Bullish Loser Update...Halfway Done!

Alright folks...it's been a pretty productive last 5 1/2 weeks.  I have started watching what I eat while also counting calories.  I was very skeptical at first and honestly didn't have much faith in myself to keep it up.  Let's be honest, any major lifestyle change like this is difficult to keep up, especially one that you have to keep up with every day.  In about 4 weeks I had lost around 12 lbs by just changing my eating habits, and the best part about it was that I was still eating food that I enjoyed...Moes, Chickfila, even Bojangles.  I was just being smart about what I was eating.  It took me a while to get my YMCA membership again but over the last several weeks my I have increased my exercise routine and have continued to see some solid results.  I have tried to keep it fresh by switching up my routines but the common theme has been a lot of cardio.  I did borrow the Insanity DVD's from a friend and if you're looking to lose a few quick pounds, I would definitely recommend it.  I have been doing it for almost 2 weeks and it's a great workout to do when you don't have a lot of time (40 mins) and a gym membership (nothing required except a DVD player, some water, and some self motivation).

Unofficially after 5 1/2 weeks I have lost 20 lbs.  Wednesday is our official weigh-in day and I am hoping to be a bit lower.  Not too shabby for halfway through this thing.  Six more weeks until opening day and the end of the competition.  I hope to lose another 20 lbs and keep it going through the summer.

On a side note...I am wearing the same dress pants that 6 weeks ago I threw on the floor in disgust after I couldn't get them buttoned.  Hopefully I will be throwing them in a bag for Goodwill in another 6 weeks because they are too big!

Sorry there's no humor in today's blog post.  I promise I will resume the comedy routine in the weeks to come.  But on a final note, it might not be weight loss but whatever Bullish Loser you're dealing with, just know that there are people out there rooting for you and with a little faith and determination (and portion control) you can handle whatever is thrown at you.

And if my minor success story isn't enough to tickle your feel goods...Pitchers and Catchers reported to Spring Training today, which means all is good with the world again.

Hasta Luego!

Bullish Loser

Well there I was...7:00am on a Monday morning getting ready for work, my favorite time of the week (insert sarcastic eye roll here).  I had already taken a shower and was picking out what to wear for the day.  If you ask my wife, she would say I'm worse than a woman when it comes to getting ready but I like to think of it as being "carefully style conscience".  After all I have to keep myself G'd up from the feet up!  Anyways this blog post has nothing to do with my impeccable style but more so with the need to restock my closet with the latest trends because my washing machine seems to be shrinking everything.  I mean clearly it's not because I am gaining any weight...or is it?!?!

Let's recap the events of the last six months...

• June - I move to Warren County and have almost 3 hours or commuting each day (I may or may not have eaten a few cheeseburgers in my truck this summer)

• November - Job change from the YMCA (super active with a free gym membership) to the Durham Bulls (for now a desk job with very little movement...let's face it, my fingers are in great shape from all of the emails and phone calls I'm making)

 These two occurrences have apparently invited an extra 15-20 pounds along for the ride...(but honestly it's more like that invite you give to your neighbor in college so they won't call the cops on your keg party). 

Rewind back to that morning getting ready for work.  We all know what happens next, I go to put on a pair of dress pants and I can't get them buttoned...not even close.  I tried everything, lying down to button them, fooling myself that a sweater would cover up the fact that they weren't buttoned, the jaws of life.  You name it I tried it.  I was disappointed and a bit embarrassed but in typical Kevin fashion I made fun of the situation and went to a nice pair of adjustable waist Haggar pants (I highly recommend adjustable pants...not elastic waist band but real adjustable pants).  In reality though I was pretty upset that I had let myself get away.  Now, its not that I eat much worse than the next guy but I have an issue with portion control and the metabolism of an elephant (don't quote me on that, I couldn't check wikipedia because of the SOPA blackout).  Bottom line was, I had to do something about it.

In comes the Bullish Loser.  The guys at work started this competition several years ago and in typical guy fashion put some money on the line.  Here is how the competition works.  12 weeks with weigh-ins every Wednesday morning.  If you don't lose weight then you put $20 in the pot.  At the end of every 4 weeks the person who has lost the highest percent of their body weight gets half of everything in the pot.  At the end of 12 weeks (the day before opening day) the person who lost the highest percent total gets the rest of the pot.  We are all pretty competitive guys so nobody is claiming they will slip up, but last year the winner took home almost $1,000!  Now if that isn't incentive then I don't know what is.

I officially weighed in at 257.25 and after the first week was down to 247.5 now to be fair, some of that was water weight from drinking around 64 ounces of water before our weigh-in to "tip the scales in my favor" (pun intended).  I don't have any mind boggling plan, just make better food choices and eat less of them.  Exercise and stay motivated.  I am going to use MyFitnessPal app and the 100 Push-Up plan.  I will update my progress on here so you guys can help hold me accountable as well

Here goes the neighborhood!

