Bringing It

Now that I'm back in town, it's time to get back to work on improving my health. I have decided to kick it up a notch and do the impossible, which is to get into good enough shape to feel the way I did when I was young. What a challenge the aging body is. When I was young, I had to deal with the changes brought by puberty and hated the monthly bill when it came due. But now that menopause has claimed my body and nothing works the way it used to, I have been investigating ways of improving my health and quality of life.

Not being able to do my weight training during the winter (due to extreme cold in my gym... which is on my list of things to correct), I started walking at the campus near our house, got an ellyptical and a training program called P90X. Okayyyyyyyyyy... so maybe I bit off more than I could chew here. But I'm gonna try it. I'm on Day Four and hurt in places I never knew existed. I have worked out for years, and conventional programs don't even come close to what I'm doing now. This program is extremely intense (hence the "X" in the name) and is definitely not for anyone with any kind of chronic injuries or illnesses. I probably shouldn't be doing it either, but I figure if I don't try it, I may never progress beyond what I was able to do on my own. I'm learning how very difficult this is for someone my age and body composition.

So... this program is heavy on pull-ups. I can't do a single one. How embarrassing. Fortunately, I'm not failing in front of anyone I don't know. My boys are taking turns making sure I'm not doing something stupid and overdoing it. Case in point... on Day Two I decided to try the Ab Ripper workout. Jay sat down to babysit me, and after I started it, he got this look on his face that clearly said "This is not going to end well." Boy, oh boy... It's 15 minutes of pure rip and I could only do 10. Again, embarrassing. This particular session is scheduled to be done after an upper body session, which I had done the day before. Oh. You mean RIGHT after it. I couldn't even MOVE my arms after the upper body workout. How was I supposed to work the abs?

So I did what I could. I'm taking this first week or even two weeks to get familiar with the program and what kind of equipment to use, as well as familiarize myself with the nutrition aspect of the program. I have ordered a pull-up bar and some other necessities for this program, and can't wait until they arrive. For those of you who, like me, can't do a single pull-up, you can use a chair at first to get you up to the bar and steady you as you build the upper musculature necessary for this exercise. I am giving myself a drop-dead date of April 1 to begin the entire program in earnest.

Can I do it? I'm going to go out on a limb and say yes. I've come a very long way from where I was 18 months ago. At that time, I could barely walk and had a bodyfat composition of 44.89%. Today I'm not only walking, but pushing it, and bodyfat has gone down a whopping 11%. I've got a long way to go, but it's a journey. Do I have a goal? Sure. I want to be strong, healthy and flexible and at 20% bodyfat. Did I give myself a date to do it by? Nope. But I'll settle for a 1 or 2% drop in bodyfat per month. At that rate, in another year I will either have reached or almost reached that goal. Just gotta keep bringing it. Film at 11.

Nazdrowie'

Paczki Puta

Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Since my post yesterday (which was not supposed to get pulled to FB), I've received a lot of hate mail and been dropped by my cousin, or my "so-called cousin" (his words, not mine), so... am making some changes.

It's long been a rule of mine that when I'm dropped from someone's friend list, I block that person so we may go our separate ways and not check back in to see what the person is doing, writing, etc. I am keeping with that. But now I am also blocking their immediate family members, especially since I read that this particular person is telling his daughters of how he didn't want them affected by the "poison" that I write. So, I have decided to make it easier on them and block them.

What does that mean for the future and for the vacation we have planned for July? Right now I am not planning on going anywhere. I want some privacy, and I am not going on chat, have blocked phone numbers and am generally not answering anyone for a while. I have a family here that needs my attention, and we're going to do the best we can with 4 less people in our family. If more people drop from my list, so be it.

Goodbye, Pete. I hope you find your birth mother and I wish you and your family the best.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming. Over and out.

Nazdrowie'

Paczki Puta

Why Suicide Is Stupid

I just got back from a funeral in my hometown and have a few thoughts I'd like to jot down.

