individual at least three weeks to see all the treasures housed within its walls, and I have a solemn promise to myself to return when I have more time to spend there.

 All in all, the trip was an adventure. We live in a big, beautiful country. Driving across it has given me a new appreciation of all that I have to be thankful for. We may have our problems, but there’s nothing that can’t be resolved if we put our minds to the task.

 I’ll write more later. Until then, keep lifting the heavy iron, my brothers and sisters.

Okay; it’s official. I am permanently leaving san Diego in less than three weeks. After five years, it’s time to move on. Many of you will probably consider me crazy for abandoning San Diego’s fantastic weather. In this, I must agree with you. However, that being said, I must also add that there is more to an area than an average mean temperature of seventy degrees.

I am returning to Massachusetts, to live in the Republic of Cambridge. I’ve found an apartment near MIT and just across the river from downtown Boston. I hope to find gainful employment with one of the area’s employers. I believe it will be easier to find work in Massachusetts than here in San Diego. At least that is my hope. I have a whole coterie of people who are willing to help me find work. (I did, after all, live in Boston for more than 25 years.) My new apartment has a gym, along with a lap pool, so I’ll be able to continue my triathlon training. Adjusting to the weather won’t be easy (I HATE the cold), but as I said, there’s more to a city than an average mean temperature of 70 degrees. Wish me luck.

I’m looking to replace FitDay. While it has proven useful in the past, I find that I’m moving past it. I think I need something more.

I found a website that considers DietMaster 2100 to be the best of all the programs reviewed, with NutriNote a close second. Does anyone have any experience with either of these programs? If so, drop me a line and let me know what you think.

Normally, I’m one of those folks who is up and out of bed at the crack of dawn. I prowl around the apartment in quiet solitude, taking my vitamins, drinking a glass of juice, and stretching out the kinks. Then, I’m downstairs, either using the stair stepper or running the treadmill or jumping rope. All that before returning for a shower and then breakfast. That was then; this is now.

Lately, I’ve been sleeping until 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. I no longer do morning aerobics (except for rare occasions). Instead, I immediately sit down, fire up the laptop and check my inbox for messages. I’m looking for work, and the stress of being out there, selling myself, is beginning to get to me. Looking for work is harder than actually working. Trust me on this. When you’re out there, you have to constantly be at your best. You can’t have an "off" day. You can’t be in a bad mood. You can’t do lackluster work, knowing that you’ll make up for it tomorrow. The exam light (as it were) is ALWAYS on. You’re being judged, and (rightly or wrongly) first impressions count for everything. The strain is weighing on me.

If anyone has an idea of the best way to combat this depressive onset, let me know. And thanks.

San Diego (where I currently reside) bills itself as "America’s Finest City". With the pension debacle and the gridlock in the City Council, one would argue that the label is tenuous at best. The blog is going to seem to some as a knock on the city. It is not. What it is is an observation. To wit…

I am, first and foremost, a bicyclist. This is the sport that I love the best. I would rather ride my bike than do nearly anything else. As a cyclist, I’m out on the road a lot. From my vantage point, I see things that motorists (trapped in their steel cocoons) don’t notice. What I see around the streets of San Diego is an unbelievable amount of litter. Discarded soft drink cans; empty water bottles; abandoned plastic bags; rags of every conceivable size and shape; and fast-food wrappers.  The shoulders of the roads are in pitiful shape. They are pitted and full of holes. Weeds poke through the cracks in the pavement and madacam. In some places, the paint marking the bicycle lane is virtually invisible. In other places, there is no bicycle lane at all.

I’ve written letter after letter to the various city agencies, begging them to clean up the roadways. To date, my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. I could understand it if they responded that there aren’t funds to perform clean-up duties. But that would presuppose that someone is actually reading the letters I’m writing. Telephoning the agencies is a study in frustration. One is either placed on hold, or shunted from one bureaucrat to another until you hang up in despair.

Why do people feel that it is okay to dispose of their trash on the side of the road? When did this type of behavior become acceptable? Would they, I wonder, do this in their homes? Would they simply toss trash on the floor and expect someone else to clean up after them? The roads belong to us all. We all have a shared responsibility to keep them litter-free. I want city officials to enforce the anti-litter laws that are already on the books. I don’t think that’s too much to ask. If San Diego truly wants to be "America’s Finest City" then its citizens should begin by cleaning up their city’s streets. A tourist’s first impression shouldn’t be one of dirty city streets.

