ChrisLives

Day 1

2009-03-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

OK. So here it is, Day one.

Breakfast? Skipped it. I don't usually eat breakfast, but the things I'm taking for my detox practically filled me up so I really wasn't hungry after taking them this morning.

Lunch: Dad called me up and asked what I was up to. I've been keeping in touch with Nicole on email while she has to work this weekend. I couldn't think of anything to have for lunch that would be "ok" so Dad and I headed to Souplantation. I had a salad with Red Vinegar dressing and a bowl of onion soup and no bread. I was good and didn't put any cheese on the salad. The soup probably was full of salt and preservatives, so I probably screwed up there.

Nicole called me when she had an opportunity and we talked a little more about what we want to eat for dinner tonight and the rest of the week. I'm pretty much convinced it's just fruits and vegetables. We'll see.

I had a piece of Terimisu (however you spell it) left over from Friday night and had to throw it away this morning. Almost teared up as I threw it away.

Here's a list of the stuff we aren't supposed to eat.
I'll have an update after we figure out what we'll do for dinner.

Sugar
Includes sugar, products containing sugar, and hidden forms of sugar, such as sucrose, dextrose, corn syrup, brown sugar, and turbinado. Artificial sweeteners are usually not recommended. Stevia and erythritol are allowed natural sweeteners.
Dairy Products
Milk, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, and other dairy products.
Wheat
Wheat and products containing wheat, such as pasta and bread.
Gluten
All gluten-containing grains: wheat (including spelt, triticale, and kamut), rye, and barley.
Animal Protein

Oh yeah, and all this, too.
Yeast
Alcohol
Food additives and preservatives
Chocolate
High-Fat Foods
Coffee

Going to start a Detox!

2009-03-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

Ok. So. Nicole and are have chosen to do a detox diet thing.
We started researching it and I found out that I basically can't eat ANYTHING that I normally eat.

I tried to find food that I can eat and basically it's fruit, vegetables, and juice. That's about it.
Tonight I'm having a Diet Pepsi, maybe a piece of left over pizza, and half of a Terimisu.

Ok. I plan to update my status on here as we go and we'll see what happens. I seriously expect to be cranky 24/7.
We'll see what happens.
See you tomorrow on Day 1. After I go nuts tonight and try to finish all the food I have in my fridge that I'm not allowed to have anymore.

Not so much....

2008-08-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

Well, here's the next update....
I haven't been keeping on top of this but some really good things have happened. And one not so great thing...

Good things...
I started running again. I'm motivated to get in shape for the Mission Bay Triathlon on Oct. 5th.
I got my room clean! Oh man! That feels so good. you don't even know the half of it. When my room is a mess, then my head is a mess. There's some kind of psychological connection there and it feels great to be cleaned up. The next step is organization. Then I'll really feel good.
I went on a bike ride. That felt great. Actually it didn't. It kicked my ass but I was really glad I did.
Played volleyball again, and watching the Olympics really motivated me to start swimming again.

Not good thing...
When I played volleyball I hurt my back.
So here I am. All motivated to start working out again, and I hurt my back.
I played vball on Saturday, I feel a lot better today, but I'm going to give myself until Monday to really heal up so I'm ready to hit the pool on Monday. I've got to get my swimming in. I can't believe I've gone this long without swimming.

So, next update... should be more workouts...

Off the Wagon

2008-07-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

All right, it's been way to long since I've posted on here.
I’ve been neglecting my diet, not getting enough sleep, not cleaning my house, and not staying on top of tasks that I need to do.

First, I need to stop spending money. I just got a Prius (which I love) and a motorcycle (to keep me sane from the easy ride of the Prius).

Have I been swimming? No!
Have I been watching what I eat and counting calories? NO!
Have I been doing my laundry and keeping my room and my house clean? NO!!!!

Things have got to change!

First thing I did was get a financial advisor. This is a big step for me. I’m not one to share my finances with anyone. The cool thing is, she’s getting my budget in order, making sure I following it, and helping me make sure I’m on track for retirement. All good stuff. She says she even knows a good housemaid to help clean my place (I don’t think she’ll come to my place though because I live too far away).

