Tip Toeing in my Vibrams

[Renascent]

(10.17.2022)
Barbell Hip Thrusts
225 x 15 x 2
275 x 12 x 2

Single-Leg Barbell Hip Thrusts
135 x 8 x 3

Right hamstring wanted to cramp up. Brought my right foot closer to the glute for a more acute knee angle to remedy this, but it seemed to cut off my range of motion. Wasn't sure if I was moving the weight with my glute (or my lower back) -- until I stood up. Then my ass cheek said, "Rawr."

Interesting movement. Definitely brings about a case of "I don't know what to do with my (other) hand foot."

Might be more worthwhile to drop the weight and just use a dumbbell next time.

Cable Lateral Lunges
20 x 12 x 4

Lying Cable Knee Raises
80 x 12 x 4

Face Pulls
50 x 12 x 3

Weird elevator compliment today: apparently my hair reminds someone of Lenny Kravitz. Which is a "huge compliment," because apparently she's a huge Lenny Kravitz fan.

I don't look a damn thing like Lenny Kravitz, but okay.

I wasn't much in the mood for small talk at all today, but I caved and faked a laugh -- to my own chagrin -- to make the neverending ride less awkward. She probably meant no harm (it's much better than being told you look "exotic"), but started to blush from embarrassment when my facial expression probably gave away my indifference to the guy's music.

I've my own questionable taste in music (Bauhaus and UGK came up during the knee raises tonight), but I always found Kravitz's presentation to be sorta corny.

Hoping I can remember her face in the future. Apparently she's "seen [me] around all the time," and I don't like it when I fail to keep a bead on strangers who claim to notice me "all the time."

Lazy Capricorn shit, I guess. Too many creepers, not enough eyes.

[lheugh]

Lookin jacked bruh

Seconded!

Thanks. I'm toying with the idea of a lazy thinker's winter bulk.

You're absolutely in a great place to do so if you so choose!

[Renascent]

(10.18.2022)
Bench Press
135 x 10
225 x 11
255 x 8
285 x 4 x 3
305 x 2 x 4
320 x 1 x 3
275 x 4
255 x 6
225 x 8

Possibly the most volume I've done in a single bench session. Pecs were cramping later when I took the boy to his martial arts class, so folding my arms was uncomfortable.



Barbell Hang Rows
225 x 12 x 2 (Pronated)
225 x 12 x 2 (Supinated)
255 x 7 x 2 (Pronated)
255 x 7 x 2 (Supinated)

Landmine T-Bar Rows
200 x 10 x 8

Single-Arm Kneeling Iliac Pulldowns
60 x 12 x 4

Straight-Arm Pulldowns
85 x 12 x 6

Misload. Thought it was 90 and didn't bother to check until I was finished.

Kneeling Cable Crunch
65 x 20 x 3

Weighted Sissy Squats
25 x 10 x 4

Seated Dumbbell Reverse Flyes
25 x 10 x 3

[Renascent]

(10.19.2022)
Overhead Press
155 x 10
175 x 6 x 3
185 x 4 x 3
195 x 3 x 2
205 x 2 x 2
215 x 1 x 2



Yazmin Press
185 x 7 x 5
195 x 5 x 3

Overhead Cable Front Raise
30 x 12 x 4

Seated Dumbbell Reverse Flyes
25 x 10 x 4

Ab Wheel Rollouts
12 x 3

I was supposed to wake up early and press, but the temperature was down in the thirties, my bed is really warm, and I've not yet regained my tolerance for the cold.

Thought I might just do isolation stuff once I got home from work, but ended up reverting to the original plan. Still gotta finish the other half of the session tomorrow, but that'll free up time to get some other shit done as well.

Potluck fever is in full effect at work. Emails have been flying back and forth with menu suggestions for the past few days. I want no real part of it, but am sorely tempted to suggest that we/they include some form of a vegetable, for the love of arteries.

I don't intend to eat any of it; just wanna make the suggestion to be an asshole, if I'm honest.

[houzi]

(10.19.2022)

Potluck fever is in full effect at work. Emails have been flying back and forth with menu suggestions for the past few days. I want no real part of it, but am sorely tempted to suggest that we/they include some form of a vegetable, for the love of arteries.

I don't intend to eat any of it; just wanna make the suggestion to be an asshole, if I'm honest.

I would 100% do this haha. If you work in a large company, trolling people i dislike would be a daily distraction for me. Safety in numbers and all that. Demand that there is a kosher, vegan, halal, gluten free option or something along those lines.

I used to do it in a small company of around 10 people. Move desks around, hide chairs, remove doors, switch peoples photos on the staff board, glue tiny photos of coworkers in random places (ceiling, elevator door, phone receiver), constant anonymous phone calls to their work phone, etc, etc. Ahhh the good old days.

