bad ass looking animal of the week

via ffffound.

jet lag 5k

28:45

bit slow. off to work!

shoot day 2

The Challenge:Rivals Episode 1 Recap

By this time, The Challenge is an MTV establishment. When these people get together now, it’s like a drunken, incestuous family reunion — it’s great television. Even so, there are always ways to make things even more interesting, like by partnering people up with their most hated enemies. And that’s how we came to have The Challenge: Rivals. And oh what fun it is.

From the get-go, I roll through a host of emotions during the first five minutes, ranging from pure, child-like excitement, all the way to genuine tears. But who wouldn’t be excited watching the clips of some of the greatest fights in the history of The Challenge, and hearing Robin say that they’ve assembled the biggest group of assholes ever on the show? And who wouldn’t be moved to tears when host TJ Lavin reveals himself to be the host, after overcoming a really scary fall on his bike and going through a recovery that included a medically induced coma? I shed a tear right along with Jenn. And CT was there, too?! This seems too good to be true. But I had to quickly compose myself, because the Challenge was beginning.

TJ announces the teams one by one, and although it’s no surprise who ends up being paired together, watching their reaction to it is pretty fun. The two new rookie teams are pretty interesting additions to the crowd — Adam and LeRoy from the great Vegas season that just aired are no surprise but sure to stir up some trouble, while Jasmine and Jonna from Cancun caught me offguard, as I had kind of forgotten about them. But was quickly reminded later in the episode what an attention loving spastic person Jasmine is as she makes out with a dude on the first night, apparently forgetting her pledge to stay true to her boyfriend. Come on, that’s the sort of amateur stuff we’re supposed to get through in your Real World season. This is the Challenge, step up your game. Hit someone… (Adam Royer made this transition quickly, as we’ll see later).

But back to the game. The first challenge of the season involves being strapped to your partner, holding hands, and jumping off a cliff. I’m assuming most challenges this season will involve some sort of teamwork/being tied to each other aspect, so we get the most play from the Rivals theme. So far I’m liking it. Couple things stood out to me while they went through everyone’s attempts and the results:

1. Laurel is so much bigger than Cara Maria it’s like someone strapped a little doll to her side and she’s pulling it along. I love watching this.

2. Adam & LeRoy very surprising with the successful jump. I knew LeRoy was an athlete but Adam apparently can jump as well if not better than he can punch out walls. They might be an interesting team to look out for.

3. Two rookie teams take the win on this? Damn veterans step up your game. You can’t haze these kids until you beat on ‘em.

4. CT is there. I still can’t get over it. I love his baby blue eyes and his rage.

Since Evelyn and Paula Walnuts came in last, they will be going into THE JUNGLE to battle with another team for the right to stay in the game. Some basic lobbying occurs, with a few people telling Laurel she should go into the Jungle because it will be her only chance to take out Evelyn. Laurel’s all like “no way I ain’t crazy” and gets everyone to vote in Aneesa and Robin. Pretty straightforward vote. No back stabbing yet. And now that the voting is out of the way, everyone can party! So fun, right? WRONG.

Ty and Adam get drunk and in each other’s faces and Adam goes all Adam on him and throws a punch. As we all know, this results in his leaving. On night one. Which probably leaves this guy kinda mad about his first overall pick in his Reality TV Fantasy League. But he did get a nice amount of points in his short time there. Real impact player out there.

Mandy gets pushed over in the shuffle and hits her head pretty hard which leads us to a nice little scene where CT comes to her rescue, then makes fun of her big head in an interview… did I mention that I love CT?

Onto the elimination. But first, what will happen to poor LeRoy who is now partner-less? Will they send him home already? I pray that they do not. And I am rewarded! Big Mike from Vegas comes out to rekindle his bromance with RoyLee and they embrace with a tenderness that can only emanate from two grown men hugging it out on a wobbly wooden bridge. Now that that’s settled, it’s onto the Jungle.

Tonight's elimination? Evelyn and Paula vs. Aneesa and Robin in a weird game where they have to lean against their partners from futher and further away until someone falls. Several minutes of leaning go by and then Robin/Aneesa fall. It is not the most enthralling elimination, but hey, it’s only episode one. And already a pretty strong veteran team is out the door. Which pretty much means this whole thing is up for grabs. Should be an interesting season. The show ends with a montage of what’s to come, leaving me feeling giddy and excited like only reality tv can. Scene that sticks out the most? A big ol’ knee to the nuts. Eager to see who’s involved and why. I’ve got a weird feeling there might be alcohol involved.

