Don't touch the car...

I woke up at 1 pm today. Damn. Alice said we went to bed at 3:30 am.

I wanted to wake up early and go for a long ride, regardless of the weather. Instead I woke up semi drunk and by the time I got semi motivated, and I use that word loosely, to ride there was not enough sunlight to get a long ride in. And it was cold out, about - 5 C.

I am so fed up with this cold weather. There is no doubt in my mind that I would have went for a ride today if it was warmer and the days were longer. I am so done with riding inside, I've already got 2000 km on my indoor trainer this year. I just think of riding on the trainer and I get sick. One hour seems to be my new maximum time that I can spend on the trainer.

What also ate up 2 hours of the sunlight was talking to Al Nolan. He was away on business this week and we did some catch up and talked about my brother and his business. Al was my brothers best friend growing up and is part of the business.

As always we had some real good laughs. Al said on his trip he was checking in on the blog to see if it was up. He missed it. I ended up having to fill him in on all my adventures for the past week and a half. He laughed at my St Paddy's day bender. He sincerely thinks that "Will Ferrell" should play me in the movie and he's still working on casting for Alice.

I told Al I hadn't stopped blogging, I just stopped posting it. Even though I took my blog from public to private, I still had about 150 readers. Some of the stuff I want to write about is work related and I was afraid of my thoughts or approaches leaking out. I have a lot of people that live in Ontario who may be one degree of separation from someone who I'm talking about.

I'm also taking the blog in a different direction. The first 4-years was the journey from Fat to Fit, and then to Kona. Now the blog is about "been there, did that, now what?" I really have three new objectives for myself, stay fit and in 12-hour Ironman shape, continue to live life to the fullest, and make as much money as I can without screwing up the first two objectives.

The direction of topics that are going on in my head I'm not comfortable discussing with just anyone. The only people I've allowed to read my blog are those I really trust and who's opinions I value. I am somewhat selfish in that blogging about how things are unfolding in my life allows me to get solicited and unsolicited advice.

Even thought it is fun to have new adventure stories to tell people of what happened, it's easier for them to read it and know where I'm at and then I can get asking the advice without retelling the story over and over.

So with Barbs comment last week, and Al's today, I decided to post the blog, sans followers.

Back to the training. By the time I woke up, had two hours on the phone with Al, removed blog followers from the list, it was already 4 pm. Then I showered and Alice and I headed over to Barb and Jamie's for pre-dinner cocktails and then off to the Keg we went. At this point, John Barclay's mouth is watering like a dog as he reads this, he loves the Keg.

It was fun, I was in a primed state from last night and when I had my first beer and it was like rocket booze to the head. At the Keg, Jamie was served draught in a super nice Heineken glass, needless to say, it made it's way to my jacket and is now in his house.

Last week when we went out for dinner with Jamie and Barb, he showed me his new yellow Porsche. I opened the passenger door in my semi-drunk state and went to sit in it to the background noise of "don't sit in there, get up, get out of there, come on now".

At first I thought Jamie was joking, he wasn't. The car is 15 years old and a collectors item. It looked like show room condition. I didn't realize it was vintage until I told him that I've never sat in a Porsche before but I'm not impressed with the interior, that's when he told me it was 15 years old.

Before we left for the Keg, Jamie took off his "Ranger Smith" pants (Look like Khaki dockers) and put on some fashionable blue jeans Barb bought him last year. The no longer fit. The were WAY to big. Done up, the slid off his body. He looked like a 15 year old gangster rapper. He says he's lost over 20 lbs from last year and those pants were tight on him last year. I believe it, he's a training fiend

The one good thing about having Jamie as a friend is he's a man of means and had he not been we wouldn't have got into the Keg. Last week I walked into his house and there was this beautiful black wooden box on his kitchen table, it was an American Express Black Card invitation kit. Actually if you want to buy the kit, he's put it on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250791475647&category=1462&_trksid=p5197.c0.m619#ht_500wt_1156

Turns out that he ended up signing up for the card and he tried to use the concierge service to get us into two top steakhouses that are very expensive and they swung out both times. That card has started saving him money already, had they been able to get us in, we would have spent more. Instead, we stood in line at the Keg.

I do know what I want for my birthday though, I want two things. From John Barclay, I want a fake police badge or card to put in my wallet in case I get pulled over, I can show it when I go for my licence and I'd like Jamie to order me an American Express Supplementary Card with my name on it. Once he gets the card, he can cancel it, but I still would then have a Black Card with my name on it. It's a much easier way than actually having to work for it.

We drove to the Keg in my truck and the first thing Jamie noticed with the two dings on my door. I hadn't seen them before. We then had a couple good laughs about the condition of my truck purchase and the condition of the hard miles put on it. It's only 140 k and 4 years old and the last year no one drove it.

The Keg was fun, I had the porterhouse, ate it all, right down to the shank. Good laughs. Afterwards it was back to the Pig & Whistle for cigars. Jamie brought two of his favorites, there were great, although after him and Barb left, I started feeling sick. Similar to after Kona last year. I thought I was going to throw up. I'm not sure if it was the smoke or the lack of carbs at dinner.

I'm still eating very healthy, other than beer drinking. Weights around 187. lbs and tonight all I had was steak, Caesar salad and french onion soup and for lunch I just had a bowl of soup and three crackers. Alyssa had went out for some food and had pasta in the fridge from Olive Press and I negotiated a two fork helping for myself, she couldn't be bought for the remaining. It helped a little, and I had a little brown rice. I think it may be the cigars, I haven't been smoking that much and I need to build myself up to it.

I will say, once the temperature hits 10C, I'm getting a new Keg of beer. That's my commitment to the summer. I'm sick of drinking like a regular guy, I need to get back to the Cracker-ator.

Before Jamie and Barb left, I took them upstairs to show them the chair that Reid is re-upholstering, using duct tape. Son's.....they wreck everything.

One last thing, even Alice doesn't know about this, she will after reading this though. Last November I was drunk tweeting on twitter and one of the younger guys that follows my blog regularly was at IMAZ and watching. He was caught up in the spirit and wanted to do an Ironman and had no money. I jokingly tweeted I'd borrow him the money.

The next day he signed up and emailed me back. I was like WTF did I do, I don't even know this guy, other than he was a PFG and was around 26 -28 years old. I've never really borrowed anyone money and never someone I don't know, especially $600 U.S.

I had an upset stomach after sending the $600 to him pay pal. I promised, albeit drunk, and delivered. I figured if he didn't pay, it was an expensive drinking night. I also felt that if he is an Ironman, he'll have honor and pay, Ironman aren't bum's.

I didn't set a repayment schedule, I figured so long as I get it before the race I'd be happy. It turns out that after I sent him the money, I found out that he had went personally bankrupt in his early 20's and was trying to mend his life. I was even more worried and pissed off at myself. BUT, I liked the kid and really hoped it all worked out well. I justified the money invested as money I got from the TPPF, or at least that's what I was going to tell Alice if the kid didn't pay.

We'll I'm proud to say that the kid didn't disappoint, I got my first $100 payment in January and my last $100 payment this week. He was also so happy, he was completely debt free, every credit card and personal debt was paid. He was now saving to get a new bike for IMAZ. I'm also going to meet him at IMSG. He's coming out to watch and wants to have a beer or two with me, he like's his beer too.

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