Second, today I’m having a healthy and inexpensive lunch. Actually, some people might argue the nutritional health quality of this lunch (still a lot of sugar) BUT! For me, it’s good, because, “A” it only cost a buck, and “B” it’s under 200 calories. HOW GREAT IS THAT!? What is it you ask? Two packs of Instant Quaker oatmeal….

I’m going on a camping trip this weekend that I’m really looking forward to. It’s with a really great friend of mine. It’s a Bible Study camping/cabining trip in the Sequoia National Park. I plan to take many pictures and post them here, or on Flickr or on facebook or wherever is most convenient for me. I am driving five of us, YES FIVE! In my Prius. I got a really cool cargo pod for the car for hauling all the gear. I can’t wait! It’s going to be a really fun trip. Stay tuned. We plan to leave Friday morning, but what time and where we are all meeting has yet to be determined.

Oh yeah! And next week I’m going to SEATTLE! WOHOO!!! But don’t tell anyone, it’s a surprise.

Lindberg Tower

2008-03-25T23:53:00.001-07:00

Lindberg Tower
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

Today I got a tour of the control tower at the San Diego Airpot (KSAN) at Lindberg Field. It was a lot of fun. Problem was, I wasn't aloud to take my cell phone or a camera into the actual control center at the top of the tower. It was fun talking to the controllers and watching them work as 737, 757, airbuses and the like were coming in and taking off. There are basically four people in the tower. A super visor and three stations.
Clearance delivery: This is the first person you talk to and get your departure instructions.
Ground Control: controls all of the airport except the runway. You talk to him to get your taxi clearance to move from your gate to the runway.
Tower: Controls the runway and all the airspace from the surface to 2500 around the airport. Once you get to the end of the runway, this is the person that clears you for takeoff and clears other aircraft to land.

LUNCH!

2008-03-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ok. Had a shake for breakfast so I could have a real lunch today.

Turkey Sandwich on a croissant, sliced red apple, hard boiled egg, diet Dr. Pepper, and a slice of cheese. YUM! Wish I had some peanut butter for the sliced apple. Other than that It's delish!

Diet Update!

2008-03-19T23:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here's a graph of my weight since March 1st. Since it's been a couple weeks since I started my diet, I thought I'd post an update. The blue line are my actual weights on those days. The green line represents the trend, based on those measurements.
So far I'm doing alright. I've got two more weeks before the Vegas flight. My goal is to be under 180 by then. If I keep up the pace I'm at, I shouldn't have any trouble making that goal. Problem is, I just made myself a mini quesadilla right before I went to bed. (And I had some french fries for lunch) Other than that, I've been sticking to the diet pretty well. The shakes aren't that bad. The RTD (Ready to Drink) shakes are good, but not as filling as the ones you blend yourself. The problem with that, is in order for it to be good, I have to be home, blend it with my soy Silkmilk and use my 1950's style stainless steel blender. So that doesn't happen as much. Luckily, I have the RTD shakes to use.

San Diego Flight

2008-03-16T10:51:00.001-07:00

San Diego Flight
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

I went flying yesterday. I like to take friends up that have never been in a small plane before. We had a blast. The weather was beautiful and made for great shots with all the white puffy clouds. Problem with white puffy clouds is that you have a lot of turbulence and it was pretty windy during that flight. We felt quite a view bumps. We flew out of Montgomery (KMYF) and flew over Lindberg Field (KSAN) and over the Coronado Bay Bridge. After that we flew up the bay around North Island, around Point Loma, up the coast and then back to Montgomery. Click on the pic to see the rest of the shots from the flight.

Wake up!

2008-03-14T14:42:00.001-07:00

Wake up!
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

Waking up at work is not easy. I don't think there's enough coffee...

