Monday Morning Puking and Crying

It was an interesting way to start the week as I was fortunate to join my wife for our son’s six month at the pediatrician’s office down the street. We did our best to schedule the appointment early enough so that this would be a possibility and, up until Friday afternoon last week, this was seeming more like an impossibility… thankfully an important meeting got moved without me having to say anything. So, with everything working out logistically, instead of arriving at the office around ten until nine, we were walking into the waiting room watching our son turning his head back and forth trying to take everything in.

Now, I have to be honest about what I feel as we walk into these appointments (beyond the feelings of frustration when they take way too long). I have mixed emotions about going to these appointments. On the one hand I want to support my wife and be there for my son while on the other, selfish hand, I can’t stand seeing my baby boy crying in pain.

While I wouldn’t say that he is happy to be there, he has at least gotten to the point where he tolerates going to see the doctor and he is actually pretty happy and smiling at everyone until one of two things happens... being naked or getting shots. He wasn’t even phased when he threw up on me taking him to the scale or throwing up on my wife as she was bringing him back to the examination room. He is an equal opportunity chucker.

Even with the spewing, it was fun watching my wife’s when the doctor confirmed that he was only half a pound away from 20 and well on his way to being taller than mommy. He is a big boy but, more importantly, he is a healthy baby and one that surprised the doctor by what he is already able to do. While there are a few areas where he is not really excelling in (not really behind either), the doctor was surprised at how advanced his hand eye coordination had become as well as his ability to self sooth.

All of that pretty much went to pot once the vaccine and needles came out. In addition to the nasty taste in him mouth he also left the appointment with two sore legs. But now he is all ready for day care although I don’t think that my wife and I are fully ready for that change as of yet. However, I will say that this time around he calmed down much faster and the tears stopped by the time we walked back around to the front desk. Needless to say, it was a tiring morning for all of us and afterward my wife and son went back home while I made some phone calls on my way to the office.

Firearms Friday: The Virtues Of The 1911

No matter what range you go to, forum you visit, or magazine you read there is always the debate going back and forth between those who see the 1911 as the be all end all of firearms and those who are of the striker fired persuasion. This has been especially true with the new Army sidearm trials to replace the Beretta M9 (which replaced the 1911 in 1985 at the Army’s service pistol). There are those caught in the middle but there are always people that you can find on either side of the spectrum. It makes you wonder what John Browning would think of these exchanges.

Personally, I like to enjoy a variety of firearms so I was never one to participate in the back and forth. However, it was more due to my lack of experience with the platform. It was basically for the same reasons that you may have heard over and over… limited magazine capacity and a caliber that didn’t have a tremendous appeal to me. I have always been a proponent of accuracy over power.

Over the last couple of months I have come to appreciate the 1911 platform. I have become more familiar with the caliber (largely due to the recent drop in ammunition prices that have been seeing) and I have seen the prices of the firearms come down as well. While there is certainly a big difference between the entry level 1911’s (under $1000), mid-range ($1000-1500), and high end (well over $1500) there have been great deals from quality manufacturers. This was particularly true when Para Ordinance was offering a $100 rebate at the same time that my local shop, Tanner’s Sports Center, was running a special on all stainless steel expert models for just under $450. This is a firearm that is easily on the upper end of the entry level category with an MSRP north of $700.

Once I had gotten a handle on the manual of arms and really started enjoying the firearm itself I started looking at the other options out there. While I did have some familiarity with the market and I was aware that the 1911 is currently manufactured in a variety of calibers, I didn’t realize how much the capacity had increased on some models. I knew that the round count was higher but I wasn’t aware of the fact that it was 14+1 of .45ACP, 16+1 of .40S&W, or 18+1 of 9mm.

Weight and size have also been noted as downsides to the Browning design but even that is changing with barrel lengths ranging from 3-5 inches and frames being made from various materials other than steel including polymer, titanium, and aluminum. While still not light it is perfectly manageable for many who prefer carrying the classic. Weight and size shouldn’t be more of a factor beyond any consideration they are given with regard to any other type of firearm.

