O, the Pain

I'm not really gonna talk here about physical pain. That's not the hurt I'm feelin right now. No, it is more of the anxious kind of pain. Waiting. Waiting and more waiting. For results. For things to happen. For action.

As an example, just when is that global warming deal gonna take place? Crimminy sakes I'm tired of this cold weather, and I live in Southern California! Took the bike out today. Gorgeous. Mostly clear skies. Not a heck of a lot of wind. Just your typical SoCal day. Not a day Al Gore would make a movie about I can tell ya. Except for the temp. And in the shady parts of the valleys very nipply! Sure, it ain't like it is back east. But I'm tired of havin to put on a long sleeve shirt doggone it. Just look at my picture here.

Just when I get goin on my new plan to make a lot of money another holiday pops up! Where in the heck are they comin from? I don't remember all these holidays growin up. Days off are such momentum killers. I don't know about you but I get real used to not doin a thing. Again, the pain of waiting.

Or, how about this. I got real aches and pains in the joints. Age, OK? I'm ok with that. But . . . I have read about some things that will help naturally. Let nature take of it, right? Trouble is it takes a few days to a few weeks to start to feel any improvement. Heh, I'm not gettin any younger here, I want results NOW.

On second thought, I know what the problem is, Spring Fever! And I'm so ready for it.

I'm as Excited As . . .

Have you ever had one of those days? Ya know, when everything seems to go . . . GREAT! No matter what you do things just go your way. Well, that is the kind of day I'm having today. Or had, it is almost over with.

I can say here and now that if it weren't for the good health I'm enjoying today would not have been all that great. O, my house sold for what I wanted, a good friend called to get advise on an investment I help him on, my broker called with good news on my orange juice option, I set appointments with people I've been trying to set for weeks, and on and on my day went. I'm just in that frame of mind where I'm getting positive attractions.

I've also added two new (for me) regimens to my daily routine. I expect a lot from this. One is KEFIR and the other is "gasp" cod liver oil! I read where kefir milk is loaded with all sorts of little bugs that your innards need to help your immune system and other things as well. And cod liver oil (and fish oil) has the omega-3 essential for all kinds of good stuff. Now, it may not do all that much for insulin use and keeping blood sugar levels down, but overall health is also important. Gosh, I love bein a health nut!

Yes, I feel GOOD! Even better than this:

The Dandelion

I noticed something this morning on the first daily walk after dining on my oatmeal and coffee. The sun wasn't even above the horizon though the Eastern skies were getting brighter. The street lamps were still on and that gave me enough light to see by. And to see what caught my eye and started me to thinking. It was about 5:30am.

What I saw was a little white puffball on a long stem from a plant next to the sidewalk. A dandelion. The temperature was about 43 degrees F. Any other flowering plant was still snugly closed against the cold. Herein, I believe, is a lesson.

For the lowly dandelion life is all about taking advantage of opportunities. It doesn't matter what the heck is going on around it, the plant just grows and grows and grows. The cold had no effect on it. As a matter of fact the lawnmower has no effect on either, just take a look at my yard! The dandelion will come back at you almost overnight.

After mowing the lawn I can set my watch to when the little yellow flowers will appear. The next day the yard is a sea of yellow. That night the flowers transform themselves into white seed balls, each seed equipped with a wind sail. Just a tiny whiff of a breeze will send the seeds over vast areas. And before long the process starts again. Promulgating the species at a tremendous rate. Not reinventing or evolutionizing, just taking advantage of its own particular set of life abilities.

And in that is the lesson. No matter what the setback or failure may be, one must bounce back. One must do this: FIDO (forget it, drive on!). So what if during some holiday you gain a few pounds. So what if you binged on a two pound cheeseburger with fries and a super sized coke. So what. Enjoy the moment and then get back on it. That's what I do. That's what the dandelion does!

For more information about the dandelion and its usefulness go here http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7469.html

Compliments or Condiments

This past holiday season (and happy President's Day to ya) was a real eye opener for me. So many things, positive things, happened to me. It did not matter what party I attended. It did not matter where I did business. I got complimented on the new me.

Yeppir, the compliments kept on a coming. People wanted to know how I became: slim, trim, energetic, rosy cheeked. There is a new magnetic aura that surrounds me. The ladies look at me like I ain't been looked at in decades. Ah, the come hither looks. Scary.

All this justifies my routine of exercise and eating right. The compliments are the right condiments. Do you think I would now go back to the old me? Not on your life. Back to fatdom. Back to clothes so tight you could see through the threads. Back to being lethargic about life. No. No. No.

Sometimes it takes something extraordinary to jolt you to the next level of life. That something can be a diagnosis of a debilitating disease, such as diabetes or worse. But that terrible moment in time can blossom into a new and wonderful you, if you let it. So get healthy. Get compliments. Get going!

