evanroberts.com

Breakfast

• Three hard boiled eggs

Snacks

• One Premier Nutrition Protein bar - double chocolate crunch

Lunch

• Small chicken Caesar salad with real bacon bits - (Dominion - 250g)
• Light Caesar dressing

Dinner

• Sirloin tip steak with garlic salt - 483g
• Veggies (red pepper, orange pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, red onion)
• One can of Keith’s Pale Ale

About two weeks ago, Adam, the captain of our Ultimate Frisbee team, and all around good guy and friend, got me thinking about “spinning” (for those of you who don’t know what that is and don’t want to click on the link, spinning is basically indoor cycling, but an actual class rather than an individual endeavour). Molly and I agreed to give it a shot this Wednesday, as we were looking for something that would help increase our stamina for when we played Ultimate Frisbee, and basically get into better shape.

I will admit, while I have lost a bit of weight recently, I am still somewhat out of shape, and I huff and puff when I’m running around, trying to get open for a pass, or even cover my opponent. Biking to and from work has helped a bit, but in the long run, I want to add a bit more to my exercise regimen, and spinning seemed to be both an intense workout and a lot of fun.

Well, initially no.

For the first 20-25 minutes, my thighs were burning something fierce, I was out of breath, I found the room to be too hot and stuffy, and I started getting some serious cramps in my calves to the point where I would cry out from the pain and spend a minute or two massaging them. Honestly, I hated it, and wondered what the fuck I was doing there in the first place. But, this was pretty much my first time ever spinning, so I was being a tad bit judgmental. Molly and Adam kept going, and only two people in the class left halfway through, but I wasn’t about to give up. Hell no. I had something to prove… mostly to myself.

The last 20-25 minutes of the class, my thighs weren’t burning at all, and while my calves were slightly cramping, I ignored the pain, and just shifted my legs so I wouldn’t feel it as much. I was sweating like crazy, downing water, and mostly just closed my eyes so I could focus on what I was doing (and also because the sweat was burning my retinas; note to self: get a sweatband). Our instructor, Quintin, near the end asked how many more songs we should go through, and some people mumbled one or two, and I was in the zone and was about to yell out “Five!” (mostly to be a smartass and force myself to put my money where my mouth was), but Adam beat me to it by shouting “Two!”, so two it was.

Next time, Adam, next time we’re doing FIVE.

In the end, it was a great workout, and never once did I feel that I was competing against anyone or felt like I was being judged by anyone, which is usually the case when you go to work out. Everyone there was friendly, and even Quintin said to go at your own pace, don’t go crazy, and just enjoy yourself… and I did. I’m definitely going to go back, and perhaps after a few months, I’ll be able to spin as fast as some of the other hardcore spinners there, as a few of them were going nuts. We’ll see about that, though.

Adam, many thanks for letting me know about Quad. I’ve passed the place hundreds of times on the streetcar and never knew what an awesome environment it was, or how fun it could be. Can’t wait for the next class!

For my own info:

• Handlebars: Two
  
• Seat height: Two
• Seat horizontal: Half of one

Breakfast

• Two hard boiled eggs

Snacks

• Two light Babybels

Lunch

• Small chicken Caesar salad with real bacon bits - (Dominion - 250g)
• Light Caesar dressing

Snacks

• One light Babybel

Activity

• One hour of spinning at Quad

Snacks

• One Premier Nutrition Protein bar - double chocolate crunch

Dinner

• Four Shopsy’s hot dogs with ketchup and mustard

Throughout the day, I am lucky enough to listen to music while I answer the emails our customers send in with queries about our service, how to make something work, or just to ask what the hell it is that we do. It also serves as a comfortable barrier in a noisy room, so I can focus on what I’m doing and not be distracted with the happenings of the office, or by any other loud conversations that occur from time to time.

As with most people, I have my own collection of music that I have gathered over the years, but once in a while it’s nice to listen to the radio to hear some music that I haven’t heard, or have a copy of that I would play over and over and over again. Rather than have a radio at my already-cluttered desk, I’m one of those guys that prefers to listen to Internet Radio, and I do so via iTunes.