A few "before" pictures...all from the end of the summer so not at my highest (probably 10lbs heavier now)

Girl look at that body...I work out!!!!

Kev's on the Bus!

So here is the deal.  Kev's on the bus...not literally, it's more of a metaphor because I'm back in the Minors (not that I ever made it to the Show).  Anyways, what I am trying to say is that for the first time in 12 years I am NOT working at the YMCA.  I have disregarded conventional wisdom and taken a huge leap of faith to follow my dream of working in sports.  I've known since high school that I wanted to work in baseball and until now I've been a "career minor leaguer" (this time both literally - I previously worked for the Durham Bulls in college and figuratively - I never made a career out of it).  But as of November 2011 I am putting all of my eggs in one basket hoping that 1) I like it and 2) I do well enough to find a full time job in sports.

Some of you may be asking yourself..."What's the big deal, he took a new job doing something different?"  This is true, but the big deal comes when you are married, have a mountain of school loans and then decide to leave a job with a decent salary and benefits (ok ok ok...an average salary...fine I got paid in fruit snacks and capri suns).  And I left all of that for a 40 hour a week minimum wage internship (yes you read that right...internship.  NO GUARANTEE of a job after Sept. 18, 2012).  Obviously this was no brainer (said sarcastically as I shake my head holding a paycheck in one hand and my College Foundation bill in the other)!


Anyways...I may start writing more frequently now adding stories of the things that I go through as an intern in minor league baseball.  Some may be funny, others may be me ranting about the village idiots I work with (cough Tyler and Bryda cough...it's ok, I don't think they can read, just kidding...but seriously if they can read...never mind I'm pretty sure they can't read.), and hopefully there are a few epiphanies along the way that can bring me, or someone else, some inspiration.

So grab some peanuts and the beverage of your choice and enjoy my ride!


 
 

Bouncebackability

First of all, don't call it a comeback!  I've been here for years (or at least the last few months...).  And I may not have been blogging, but its not because I gave up on this little project.  If any of you actually know me then you know that I don't open my mouth just to hear myself talk (upon contrary belief).  I have tried to give my blog some direction and base it off of my life experiences and how they relate to sports.  And as smart as I am (hold the jokes until the end please) sometimes its hard to relate things so that others would understand.  This blog post wont necessarily follow my previous trends but I will promise honesty.  And if it seems a bit like a rant then so be it...go back and read it again, you'll probably learn something! 

Life is a funny thing, its definitely not always fair and like sports there is plenty of room for human error.  I'm gonna be real with you for a second...I mean really real with you...its hard being a Wolfpack fan.  No matter what the sport, we manage to be the underdog and in a season amid NCAA investigations and penalties UNC and Butch Davis were being praised for "pushing through adversity"  and getting Coach of the Year considerations.  Does nobody remember that they're a bunch of cheaters?!?!  And really Butch, you didn't know your babysitter was doing homework and writing papers for your players?!?!  Thats like a 4 year old telling mom they didn't write on the wall while holding a handful of crayons...nobody believes you!  And lets just take a minute to rehash a few more terrible NCSU memories from recent history.  There was TA McLendon's "non TD" against UNC that the refs wouldn't replay that cost us the game and the infamous back to back QB sneaks that Phillip Rivers audibled to...the only selfish moment in his ENTIRE LIFE!  I digress, the point is...if you've ever been wronged, felt like life pooped on you, or said "if it weren't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all" then you know two things...1)stuff happens...to everybody and 2) what its like to be a Wolfpack fan.

One of my favorite young golfers is Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) and unless you live under a rock you may have seen his Sunday meltdown at the Masters.  The most amazing part of the train wreck that was his final round was that the 21 year old kid carried himself like a seasoned veteran and not the high school girl that got dumped during prom week.  I promise you this though, Augusta National doesn't discriminate and Rory wont be the last person who gets dragged around Amen Corner like a heathen at a Baptist Revival (bless you child).  What McIlroy has is #bouncebackability.  He may have trademarked that phrase so Rory if you're reading this the check is in the mail!  While most people would still be sobbing on the couch eating ice cream with their girlfriends, Rory was in Malaysia almost winning his next tournament.  Seriously?!?!  You're a better man than me...and he even had the gumption to joke about it the next morning on his way to Malaysia with the guy he gave the tournament to (Charl Schwartzel, I'm sorry but nobody will remember that you actually won)!

So think about it for a second...

Getting rained out isn't the worst thing ever because tomorrow you get to play two. (Sorry...had to throw in the baseball reference)

The trial, tribulations, and self inflicted bouts of depression are abundant as an NC State fan but they make the spoils so much sweeter.