Waiting to shoot pool with the Todds

2008-03-11T22:38:00.001-07:00

Waiting to shoot pool with the Todds
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

I showed up for pool tonight but someone on our team that we thought wasn't playing with us anymore showed up so there were extra bodies. I hung around for a while but there wasn't anyone else that was my equivalent skill level so I took off, and didn't end up playing at all. What a waste of time. Could have been doing something productive this evening.... LIke Laundry or attack the pile of dishes in my kitchen... Instead I went home early and watched American idol.... it's a sad... sad day....

Lunch!!!

2008-03-11T18:38:00.001-07:00

Lunch!!!
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

Hey! Check this out!

Dinner!!!

2008-03-10T20:47:00.001-07:00

Dinner!!!
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

Went to swimming tonight. Tonight we were doing our 100m pace at 1:55. We did 2 sets of 8x100m at this pace. That's the fasted pace I've worked out at and I wasn't having a hard time! I was actualy leading the lane and people behind me were falling out So that was awesome! Not that THEY were falling out, but that I wasn't. I got home and did three sets of sit-ups and push-ups. Then tore into my shake!!! Yum!

Lunch!!

2008-03-10T20:31:00.001-07:00

Lunch!!
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

Had to buy more shakes today. Got a bunch of the pre-made ones. They are a little more expensive, but at least they are ready to drink, and I don't need a blender or a shaker.

Salad. yum....

2008-03-09T21:33:00.001-07:00

Salad. yum....
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

Another evening of pool playing. The problem with playing on a pool league, is that you have to spend most of the evening at a Bar. Which normally isn't a bad thing, unless you're on a diet. Bar food is not great for a diet. FYI.... Plus the whole accessibility to BEER! So I ordered a crispy chicken salad with extra vegetables and dressing on the side. I think I did pretty well. Except I cheated and had a couple of James' fries. DOH!!!

Cruisin on my bike

2008-03-07T15:34:00.001-08:00

Cruisin on my bike
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

Finally got out of the house today and went for a bike ride. Only went 18 miles, but it was WINDY. Man was the wind blowing. I hate that. According to my computer I only burned 1100 calories. So far today I think I've only eaten about 1200, so I'm doing good. Problem is I'm going to happy hour tonight. Gotta keep my beer consumption down if I have any at all.

Running Mission Trails

2008-03-06T18:00:00.001-08:00

Running Mission Trails
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

I was feeling better by 2 o'clock so I went for run. But as I was getting ready I realized my iPod had no charge, so I had to charge it. Then I left twice because I forgot my sunglasses. Then I had to go get gas. I finally made it to the trail head at about 4:30.

Here's the data my iPod collected during the run. The slow parts are basically when I was running straight up out of a canyon.

Telecommuting

2008-03-06T10:50:00.001-08:00

Telecommuting
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

I don't like to post without a pic because I figure some of my readers won't read the story unless there a pic to go along with it, but I'm not really doing anything interesting to take a pic of so, here ya go.

So I've been kinda fighting off a head cold all week and this morning it hit me pretty bad so I called into work and said I planned on Telecommuting today. Here's the thing. Telecommuting is only authorized if you (1) have a telecommuting request form on file (which I do) and (2) you have to have prior approval to use it (how do you get prior permission the day of???). So, if you're feeling miserable, and you know you can still attend meeting via phone calls, and you can still review and submit the documents you planned to have submitted today while you're at home, why not telecommute? It's not like I'm going to do anything else at home except sleep and have some food. Might as well work on some of the stuff I need to do for work, and if I'm doing that stuff for work, I think I should get paid for it. The problem is, I need to do it anyway whether I can count today as a telecommute day or a sick leave day, so they kind of have me where they want me. It really comes down to my supervisor pushing it through and supporting me, knowing that I'm at home, working on the things I said I was going to do and I will have deliverables by the end of the day to show my work. He usually comes through on that. Plus the admin assistant is always cool and she always makes sure the correct paper work gets routed if I'm not there. Like today she chimed in on the email that I sent requesting to telecommute today and offered that she had a copy of all my forms for requesting to telecommute, they just need the branch heads signature. That's cool. I should get her a box of chocolate or something. Or buy the chocolate she is always trying to sell for her kids’ fundraisers. That would probably work better.

