Just Because I can...

 

Thanks, Sonya Tayeh!

Happy Day!

Another Update...

Update! Weight Loss Challenge

I started a weight loss challenge in April in TrikkeWorld Magazine. I lost a total of 16 pounds in the process and finally fell off the plateau that I was on for a year! Even though the official date for the weigh-in is Saturday, I couldn't wait.

As far as pant sizes, I’ve gone down at least two. For the inches, I mostly lost ½ -1 inch, except off the waist and hips where I lost a total of 5 ½ inches, with the grand total of 10 inches overall! Since April, 2011!! Since I first started with the Trikke in September of 2009, I have lost 18 ½ inches and 46 pounds.

I have recently hit the ten-year mark with diabetes. So far I have been lucky with the disease because I only take one pill a day, no shots. I also keep my blood sugar levels low. I accomplish that with my Trikke.

When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I measured my blood sugar levels four times a day. I ate a good diet and I avoided all the things that I loved. I was scared and I was careful.

My A1C levels were high, 7.4 (the A1C blood test measures my average blood sugar level over the previous three months). My cholesterol levels were high as well, more than 200. I admitted to smoking. My weight was almost 300 pounds.

Then a friend showed me his new toy, the Trikke. I moved heaven and earth not only to buy a Trikke, but to get fit enough to ride it.

It wasn’t long before my A1C numbers dropped to healthy levels, to a 6.1. My cholesterol number dropped to 126. My weight dropped to 251 pounds, now 240. My Body by Trikke has gifted me with some really good results.

My T8, Black Birdie and me (age 55), we’re going to be carving the streets in Long Beach, CA for a long time!

In Another Life

In another life I was the editor of TrikkeWorld Magazine. In this life I had a weight loss challenge. I wanted to lose 55 pounds by my 55th birthday which is Saturday. Even though I didn't lose the 55 pounds, I think the challenge was a huge success.

Not only did I finally fall off the plateau that I was on for a year (!) but I did lose another 11 pounds in the process. Even though the official date for the weigh-in is Saturday, I couldn't wait. I don't think I can lose much more in that time anyway!

As far as loss in inches, which is really the big tell in this, I will wait for Saturday. I will be measuring today though, before my b-day cake arrives!

I bleed

He injected himself
into my veins like heroin.
He warmed my soul
he made me smile.

Now glass shards
have formed and
have nicked
my heart.

The things he said to me
the things he said
echo in my ears
and I bleed
and bleed.

My Affair with Long Beach Continues On

No matter what happiness or sadness I experience, I like to share it with my fair city, Long Beach, CA. I put on my comfy shoes and walk.

I walk down Pine with all the stores and restaurants buzzing with activity and people going on about their tasks. I walk down Ocean Blvd with its traffic and lights and I continue on. Past the Convention Center and the Center Theatre. Past the protected bike lanes and cycle tracks. Past the hotels and motels. Past where I used to live on Lime Ave. Past the food stores and the WalMart.

I walk past the fountains and the water falls. I walk through high rent areas and low. I just walk. I just walk. I just...

The Last Time I...

My whole life I have gone through a sort of ritual after a loss. Such as "the last time I brushed my teeth..." or "the last time I wore this shirt..." I was at my grandmother's house or I was still with so and so.

And so it goes, again. The last time I answered the phone with a smile, or the last time I saw another Trikker on the path or the last time I painted my nails this color... My life was so much better.

Loss is so hard. Change sucks. Things that were said cannot be taken back. The last time I didn't cry every day you were still my friend.

Penance

After the T-bone accident two weeks ago, my life has changed quite a bit. I lost a friend, a job and quite a bit of self esteem. Since that time I have decided to forgive myself.

Life hands us so many lessons. Sometimes we need to be slapped to learn them. I guess I was punched in the stomach with this one. Maybe I was on the wrong path, going in the wrong direction. Maybe bigger things are around the corner. Maybe...

I am scabbed over and when the scars fade I will be reborn. I have learned my lessons and am choosing to recreate myself and move on. Only sunny days ahead of me.

Not At My Best

Yesterday I T-boned a little kid on the beach bike path. He wasn't more than 6-8 years old. I really scared him more than anything, no scrapes or cuts. And it happened while I was braking, but I wasn't stopped yet. I guess I'm trying to make this sound better than it is.

I think something happens to us when our blood is pumping fast, as in when carving. I know I have talked to a friend about how aggressive we become on the bike paths while jocky-ing for space.

That kid had been doing slow circles in the middle of the bike bath, both lanes. When I came upon him he started racing me in the pedestrian lane. He then waited and waited and waited and then turned right in front of me -- I couldn't stop. I was going too fast in my left curve of the carve. You see, I couldn't swerve right.

At that point a slew of brown words came shooting out of my mouth. I saw his red bike in the white sand. He was running back to his parent who was no where to be seen. I think he decided he was too far from mom and turned back. Who knows.

I didn't want to deal with an angry parent so I rode on. The kid was okay, it really was a slow hit, and he fell in the soft sand. I didn't even fall off the Trikke.

I was caught not at my best by only one witness, a kind bike guy who stopped to make sure everyone was okay. There was a very peaceful look on his face, I felt better for seeing him there. And yet I continued my salty tirade about that kid aiming for me for quite a distance. His look said take a breath, and I did. Then I smiled and rode on.

My blood was pumping fast as I was angry and just missed falling off the Trikke again. It was very hot. I felt like I was going to barf. My heart was all spent by the time I got to the pier, which was the half-way point.

I didn't want to go back the way I had come for two reasons: the wind was strong and the kid with his angry mother.

I am not proud of myself today. I was my father in that moment. I may have scarred a kid for life.

Afterthought -- I wasn't completely like my father, he'd have chased me down and beat me.