Buyers Remorse

In early 2005 I was driving a Dodge Dakota R/T.  I enjoyed driving this truck, except in the winter it was a bit squirrely in the snow (small, extended cab, rear wheel drive truck with a 360 V8 tends to do that).  But in the spring/summer/fall, it was a fun and fast truck that Maryann had found for me after I totaled my Mustang GT.  This truck did not replace my Mustang (really, what can beat a 5.0?), but it was still pretty fun...

That Memorial weekend I decided to take Maryann to the West Coast of Michigan for a day to explore the sand dunes.  She said she'd never been, so I started looking in to where to go, what to do, etc.  I remembered as a kid that climbing those dunes was a helluva lot of work, and thought it'd be much more fun to just drive on them.  I started looking, and discovered Silver Lake.  What a glorious discovery!  This town is great for outdoor adventures...you can rent everything you need from boats to ATVs to mopeds to Jeeps.  They have a huge area of dunes (nearly 2000 acres) set aside for off-roading.  I decided we'd rent a Jeep and have a good time for a day at the dunes.  A good time was an understatement.

I found a place to rent, called Parrot's Landing.  The place was fantastic.  They gave me a run-down on how to drive, helped us take the top off, and gave an overview of what to expect on the dunes.  Then, they let us go on our own.  We got to the dunes and headed in.  As you head into the main scramble area, you drive through the woods very slowly due to large bumps in the sand that roll like waves.  The drive through the woods opens up before you, and the scramble area of massive dunes and expansive sands embrace you to explore.  The Jeep was a simple base-platform Wrangler, with no off-road modifications.  Essentially, a straight-off-the-lot vehicle.  The off-road performance of this completely stock vehicle was better than anything I'd driven to this point, and had me very excited about wanting one.  I wanted to come to Silver Lake again, camp here and explore more here, and have many more days out on the dunes.

We went home that day excited about the Jeep (yes, both of us enjoyed it) and the time we had at the dunes.  I immediately began searching for a Wrangler of my own, and put my Dakota up for sale.  Garnering no hits for the truck after a few weeks, I decided to just trade in and lease the Wrangler.  At the end of June, I drove my leased 2005 Jeep Wrangler Rocky Mountain Edition off the lot.  It had California half-doors and a soft top, was a manual transmission with no cruise, and had no a/c.  I loved it!   


Jeep, camping...even Gimli loved it!

 Maryann and I quickly put together a trip to the dunes, securing a camp site at the State Park in Muskegon.  When we got there, the Jeep had a total of 700 miles on it.  All weekend long, it performed up to all my expectations and beyond.  We had a great time, and a new "standard" camping place to head to.  We took several trips over the next 2 years to Silver Lake and the sand dunes.  Beyond off-road, I thoroughly enjoyed driving in this vehicle every day.  It was just fun to drive.  On a hot day, it was great to strip the Jeep down to topless in the parking lot after work, and have a nice drive home.  All summer long, I had the top down as often as possible.  In the winter, it was much warmer inside than many people thought it should be with the soft top, and very capable in the snow and slush.

The ol' Wrangler out on the dunes

 Come August 2007, I had an unexpected opportunity laid before me in the form of a job offer from a small architecture firm in Petoskey (JLA, check us out!).  Maryann at the time was pregnant with our first son, Seth, and it was not going well.  She was in the hospital indefinitely on monitored bed rest, and I was unbelievably unhappy working for the soul-sucking Pulte (although I still miss all my friends there, they made the place worth my time).  I had wanted to work for JLA since I'd interned there while still in college back in 2001, and maintained contact with them hoping for an opportunity like this.  With Maryann in the hospital, I knew I'd have to be driving back and forth every weekend from Petoskey to Royal Oak Beaumont, and would need something that had better gas mileage than the 15 I barely managed in the Wrangler (why does a 6cyl lightweight vehicle only get 15mpg?).  I loved my Jeep, and wanted to stay in the Jeep family.  Knowing Petoskey and their winters, I'd be needing 4 wheel drive, too.