Creative Chaos

"Well, that's another fine mess you've gotten us into." A famous line used by Hardy to Laurel in almost all their films (remember Laurel and Hardy? If not http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/). They were all the time trying new ways to earn a buck. Elaborate plans that always went screwy in one way or another. And they made millions entertaining depression-era America.

I don't know about you but I've had my share of screwy plans as well. I was gonna get rich selling oil additives. No wait, let's be an auto broker! Nope, that ain't it, surely long distance is the ticket. Plus so many more that I tried and was never able to quite make the money that was flashed before my eager eyes. I had no plan either. I had no desire. I had not the slightest idea what I was doing. Does this ring a bell?

What changed for me was the diagnosis of pre-diabetes and the march of time. I now had to really focus on it and plan it and do it or I was gonna have something I really did not want, a needle everyday for the rest of my life. There must be a clue here somewhere. I talked to experts in nutrician and health management. And then I read and read and read all sorts of books about motivation, selling, time management and so forth. Putting all that together is finally paying off.

At the beginning of this year I sat down with pad and pencil and began the process of putting my future together, one that will benefit my family as a whole. My motto for this year is A = R; Actions = Results. Whatever I do must add to the goal of a comfortable retirement. I will explore all opportunities with an open mind. Explore new ways to earn an income and increase the networth of my estate.

More importantly, however, is that I will continue to exercise to stay trim, fit, and heatlthy. Eat all the good stuff (with a few no no's along the way!) to keep my glucose and other levels all in the normal range. Cause if you ain't healthy it don't matter how wealthy you are!

Here's an idea and I wonder if this chap ain't on to somethin!

My Life as a Garbage Disposal

I had the great fortune, nay, privilege to grow up in the '50s and '60s. It was a time of quiet and calm. Eisenhower took care of us and God bestowed His graces on us. More importantly was the fact I had super parents to raise me. Both parents were of the Depression and WW2 years and from them I learned how not to waste food. My dad, bless his soul, was the master of "what in the heck is that you're eating?" crowd. He put together some of the most bizarre concoctions known to man.

I watched one night as he fixed himself a milkshake. At least that is what he said it was and since I was probably no older than 7 I just took his word for it. In went the vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup, normal so far, but things got a little weird after that. The malt was OK and the peanut butter too. The ketchup I would have left out. If recollection is accurate I don't think the pickle added all that much as well. But then again what would a 7 year old know of such things, right? I don't recall all the ingredients today but you get the idea. Dad asked me if I wanted to sample it and I clearly remember running away from that thing as far as I could get my little legs to go.

However, today I ain't to shabby at putting my own concoctions together that might not make it on the restaurant circuit. Having to watch carbs and cals because of diabetes has forced me to be creative. Tonight, as example, I put together a "pizza filling scraped from cold left over pizza on a bed of iceberg lettuce dowsed with 2 tablespoons of honey mustard dressing and slices of green bell pepper." Ah, ecstasy.

Is It Warm or What?

A friend emailed me today with several pictures from Versoix, Switzerland. Apparently the ice storm was recent. As the picture shows it must have been a doozy. Another friend emailed about the same time wanting my take on the global warming controversy. Talk about timing, right? Following is my answer.

From all that I've read there is no doubt that we are in a warming trend. There is also some evidence that it may be just a temporary spike between ice ages. Plus, there is great dissention from climatologists about the valididty of the computer models that are used to promote the global warming scenario. All this leads to . . . confusion.

I am of the opinion that the market place is always the answer, even obliquely. Point, I walk a tremendous amount, up to 3 hours a day. I incorporate as many tasks as possible when I do, such as going to the library for a book to read, getting milk and bread from the grocery and so on. This leads to a great healthy body and no use of valuable resources or waste of dollars out of my pocket. I used to live across the street from AMGEN, where I worked for many years. I planned it that way. It was an advantageous money move for me. I could walk to work and not use a car, thus saving again precious dollars and resources. I say this because capitalism will in the end save our resources, reduce the effects of global warming and keep our freedoms in place. All because of self-interest. I live a life style that most greenies refuse to do!

One final point. Back in prehistory a volcano erupted, the largest eruption ever known. It spew so much ash and particulates into the air that it took more than 10 years for the atmosphere to clear to just a haze. It dropped the world's temperatures over 15 degrees C. Killing off most of the population of animals at the time. This is not a unique event. It will certainly happen again or some such catastrophe like a meteor hitting the Earth. Even if we humans ignite every nuclear device we have, release all of the freon in storage, or burn to the last drop all the hydrocarbons in the ground it would not equal the amount of damage that one volcano produced.

Follow the money my friend. The groups so worried about global warming have a need for funds.

