The post I wrote earlier for today was on the tail end of last night. It actually was one LONG post with the day prior. Thus, this time-sensitive one is being written around midday today (and 4 hours later...).

I have made some U-turns!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

1. No Sardines. The 40th Expedition sardine focus has ended. I can do it, but it takes WAY too much willpower to maintain. Into the 4th day, I gladly tap out and will embrace beef with open arms tomorrow. This decision was influenced by today's yardwork as I walked past death's threshold. Nothing says you shouldn't have a belly full of sardines like standing in the sun wearing black head-to-toe. Being exhausted and dragging yourself indoors in that state THEN burping up sardine acid, well, that's gotta be a low point! Well, that and getting stung by a hornet in the back of your shaved head.
   
   Something I scowled toward: as I pushed that stupid, non-powered self-propelled drive chain through thick, wet grass is that my fitness blows monkey chunks. And while I tried to save battery usage, those suckers dried up before I finished the front yard. So, I outlasted the tech?
   
   While it was hours ago, I remain saddled with something shaky in my chest. Not a 1st place trophy day! Quick thought: I regret throwing out those old Taekwondo trophies from the 90s. "I close my eyes and slip away."

2. "Whoa Oh Whoa Listen to the Music." Spotify and music references are back: I tried to go without, but I sorely missed it in today's yardwork.

3. Coffee. Yes, my body is dependent on the stuff. Cutting it in half one day and then going cold turkey the next is totally Marilyn Manson and the Sneaker Pimps' Long Hard Road Out of Hell (1997) And while my stress levels for the past 3 days were in the 30s, one time I looked down at my watch and it was reminiscent to those earlier days with the zombie bite; that sucker was up to 98!
   
   And hey, Dr. Berry gives the thumbs-up: Is COFFEE bad for you? The (Truth about Coffee).

4. Props to Tim McGraw, thumbs down to the Beatles. I need to get myself out there on venues like Facebook. You can't be a friend a friend would like to have by hiding your love away. Plus, how am I gonna invite folks to the gun show if nobody's in attendance?

What Now?

Ok, so we've got beef back on board, music, coffee, and a New Year's Eve connection: what are we gonna roll on?

DnD

I'm bringing back my Dungeons & Dragons character sheet for daily workouts. OK, so I don't have it; it was something I built in Google Sheets. But, I'll whip something together in LibeWriter or LibreCalc. Hey, why not my 2005-2006 goto, Scribus?

I didn't realize how chockful of content my morning training once was! Dexterity (agility), strength, and stamina! I never did complete the sheet with the other three, charisma, intelligence, and wisdom.

And while I attempted to create a training regimen of just three exercises, bench press, Arnold press, and dumbbell rows, it was a mistake. It's more engaging to have Back, Chest, Legs/Core, Shoulders, and Arms days.

While I love my 10,944 target, I want a weekly step up to my steps. Kelly Hogan's daily target is 30,000, a plane I have walked a few times, but not something I can maintain. To hit that kind of target, you gotta be moving all day.

Taekwondo

Yes, once upon a time I was a quasi- black belt, a First Degree Recommended Black Belt. Yeah, in practice I sparred against 1st to 4th degrees. I'd assess my skill level was on par with the 2nd degrees, though my strength never relied on my kicks, but my hand techniques. I really owe that to my training from ages 14-17 as a boxer from my Marine/Pro boxer dad. Of course, at 17, I did wrestling and later TKD, making me a mixed martial artist before that was a thing.

I regret I never did the testing to remove the "Recommended" part of my degree. It's pure vanity, of course. I was very much a black belt, but I never took the time to train again in the earlier patterns to ensure I could do it on cue for the test. I suppose it was 1998 and other things got into my schedule.

I am going to go back and train through the patterns I once did, well, the ITF ones, from Chon-Ji to Kwang-Gae, not the made-up ones that the master of my federation devised.

And I have NO memory of the karate katas I learned from the tutelage of Mr. Mullen, now the Nevada Athletic Commission executive director. But, I only spent a year in karate at ages 18-19 anyway.

And in time, I will move on to first degree, second degree, and so forth. The Internet allows me to do this. There was a time, I had to buy a VHS cassette just to grab the color belt patterns. The black belt patterns were all hush-hush. When I was white, yellow, green, blue, and sometimes red, I used to go in early just to watch the black belts train together, so I could visualize the spirit of their training. I recognized the patterns even if I never wrote the movements down.

I raise the question, "Why integrate this into my training?" Yes, it builds strength and improves agility. For those reasons alone, it's green-lit. But, it's also movement. Practical, primal movement. While lifting weight is a conduit of resistance, it is not realistic to life, unless of course you work at a gym or work as a fitness store stocker. Martial arts is about how to move YOUR body in space with confidence and accuracy. You won't find that at the gym, arms locked along a rubberband trajectory.

Primal

I've referenced it before, but I also want to have a daily "primal" regimen. Maybe it could be viewed as a warmup...or a primal primer!

10 pushups
10 Asian/primal squats
10 planks
10 situps

Just 1 set. Nothing too extravagant. Just something to get me prepped for the day. I don't even know yet how long to hold the squats and planks.

Tech

I want to bring in tools to aid in whirling this machine up. Two things I want to make a return:

1. UFC Fight Pass. Watching UFC fights has been my thing since June 2018.

2. A Google account. "Shazbot! But, you've got your own email? You HATE Google. You use Brave Search!" To better use all of the features of my degoogled phone, like I dunno, GOOGLE PLAY SERVICES, I gotta play with Google. I cannot use my Garmin app on my phone, but have to do updates via USB and do my steps sync manually with a direct connection to WiFi. While I don't see myself using it for email, I was thinking about transitioning to a CloudFlare host later this year and not renewing my email subscription to Tuta to save a few bucks before March 2025.

3. ChatGPT. I am plopping down $20/m for a subscription to ChatGPT. It's proven itself; it's my workbench. While $20 is inflated, I can justify 67 cents a day.