Jake

Working on losing weight, going vegan, and being the best dog dad I can be.

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Woke up at 5 hit the gym and just finished a work event.

Pet a lot of dogs, saw even more.

Ready for bed.

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I didn’t track my lift or biking session but I still accomplished it. Seeing Noodle relax and take in the backyard is a top tier happiness moment.

I think I’ve fixed the leaking in my bathroom sinks.

Back to researching and planning this quick trip. Have to assign a dollar amount to layover/direct flight and how that correlates to how many hours of driving I’m willing to do. A train or bus isn’t feasible, but would have been great.

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I’m ready for this shower. Need to clean the mirror as well. Run was a bit challenging but proud of myself for going after it.

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What if in a moment of reckless spending I buy a kayak?

Anyway, I cleaned out the bathroom sink and I didn't think it would be reminiscent of the time a bird pooped on me.

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2 miler at 13 pace. Lift has me feeling strong. Gonna go climb up on the adu roof, crush a protein shake, meal prep, then hit a one shot dnd 🤙

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Books in May

Very strong month for books!

Fifth Seasons. (4/5) Excited to start this highly rated trilogy. First book was decent and I've heard it only gets better.

One day, everyone will have always been against this: (5/5)What an impactful book. I think this should be mandatory reading for those of us lucky enough to live in safety.

Why Fascists Fear Teachers.(4/5) The war on education is something i've witnessed and has baffled me. Teachers work extremely hard and the pay ain't worth it. This book explains who benefits from education standards being lowered. Kids learning how to think for themselves is a good thing and the people that are against education are evil.

Paper Girl-(5/5) A powerful memoir by the author who wrote Dopesick. Macy revisits her hometown and finds how friends and family have changed. From talks and visits with teachers and administration she delves into how school expectations have dropped in Ohio. From socio-economic issues to political polarization this book has it all.

A walk in the Park-(2/5) I struggled to get through this book. Fedarko hikes in the Grand Canyon and shares the history of the site and his personal struggle to survive.

Life After Cars. (5/5)Cars ruin everything, that is what the authors will explain to you with evidence up to your eyeballs. Obviously I loved it.

Walkable City (5/5) If we retool a city for those that live in walk in it what happens? This book explores the rights and wrongs of city design. This one helps me look at cities in a different light and I can’t wait to visit Minneapolis to look at a larger city with fresh eyes.

Besides #4, I recommend all of these books and multiple will be on my end of year list.

I've struggled to get into fiction this month and fear i'm about to abandon another read.

What have you read?

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Good lift today. I hadn’t charged my watch in a few days so I did this workout without any tracking. I had a meeting with my nutritionist this morning and it went well. We discussed my frustration with the lack of weight loss and he’s been very supportive. His outlook is to make sure everything else is going well with sleep,stress, nutrition, and dial in macros to see what shakes loose. My goal this week is a daily 60 oz of water and observations on hunger.

I picked up some bok choy a veggie I’ve eaten but hardly prepared and hope to incorporate it into a regular thing. My elbow is finally starting to feel better. I meet and shake so many hands with work and look forward to being done with having to excuse it.

Should be a chill weekend working on a new puzzle and diving into a book on anxiety recommended by my oldest friend.

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Finally sat down to watch this masterpiece tonight. Two brothers set out to see how many species of bird they can observe in 1 year in the lower 48. They do a great job of showcasing the frustration and joy of birding. I love how they raise questions and interview so many folks. Good dudes for sure.

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Mowed the front yard, finished another book and worked out. Yeehaw for a productive morning. I’ve stopped wearing my Apple Watch regularly and have decided to only put it on when working out. I’ve noticed I’m pulling my phone out at a lower frequency due to the lack of notifications. This year is on track to be my first year I read more nonfiction than fiction, that’s neat. I need to find more road ecology books because that field is rad.

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Took the boy hiking today on a trail that’s been on our list for some time. Noodle enjoyed his hike and post-hike snacks! I can tell I worked out yesterday but that’s fine and need to keep it up. I’m a bit tired today but I’ll push through my chore list. I’ve made a pepper/ soy chorizo/ cabbage mix for lunch that’s tasty and may need to add it into a rotation.

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Decent easy-ish lift while waiting for mower batteries to charge so I can continue that chore. Haven’t eaten much today so I’m battling a brain freeze drinking this protein shake. Might get wild and start a new puzzle tonight.

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Noodle received a clean bill of health at the Dogtor today. Monday night way past my bedtime I went bullfrog hunting taught by someone from Fish and Wildlife. It was a blast getting the hands on education and how I can apply it to my work. Bullfrogs here are classified as an invasive species and can impact the local populations of Oregon Spotted frog.

I did lift this evening but took no photos. We watched Remarkably bright creatures and it hit most of book but I’d still say read the book.

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Day 4 the end. Before we set off for the airport we stopped at a nearby trail and went for a walk. Then we traveled a few hours driving along a highway fire, had a tasty vegan burrito and took refuge in a botanical garden. I had time to reflect on the two hour flight on what went so poorly for and what to work on personally. Noodle has been attached at the hip since midnight and the cats may or may not have missed us. This summer I’m determined to go camping. Meal prepping today while trying to get back to normal. and I’m not sure if I’ll go midnight bullfrog hunting tomorrow.

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Day 3. I completely failed to mention yesterday. I saw a bear!! Walking on the trail and about 50 feet to my left I spot the bear wearing a collar. I signaled to my group to stop. We moved off trail and avoided bothering it. More hiking today. I took a photo near the falls in the first photo. We were that high up. Zoom in on the last photo to see the person for scale!

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Day 2. Hike hike hike hike. Yosemite today and wow had service for a good bit! There’s a lot you can do here if you have mobility issues. We had a lovely time.

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First time in California! Just hiked around Sherman Tree and a few neighboring trails. My brain couldn’t understand how big these trees are without seeing them in person. We didn’t go in super early but still had almost all of the trails to ourselves. Saw plenty of marmots but I decided not to bring my camera for this trip. We then hit a visitor’s center and took the wrong trail on another hike that led to a surprise 2 mile hike. More hiking today !

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6 10 hour shifts complete. That was exhausting. Yesterday we tabled an event and had a great time. Tuesday samples didn’t go the best. Friday a couple of raccoons chilled on the neighbors shed. I’m still pretty worn out but was able to have breakfast with my partner then knocked out some errands and went to the farmers market. PT is going well and I’m told I’m progressing along in the right direction. Lifted this afternoon and now to make some dinner.

48 hours I’ll be in a state I’ve never been in before! Whoever can guess it will win one of the twenty five fun facts I prepared about water.