The R.A.N III Experience

So Much To Say

Does anyone else think its coincidence that my last blog post was the day I got my new TV?  Yes, its true, TV has taken over my life but can you really blame me?  It makes me happy, it makes me laugh, sometimes it even makes me cry (stupid Extreme Home Makeover), TV has become my new best friend.  I wake up to local NBC news; I walk in the door after work and watch Fox News; I get back from working out and more Fox News; and then after dinner, depending on the day, sports or prime time TV.  Anyway, so much has happend since the last post!  Let’s see, Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals in the Beijing Summer Olympics, the lower south/south west area of the US from Florida to Texas was smashed up and flooded by two hurricanes, the Democratic National Convention and Barack Obama became the first African American to receive the democratic nomination for presidency (and yes, even though he SUCKS more than anyone else I have ever seen run for president and I can’t stand him I did take a picture of this event, which is below, because hey, it IS history), the Republican National Convention also occured and Sarah Palin was was chosen as John McCain’s vice presidential running-mate and has the opportunity to become the first female VP in history.  Then of course the multitude of sporting events I’ve seen, most recently, and notably, Utah beating U of M in their home opener.  And lest us not forget that a new season of TV is just around the corner (anyone catch the season premiere of House?  Awesome) and I cannot wait for Heros.  Wow, anyway… besides the fact that I watch entirely too much TV I also turned 26 recently (whoa) and decided that I should do something for me in celebration of being one year older and one year healthier.  Let me explain:

I am approaching the 3 year mark of being active and losing weight.  In roughly October 6th, 2006 I decided to start trying to lose weight and at this time I weighed 265.5 lbs and had 34% body fat.  By the beginning of October ’07 I was down to 212 lbs with 24% body fat.  As of today I am 205 lbs (my lowest was 194 this past winter, probably from all the snowboarding) and 21% body fat and currently I’m working at trimming out more body fat and gaining more muscle.  My goal is to be roughly 18% body fat, I know it may take a while but “I ain’t got nothin but time” as Jay-Z once said. 

Losing weight has done more besides make me feel good about myself.  A few weeks ago I donated blood and as you may know before you can do this they have to take your vitals, ya know, blood-pressure, heart rate, etc.  For the first time ever I had a stellar blood-pressure, I believe it was 96/67 and my resting heart rate was something like 55 BPM (apparently cardio is a fantastic thing).  I’m not telling you all this to brag, I’m just very happy with what I’ve accomplished thus far and thought I’d share it with you!

But back to my 26th birthday… like I said, I wanted to do something for it, not only to celebrate my life on earth for one more year but also to sort of reflect on the fact that in just about 2 weeks I will be celebrating my 1 year anniversary of living in Utah.  I decided that camping would be best, nothing like being in the woods with a campfire and a lake and beach nearby to let you relax and have a good time.  My destination of choice: Bear Lake (Laketown, UT).  Bear Lake is known as “The Caribbean of the Rockies” as it’s in the Rocky Mountains and the water is incredibly blue like that of the Caribbean.  I researched state campgrounds around the lake for a few days and decided on Rendezvous Beach State Park. 

A few weeks before all of this came together my neighbor, Gary and I, were talking about camping in Utah and I mentioned that I wanted to go.  Gary told me I could borrow his tent and a few other choice camping items I did not have (nor wanted to buy, like a big cooler) so that made it a little easier for me money-wise.  Speaking of money, thanks to all the (very) generous family I have I received some money for my birthday and obviously I was about to use it on my camping venture.  I headed out to Big 5 Sporting Goods (sort of like Sports Authority) and purchased a 30 degree F sleeping bag by Coleman, a folding chair, and a sweet set of bowie knives (you never know when you have to fight a bear).

Friday the 12th was my day to head out, I took the day off work (which is always awesome) and was on the road by 9 AM.  I arrived at my destination sometime around 11:30 or noon I can’t recall exactly to find that I was pretty much the only person in the whole campground (seriously, there were maybe 4 other groups of people spread throughout).  I was ok with that though, it just meant I could be loud and obnoxious and not piss people off.  I pulled up to my spot and immediately was in awe of the lake which was about 50 yards north of my site.  I had reached heaven.  By the way, you can click here to view the Bear Lake Gallery.

After setting up shop (or camp) I figured it was time to go on a little hike so I figured around the lake would be best so I could check it out.  I walked east about a 1/4 mile where I was met with Bear River, where it enters Bear Lake.  It was fairly deep and I wasn’t exactly prepared to ford the river so I turned around and walked around the other edge of the lake.  Eventually I headed back home to get prepared for the rest of the afternoon, mainly getting the fire ready, food, and of course consuming copious amounts of beer and bumping music.

Saturday around mid-day I figured a few hours at the beach were obviously needed.  I grabbed my towel, magazine, and headed out.  The sun was out, the sky was blue, the water was about 66 degrees, it was great.  I walked about 50 yards out into the lake (as a sandbar extends quite far), the further I got out the colder it got.  As soon as my crotch was within the danger zone I retreated back (I’m reminded of George Costanza: “I got outta the water and I was a woman!”). 

Anyway, not much else to say about the rest of the trip, it really consisted of relaxing, drinking, music, guitar, fires, food, and thinking about my last year in Utah and the year that I have to come.  I realized that A) Utah is great for snowboarding B) Utah is great for outdoor activities and C) Utah SUCKS for potential girlfriend material.  Luckily, I’m poor and can’t afford a woman so I’ll live with it for now (or without it)… haha that was a sexual inuendo if you didn’t catch it.  I also realized I may be here longer than I initially wanted.  At first I figured 2 years but the way the economy is shaping up, not just in the US as a whole, but in Michigan especially, it could be longer (Mark if you’re reading this, help a brother out). 

So ya, that’s about it I guess.  Nothing too much to look forward to in terms of future events.  I got a second job working at a driving range right by my apt. so I guess I’m gonna be a little extra busy now.  More money = more snowboarding.  Can’t complain.      

Until next time, be easy.  Oh ya, and here is my tribute to history below.  Enjoy it now because he’ll never be on this website again unless I’m seriously hating on him.