Vonderful

So, I’m back in Flint now. That’s cool.

Sadly, I was unable to find a good (read: affordable) way to stay in shape over this past spring term. Thus, after two days of getting back to lifting I feel like death. Tight, achy, sore, immobile death. Despite doing no form of weight lifting for the past three months, I seem to think I can still handle the same weight that I had left off at.

Goodness, how I am wrong.

I had forgotten about that nice feeling you get in your muscles immediately after lifting. Oddly, I like it. Maybe it’s an associative thing, but I like how they feel very dense and tight. Although that bit where I can’t fully straighten my arms is a tad annoying.

Moving on to equally esoteric things,

I see a lot of potential in this school term. Most of my classes are quite interesting. I’m loving living with my good friend Karsten. Everything is going great with the rest of the fine gentlemen I share this house with, all of the past issues seem to be alright now. I have a ton of fantastic books to read, and I’m actually making decent progress through them. I found an amazing little cafe not far from my house.

There’s really only one part of my life where I don’t see much happening at all while I’m at school (Hint: it rhymes with ‘binding a shirlfriend’). I suppose that’s okay though, maybe I can get myself to stop thinking about it so much; that would probably be good.

To wrap up this rambling, uninteresting post I will simply say this: I am in love with this song…

Vonderful voice.

ATTN: Denny’s

At the beginning of this school term (3 months ago) my max bench was 125. Certainly not an impressive number, but an ok starting point. Three months later (aka. today) I have added 20 lbs to that number. That’s 145*, and I’m quite happy about that number.

*Let me explain: I had the weight halfway up and was still making steady, but slow, progess when Garrett put his arms out to help me if I needed it. I overreacted and tried to say “Don’t help!” because I was still moving it at a good pace, but since my body was under a good amount of physical strain, what came out was “help!”. So Garrett did tap the bar up a small amount, but I HAD IT!

I’ve loved working out this term, it feels good to put on (healthy) weight and feel myself bulk up a bit. I’m currently at an all time high of 162-165lbs right now. I still need to figure out a way for me to continue lifting when I move back to west michigan for work term. I need to look into a gym membership or buying a used set of freeweights or something.

For dinner tonight I used what was left of the ham my mom gave us for a delicious grilled ham n’ cheese sammich with a bit of garlic salt on top (soo good). Since that wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy my appetite, I put a burger in the foreman(ish) grill and went in search of buns. After a minute of searching I found our cabinets to be void of burger buns. There was, however, a pair of leftover pancakes in the fridge. One thing led to another and…

It was….ok.

If I had been smart and microwaved the pancakes first then I feel it would have been much tastier.

I’ve been trying to come up with a name for this monstrosity. So far the best one is ‘Breakfast, Lunch, and Brinner Burger’ by Andrew. Please do come up with a witty name for my pancake burger, maybe something I could market and start a franchise with…or just something that makes me giggle.

#4…really?

I’ve been LOVING lifting weights with my friends for the past 2-3 weeks. it feel so nice to be sore and feel like I’m actually doing something for once. I can only sit on a computer chair/couch so long i suppose. However, I am not liking my current inability to fully extend my arms. Tuesday I did curls(lots!) for the first time in a very long time. Very long. Whenever I try to extend my arms past a 135degree angle(ish) it feels like midgets with brass knuckles are punching me on the inside of my elbows. Don’t ask why, but they definitely feel like midget punches. Hopefully in a few days I’ll be able to walk around without looking like I’m doing a pathetic robot.

And now for something completely different.

I love Pink Floyd. I mean, I LOVE Pink Floyd. I know that I don’t listen to them enough lately, but that’s mostly due to the fact that I simply cannot listen to them enough. Please don’t take this next statement to mean anything that it doesn’t. I love Pink Floyd like I love Jesus.

Haha, time to explain. When I was young, my dad was(and still is) a huge Pink Floyd fan, therefore, I became a Pink Floyd fan. When I rode in his car, we listened to Pink Floyd, when he told me to put a vinyl on while we ate, it was Pink Floyd. I inherited my father’s love of the band. When I grew up I started listening to my own music and the music of my friends. I came to an impass, do I continue to love Pink Floyd, or do I travel a different road. The love of Pink Floyd instilled by my parenting had become my own, by choice. It was at this moment that I was able to enjoy their music in an entirely new and deeper way. I think the parrallel explains itself…

When I was 10, I saw Roger Waters live at the Van Andel. For those who may not know, Roger Waters was the bassist/singer/writer for much of Pink Floyd’s music during their ‘prime’. Once ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ exploded (Billboard top 200 for 14 years straight!), Water’s influence became heavier. The Wall was his opera, The Final Cut was his life. Eventually his ego and the ego of David Gilmour (guitarist/singer/writer) collided and they stopped talking in 1981(I believe). In the 90’s Gilmour released ‘Momentary Lapse of Reason’ and ‘The Division Bell’(named by Douglas Adams of the ‘hitchiker’s guide series). In my lifetime Pink Floyd only released two albums, and it wasn’t even the ‘real Pink floyd’. Although, the past two albums are still some of my absolute favorites, although for different reasons.

It’s an advantage and a disadvantage to have your all time favorite band be through. You have access to all of their albums (of which I have 14 at last count). However, you don’t have the joy and anticipation of following them, waiting for albums, seeing them in concert. All I have of Gilmour+Waters Floyd is this:

When I first heard that Pink Floyd reuniting to play one concert it was a Saturday morning and I was half asleep listening to the radio. When I actually woke up, I thought that it was all a dream…sad panda. A few weeks later I heard that they were indeed reuniting, for one show at Live 8. Word cannot describe my joy, I remember actually crying I was so full of emotion. Watching them play together for the  first (and only) time in my lifetime was an amazing experience. I remember crying then also, I guess this band has been a big part of my life in a weird way. I still get quite emotional when re-watching videos of this concert.

As much as I say that Porcupine Tree is my favorite band, I know that it’s a lie. They can never top Pink Floyd in my mind. But I suppose it’s just more fun if your favorite band is actually current and all still alive. (RIP Syd and Richard)

As much crap as Pink Floyd gets for being a ‘stoner band’ or ‘hippie band’ or whatever, the simple fact is that they’re the single greatest band to ever live. I think I’ll be spending a lot of time in this next week listening to them. I’d wave my lighter if I could move my arms…