Luckily for me, in 2007 Jeep debuted the Compass and the Patriot, 2 purportedly fuel efficient 4 wheel drive options.  I test drove a Compass, and liked how it rode.  Since I was going to be driving a crap-ton of miles for the foreseeable future, I decided to turn in my lease and purchase a 2007 Compass.  All the previous stories were just fodder to finally pull you to this - the Compass is my buyers remorse.

At first I enjoyed driving it.  It had a lot more creature-comforts than my Wrangler - automatic, a/c, cruise, more space, etc....but I came to find it to simply be "OK" at everything it did.  While it was roomier than the Wrangler, the storage space is just OK.  It has a small 2.3l 4cyl engine, which is really not even OK in pep and acceleration.  In fact, I find it quite sluggish.  Having said small 4cyl engine, the gas mileage (22 tops on the hwy, 16 city - reported to be 24/18) was just OK.  The 4 wheel drive got me stuck on more than one occasion in the snow the first winter (I finally learned to turn off the stability control).  Everything about this new Jeep was simply mediocre, and I quickly grew to despise it.  Now, I'm stuck with the sucker for at least another 2 years.  At least I paid extra for the 60 month, 60,000 mile warranty which has come in handy more than once already.


The lame Compass



I wish I had simply bought the lease out on the Wrangler.  I've put about 45,000 miles on the Compass, and when I turned in the Wrangler it only had about 32,000 miles.  77,000 miles isn't that bad for a 2005, and it'd have been paid off by now.  I thought I was being responsible by getting a more "family oriented" car, better gas mileage, etc.  I guess that's why they say hind sight is always 20/20, as looking back I had more options than I thought at the time.

I plan on getting a Wrangler again when I'm done with this stupid car, probably a used one that's an older model and modified so I can have fun again at Silver Lake as well as all the trails we have around here.  My only carry-over until then is an older quad ('97 4x4 Polaris Xplorer) I bought late last summer...that ought to get me around the dunes!  Here's looking forward to summer 2011 - camping and playing at the dunes again, something we haven't done since 2007.

Male Cheerleader (Part 1)

I did not grow up hoping some day to be a cheerleader.  I was an all-area football player, I wouldn't be caught in polyester dancing around and doing some lame arm motions to a fight song!  But, I discovered, it was much more than that.

First year in college, sometime in the winter semester, I was with some friends watching some other friends play an intramural basketball game.  In the corner of the gym, the cheerleaders were practicing.  At half time, I turned my attention to them, watching them stunt (toss the girls around) and checking out the girls.  Suddenly, one of them approached me, and asked me if I wanted to come and try doing some things with them.  Really?  Me?  Why would I want to do that?  I'll pass, thank you, and keep my manhood in tact.

Just my luck, there happened to be a guy bigger than me.  He also happened to be an assistant coach, and was a Div.2 lineman in college.  He was about 6'-6" and at least 370 lbs.  "Big D" called me out, was insulted by what I'd said, and essentially scared me into coming over and trying some stunts with them.  At the same time, my friends were not helpful to my cause, and enticed me to just give it a try.  The bonus was I got to pick any one of the girls I wanted, which was a nice bonus.

After much cajoling, I reluctantly went over and plunged in.  To what, I did not know.  I picked out a girl, and they had me pick her up a bit to simply see how strong I was and if I could manage.  No problem, they're quite small.  Since I didn't yet know how to toss them properly up to my hands, they placed her up there for me, and had me try out some stunts from there.  Again, not too difficult for me (if you read my first post, you know I had already been lifting heavily for quite some time).  To equate a loose sense of form to manage the stunts in terms I understood, they used lifting terminology for me.  Clean and jerk, military press, etc.  There's a lot more to it than that, but that's what I understood at the time.  I had the girl standing in my hands at shoulder level, and they asked if I could "extend" it, which meant to put my arms up straight over my head.  They kept trying to give me pointers on how to properly get her up there, but I simply straight military pressed her up, which was apparently fairly impressive to the rest of the guys.  Stunting came easy to me, which impressed the coaches, and they asked me if I'd come to a few more practices and see more of the things they do.  Sure, why not?  I'll check it out.  I can always bail if it gets lame.