Of course, it's really nice outside right now. I might feel better and go for a bike ride. The head cold really only seems to hit me in the morning and by the afternoon I'm better, but not 100%.

If I go for a bike ride later today I'll be sure to take a pic of it and I'll blog about it. I've got to wait till after my 1 o'clock meeting that I have to dial into today. I'm still not feeling great, but I'm hoping to be better by the time the meeting is over.

Another Simming Workout

2008-03-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

So I'm trying to save gas and I decided to pack my swimming gear so I can head straight to Coronado after work to go swimming. Problem is I usually have an hour and a half to kill once I get there after work. Sure, I could work late, but that would just drive me nuts!

In case you haven't noticed, I've added a weight ticker to the top of my page. The scale starts where my body weight started on the 1st of March and the plane tracks my current location. Isn't it cool that it's a plane??? IT'S AWESOME! ok. Pretend I'm the pilot in the plane and I'm heading to 175 lbs at Mach 2.3.

This will be my last post on my weight. From now on I will simply track it on my calorie counter site and it will update the ticker at the top of the page by moving the plan along it's flight path.

Tomorrow is the first 5:30am Sim workout. I think "I'm going to have to pass. I plan to have a happy hour with the guys this Friday. Geoff is finally back from Kosovo and we all need to get caught up on his adventure. More on that later. That should make for a good post this weekend. Anyway, since I'll be going to happy hour on Friday, I'll miss Friday night swimming so I plan to go Saturday morning to make it up. I'll have a review of the new "morning" swim routine.

Good night for now. I'm exhausted.

Weight: 187.7

Today's Breakfast

2008-03-02T21:51:00.001-08:00

Todays breakfast
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

OK. So today I had navy reserves. This morning I got up and made myself an egg sandwich. It's my favorite breakfast (that I make).

I took a Myoplex shake with me to work and had it for lunch. I also broke down a little and had a small bowl of salad at the galley.

I spent the morning in my Navigator qualification Board. That was fun. I"m now qualified to stand Navigator watch on "Vessels of Opportunity". Ships that are able to carry and transport all of our rescue assets. (These are BIG ships).

The afternoon was spent having fun in the 22' Whaler that has twin 115HP outboards. It's kinda fast... :)

Here's a pic of my during our "debrief" of the day.

Another day in the reserves
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

Todays weight: 188.8 lbs

Diet

2008-02-29T22:57:00.000-08:00

Ok.
So I've decided to go on a crazy diet. I mean CRAZY!
I totally made this diet up on my own. It's called the breakfast your way Myoplex diet.
So here's the plan, and yeah, y'all will probably think I'm crazy.

Rules:

Breakfast:

Anything I want as long as I cook it/make it (so eggs, pancakes, waffles) as long as I make them. No frozen waffles, no eggo's, no breakfast burritos from El Rodeo!
Bacon? Fine, as long as I cook it and have it with eggs and toast or something like that. So basically breakfast has no limits except for fast food or going to Brothers restaurant.

Lunch & Dinner:

Myoplex shakes. Nothing else.

The goal is to lose as much weight by the end of the month as possible. See, the thing is, I want to fly to Vegas with my friends for the Southwest APA Pool Challenge! Which means we got to put four people into a really small airplane.

The Airplane can only carry so much weight, legally. Then there the additional weight that it can carry illegally, and then finally there is the weight that the plane simply will not get off the ground if it weighs that much. Right now, with the weight of JUST THE PEOPLE, we are in that "illegal range" but could still make it off the ground.Or, if I simply took 10 gallons of fuel off the plane we would be fine. (10 gallons @ 6LBS/gal = 60 LBS) (We don't need that fuel and we aren't in danger of not making it without the extra 10 gals)

Thing is, we all want to bring our Cue sticks with us. They don't weigh much (mine is 19.5oz) but I've got two of them and they are in a leather case. So here's the thing. I told the guys that are going that we all gotta lose weight before we go to Vegas. So we are on a weight loss challenge.