There are an absolute TON of stations to choose from, but I only have a few I listen to, with one that I recently tried out today, and have since added to my playlist. As well, I tend to only listen to radio stations that stream at a minimum of 128 kbps, as that ensures you get some decent sound.

For those of you interested in my playlist, here they are:

• Bassdrive - Drum & Bass
  
• Groove Salad - Ambient beats
  
• Pure.FM Radio - House
• Big R Radio - 90s Alternative Rock
  

There are a few radio stations in the Toronto area that I wish had an Internet Radio presence, but it’s understandable that with the bandwidth costs that they wouldn’t. As well, I’m sure there are licensing agreements about how the music has to be played within a certain area or region, and with Internet Radio, that’s almost impossible to ensure.

One thing I do love about Internet Radio is that most of the stations will list the tracks that they are playing, so if you want to see about getting a copy of what you’re listening to, you can easily jot down the name of the track, and go about searching for it. Very neat.

Breakfast

• Two light Babybels

Lunch

• One light Babybel

Dinner

• Four fajitas (Old El Paso seasoning mix, red pepper, orange pepper, green pepper, red onion, sunflower oil, garlic)
• Sour cream
• Refried beans
• Salsa
• Black Diamond Sargento Tacos and Nachos six cheese blend
• One glass of Mezzo Mondo Italian red wine
• One can of Keith’s Pale Ale

Breakfast

• One banana

Lunch

• One can of tuna, with mayo, basil, pepper, and oregano

Snacks

• Four spoonfuls of raw honey

Activity

• Played Ultimate Frisbee against Dynomite and lost 7-19.

Dinner

• Sirloin tip steak with Montreal Steak spice - 799g
• Asparagus
• Two cans of Keith’s Pale Ale

On a camping trip into Algonquin (Thursday May 8th - Sunday May 11th)

Meals

• Camping food (ate when we felt like it, and the meals ranged from steaks and potatoes, to various forms of junk food)
• Beer. Keith’s Pale Ale and Coors Light. Lots of it.

Activity

• 16km canoe paddling into the park with one 295m portage
• 12.5km canoe paddling out of the park with one 295m portage

Breakfast

• One banana

Snacks

• Three hard boiled eggs

Lunch

• Left-over veggies (red pepper, yellow pepper, orange pepper, zucchini, red onion, mushrooms, sunflower oil, dill)

Dinner

• Two slices of whole wheat pizza from Delissio

A man and a woman who had never met before, but who were both married to other people, found themselves assigned to the same sleeping room on a trans-continental train.

Though initially embarrassed and uneasy over sharing a room, they were both very tired and fell asleep quickly, he in the upper berth and she in the lower.

At 1:00 AM, the man leaned down and gently woke the woman saying, “Ma’am, I’m sorry to bother you, but would you be willing to reach into the closet to get me a second blanket?  I’m awfully cold.”

“I have a better idea,” she replied. “Just for tonight, let’s pretend that we’re married.”

“Wow! That’s a great idea!” he exclaimed.

“Good,” she replied. “Get your own fucking blanket.”

After a moment of silence, he farted.

Breakfast

• Two light Babybels

Lunch

• Last chunk of the pork tenderloin butterflied stuffed (ricotta cheese, basil, baby spinach leaves, artichoke hearts, olive oil, salt’n’peppa)

Snacks

• Two light Babybels
• One banana

Dinner

• One oven-roasted chicken breast stuffed (ricotta cheese, basil, baby spinach leaves, artichoke hearts, olive oil, salt’n’peppa) and glazed with Gourmet Spicy Diana Sauce
• One oven-roasted chicken breast non-stuffed and glazed with Gourmet Spicy Diana Sauce
• Veggies (red pepper, yellow pepper, orange pepper, zucchini, red onion, mushrooms, sunflower oil, dill)