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Journey Back

Posted on January 25, 2019January 23, 2019 by Tony T

I am trying my best to get back on my diet of choice, the Ketogenic Diet. It is a diet that has worked well for me in the recent past. It seems hard to get started though. And if you haven’t heard or saw on my other blog, I am no longer a school bus driver. I decided to give the job up.

The job itself was not causing my failure on my diet. I just haven’t been disciplined or cared enough. The job was causing a great deal of stress though. All I could do when I got home every day was sleep. I was sore, near physically ill from the stress, and dreading the next day. On weekends, I would go through several bottles of wine. This, I believe, was a result of job stress.

I haven’t worked there now for about 3 weeks. I feel like I’m becoming uncoiled finally. I was wound pretty tightly; tight muscles, joint pain, neck pain, and back pain. I’m starting to feel better. Before I took the job, I had begun to practice the saxophone again and learn some tunes. All that ended slowly when I started driving. Eventually, I could not find the energy to continue. Just this week, I remembered what my musical goals were. I had planned to be in a group by this time, or, at least doing some solo work.

I feel I became really unhealthy while driving the school bus. I don’t think I will ever go back to it. So now, since I’ve started feeling better, I intend to try to go all the way. Not even a weight loss goal, just a goal of eating better. I need to decrease some of the inflammation in my body. I need to send my triglycerides in a downward trend, and, I need to lower my blood pressure. The keto diet was doing all of that.

I am a little scared though. I don’t want to fail. And I know I shouldn’t think about it in those terms, but, its hard not to.

Also, I need to get engaged again in some sort of exercise. I guess I will approach all of this one step at a time. And of course, it was helping to post here on my blog. It sort of kept me honest. Anyway, that’s what it is right now. Wish me luck.

My Spring Break

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Tony T

I have made no progress in this venture. I think the problem is that I don’t seem to care anymore. And I don’t care about not caring either.

I have been really busy with this new job (school bus driver). I’m pretty sure that I like the job enough to keep it for a while. It wears me out though because I have to be up before the kids who ride the bus. So I’m up around 4 a.m.

I don’t know what bearing this has on me eating right. It would be just another excuse I suppose.

This morning I am emerging from a week with the worst cold I have ever experienced. And as luck would have it, it was Spring Break for the schools I serve. I wanted to enjoy the break just like the kids. Instead, I lay on the couch or in bed struggling to stay alive. At least, that’s what it felt like.

It began with a cough on Friday evening. Saturday, I was down for the count. I was in pain all over, sneezing, chilled to the bone and wishing I could be someone else until this thing was over.

And for the cherry on top of it all, yesterday I discovered I somehow got Thrush, a fungal infection which babies usually get. At least that’s what I hope it is. I’m not accepting anything else! It is very painful. It’s no wonder that babies scream when they have it.

So, tomorrow is the end of my break. I didn’t have any fun. I’m back to work Monday morning. I’m not even gonna pretend that I intend to try to get back on track with diet or exercise because I just don’t care at the moment. Just glad I didn’t die this week.

Change

The Wheels On the Bus

Posted on March 11, 2018June 1, 2018 by Tony T

It has been a while since my last post. Since then, I have been hired as a school bus driver. The wheels on the bus go round and round… and all that.😂

So I have to be up at 4:00 A.M. The routes I’m driving begin at around 5:50 and I finish up around 8:30. Then the afternoon route begins at between 2:45 – 3:00 P.M. It finishes up around 5:00. At least it does when the bus driver really knows the route.

I drove the afternoon route, my very first route for the first time on this past Friday. I don’t know the routes all that well yet. So, I finished up around 5:45. Only a little bit late.

There is this one little kid, about 5 years old, and his name is Walker. When I was just riding the bus as a monitor or helper (a person who rides the bus to keep the kids in line so the driver can concentrate), Walker had to sit with me because he is pretty fidgety. During the days he sat with me we got to know each other a little.

So as I was driving the route, with the actual bus driver acting as the monitor, and Walker seated beside her, I missed a house where I was supposed to stop. Walker blurts out, “Awe, You don’t know how to drive the bus!” Every one laughed. Then I responded, “man, I thought Walker was my friend, and now he’s making fun of me.” To my surprise, he was embarrassed by the fact that he might have hurt my feelings. I assured him that I was okay.

The little kids are great. However, the middle school kids who are also on the bus are a little more sneaky and much less well behaved. They are mouthy and sometimes disrespectful. No doubt they will be a challenge.

They are way worse the little kids. They don’t stay in their seats. They throw things back and forth, and the scream back and forth at each other as if they are outside. They are so loud.

Last, I pick up and deliver the high school kids. They are a breeze? They are extremely well behaved, quiet, and helpful. They will let the driver know if a stop is unnecessary if the kid who lives at a certain address is not on the bus. This was a surprise to me. It was the high school kids whom I expected to be wild and out of control. They turned out to be the easy group. I can’t imagine the middle school kids growing into what I see in the high school kids. That would be a miracle.

So, I’ve been busy. I haven’t worked in 7 years and find it a little difficult to get used to it again. Up before dawn, and then that long break during the day and then back at it in the afternoon. I don’t dare take a nap during that time in the middle. I don’t trust myself to wake up and go back to work. So I find things to keep me busy during that time.

When the day is finished, so am I. When I go to bed all I can think about are the wheels on the bus going round and round. So, that’s where I’ve been. And it involves getting plenty of exercise; a good bit of walking during the day. Just being out of the house is helping me toward staying on track with my desire eating habit. Since I’m not at home all day I’m not snacking all day. And that is a good thing.

Well, that’s it. Until next time.