I feel I should note my stature at this time compared to the stature of the cheer team.  I was around 230lbs at the time, and 6'-0" tall.  Most of the guys were 5'-8" to 5'-10" and around 165-185lbs, and most of the girls were 5'-0" to 5'-2", and 90-110lbs.  This meant that I could muscle my way through a lot of things, where the rest of the guys had to use a much more precise form to manage the stunts.  This also meant that I would be doing much of the heavy lifting, which was fine with me.  The more lifting I was doing, the less lame arm motions and dance moves I'd be forced in to.

So, I went to a few practices over the course of winter semester, and learned how to toss the girls around and some better form so I didn't drop them on their heads.  Come April, the coaches asked me to come to try-outs for the team, and I had some decisions to make.  Is this really for me?  Could I pull this off and not be a douche?  Can I manage this with my already difficult architecture studies?  I consulted with friends and my parents, and decided that being in a sport again would be fun...especially one this challenging.  Yes, challenging - it was much more involved than I ever thought cheerleading could be.  It turned out to be way more time consuming and intense than I had given thought to (more on this aspect later).  I decided to go to try-outs, and see what this might become...

Thus far, practices had been informal and fun, and mostly just learning to stunt.  Try-outs, on the other hand, were a very serious matter.  I'm not sure if you've ever seen "Bring It On", but looking back the try-out scene from that movie is a fairly good reflection of how they went (without the high school cattiness).  There was the head coach, G, a cheerleader through and through who had cheered in high school, at MSU, and was now the coach at UDM.  There was the assistant coach, Big D, who had both played football and cheered during the basketball season in college, and there were some guest judges.  They sat on an elevated platform at a long table with notes and papers, and you got to go out in front of them and show them what you could do, alone (save for a partner for stunting).  Try-outs were 2 days long, the first day we had to learn a cheer with hand motions to be done in front of the judges, and the second day was the actual show.  There were 3 parts to the tryouts; tumbling (of which I was introduced to on day 1 of try-outs), the cheer part, and stunting.  Most of the people trying out had been doing this for years.  Surprisingly to me, many of the guys were on teams in high school, and had been on this team for a few years.  Up to this point I didn't even know guys were on high school cheer teams.  For the veterans, this was simply going through technicalities, they were pretty much already guaranteed a spot.  There were many high school girls that were trying out, a few guys, and there was me, an anomaly amongst cheer nation.

Day 1, we mill around for a bit at first and go through some introductions.  As a whole, we form a huge circle and do some stretching, then form into lines of 5 or 6 (lead by the veterans), and go through some warm-ups.  The warm-ups lead to simple tumbling - forward/backward rolls, cartwheels, etc.  Suddenly, they decide to start busting out back handsprings.  I'd never done this, never been shown how to do this, and was quite amazed at the ease they showed in doing them.  I watched 3 or 4 people in front of me easily whip off a back handspring, and decided that I could probably handle it if they could.  Wrong.  I waltzed out on the mat, in front of everyone, and tossed myself backwards.  I managed to not rotate much, landing on my head and neck, crumpling into a pile on the floor.  Gasps filled the air, and I bounced back to my feet.  "I'm fine, I got this, no problem."  Someone called out "do you need a spot?".  "Nope, no problem.  I think I will get it this time."  Now, every one's eyes were on me.  All lines had stopped, everyone focused on my next move.  Naturally, I just go for it again.  And once again, I stop short in the middle, slam down on my head and neck, and crumple to the floor in a pile.  Gasps again, me bouncing to my feet again.  I was then instructed that I needed a spot, which I now accepted with reluctance.  Cheerleading can't be THIS hard, can it?