One guy weighs 300LBS. I think he has the most to lose and said he could easily lose a lot of weight by the end of the month. The other guy weighs 230 (or did he say 240?) whatever.. it's not important (or is it?). I'm at a whopping 190 right now. And then there is another passenger at 123. She's fine. no worries there.

So, combined our weight is 843 LBS. Full fuel is 240LBS. Total weight = 1,083LBS. Aircraft useful load = 1,024 LBS. Minus 10 gallons of fuel (60LBS) = 1,023 LBS. Whew! 1 LBS to spare! but wait! We need to wear clothes... or do we? Yeah, we do. So, basically we all need to lose the weight of our clothes (5 LBS?) and any additional weight of our cues or anything else we want to take with us. Luckily a friend of ours is driving out so he can take all our baggage.

SO! More swimming, and running! Less eating, and I plan to follow the diet outlined above for the month and we'll see how I do.

Todays weight at 11:15PM = 190.7lbs

Pool League

2008-02-24T21:23:00.001-08:00

On Sunday and Tuesday nights I shoot APA (American Poolplayers Association) competitive pool.

Waiting My Turn
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

Tonight I almost lost but made a great comeback at the end of the game. My Sunday night pool league is a Double Jeopardy league that plays both 8-ball and 9-ball. My Tuesday night team is just a 9-ball team. I am rated as a skill level 3 in 9-ball and I'm a 4 in 8-ball. I was playing a 4 tonight in 9-ball, which means she's a better player, but since she is a better player she has to make more points than I do, to win. Each time you sink a ball in a pocket you get one point. If you sink the 9-ball, you get 2. She had to play to 36 and I had to play to 29, I think, but don't quote me. I don't know unless I'm looking at the score sheet. It's all laid out on that.

Anyway, point was I was down a bunch of points and then sunk a bunch of balls in a row and made a glorious comeback! Which was a lot of fun. Sure made me feel better because I was pretty bummed at the beginning of the game because I Was getting my butt kicked.

Pre-flight for Palomar

2008-02-23T14:27:00.001-08:00

Pre-flight for Palomar
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

I was originally supposed to head out to Yuma for the Air Show this weekend. Flying to the Yuma Air Show is one of my favorite things to do with my club.
We usually fly out with about three or four planes and have them on static display and talk to people at the air show about how you can get your private pilots license and inform them about general aviation. The Air Show provides free lodging for us, feeds us one great meal, and throws a kegger for the pilots that fly in. It's a lot of fun.

Problem was, this year, the weather wasn't on our side. We had a small three hour window to get into Yuma on Friday. During that small time window, it was still pouring rain and the cloud layer was low, and there were AIRMETs for turbulence and icing conditions along out route of flight. So the flight was cancelled.

On top of all this, I was originally supposed to fly our Liberty out there, which is a really fun plane, but it was grounded due to a hard landing last weekend. Luckily one of our other planes became available for me at the last minute. Problem was, the weather never cooperated.

Since the flight to Yuma for the weekend was cancelled, there was an aviation safety seminar at Palomar Airport. Ed and I decided to get in the plane and fly up there for it. They were presenting it at Premier Jet at Palomar and they were offering free parking for your plane if you flew in for the seminar. So Ed and I hopped into 214AF and headed up there. Dave flew 217AF and met us shortly there after.

The departure I took for the flight to Palomar from Montgomery took us through the Miramar class Bravo airspace. If you're aware of it, you can ask for a north bound Miramar transition out of Montgomery. This is usually a climging left 270degree turn after you take of on runway 28L. Since Miramar tower was closed, they told me to take a right downwind departure and contact SoCal departure for clearance through the class Bravo airspace.

Once through Miramar's airspace, I contacted Palomar tower and the tower was not very clear on what they wanted us to do for their "modified straight-in" approach. It ended up being a cluster f$%k, but we made it safely to Palomar.

Once there, Ed and I tried to stay awake through the Flying with GPS class. We had lunch then sat down for how to manage your piston engine class and about a quarter of a way through it, Ed and I looked at each other gave the nod and we got up and headed out of there.

