The making of an action hero pt15

Entry #14. This weekend marked several notable achievements for our work with the humanist movement. Saturday agent Squish and I drove out to the North Central Railroad trail for some hacking and patrolling. The trailhead hosted a poorly defended enlightened portal. Squish took down the 8 resonators and claimed it for our faction with little effort. After completing a few hacks, we set off down the trail. The NCR is a walking and biking trail built on a repurposed railroad line. The path roughly follows a deep still stream where one can fish in the shade of the overhanging trees. It is a popular spot for joggers, bikers, dog walkers, and hikers, all of whom we encountered in quantity during our adventure. It was nice to get out and just walk for a while in “nature.” Squish and I pretended to be normal people for 2.5 miles down and back, five miles total. I think we’ll be returning there soon as it was a pleasant distraction even with the 90 degree weather. The next day agent MX joined us for a trip up to a shopping center near where I work. The area is packed with portals tied to statues and memorials. We walked around the center twice while Squish repeatedly hacked six of them. The sun was shining; the breeze was blowing, and the people watching was diverting. On our way out we rediscovered a little Italian dessert shop that sells fresh gelato, baked goods, and Italian style beverages. I always forget it’s there since this particular shop is an offshoot of an iconic Baltimore eatery. Whenever I think of the name, I default to the original location. I allowed myself two cookies which sadly weren’t as good as I remember. Even so it was nice to sit in the air-conditioning with Squish and MX having a snack on a summer’s day. It reminded me of when my parents used to take us to Ben and Jerri’s when I was a kid. The diet has had some successes and some failures since my last post. I’ve managed to avoid ordering out as well as buying junk food. The brunette and I have eaten at home for most of this time. On the other hand, I discovered a half gallon of vanilla ice milk the same day my company decided to send me a tin of gourmet cookies as a morale gift. I don’t think it had the affect they intended. I’ve been having cravings lately—urges for sausage, candy, cheeseburgers…etc. I didn’t gorge on the assorted desserts, but I did dig in. My weight this morning was up to 306.8 instead of the near constant 305.8 I’ve stabilized around. I want the bad food…but I can resist buying and ordering it. It’s the food that’s already here that’s proving a problem. I’m also having trouble remembering to use the light box in the morning. This all points to a general downward spiral to my mood. I’m sure I’ll be on the upswing soon enough; but until then everything seems a little bit darker and a little bit more foreboding. The weird part of that is that the more I get the urge to give up and emotionally eat, the angrier I get. It pisses me off that I’ve been generally successful and a no-reason negativity stint is threatening that success. That is making it easier to resist the bad thing for now. I located a set of instructional DVDs for my steel clubs. I get paid this Friday so they’re tops on my list to acquire. I’m ever mindful that if I let myself put off picking up the components to exercise, I’ll likely never get back on that band wagon. I’m going to look at finding something new and positive to obsess over—something that I can spend time on but that doesn’t cost a bunch of money. I’m also going to try reading less news while I’m at work as doing so inevitably puts me in a fowl mood with predictable shading of my outlook. Today’s intake: Breakfast=a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and honey, a banana, and a glass of water. Work meal=a pepper turkey wrap, an apple, and a container of Greek yogurt. Dinner=leftover pasta with asparagus, mango jalapeno chicken sausage, red pepper, cilantro, and onion.