We finally wrapped up the tumbling warm-up, and switched to stunting.  This was the part I was getting pretty good at, at a fairly quick pace.  I discovered early why stunting with the veterans is MUCH better than choosing another newb to the sport of collegiate cheer.  New girls who are not used to being tossed in the air tend to flail, which leads to the guy getting kicked.  I decided to pick a hot little chick who was a HS senior at the time to flirt with her.  She proceeded to kick me right in the testicles on the first toss.  Wow, nice to meet you!  Surprisingly, this did not deter me in pursuing her (but this is another story).  I ended up helping her perform her stunt portion of try-outs the next day.

After the first day, I had a bit of new found respect for what I was getting into (sans the lame "cheering" part).  I liked everything except looking like a spazzed-out fool, high on spirit and excitement.  There was a lot of contact (when people fell off stunts, which happened often), a physicality to it that I had never expected, and a technicality to performing.  When people say that it's not a "true sport", I have to disagree.  The people who tend to say these things must have never tried it, because it is as difficult a sport that I have ever played.

The next day when the full-on try-out portion began, my nerves had settled some.  I was getting more comfortable with the veterans, making a few friends, and using a spot for my terrible tumbling.  Try-outs went smoothly (how many times in this post can I use the term "try-outs"?  Is there another term I could switch between?), and I was fairly confident that I'd make the team.  A few days later, the coach called to not only confirm I was in, but also to extend me a scholarship!  Only a few weeks before I was questioning whether to even give this a try, and now I get a scholarship?  I'm in! 

I was informed that non-mandatory practices were held periodically throughout the summer, along with occasional workouts with a tumbling instructor.  All summer long I went to as many of these practices I could (still living at my parents, it was a 2.5 hr drive one way).  I continued my quick learning of stunting, managing to nearly match the veterans in stunting ability by the end of summer.  My fearlessness and muscle control played a big role in quickly learning to throw a back handspring on my own.  It wasn't pretty, but it was progress.  The tumbling instructor told me on more than one occasion that a man my size was not supposed to be able to control his body as well as I could.  I would never manage to be a strong tumbler, but I could string together multiple back handsprings as well as back tucks (flipping in the air without hands).  As summer came to a close, 2 weeks before school started, the team shipped off to cheer camp for a week.

Losing some el bees

I'm a big guy, always have been.  I turned 32 in December, and the day after my birthday, my 2nd son, Evan Jacob, was born.  I decided I should probably get a checkup beacuse I hadn't had one since college, and that has been nearly 10 years already.  Man, time flies.

The checkup did not go well.  I stepped on the scale, and BOOM, the biggest numbers I've seen popped up...290.  Damn.  That's a lot to carry around.  I then went in to the little room, and the nurse took my vitals.  Again, some big numbers popped up that I'd never seen before.  BP of 155 over 95?  Shit.  That doesn't sound good.  The doc came in and worked me over, and I had to go give some blood to check my cholesterol (which I'd never done).  More big numbers, and a strongly worded letter by the doc saying I better get moving and get this under control.  He warned me about diabetes, multiple pills and perscriptions...the whole bit.  I decided I'd had enough of being fat.

I waited out the holidays, getting my last few kicks of unlimited candy and sweets that my mom makes.  You haven't had peanut brittle and English toffee until you've had hers.  No one makes them better.  Candy canes are a favorite of mine, too.

I have a gym membership as a benefit through my firm, and until now have used it extremely sparingly.  When mid-January came around (yes, mid-January...this wasn't a "resolution", so I wasn't going to start with the resolution crowd), I decided to jump in full force.  I'd given myself a few weeks to mentally prepare for this.  I came up with a plan, knowing I wanted (needed) to do something that I could stick to.  I've tried a few times to lose some weight and get in better shape over the years, but I usually aim high, make drastic cuts, and get drained from the process leading to my eventual failure.  This time, I put together an ultimate goal, and then broke that up in to a few intermediate goals.  Perhaps more importantly, giving myself much more time to accomplish them.