The flight back was a lot of fun. I flew straight out of Palomar west bound and stayed at 1500'. As soon as we hit the coast we turned south and followed it to Mt. Soledad. We called in to Montgomery Tower at Torrey Pines and got our approach clearance. On the way in, tower decided to have a guy turn downwind right when we were turning on the 45 to enter downwind and we almost had a "wing high - wing high" collision, more common with low wing aircraft. Ok it wasn't close, but the potential was there. I stayed wide in the patern and he stayed tight in the pattern and once he climbed to altutute we turned left under him on a left base for runway 28L. Another perfectly soft landing on 28L and then taxied to Gibbs. It was a great day fro flying.

Moving on up!

2008-02-21T20:25:00.001-08:00

Last night was another swim workout. Monday, we were doing intervals and I was keeping up just fine, in fact I was leading my lane. So coach said, next time you're moving up a lane. Last night I swam in a faster lane. Last night was the perfect time to do it, too, because the people that normally swim in that lane weren't there so I had the whole lane to myself, until about half way through the workout. We ended the workout with a 400m IM. Swimming 100m butterfly is one of the hardest things to do!

Here's Michael Phelps swimming the 200m butterfly.

Workout

2008-02-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

I worked out Thursday after work. There was a huge storm here and they actually shut down the freeway heading towards my house and everything was backed up. So I headed to the gym. This was a lower body workout day. Well, I started doing squats and I think I pulled something so I switched to the leg press machine to take it easy. Later that workout, while I was doing some sit-ups I noticed on my leg that there was a bruise and a weird "red" mark. Looked like internal bleeding. I was worried I tore something. It's still pretty sore. Hopefully it'll go away. I've been meaning to put a pic of the bruise up, but I figured that would just scare everyone away.

V-Day Post

2008-02-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I guess I need to put up a V-day post, since Halmark has brainwashed everyone into doing so. I can't be left out.

Here's my contribution for today, along with some great poetry forwarded to me by a co-hort. Enjoy.

(Johnny Bravo is purly a fictional character and any similarities he has to real people are purely coincidental)

Love may be beautiful, love may be bliss
But I only slept with you, because I was pissed.

I thought that I could love no other
Until, that is, I met your brother.

Roses are red, violets are blue,
sugar is sweet, and so are you.
But the roses are wilting, the violets are dead,
the sugar bowl's empty and so is your head.

Of loving beauty you float with grace
If only you could hide your face

Kind, intelligent, loving and hot;
This describes everything you are not.

I want to feel your sweet embrace
But don't take that paper bag off of your face.

I love your smile, your face, and your eyes
darn, I'm good at telling lies!

My darling, my lover, my beautiful wife:
marrying you screwed up my life.

I see your face when I am dreaming.
That's why I always wake up screaming.

My love, you take my breath away.
What have you stepped in to smell this way.

My feelings for you no words can tell,
except for maybe "go to hell"

What inspired this amorous rhyme?
Two parts vodka, one part lime.

Swim workout

2008-02-13T22:17:00.001-08:00

Swim workout
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

SO! Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights, I swim with the Coronado Master Swimming Association. Ok. Rarely do I go on Friday nights. My goal is to go at least twice a week, if not three times a week. I usually go Monday and Wednesday, and if I don't have plans (which is more often then not, now) I'd go on Fridays. You'd think I'd be in better shape. Maybe if I stopped getting the microwaveable double Cheeseburgers from Blind Dave's at work for lunch, I would be.

Today was significant because after the workout we all met at Pete's house for spaghetti and wine. Not just to eat, but to elect our new board members. It's always a riot hanging out with this bunch.

I just got home and I think I have a little indigestion from the wine. Note to self: do not have wine immediately following a 3000m swimming workout and having a 200IM be the last thing you do before you start drinking.

Navy Reserves

2008-02-10T20:08:00.001-08:00

Navy Reserves
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

This weekend was my Navy Reserve weekend. I had fun with my iSight camera at work and got this great shot of me. I really look like a mean GIJOE! I mean, am I right???