In the end, with my experience, many of the arguments against the 1911 have been made moot in recent years. There is a choice in caliber, capacity, and weight as well as a variety of manufacturers across the entire pricing spectrum offering a wide array of options to the shooter. It really has become a truly customizable firearm beyond the confines of the serious competitive shooting market. If you just want something for the range I highly recommend picking one up and if you are comfortable with carry cocked and locked there really isn’t a better concealed carry option available.

A Return To Soreness

It has been a week since my wife and I joined Planet Fitness and while not everything has gone to plan, we are both making some surprising progress for only being one week in. On our first day we were in the gym for 30 minutes, we are now gotten a pretty solid and tightly packed routine down which, at the moment takes us about 45 minutes. There are a few things that I still have to add but, overall, it is a pretty good start.

I can notice a little bit of change with this new routine. While the strength has yet to return, my muscles seem to have been activated and are bigger than they have been in years (especially my shoulders fro some reason). I don’t know if I have lost any weight because I haven’t been on a scale in probably a month but I don’t think any weight has come off since my clothes still feel the same.

Our diet is something that really is a work in progress. Myself more so than my wife (by far). She has been doing really well, she’s not where she wants to be but who is? As for me, I have made some improvements in that I am eating more salads but can’t say that my portions are any better and there are the occasional times when something really unhealthy seems to find its way into my hand. Small steps though. Just going to keep trying to take them ne after the other.

One thing that I haven’t been looking forward to but I have once again learned to embrace is the soreness. I kind of missed this feeling. The feeling like I actually did something physical during the day. You never get the same feeling by just walking around. I once again feel the comfort on the machines, lifting weights, and on the treadmill that has been absent for many years (especially the last few times that I tried getting into a workout routine).

This is why I can already tell that this time is going to be different. I can feel the difference and I already know where all of the locations are around home and work. Now it is going to take time to get to where I want to be and where I know I can return. One of these days I will post a picture for reference but, for now, it is my motivation Even though it is early, there is progress being made and a comfort level that I have been missing. This is just the beginning.

Returning To The Gym: Not What It Used To Be

One of the resolutions that I seem to make year after year is to improve my health. It is something that I have now included in two posts on this blog but with little progress having been made until now. It had been about a year since I last stepped foot in a gym but today my wife and I broke that unhealthy pattern and signed up for memberships at the local Planet Fitness. While we have tried this before basically going into it blind, this time we made sure to set a schedule so that we have specific nights when we can hold one another accountable.

For many years when I was younger, the weight room was a place that I enjoyed going to multiple times a week. It was a place when I could just block out the rest of the world and focus on a singular task of putting up as much weight as I could as many times as I could. Now, things are a bit different. Now I am going into this basically starting from the beginning.

While in the past, I would push as hard and as long as I could, I know that is not the best thing for me at this time. While I can still push myself, I can’t simply keep pushing until something gives. It isn’t just about getting in shape and going to the gym on a regular basis, it is about changing my mentality while I am there. What worked in the past is not healthy for me now. I have to pace myself and make sure that steady progress is made. Maybe later I can push harder but, for now, consistency is what needs to be my focus.

In addition to the general joint issues that I have faced, and which have gotten worse, for the past fifteen years I am now going into this new routine with diabetes, fibromyalgia, and borderline blood pressure issues. All of these things will basically shut me down if I just go in full boar without consideration for my current health status. So it is a matter of steady progress. It will be painfully slow and will require a commitment that is a bit foreign to me but it is nothing that I can’t push through in order to reach my goal.

So, today I started my journey to reaching my goal. Time to lose the 100 pounds that has been, literally, weighing me down lately. Well, maybe not 100, it all depends on how much muscle I can build back up. A more realistic, and healthy, goal is to get my BMI back down to 10%. By far not the lowest I have ever been but definitely a healthy number to aim for and one that will be achieved in time. When, I don’t know but I will definitely be recording my progress and I am sure setbacks on this blog.

Given my previous experiences, I know that I need to do and I know the exercises, pace, rep counts, and tracking that needs to be done. However, like everything else, I don’t know everything and any input would be appreciated. Feel free to leave your comments and questions below. I look forward to reading your input.