[Renascent]

(10.19.2022)

Potluck fever is in full effect at work. Emails have been flying back and forth with menu suggestions for the past few days. I want no real part of it, but am sorely tempted to suggest that we/they include some form of a vegetable, for the love of arteries.

I don't intend to eat any of it; just wanna make the suggestion to be an asshole, if I'm honest.

I would 100% do this haha. If you work in a large company, trolling people i dislike would be a daily distraction for me. Safety in numbers and all that. Demand that there is a kosher, vegan, halal, gluten free option or something along those lines.

Sad thing is, I may seriously end up being the one to procure some kind of veggie tray. Each section in our division is supposed to bring dishes to share, and, so far, it's all meatballs, fried wings, buffalo wings, fried fish, baked beans, and nearly every other fried variation of protein one could think of.

The collective farts are gonna be out of this world.

I like fried food as much as the next, but I also worry about my poo.

[Renascent]

(10.20.2022)
Weighted Neck Curls
35 x 30 x 2
40 x 20 x 2

Barbell Hip Thrusts
225 x 15 x 2
275 x 12 x 2

Rope Pushdowns
65 x 16 x 2
75 x 12 x 2
80 x 8 x 2

Barbell Hang Shrug
255 x 20 x 2
315 x 15 x 2
335 x 10 x 2

Overhead RTEs
80 x 12 x 6

Seated Incline Dumbbell Curls
25 x 12 x 4

Dumbbell Silverback Shrugs
75 x 20 x 4

Lying Cable Knee Raises
75 x 14 x 2
50 x 16 x 2

Sadly, I had to toss a pair of work pants I can no longer fit.

On the bright side, I showed up to my kid's school today to sign some paperwork, and some kid gave his best Michael Cole impression by screaming, "Roman Reigns! Roman Reigns! It's Roman Reigns!"

I don't look a damn thing like Roman Reigns, but eh. I'll take it. Chuffed.

[MarkKO]

(10.19.2022)

Potluck fever is in full effect at work. Emails have been flying back and forth with menu suggestions for the past few days. I want no real part of it, but am sorely tempted to suggest that we/they include some form of a vegetable, for the love of arteries.

I don't intend to eat any of it; just wanna make the suggestion to be an asshole, if I'm honest.

I would 100% do this haha. If you work in a large company, trolling people i dislike would be a daily distraction for me. Safety in numbers and all that. Demand that there is a kosher, vegan, halal, gluten free option or something along those lines.

Sad thing is, I may seriously end up being the one to procure some kind of veggie tray. Each section in our division is supposed to bring dishes to share, and, so far, it's all meatballs, fried wings, buffalo wings, fried fish, baked beans, and nearly every other fried variation of protein one could think of.

The collective farts are gonna be out of this world.

I like fried food as much as the next, but I also worry about my poo.

Why not bring a fruit salad? Plenty healthful and sweet enough to please the fried brigade. You could provide some maple syrup and whatever those canisters of whipped cream are called as an option. Probably not as fun as pissing them off though.

[Hardartery]

Potluck fever is in full effect at work. Emails have been flying back and forth with menu suggestions for the past few days. I want no real part of it, but am sorely tempted to suggest that we/they include some form of a vegetable, for the love of arteries.

I don't intend to eat any of it; just wanna make the suggestion to be an asshole, if I'm honest.

Every work potluck I went to had a veggie tray. Always the worst veggie tray I could imagine, sad little vehicles for the massive thing of dip in the centre. No winning there.

[Renascent]

Why not bring a fruit salad? Plenty healthful and sweet enough to please the fried brigade. You could provide some maple syrup and whatever those canisters of whipped cream are called as an option. Probably not as fun as pissing them off though.

I don't want to piss anybody off nearly as much as I just want to be left the fuck alone. The hype surrounding stuff like this would make one think we're gearing up for the Last Supper or something. At any rate, it's nothing more than a distraction. Bread and circuses that the participants are being asked to pay for.

All the brown stuff on the menu, though ... I feel like a veggie tray would be an act of mercy on our intestines.

Every work potluck I went to had a veggie tray. Always the worst veggie tray I could imagine, sad little vehicles for the massive thing of dip in the centre. No winning there.

Honestly, I'll settle for the little morsels of celery and carrots that no one else seems to eat.

Ideally, I'd rather not participate at all. My group tends to have more work to do, on a cyclical basis. The others... are really, really bored, apparently, and it's the season for penalizing people who aren't ambling around and smiling at nothing in particular for no reason at all.

