Surprising Week

      Although this week started out with the potential to be a complete disaster ( I know, what's new with that ), but I'm finishing it off in a good state of mind for a change.  One reason may be because I made it to Record Store day despite the person that was supposed to come and allow me to do that was a no show. I contacted a couple of local record stores to see if they would even be getting in the Dee Gees album Hail Satin. One of them wasn't getting it, but the other told me they were going to have 7 copies and that the doors opened at 8 AM. A little bonus if you were there early, they were doing a raffle for anyone in line at 7:30 for a $50 gift card. Turns out they threw in a second place price of a $25 dollar gift card. Before you ask, no I didn't win. I missed the $50 by 2 tickets. Doesn't matter though, I got what I wanted.

    Behold the glory that is the Dee Gees album Hail Satin. I have not listened to it yet. I'm waiting for just the right time for that. I also scored an old ABBA album Super Troupers. That happens to be my favorite album by ABBA and since it was old stuff, they were having 20% off yesterday. Still probably cost more than it originally sold but $14 isn't bad for some good old school vinyl.

     I do have to tell you about my experience there, because it is worth telling. My plan was to wake up super early, get ready and head to the store by 6 AM. I was figuring that if I got there and was within the first 7 people in line, I had the album in the bad. Well, I was number 5 in line. Oh yeah, I should tell you the need for having to get there early for the album. The woman that I contacted also said that a lot of people were asking her about that particular album. It was a last minute addition to RSD (Record Store Day) and people that knew about it, knew it was a pretty big deal. Fortunate for me, the people that showed up early in line didn't even know about it, but I did make 2 extra sales for them on that day. The people in line were great. They were all vinylphiles, not really sure if that is a term, but I'm going with it. They weren't the super snobbish people you've heard about, they were all really cool and had no judgment. It didn't matter what you were there for, it was all about experiencing music in it's best actual media format. I say media, because an actual live performance will alway be the true best, but vinyl is the pinnacle of sound. There were some people there with targeted tastes, you know the ones that only want one particular genre of music, but even they were all about the experience of music. There were also a few collectors there that just wanted whatever had the best chance of inflating in price. I heard them talk about a Taylor Swift album that was released for the June 12 RSD that is now going for over $300. The shop let 6 people in at a time, so I was the second person to pick up a copy of Hail Satin. The first was one of the guys I was talking to about what it actually was. The next person to pick one up was behind me in line. I was talking to the woman about it and she was telling me about how it was that last minute addition to the RSD lineup, and that most stores weren't getting it in. I told her about how I contacted other stores and that she was the only one in the area with it. She also said she was limited to those 7 copies so it's going to be a pretty rare album. When the dude behind me heard that, he grabbed it as fast as he could. He was a big metal guy, but one of those sausagefest metal guys. I'm not trying to slam him for that, it's just some people like an aggressive form of music that only attracts crowds of dudes. You know, Metallica, Megadeth, Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold. All talented musicians with some great songs, but those people normally turn their noses up to the Foo Fighters, saying that they are pop rock. I'm sure he grabbed it as an investment potential, but maybe, just maybe he will give it a listen and enjoy a new type of music.

     Another reason for me being in a good mood is that I'm right in the middle of a 72+hr fast. This is the first one in a year. I've missed these fasts. They do make me feel really good, not to mention the health benefits you get from it. You know, the whole reboot at the cellular level thing. I took this screenshot just as I was sitting down to write this.

     That is of course from my Fast Habit app. I don't pay for the app, so I can only go as high as 24 hrs as the set point, which is why it says that it ends at 5:02 PM. The plan as of right now is to break my fast on Tuesday morning. That would put me around the 84 hour mark. That is if I ate at 5 in the morning, but I will probably wait until 8 at the earliest.

     I have done it a little different than times in the past. Normally I would load all my water up with salt and then take a magnesium supplement in the evening to help with sleep. This time I've skipped the majority of the salt and went with cans of Liquid Death as my primary source of water. I have taken a few more essential supplements because I haven't been getting in the electrolytes from all the salt, so I've thrown two different magnesiums in the mix, with some zinc and GABA. Don't ask me what GABA stands for, I really don't want to look it up, but it's good stuff and doesn't break a fast. The major benefit of that is that it helps prevent muscle breakdown during a fast. Now, the amount of muscle you can potentially lose from a fast depends on how long you have fasted how hard you treat yourself during that fast. All that being said, it's still not a great deal of muscle to begin with. The length does take a toll on your body, which is the main purpose of doing it. Putting your body in stress can create some really exciting results later on. Remember the affects of any fast aren't really finalized until days and sometimes weeks later. Back to that length thing. the longer you go the longer your body goes without building blocks, aka protein. That will cause the body to want to use it's best source of protein for that protein and that would be your muscle, but that takes a very long time, much more than 3 days. The harder you treat your body takes a toll as well. If you go out and do wind-sprints several times a day and lift super heavy, you are going to cause that muscle breakdown even faster. Fasting workouts should be low impact. That will stimulate everything, keeping it active and ready to go when it starts getting fed again. So, don't think you are doing yourself any favors by doing very difficult workouts when you are fasting, because they are going to take you backwarrds. Save those for short term intermittent fasting days, and do them at the end of your fast to get the most out of them.

     Ok, a few pictures form the garden to show you how things are exploding with flowers.

      

      The first one is the completed garden. I do need to get some lights for it, and I need to get that epoxy on the Schnugg's paw print. The second is a plant called meteor shower, which is just an awesome name. Number 3 is Blue My Mind, and it lives up to its name, and last is a plant I can't remember but the flowers are so pretty.

     Now this picture is I believe the Turmeric making another comeback. if you remember last year that plant came back from nothing and it appears that it is doing it again. I really hope I can get it to flower this year, because the flower is pretty epic. 

     Two photos of food items, because I consider these a pretty good score. The first aren't exactly great for you, but better than a sugary snack, and they taste remarkably like the original.

     I was expecting them to have some kind of chemical taste to them, but these were down right delicious. I have limited myself to only 1 a day, which breaks down to around 33 calories and 1 net carb.. The bag says 0 net carbs for 1, but that is rounding down, and that doesn't really work in nutrition. Anyway, if you want a tasty treat, with very little quilt, give these a try.

     Next comes a meat treat. Yes, I'm kind of like a dog and I need a meat snack from time to time. Found these today, so I haven't tried them, but I can tell you that it is very difficult to smoked sausage sticks that don't have sugar. They usually use cane sugar, which if you are going to have sugar, that would be the best natural source for it. I've always like Tillamook so I'm expecting these to be pretty good. I can tell you that their ice cream and ice cream sandwiches are out of this world, and their cheese is fantastic as well.

     Favorite Thing of the Week is of course that album up above so I have nothing else left to tell you today. Peace in and goodnight.