That’s it for episode one! A good start to what should be a very interesting season. I’ll leave you with some teams I think might make it pretty far:

Men:
Kenny/Wes - Athletic dudes who have done this so many times. They both love to play political games, and are successful at it. This time they’ll be working together so I wouldn’t be surprised if they come out on top at the end.

Adam/CT - CT is on this team. Enough said.

Women:
Evelyn/Paula Walnuts - I’ve got a good feeling about them. Evelyn is a crazy great competitor, and in a game where Paula Walnuts is usually backstabbed by supposed friends, maybe it will pay off to work with an enemy.

Laurel/Cara Maria - Can’t ignore Laurel. Or she’ll kill you. And even though Laurel puts her down every chance she gets, I don’t think Cara Maria is that bad of a competitor. But I guess we’ll see.

My dark horse:
RoyLee/Big Mike - In a game where everyone is teamed up with an enemy, you’re at an advantage when you’re rollin’ with your homie. As LeRoy mentioned on the show, Mike’s smart and he’s athletic, so they’ve got a fighting chance.

morning swim!

25 laps. (around 685M)

BRICK!

20 min on the bike - 5.15 miles
2 mile run 16:23

shoot day 1

view from my room

night and day...

first brick workout!

20 laps in the pool. not sure how long that took...
5 miles on the bike. 17:22

short but sweet.

This cat is watching Slayer! Like a human!

westin workout!

warm up 1 mile run.

4 sets of:

10 medicine ball cleans (8#)
10 deadlifts (20# dumbbells)
10 balance board squats
10 push ups
10 sit ups

cool down 1/2 mile run.

morning run

2.5 miles.

21:43

After the riots...

Staying a few blocks from where the rioting happened last week...

Funny looking animal of the week!

Westin workout!

ran 2 miles on treadmill. 16:12

3 sets of:

12 bent over rows (#5 dumbbells)
20 stability ball crunches

sunday runday

1.5 mile warm up - 12:37

Ended that run at the track to see how I'd do on some 400M runs that I didn't use my sportband to time:
1:35
1:47

Then a 100M run:
:17

Then a cool down 1/2 mile home:
4:53

Beautiful day for running!

Challenge #6 COMPLETE!

So I lived on a budget for a week and I ... DID IT! (With one caveat*, I'll explain at the bottom)

I updated y'all on where the first bit of monies went, here's the breakdown of the rest:

$2 to Hoover from cab we split
$1 for a package of Peanut M&M's from work vending machine
$4 for (2) Bud Light Lime Tall Boys
$4 for a half bottle of wine (dinner at a friend's apartment, needed beverages!)
$5 for 2 small Absolut Vanilla bottles
$6 for a Souvenir soda at Yanks game
$10.75 (yikes!) for a Cheesesteak at Yanks game
$3 to split a small fry at Yanks game
(as you can see, the Yankees game is very expensive if you like to eat constantly like me, that's why I saved a lot of money accordingly)
$14 for Supper Club ingredients/lunch from Trader Joe's
$8 for bottle of wine for Supper Club
$2 for subway card refill

Total: $60

Add that to the $35 I had already spent, and... I HAVE $5 LEFT OVER. Craziness. As you can see from the list above, I spent THE MOST MONEY the night I went to the Yankees game, but I had budgeted for that. It's kind of crazy though, I spent almost a quarter of my budget there. Cash can go quick if you let it.

Also from my list, you'll see that a lot of money was spent on alcohol... Don't get too concerned, a lot of the wine and alcohol on this list was shared with others at dinners and such. But as you can see, the drinks add up quickly.

As I said in my last post, living on a budget can be difficult, but if you are resourceful and plan ahead, you can do it for sure. At the same time, there were a lot of times in the past week where I had to use self control in order to avoid spending money on something I didn't necessarily need, or that was out of my budget.

CHALLENGE COMPLETE.

* The one thing I went over budget with was a plane ticket to Buffalo for tonight. I had planned on driving with a friend, but she decided flying was best. That wasn't really something I could foresee, but I will not make excuses - that is the only time I used anything other than my $100 cash to buy something in the past week.