[Renascent]

(10.26.2022)
Face Pulls
50 x 12 x 3
55 x 12 x 3

Dumbbell Silverback Shrugs
75 x 20 x 4

Lateral Plate Raises
25 x 10 x 4

Kneeling Cable Crunch
65 x 20 x 3

Standing Cable Leg Extensions
45 x 15 x 3
50 x 10 x 3

Incline Side Lying Hip Raise
12 x 2 (Elbows up)
12 x 2 (Feet up)

Lying Cable Knee Raises
80 x 12 x 2
50 x 16 x 2

• The boy caught something called a "fever virus" prior to the weekend, so I had to go at the Social Studies project solo for a few days. Can't wait until it's over. The most minor shit makes me dread this season.



• Apparently my sister-in-law stepped away from her workstation to find a SWAT team assembling around her house, guns drawn. She had to risk it all by going outside to explain that she's owned the house for the past twenty years almost, and the supposed high-level drug dealer they were looking for doesn't live there.

Thankfully, this prompted them to realize they had the wrong house before getting around to shooting up my two-year-old nephew like Gary Oldman's hit squad.

Fuck this planet.

• Sick of working for emptyheaded bozos. I'm about at my limit. Pretty damn close to telling my boss that she really needs a hobby, and, if she insists on micromanagement and manufacturing drama, her son is downstairs in the mail room. And I ain't him.

Ran into one of the other department heads who's currently playing defense in the midst of a witchhunt. I am sorely tempted to take him up on his offer to move into his department. I think we'll eventually clash, personality-wise, but it can't be worse than treading water with the busybodies I'm losing time with right now.

[MarkKO]

(10.26.2022)
Face Pulls
50 x 12 x 3
55 x 12 x 3

Dumbbell Silverback Shrugs
75 x 20 x 4

Lateral Plate Raises
25 x 10 x 4

Kneeling Cable Crunch
65 x 20 x 3

Standing Cable Leg Extensions
45 x 15 x 3
50 x 10 x 3

Incline Side Lying Hip Raise
12 x 2 (Elbows up)
12 x 2 (Feet up)

Lying Cable Knee Raises
80 x 12 x 2
50 x 16 x 2

• The boy caught something called a "fever virus" prior to the weekend, so I had to go at the Social Studies project solo for a few days. Can't wait until it's over. The most minor shit makes me dread this season.



• Apparently my sister-in-law stepped away from her workstation to find a SWAT team assembling around her house, guns drawn. She had to risk it all by going outside to explain that she's owned the house for the past twenty years almost, and the supposed high-level drug dealer they were looking for doesn't live there.

Thankfully, this prompted them to realize they had the wrong house before getting around to shooting up my two-year-old nephew like Gary Oldman's hit squad.

Fuck this planet.

• Sick of working for emptyheaded bozos. I'm about at my limit. Pretty damn close to telling my boss that she really needs a hobby, and, if she insists on micromanagement and manufacturing drama, her son is downstairs in the mail room. And I ain't him.

Ran into one of the other department heads who's currently playing defense in the midst of a witchhunt. I am sorely tempted to take him up on his offer to move into his department. I think we'll eventually clash, personality-wise, but it can't be worse than treading water with the busybodies I'm losing time with right now.

I am very, very glad to hear your SIL and family are OK (apart from scared shitless).

Take the offer. You might *not* clash, and the change would probably make for it if you did.

I realised with some dread that my work Xmas function is happening in about six weeks and I don't think I'm going to be able to weasel out of it. I actually have very little against the majority of my colleagues and even quite like some of them, but I really don't relish the idea of losing and afternoon and evening watching them get very drunk (at the bare minimum, and I'm sure there will be various bags floating around). Hopefully it will be an early start, so I can make as early an exit as is poilte. With any luck there will be some marginally sober people I can talk to.

[Renascent]

I realised with some dread that my work Xmas function is happening in about six weeks and I don't think I'm going to be able to weasel out of it. I actually have very little against the majority of my colleagues and even quite like some of them, but I really don't relish the idea of losing and afternoon and evening watching them get very drunk (at the bare minimum, and I'm sure there will be various bags floating around). Hopefully it will be an early start, so I can make as early an exit as is poilte. With any luck there will be some marginally sober people I can talk to.

This (the bolded).

Even if I was clamoring for their companionship in such a setting, I hate the idea of giving up an evening or (especially) a weekend day for stuff like that. Saturdays are for yardwork, introspection and deadlifts.

And watching other people get stupid-drunk is never fun.

[MarkKO]

I realised with some dread that my work Xmas function is happening in about six weeks and I don't think I'm going to be able to weasel out of it. I actually have very little against the majority of my colleagues and even quite like some of them, but I really don't relish the idea of losing and afternoon and evening watching them get very drunk (at the bare minimum, and I'm sure there will be various bags floating around). Hopefully it will be an early start, so I can make as early an exit as is poilte. With any luck there will be some marginally sober people I can talk to.

This (the bolded).