And when you lose your 4 shot lead on Sunday at the Masters how are you going to show your bouncebackability?!?!

BTW I feel like Rev Run writing this whole entry on my Droid...minus the bubble bath.

It Can't Get Here Soon Enough!

Dates are funny things...and I'm not talking about those akward nights out that your "best friend" set you up on or the self-inflicted obligitory date with that random girl/guy you made a few bad decisions with last night!  I'm talking about important dates.  Dates like when that new movie you want to see comes out, when spring break starts, the big game, and pay day.  Sure you've got birthdays and holidays but those are overrated and come around the same time every year.  But everyone has that ONE date that they circle on their calendar every year (you know the one I'm talking about...the one you circled in giant red marker?!).  For me that date this coming year is February 13th.  The best way to describe the feeling I get when this day comes around is the feeling you get on Christmas morning.  But unlike Christmas, there is nothing you want to return or exchange when its all over and there is definitely none of the uncomfortable family drama.  This day was so important to me especially when I was a kid that on several occasions I remember "having to stay home sick from school".  Every year grown men get to play a boys game and it all starts with Pitchers and Catchers reporting to Spring Training.  It doesn't matter the time of year or what is going on, when I think about Spring Training everything else seems to go away. 

And if you didn't realize that spring training, opening day, or baseball was so important to me then you may excuse yourself from following my blog at this time...no I'm serious...stop reading.

Now that we have gotten rid of all the riff raff, we can move on.  I apologize.

I realized today during a meeting at work, that there is something else that tickles my feel goods (easy now...I'm trying to keep this blog PG and don't need your dirty thoughts blemishing my reputation as a wholesome family author).   I've got a pretty incredible job that allows me to do alot of fun things but the part I love most about my job is summer camp.  There are only a few memories and events in my life that I remember as vividly as COL 2010.  Camp Outer Limits is more that just a summer camp, a job, or a place to leave your kids for a day.  Camp is a place where you can be yourself yet be who you never are normally.  It's a place to be around people who understand you better than anyone else can.  Camp is a place where best friends and families are met and memories are created.  It is impossible to completely understand or grasp the power of the experience with out being a part of it, so you will just have to trust me on this one.  And for several moments today I got that feeling all over again, in the middle of November...

It doesn't matter if you are working on budgets or if you hear a song that reminds you of the night in staff training where it all came together.  Nobody can take away what COL 2010 still does for me three months after it ended.

February 13th when the 2011 MLB seasons kicks off, teams will come together with only one goal in mind...to win the World Series.  June 20th when COL 2011 kicks off (besides being the annual celebration of my glorious life), our team will come together with the privilege of creating another unimaginable summer for everyone involved.

Until then count your blessings and just know that when we get back together it'll be...

BACK TO RUNNIN' CIRCLES AROUND YOUR CAMP  LIKE U. BOLT...

"A unique approach to independence where adventure meets tradition"

                                                                                       - COL 2010

My First Time...

So as I sat here tonight watching ESPN and a special on George Steinbrenner (and although I hate the Evil Empire, this special truly got at Steinbrenner's love for baseball, and that I can respect), there was no question in my mind what I wanted to write about.  There aren't any sports metaphors or clever jokes (at least I haven't thought of any yet!).  This is simply an opportunity for me to share some memories of the best friend I have ever had...my dad.

There are countless stories from my childhood that are worthy of my Pulitzer Prize winning blog (hey...a guy can dream right?!?!) like our white water rafting trip to West Virginia, or camping with Cub Scouts.  Making home made power tool paint stirrers or me spilling drinks at any sporting event I EVER went to with him until the age of 18.  But the best memories always come back to baseball.  I think it's fair enough to assume that everyone has that one special experience that they share with their best friend, and with my dad and I it's anything baseball.  Playing catch, going to the batting cage, double headers on Easter Sunday at Doak Field...you name it, we did it.  But the absolute BEST memory ever starts like this...