Moneyball Trailer

Still haven't gotten around to reading this book, although I hope to read it before the movie. Trailer looks pretty solid. Nice commentary here at my new favorite place for web reading...

wod

run 1.5 miles
12:28

ride 7 miles (stationary bike)
21 minutes

funny looking animal of the week!

Challenge #6 - Budget week

So I'm about halfway through my week living on $100, and so far so good! Here's what I've spent on so far:

$13 - Swim cap (needed it to go swimming at the gym on Friday)
$5.50 - Trader Joe's - bought orzo, frozen veggies and a tomato
$3.50 - Iced Latte, met a friend for coffee on Saturday
$5.00 - a beer plus tip at a friend's birthday party Saturday night

Total Spent: $35
Amount Left: $65

That's it! Managed to spend $0 on Sunday, since I had an AMC gift certificate, so I saw Super 8 essentially for free! (Ps - Super 8 was a really great movie, check it out). Then just chilled out at home until my soccer game last night.

Cooking at home saves A LOT of money, obviously. Last night made orzo with shrimp (already had the shrimp in the freezer) for dinner, will eat the leftovers for lunch.

Seems like staying on a budget is much like weight loss - totally possible with self-control and a little planning. We'll see how the rest of the week shakes out...

fridays wod

swam for 18 minutes. about 630 meters.

pushed too hard on the pull ups the other day now my biceps are really swollen and can't straighten my arms... been icing and taking ibuprofen. hopefully the swelling goes down soon!

soccer game tonight!

Challenge #6 - the $100 challenge

So, just got back from a long vacation which means a couple things. One, I'm back at work, which sucks! And two, I've got no money! So it's the perfect time to try a budget challenge. This morning I am taking $100 out of the bank, and that is all I'm going to use all week. No credit cards, no debit cards, no ATMs, no excuses.

I am allowed to eat food that is already in my apartment (good thing I have that stockpile of mac n cheese!), but any other food/drink or otherwise comes straight from my hundo.

$100 should be more than enough to last me a week if I use it wisely... I will keep you posted on how it goes, and where the money all ends up.

So...here goes nothing!

southern road trip pics!

are all up - check it here.

best bridesmaids interview EVER

We watched this. Passed out. Woke up, heard it again. Passed out again. Went home, watched the NBA finals, heard this playing, passed out again. Woke up, it was still on, jumped out the window, heard it from outside, passed out again. Head exploded. - WCW

wod

biked 8 miles (20:23)
ran 1.5 miles (13:03)

about 1/2 of each of the distances i'll do these for my tri.
...on exercise bike & treadmill

chosen

Damn, Nike. Do you ever stop being awesome?

Saw this commercial last night and kept waiting for the end to see who made it. Should have known. Amazing.

CMT awards

Yup, watched them last night...what can I say, I guess Nashville got ahold of me. Anyways, this was a nominee last night and I just watched the performance and it was bangin'. Adele and Darius Rucker singing Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now." Check it.

wod

back to my normal gym today!

100 pull ups
100 kb swings (20#)
100 double unders
100 body weight squats

21:30

then 10 min on the bike

Grantland

Grantland.com opened up for business today — it's Bill Simmons new web site, a sports and pop culture site with writing by Simmons himself, plus a group of handpicked sports/pop culture writers, including Chuck Klosterman, Molly Lambert, and more. Sports and pop culture? I think those might be two of my favorite things...so of course I was excited to visit the site for the first time and check it out. And, it did not disappoint so far. Especially since one article is titled: "Grantland's Reality TV Fantasy League: The Complete Rules and Draft Results."

All I can say is...count me in. Looking forward to seeing what comes of this site. Check it out for yourself.

and also...this

Thumbs up everybody! For Rock and Roll!

thanks bec

Long Distance

Check out this new web series starring some awesome dudes I know and shot by another awesome dude I know!



more here.

funny looking animal of the week!

back to work edition...

westin workout!!!

The Westin in Memphis is awesome. Did a little workout this AM while Hoover snooozed.

Run 400M
10 Bent Over Rows (15# dbs)
10 Wall Ball Shots (8# ball)
10 Squats on Balance Board

4 rounds.

arkansas run

2.5 miles

22:53

LOTS OF HILLS