It's All in How You Look At It

This mornings weight: 158

I got a bit scared the other day when I saw the needle on the bathroom scale charge to 161. I must have been a bad boy for a little while. So down to business and get back to 160. Guess you can see I went further than that! I have found that once you have lost the weight and have maintained it at the new level for some time that it is very easy to lose a pound or two in 24 - 36 hours. Apparently, once you know how it ain't no thing anymore.

This post, however, is not really about my abilities to lose poundage at will. I want to talk a little about conquering fears. And to do that I want to tell a story. A true story of perspective.

As I recall these events took place one early morning, oh, about 8ish. It was on one of my walks and I was at the halfway mark at the time. Walking along the left shoulder of the road I passed a series of sandbags that was stacked along the periphery of a construction site. Not much in the way of unusualness in that except for the life and death drama about to take place.

On one of the sandbags sat a pill bug. Soaking up some of the early morning sun I suppose. The smallish bug must have felt every footfall that I was producing as I walked along. Sorta like mini earthquakes. The closer they came the more nervous the bug became. Finally, as I drew almost abreast of his position, he bolted across the sandbag to hide.

Unbeknownst to my little bug friend someone else was also looking at him. Someone that was very hungry. Someone that was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. That someone was a slightly built and wickedly fast lizard. She too could feel my footfalls. She too was at the point of panic when I drew near. But she had a goal that overshadowed her fears. She was hungry. As soon as the bug bolted the lizard met it lickedy split on the sandbag and devoured it. Then off to a shady spot as far from me and as hidden as it could be from my eyes.

The drama had thus ended.

So, what are the lessons here. Well, number one, look before you leap. If you just go blindly through life a really very bad thing is gonna happen. Blindly reacting through fear to circumstances is a recipe for disaster. Number two, stay focused on your goal. That lizard was not going to let me spoil her breakfast. She had a burning desire to eat and she was not about to let me distract her from it. Finally, number three, over coming fear by letting it work for you is a reward in itself. That lizard let me provoke the pill bug into running away blindly, with no regard to safety. A very fatal mistake.

Ya know, I'd much rather be a lizard than a pill bug. I got goals. Do you?

A Formula for Success

"One day Karyn decided she was no longer willing to commute in smog laden traffic to sit in a cubicle for eight hours, come home, eat, sleep, wake up and do it all over again."

I cannot tell you how many times that line or one similar to it has caused me to lose a lot of money. It goes right to the heart does it not? Who hasn't felt trapped in a job going no where. Who isn't looking for the gold watch and endless summer days rocking on the porch. And what does that mean anyway?

People are looking for freedom, plain and simple. Freedom to do all that you would do if given the time and resources to do them, right? The definition of freedom will be different for each of us but the common factors will be the same, money and time. And that is what got me in trouble.

I am an easy mark for the easy sleaze. Yessir, I am on the look out for doin it the simplest and fastest with the leastest amount of effort, aren't you? I just know that the latest guru has the answers to wealth and freedom without any effort. Man, I dream of winning the lottery or getting a huge inheritance. Dream on bucko. Well dreamin ain't gettin, know what I mean? It takes action and a plan.

Having growed up on a farm hard physical labor is nothing new to me. I really like getting sweaty and all. But that ain't gonna get you rich. Money wise that is. So I spent 20 here, 30 there looking for just the right formula to get me to richdom. That won't get you rich either. It will get someone rich, just not you. But it did get me an education. An education on what will get you rich.

In all that I've read from all the various multimillionaires is this: decide what you want, have passion about it, put a plan in place to get it, act on your plan. And never give up. That is the formula for success in whatever you do, in all areas of life. Now, you don't need to spend 20 here or 30 there to find out. Use that money for yourself and let the gurus get rich off someone else.

The Why and The How

Over 50 years ago a very brilliant man wrote a book. Now, nothing unusual in brilliant (or not) people, man or woman, in writing books, yesterday or today. But this book had a huge impact on the way people think. The author was Viktor E. Frankl. His revolutionary book Man's Search for Meaning. In it Frankl describes how he found it possible to embrace life even though Frankl was undergoing the most hideous of circumstances. He is a survivor of not just one or two Nazi concentration camps, but four, and he lost all, his mother, father, pregnant wife and possessions. All that remained was one sister. Yet Frankl not only lived, he lived a long and full life. He was fond of quoting Nietzsche, "He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how."

So, with that said, I too have found that the why is so important in all areas of life because it will provide the necessary impetuous to continue on, to bear the how. My quest to lose weight due to the possibility of taking insulin shots was very powerful. I'd do most anything to not have to face a needle every day. And that is still true today. But that is not enough to continue my regimen of eating what is good for me, in appropriate portions, and to exercise as much as possible. I know this is a regimen that has to be followed for the rest of my days.