June 20th, 1995...my 12th birthday.  I don't remember much about this day but thats ok because there are only two things you need to know.  First, my dad and I got up and went to breakfast, just like we did every year.  And I can tell you right now that we went to Biscuit Time in Cary.  I got a sausage and cheese biscuit with a Dr Pepper and some hashbrowns and dad got the same except he got his biscuit with mustard and a coffee.  After breakfast, dad went to work and I probably spent the rest of the day playing baseball with Doug Ransdell and Josh Floyd.  That night we ate dinner (probably spaghetti or bbq porkchops) and birthday cake (most definitely yellow cake with chocolate icing) then I got to open some presents.  I only remember one present from that birthday...tickets to my first Atlanta Braves game (I am pretty confident that the excitement and smile on my face could have ended any civil war if given the opportunity).  July 18th couldn't come fast enough.  I remember we loaded up dad's red Ford Ranger and headed down I85 bound for Fulton County Stadium.  There are so many random things I remember from our trip...the Radison Hotel was the nicest place I had ever stayed, eating at the Hard Rock Cafe AND Planet Hollywood, the Coca-Cola Museum, the CNN Center, and the Underground.  Dad probably spent alot more money than he should have that trip (our money tree had died in the drought of '92) but to him money wasn't an issue.  This was about a right of passage every boy and his dad need to take...I remember like it was yesterday (and I am actually getting chills right now writing about it) when we walked through the tunnel for the first time and I saw the most beautiful grass in my life.  The smell of a ballpark is something nobody can recreate.  Of course like any other respectable fan, we were there as soon as the stadium opened to watch batting practice and get autographs.  After batting practice we scouted out our seats and then I went exploring the stadium.  I remember walking to the top of Fulton County Stadium and looking out at Turner Field being built for the 1996 Summer Olympics and thinking "why are they going to tear down this perfectly good baseball stadium?!?!".  

  

I got three autographs that day, Pedro Borbon, Mark Lemke, and Luis Polonia.  And as John Smoltz was coming in from the bullpen he tossed a ball in the stands about 5 feet from me that I missed grabbing by a half step.  Dad and I got our standard hotdog, soda, and peanuts combo (cold adult beverage for dad of course) and we headed to our seats on the first base side just under the second level awning.  The Braves went up early but eventually lost in 10 innings.  I didn't care though because nothing could ruin the excitement of my first Major League ball game.  The next day the braves got the win behind a strong performance from Greg Maddux and before I knew it we were on our way back to North Carolina.  That trip was absolutely the best memory I have of me and my dad.

Fast forward a few years to 2007.  It was my turn to try and repay my dad for the most incredible baseball trip of my life.  Father's Day comes around and through my connections working with the Durham Bulls and USA Baseball, I was able to score some home plate tickets and 744 Club passes for my dad and I to the Braves and Cardinals game on July 21st.  The Braves won 14-6 behind Willie Harris's 6 for 6, 6 RBI day but none of that mattered.  This was the first time I felt like I was able to do anything that resembled a worthy "thank you".  I know he never wanted or needed a thank you, to him...going to a ball game with his boy was enough but I had to try.  Those two baseball games in 1995 were the best two games I have ever been too.  Not because I witnessed a no-hitter, a 3,000th hit, or a 300th win but because I got to spend my first big league ball game with my dad...

Thanks Dad...

Dunlap's Corner

So if you haven't sold your soul to the devil and you actually root for the good guys, you know exactly what the title of this post refers to.  It was September 23, 2006 a normal college football Thursday in the great city of Raleigh at the Mecca of college football in the ACC...Carter Finley Stadium (alright alright...give me a break).   Well to make a long story short, NC State was down 15-10 with less than a minute to go.  With sophomore Daniel Evans leading the calvary, the Wolfpack marched down the field and with :08 left, Evans connected with John Dunlap for 33 yards and the TD in the corner of the endzone for the winning score.  At that moment, NOTHING else mattered, not how I was getting home, not the three random guys I awkwardly hugged after the score, and definitely not the test I had the next day (i wasn't going anyways and honestly that had nothing to do with the aduly beverages that were consumed tailgating before the game).  All 50,000+ Wolfpack fans had the exact same feeling...complete euphoria!  That kind of feeling only comes around when someting special happens and you never foget it.

Fast forward 3 years 350 days to September 8, 2010.  I got that same feeling today.  But not from a football game but from seeing a smiling little face who has no idea what he does for the others around him.  I spent all summer with this little boy from El Salvador and was always excited to see him but nothing like today.  Today was like Christmas morning (specifically Christmas morning 1991 when I got my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizza Van...so you know it was a big deal).  You know it's coming and you can hardly stand it.  All day I was waiting until 4:10pm for the bus to show up but of course it was late.  And then it happened...his sister and cousins got off of the bus first but he was nowhere to be found (and that's not the most comforting thing to see considering his english is mediocre at best and this child doubles as Tarzan in his free time...).  And then out from behind a group of kids jumped "Tarzan".  From about 20 yards away here he came in a dead sprint (cue Chariots of Fire music in slow motion) screaming Hola! Hola!  I barely had enough time to clear a path for him before he jumped up and gave me the biggest hug I have had in a long time.  It was Dunlap's Corner all over again.  That feeling of excitement that only comes around when something special happens.  So my journey with "Tarzan" started over again today and it promises to be an adventure all year.  My only hope is that I can impact him half as much as he has already impacted me. 

Never forget your "Christmas mornings" or "Dunlap's Corners"...keep those feelings with you all the time and remember  "the best things come in small packages!"