Even if I was clamoring for their companionship in such a setting, I hate the idea of giving up an evening or (especially) a weekend day for stuff like that. Saturdays are for yardwork, introspection and deadlifts.

And watching other people get stupid-drunk is never fun.

I just don't understand this whole work function thing. They pay me, and well. I don't expect more than that. Why go to the trouble of concocting a social event?

[Hardartery]

I realised with some dread that my work Xmas function is happening in about six weeks and I don't think I'm going to be able to weasel out of it. I actually have very little against the majority of my colleagues and even quite like some of them, but I really don't relish the idea of losing and afternoon and evening watching them get very drunk (at the bare minimum, and I'm sure there will be various bags floating around). Hopefully it will be an early start, so I can make as early an exit as is poilte. With any luck there will be some marginally sober people I can talk to.

This (the bolded).

Even if I was clamoring for their companionship in such a setting, I hate the idea of giving up an evening or (especially) a weekend day for stuff like that. Saturdays are for yardwork, introspection and deadlifts.

And watching other people get stupid-drunk is never fun.

I just don't understand this whole work function thing. They pay me, and well. I don't expect more than that. Why go to the trouble of concocting a social event?

Part of it is the BS business school notion of Team Building. They think you are more productive if everyone is friends and that it builds loyalty to the company (As in you won't jump ship as readily). It's not true at all, the only people motivated to stay by these things are the least useful members of the staff.

[MarkKO]

I realised with some dread that my work Xmas function is happening in about six weeks and I don't think I'm going to be able to weasel out of it. I actually have very little against the majority of my colleagues and even quite like some of them, but I really don't relish the idea of losing and afternoon and evening watching them get very drunk (at the bare minimum, and I'm sure there will be various bags floating around). Hopefully it will be an early start, so I can make as early an exit as is poilte. With any luck there will be some marginally sober people I can talk to.

This (the bolded).

Even if I was clamoring for their companionship in such a setting, I hate the idea of giving up an evening or (especially) a weekend day for stuff like that. Saturdays are for yardwork, introspection and deadlifts.

And watching other people get stupid-drunk is never fun.

I just don't understand this whole work function thing. They pay me, and well. I don't expect more than that. Why go to the trouble of concocting a social event?

Part of it is the BS business school notion of Team Building. They think you are more productive if everyone is friends and that it builds loyalty to the company (As in you won't jump ship as readily). It's not true at all, the only people motivated to stay by these things are the least useful members of the staff.

Pretty much.

What gets my loyalty to an employer is good pay and being treated with respect. Give me that and I don't need anything else. Don't get me wrong, doing nice things *during* work doesn't hurt, and they do that like pizza lunches and stuff.

I just think arranging events outside work seems pointless and, to me, is just an added stress of something I need to go to that I don't really want to but will be considered rude for being absent.

[DCR]

That shit that happened to your SIL is absolutely terrifying. Glad that she and her family are unharmed (physically).

[Renascent]

Part of it is the BS business school notion of Team Building. They think you are more productive if everyone is friends and that it builds loyalty to the company (As in you won't jump ship as readily). It's not true at all, the only people motivated to stay by these things are the least useful members of the staff.

Probably so.

One of the things that really gets in my ass is when higher-ups will copy all of the management team on those "Emotional Intelligence" subscription emails that our director receives periodically, expecting us to drink the Flavor Aid, while knowing full well that the message is a hollow sham. Said emails usually contain some sacred tenet about how to handle human capital, while lacking any real-world practicality.

In private conversations with my boss, I've pointed out that our individual tasks aren't really "team-oriented," so the team-building stuff just comes off as expensive opportunities for intrusive behavior-policing. They wouldn't feel the need to stuff the grunts full of starch and barbecue if the starting wages were respectable.

[Renascent]

I just think arranging events outside work seems pointless and, to me, is just an added stress of something I need to go to that I don't really want to but will be considered rude for being absent.

This is the part that, in my experience, invites unnecessary retaliation.

[Renascent]

That shit that happened to your SIL is absolutely terrifying. Glad that she and her family are unharmed (physically).

Thanks.

We've joked about this being a a caveat of living in old houses in old neighborhoods. Cops having cold leads and acting on really old intel.

Amusingly (I think?), my wife and son went to visit my SIL and the nephew last night. Once they got in the car to head back home, my wife was bullshitting around in her purse or the glove box or something, and my kid told her she was taking too long. He also said something about being worried about getting shot like a sitting duck while idling in the driveway. Wife shut him down with something akin to, "Don't be ridiculous!"

Not even thirty minutes after they got home, my wife texted my SIL for a video of some developmental milestone that my nephew recently achieved.

SIL completely ignored the request, and instead texted something like, "Girl, somebody just got shot. Across the street."

We were a little weirded out at first, but definitely chuckled about it later.