What is driving me to stay on course is my family. I am not done yet in providing and protecting. I must stay healthy so that my energies are directed in making sure my wife and I have a comfortable retirement, one that is financially secure. It is also my wish to make sure that my granddaughter is given a better shot at life than her father or me. It is not in my plans to pay the health industry all that I accumulate in health costs.

I will mention just two ways that I will use to stay the course. It is not enough to write down goals and then keep them to yourself. One way is this blog. You can be a big part of my life just by writing your comments. Let me know what you think. Ask the question, "are you still skinny?" The second way is to keep checking my weight everyday. Get on the scale to see just where I am at. Over or under from the day before. Like today, I was at 161, that made me walk just a little farther.

I highly recommend you google Frankl and do a little research. Get together your own why for whatever you want to accomplish. Good luck.

A Typical Day

I thought I'd begin by describing a typical day in my life. Not that it is all that interesting of course. But some of you may have prediabetes or full on diabetes or just found out that you are at risk of getting it. My intent here is to show that living with diabetes ain't no thing at all. In my case it probably saved my life!

To begin with, let me tell you how I was on Jan. 1, 2006. That was the day I found the bathroom scale and decided to use it. I stripped down to my birthday suit and stepped on it. Get off you fat pig! Get off! At least I thought it said that. Boy, was I big. Man, the read out was 210lbs. I'm only 5' 7", so I was a beach ball. Plus, I have sleep apnea and the fat on my neck guaranteed my use of CPAP for the rest of my life. I don't know why I felt the need to get on that scale but it put into motion all that happened later.

Around late March of '06 I had a physical with the doctor. The results of the testing confirmed what I knew in my gut. The doc said that if I didn't lose weight and exercise more then I was headed for insulin shots. Well, that was all the kick in the butt I needed to get on some kinda program to not have to use a needle on every square inch of my body. I watched my dad have to do that for years. My wife does it now. No thank you! I got with a nutritionist for an hour and that was the best money I ever spent in my life. A program came together from just the info she gave me. The doctor gave me 6 months to show improvement or else.

I won't go into all the details now but in those 6 months I dropped my weight to 160lbs, a loss of 50! After weighing myself this morning I'm proud to say that I'm still at 160lbs. And do I feel better! No more extra mass to move around. My cars and bikes get better gas mileage too! And the best side benefit of all, by a long shot, is I'm off that CPAP machine for good. I've used that darn thing since 1989. The bennies are well worth the effort I tell ya.

Let me make one thing very clear right now. There is NO magic to losing weight. There is NO pill that will burn it off. Don't waste your time and money chasing what you know is not right. To lose weight, stop feeding your face. It's that simple. And exercise. That is all that I did. Well, and stopped eating all the wrong things; white bread, pasta, processed sugar and what not. And I cut down on my portions. And I keep a close I on the carbs because of the effects to a diabetic. But really the best thing to do is get with a nutritionist and work all the details out.

So, what do I do on a daily basis? My routine? To start, I get up everyday at 4:30am - -

• Make a breakfast of Quick oats and black coffee. Get done about 5:15am


• Go for a 15 minute walk


• Snack at 9:00am; eggs, toast, coffee, some mornings bacon


• Go for a 15 minute walk


• Do work


• Lunch at or near NOON; usually something lite, sandwhich (flourless bread), 3oz of ice cream


• Go for a 1.5 hour walk


• Do work


• Dinner (Supper) about 5:30pm; salad, a meat


• Go for a 15 minute walk

That is my basic day. Not very exciting like I said in the beginning. But I sure feel great. And one more thing, I don't deny myself anything in the way of food. I have my ice cream. I'll eat a juicy cheesy sloppy burger, just not like I did in my ole way of life. You see, I'm not on a diet, no sirree, it's a food management program supplemented with a calorie management component. Now, that's so much better than a dumb ole diet!

A Blog in Time

Welcome to my blog! My hope is that after visiting, it was time well spent for both of us. I'm new at this so please be patient.

This site is definitely a work in progress. Here you will find my thoughts on a wide ranging series of subjects that will change as my mood changes, or better yet as my interests change. Central, however, is my day-to-day life with pre-diabetes, which I will refer to simply as diabetes. How I keep it under control, how it impacts other areas of my life, such as riding my Knucklehead Harley chopper, and how it impacts my motivation for other things as well.

Also, I will provide links to other areas so that further research can be done by you. Just because you see the link don't necessarily mean I endorse that site or agree with any editorial content. It's just that there may be a nugget there that might help you. Let me know if that is the case.

I am a big believer in doing things your way, as long as it is ethical, legal, and moral (must be the conservative in me). So, I have a huge respect for being an entrepreneur, though I am hardly a success at making money. That said, I listen, read, and watch many things motivational, and as my friends know from the many emails I send to them, I pass that info along quickly. Use what you find if you find that you can!