My cousin's stepson killed himself last week by hanging himself in a closet. What a waste. This guy had the world at his feet. He was on a full scholarship, had a job, a girlfriend and a family that loved him. But that wasn't enough. He also had friends who adored him. As I watched them in mourning, I thought "What an incredible asshole to wreak this kind of pain on people." There are people who would say he always had a smile on his face, and he wouldn't do this to people. But he did. He went on a drunken tangent, wrote a 4 page letter, posted some goodbyes on Facebook and then checked out. Did he care about all the people who would be affected by his death? So some things didn't go as planned... so you didn't have as good of times as you did as a kid... so you've had some losses in your life. The meaning of life, plain and simple, is to GO ON!

There is no good reason to commit suicide. None. No matter how bad things get, they can always get worse AND if you stick around long enough, they WILL get better! There are enough good people in the world that will listen if you need a shoulder, and if you can't find any of those, there are self-help groups, books and government programs. You learn from it, do what you have to do and make the best of things, no matter what. I come from a long line of very crusty people who went through hell to be in this country and have the best life they could, and most of them lived to a ripe old age. What is it about today's youth that thinks life is too tough and that they have a perfect right to disregard the sanctity of life by killing themselves? What makes them think they have a right to hurt people this way? Live fast, die young, leave a good looking corpse is only a line in a movie. In real life, it hurts people. It leaves an indelible mark on their souls and a hole in their hearts that will never fully heal. Your parents are grieving. Your siblings are grieving. Your friends are grieving. Is this what you wanted? It was the most selfish thing you could ever do.

What an asshole. What an incredible asshole.

My apologies to any of his family or friends who read this. This is not meant to hurt you or destroy your memories of your loved one, but only to express my opinion.

Nazdrowie'

Paczki Puta

While My Ticket Makes Its Way to Minglewood In Someone Else's Hands...

I thought I'd write a little while I'm stuck at home this evening. My ticket to Tora Tora is on its way to Minglewood in someone else's hands, courtesy of a killer sinus headache that came on me this morning. I knew there was something wrong when Steve and I went for a walk on the campus, and my legs felt like lead. I had been sneezing a lot the last 24 hours and wanted to push a little to see if I could just push through it. I was wrong. So I made the ultimate sacrifice and gave my ticket away. =( Goodbye ticket! Have fun without me!

So while I'm wasting time waiting for modern medicine to alleviate this vice my head seems to be in, I made some observations that I wanted to get down on "paper" just for the record. For example, in between answering various messages from my cousins, I noticed how close we all seem to have gotten... the Pluskota cousins... other than my siblings. I wonder why that is. No, I don't... I know the answer. It's the simple fact that these are real people, who see through the superficiality that pervades my siblings' lives. Oh well. I'm glad to have these relationships now. I might never have gotten close to my cousins if my father hadn't passed away a year ago. But we are thick as thieves and better.

First... Tracy... I love you more than I ever thought possible, and we are closer than I ever was to any of my siblings.

Second, Dennis... you're a nut and I still love you after all these years. I will never forget you trying to drown me and being there when we found old Busia and Dzia Dzia's gravesites. It's amazing how close we still are. We'll both get through the hardships we now face and life will be better soon.

Third, Pete... I'm so glad to have you in my life, even if I didn't get to see you when I was in town over the holidays. You've got a good heart, and I hope some of the investigations I'm doing for you bear fruit. You can't have peace until you have all the pieces. Troy Dunn said that... the man your mom had contacted about finding your birth mom. I'll keep trying, and I'll write a letter to Troy as well. Everyone deserves answers.

Fourth, Amy... you may not answer the phone, but you tear up the airwaves with texts, and I'm grateful to have had time with you in January. We've got some catching up to do!

Fifth, Sue... you may not know it, but you have been missed all these years. It warms my heart to see you and you are very well loved by me.

Uncle Jerry and Aunt Pat, you have no idea how it warms me to know that you still care about this worn out Chicago reject. You're the best! Hang with me a lot longer, will ya? We've got some hanging to do.

In the next couple of months, I'm planning on making major strides in my health care and am hoping to be in decent shape when I see you all in Wisconsin in July. I'm starting school for physical therapy in August and will be pushing hard until I get the degree in my hand. After that's done, I look forward to us all spending a lot more time together when I get started up north in my practice.

Anyway, there's the plan... anyone think it's possible???

Nazdrowie'

Paczki Puta