My ultimate goal is to get back down to the weight I was when I graduated high school - 225, or a bit less depending on how things go.  My first intermediate goal is to get down to the weight I was when Maryann and I got married 9 years ago, which was around 250.  That's a 40lb first goal, and I'm giving myself until the end of June to accomplish this.  It just so happens this timing is coinciding with a trip we have planned to North Carolina.  My second intermediate goal is to get down another 15lbs, to 235.  This is the weight I was while on the cheer team in college (yes the cheer team, another story for another time).  My time on the cheer team was undeniably my most in-shape years ever.  I was 235, benching 405, military pressing 205, and squatting around 550.  Not too shabby.  At the time I was also doing some sort of a workout 6 days a week, some times twice a day in that span, with practice, lifting, cross-training, and tumbling.  This second goal is going to take a shift in my way of life in terms of diet to get to.  I haven't acheived goal 1 yet, so I haven't put together a timeframe for goal 2.  After achieving goal 2, I will set my sights on the final 10-15 lbs.

So, I started toward my first goal on January 12, 2011.  That was a Wednesday, and the only day I managed to get in that week.  Hey, it was a tough transition.  Throughout this first stage, I'm not changing my eating habits too drastically.  I'm eating less, and not so late at night...that's about it.  As I get used to getting out of bed an hour and 15 minutes earlier than before, going to the gym gets better.  My workout is fairly simple, focusing on strengthening my core and stamina with 20 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of weight lifting.  Very quickly I notice my strength build and my stamina increase.  Slowly, I add weights and cardio speed to my workout, getting within a month to a place I didn't think I'd be so quickly.  Already, barely into my 3rd month of regular workouts I've managed to lose 30 lbs!  My first goal is very much in sight, nearly 3 months earlier than I'd thought.  Helping my weight loss at the beginning of March I was very sick for 6 days, barely eating in that time.  When I finally managed to pull myself back to the gym, I'd lost 12 lbs.  This week is my first full week back after that sickness, and not only have I kept that weight off, I lost a couple more pounds as well. 

Here's to hoping my workouts and weight loss continue on this track, and I don't lose my interest as I have so many times before.  It certainly feels different this time.  I'm engaged, and actually excited about the changes I'm going through.  I know this is a big me-me-me first post, but darnit, I think that's ok!  My boys need their papa, not just around, but engaged and playful.  I can't continue on the path I was and manage that.  I have another doctor checkup scheduled for June 14.  I plan on blowing the doc's mind!

In the end, I don't really think I'll ever be thin or ripped, I just need to get healthy again.  I've been big my whole life, and always with a bit of a layer of fat that I could never seem to peel.  I remember being 180lbs in only 8th grade, which resulted in me getting my ass kicked regularly in wrestling (due to having to wrestle seniors since that was the weight group I was in), which in turn resulted in me never wrestling again.  That turned in to a light bulb point as well, and when I started hitting the weight room regularly with my brother and his friends (who were 4 yrs older than me).  Not wanting to change weights over and be a bother to them, I just lifted what they did.  Very, very quickly I built muscle, and was soon lifting more than them.  I liked lifting, I was good at it.  Being big finally had benefits.  I lifted all through high school, which helped me be a pretty good center on the football team.  I played a few sports, but lived for football and lifting.  Track was fun, being a thrower.  I took that lifting ability with me to college, which got me noticed by the cheer team.  The cheer team took my strength to a whole new level.  But after 4 yrs of lifting in high school, and 5 years in college, when I graduated I was a bit burnt out on it all.  Not to mention the time slips away by working full time.

Man, these tend to ramble on once you start dropping thoughts.  I hope I manage to keep spewing this much nonsense for some time on here.  Stick with me folks, I may just blow your mind.