The title is obviously a blatant rip-off of the Lord of the Rings, but it is appropo. Currently, I track my diet and workout routines in no less than three(!) different places: here on Bodybuilding.com; on my personal computer via a personalized copy of FitDay; and on Bicycling.com, where I track my biking and swimming routines. Obviously, keep three separate and disparate training logs is beginning to take its toll. I recently discovered that I hadn’t updated FitDay for three days, and so have lost a substantial portion of my macronutrient intake for the past week. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but because I’m in training for a triathlon, I want to track what foods help or hinder my performance.

So, I’ve decided to bite the bullet and enter my training routine and food entries into one comprehensive, all-encompassing log. I did a little research on the web and discovered an on-line site called "Training Peaks" that, I believe, will serve all my needs nicely. It allows me to track not only my weight lifting routines, but also my biking and swimming schedules. It has a component that will track my food intake (by time of day, no less) and a calendar that will allow me to set reminders for upcoming events or planned milestones. The basic model is free, so I’m going to try it for a month or two, and if it lives up to its promise, I will pay the modest monthly fee to upgrade to the Premium edition. This means that I will not be visiting Bodybuilding.com nearly as often as I have in the past, but something had to go. Life is short, and while I want to be a dedicated member of this site, I also want to simplify my life. I will continue to check in every now and again, but my days of logging in every day are over.

I may write the admin and suggest that they improve their training logs, but I’m not sanguine they will take my proposal seriously. This is, after all, a bodybuilding site, and not a general fitness site. They probably don’t want to lose their focus, and I can’t say that I can blame them. The powers that be have a very nice niche, and they don’t want to do anything to blur the distinction they’ve worked so hard to achieve. Still, it would be nice if they considered the suggestion.

Thoughts, comments and observations are welcomed and encouraged.

I am visiting San Francisco with the intention of "trying the city on for size." If I can find gainful employment here, this city is on my short list of places to live (the others being Toronto, Ontario; New York, NY; and Boston, MA). So far, I like what I see. I’m staying at a boutique hotel in the financial district, and my, oh my, what a vibrant little pocket of the world this is. People scurry everywhere. I haven’t seen this type of hustle and bustle since leaving Toronto nearly five years ago. It feels good to be in the midst of this kind of energy. It far and away outstrips anything that San Diego can offer. Even the homeless people are a little bit livelier - a little bit more energetic and aggressive.

It’s strange. I moved to San Diego, thinking it would grow up to be a big city - that it would shed its small-town persona and begin attracting the artists and literatti. For a while, it seemed as if that was going to happen, but circumstances intervened and San Diego, after tettering on the precipice, fell back into its old, hidebound ways. Now, I don’t foresee another sea change in its environment for at least ten years. And I cannot wait that long. So I am searching for a new place in which to live. So far, San Francisco impresses.

If anyone lives in S.F. and wishes to share insights with me about the city, its culture or its people (or any combination thereof), please feel free to do so. Before I commit to the city, I want to make sure that, this time, I make the right choice.

I have been following (at times with bemusement; at other times with dismay) the vitrolic threads that have sprung up as a result of the Top 6 Inspirational Members. I’m willing to bet my bottom dollar that the powers that be at Bodybuilding.com had no idea that this new feature would engender such rancorous debate.

Now I may catch hell for this and I’m pretty certain that I’ll be subject to a veritable slew of email and comments for what I’m about to say, but that’s part of speaking one’s mind. So - (deep breath) - here I go.

One of the definitions of the word debate is to "consider the pros and cons of an issue". No where in that definition does it say that one side should resort to invective, slander, or hate-mongering. I’m not sure which of the participants pointed it out, but as adults, we should be able to logically and succinctly articulate our stand for, or our opposition against, a particular issue or principle. We, of course, want to sway our opposition to our way of thinking, but that will not always be the case. Your opponent may feel just as strongly (perhaps more so) than you do about the topic at hand. THAT DOES NOT MAKE HIM OR HER A BAD PERSON. That does not make that person an "idiot", "a moron" or "stupid". That kind of name calling does nothing but inflame passions and cloud the true issue. If you have debated a point with someone and have failed to persuade them to your point of view, you can always win the argument by saying, "Perhaps you’re right." No other phrase is guaranteed to defuse a potentially volatile situation as quickly and as easily as that one. It immediately disarms the other person. Without abandoning your principles and beliefs, you have instantly created harmony. What could be better than that?

In my opinion, the Top 6 Inspirational People is a flawed idea. I intend to make my feelings known to the Bodybuilding.com admins. I will present my case in a cool, calm and logical manner. My audience may choose to ignore my comments. They may adopt some of my suggestions. Either way, I will not resort to name calling. Nor will I abandon this site. It has too many other benefits that outweigh this one feature.

We are all members of a community. That means that we should - to the greatest degree possible - respect one another as human beings. We are all God’s children.