Well, it was a pretty boring weekend. Lots of GMT (General Military Training) Like Don't do Drugs, and Stay in School, and Diversity is GRrrrrrEAT!

SLow Ride (HARD Level) ON GH3

2008-02-07T14:53:00.000-08:00

OK HERE IT IS! LEt me know what you think!
YEah, I missed a bunch of notes, but I didn't get boo'ed off the stage!! WOHOO!

ROCK!!!

Video

2008-02-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

Ok, So I made a video of me playing Guitar Hero 3. IT really sucks. I'm downloading it right now. Hopefully I'll get it up and running and figure out how to get it posted on here!

Sick Day in Bed

2008-02-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

Yes, I took a sick day today. Am I sick? Probably on some mental level, yes. Actually, I really needed a day off. Work has been really getting to me, I've been going through a really bad double-breakup (don't ask that's a different blog), and I just need a day to regroup my thoughts, get some physical rest and recharge my body. I have tomorrow off normally, so I'll get two days off this week. I have reserves coming up this weekend so my weekend is shot. Which reminds me, I have a lot of paperwork to do before my weekend starts. Ugh....

More updates through out my sick day coming up. Right now, my mission is to get some food. Probably just some soup or something.

Guitar Hero III

2008-02-06T19:45:00.001-08:00

Guitar Hero III
Originally uploaded by Anechoic Chris

So I went to a friends house for a pre Super Bowl party. He had Guitar Hero III and we spent some time playing that. Holy crap! That is the funnest game in the WORLD!!!!
So Monday I went out and bought it. I've already beat it on Easy and Medium levels. I'm working on Hard right now. My left hand is about to fall off!!! My right hand is fine. I keep it in shape in other ways .

So here I am Rocking out to Guitar Hero III on XBOX 360.

2006-04-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

Dust

2006-04-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

There it isn't!

Boom!

2006-04-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

There it goes!

2006-04-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

Protect the buildings around it.

San Diego demolition

2006-04-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

There it is.

Seattle

2006-03-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

Seattle concert hall

2006-03-12T15:57:00.000-08:00

Cam and i waiting for mom's concert to start.

2006-03-12T15:55:00.000-08:00

A visit from Cameron

2006-03-05T12:50:00.000-08:00

Cam enjoying the new living room.

Midway

2006-01-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

Captain eric

2006-01-16T14:31:00.001-08:00

Out in san diego bay.

2006-01-16T14:31:00.000-08:00

Pictures from the flight back

2006-01-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures I took during the flight back. It was fun flying back VFR on top, since I was more familiar with the area from the flight up. It sure beats scud running underneath them. Enjoy!

San diego

2005-12-30T12:16:00.000-08:00

Back in san diego having lunch with Dad.

Mojave!

2005-12-29T21:50:00.000-08:00

Safe in Mojave! Finally got out of the North West and into some decent weather! Here I am at the Best Western. I hope to get out of here tomorrow morning and done with this trip so I can relax for a little while before having to go back to work on Tuesday!

2005-12-29T11:06:00.000-08:00

2005-12-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

Heat!

2005-12-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

Pink hair dryer! Woohoo! There was a guy here who was nice enough to let me use his hanger to warm the plane up! The starter is frozen and won't turn the prop over.

2005-12-29T10:14:00.000-08:00

Warning up the plane.

2005-12-27T09:53:00.000-08:00

Doesn't look like i'm going to make it out today either.

Might make it out today?

2005-12-27T09:50:00.000-08:00

2005-12-27T09:44:00.000-08:00

2005-12-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

Going for a walk since i was unable to fly out today.

Pictures from the flight up with my digital camera!

2005-12-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

Mono Lake

2005-12-24T23:05:00.000-08:00

Patrick trying not to get nailed by Don with the super nerf guns!

Opened presents!

2005-12-24T21:19:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah!

Drew

2005-12-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

Present inventory.

Grandma

2005-12-24T19:46:00.001-08:00

Patrick

2005-12-24T19:46:00.000-08:00

Handing out presents!

2005-12-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

Getting ready for presents!

2005-12-24T19:42:00.000-08:00

2005-12-23T20:09:00.000-08:00

Merr and Drew checking out the site.

2005-12-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Checking out the website.

Tree is up!

2005-12-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

Time to decorate!

Sunriver!

2005-12-21T16:45:00.000-08:00

Brenden and i flew in.

Made it to Bend!

2005-12-21T08:30:00.000-08:00

Made it to bend. Ed came and picked me up at the bend airport. I didn't fly into sunriver because no one is there yet. When the gang gets here we will head to sunriver this afternoon.

2005-12-21T08:16:00.000-08:00

All you need.

Breakfast

2005-12-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

Breakfast with dad to see me off!

Equipment inventory. Check!

2005-12-20T06:29:00.000-08:00

More planning.

2005-12-19T23:37:00.000-08:00

Step 2. Plan the flight.

2005-12-19T22:24:00.000-08:00

Test

2005-12-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

Step one. Make sure the plane is reserved. Check!

Christmas 05!

2005-12-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

Ok. Here's the deal. Supposedly I can post pictures directly from my phone to this blog. With that in mind I plan to document my flight up to Sunriver from San Diego via phone pics. We'll see how it goes. The next post will be a test and then I'll be on the trip! I don't actually leave till tomorrow morning, weather permitting. This should be an adventure!

Braces

2005-12-12T23:36:00.000-08:00

Ok. I decided to get braces. I've been putting it off forever because I'm a trombone/tuba player and the last thing you want as a brass player is actually having brass on your teeth. But I decided it was time. I went in for my preliminary consult with the orthodontist. Got the estimate and then had to schedule an appointment to get X-rays and before pics done. Here are some of the pictures. They are so freakin cool! I think anyway. Check them out!

Already Done....

2005-11-22T10:36:00.000-08:00

So I did some research and found out that on May 5th, 1967 Northern pilot Don Braun piloted the first wheeled aircraft, A Bristol transport, that landed at the North Pole. This aircraft now sits as a monument at the airport in Yellowknife, capital of the Northwest Territories (that's in Canada, eh!) So much for that idea. Of course, just about everything you can think of has already been done.

The North Pole

2005-11-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

Since Cam is at the South pole and he is my brother, I, of course, must do everything exactly opposite. Since I can't go to the North Pole right now I figure I'd just bring a picture to him.

During my tour on the USS Salt Lake City, our boat was scheduled for an ICEX. We were actually planning on sailing around the world for the 100th anniversary of U.S. submarines, which was in 2001. It turned out another boat that was on deployment needed to be relieved from it's post due to some complications and we were pulled off of our ICEX to relieve them so they could take care of what they needed to. After we completed their mission for them, they came back and got the port call and we had to continue on to a different mission. So basically they got the reward for us completing their mission. That's something I always thought I should have called Mr. Turko from the TURKO FILES on. IT AIN'T RIGHT!

So needless to say we never got to go to the North Pole like we were supposed to. It would have been cool to say that each of the Martindell boys had been to one of the poles. Maybe I'll be the first person to land a fixed wing aircraft at the North Pole in my Pilatus Porter.

Made it to vegas!

2005-11-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

I had a great trip to Vegas with a couple of my friends, Al and Geoff. Geoff flew up with me, he's quite the experienced pilot, and Al decided he would rather try his luck on a commercial airline then bounce around in the sky in a fun little plane. We had a great time and what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas so I can't tell you too much about it. As far as Halloween, I was a muscle man, more aptly described as a Nebraska line backer, Geoff was a pirate and Al was a gladiator!

Flying over vegas!

Day after Halloween

2005-11-01T08:13:00.000-08:00

Good day and welcome to my first post. It's the day after Halloween and I am TIRED! I'm at work right now trying to get caught up on things and ready for my next meeting. My brother is in Antarctica AT THE SOUTH POLE! I've been following his updates and having a blast following him through the experience. Check out his posts at www.offyonder.com! It's freakin' sweet!