Days 76-81

Ive been working on packing my lunch this past week and been rather successful. Frankly, Ive been sort of stuck with my weight but I know that maintaining should be rewarded just like losing. Next week Id like to add more vegitables to my diet, and with thanksgiving on the horizon, I think thats gonna be my weakness. But oh well! My diet prevails! As for my excersize, I think I may need to shift gears in the new year to focus on strength training. Today I swam 50 laps in the 25 yard pool - in other words, 2500 yards. Yet I felt the burn just like I had done 1500 yards. Maybe my body is getting conditioned for swimming so I might want to try something else.

Tonight, my combo played. The group features Gerald Clayton on piano, Robby Marshall on tenor sax, Scott Jeppeson on tenor, Michael Lindsay on drums, and Hans Bernhard on bass. I think the performance was strong, but I am increasingly becoming disatisfied with my playing. My focus the past few months, after being on the road this summer, has not been on my playing, yet a focus on my health has been number one. Rather than practicing I have spent hours upon hours of swimming and weight training in an effort to get healthier. While this is definetly positive, I feel like my playing has changed quite a bit and I need to go back and review some of the basics.

Dinner last night with Larry Thomas was wonderful. Larry is the past president of Guitar Center. He is going to be a great contact for the guitar quartet in the future and hopefully this will start some sort of relationship between New West and Guitar Center.

Here's where Im at with my progress:

Day 1: 294
Day 81: 258
Day 100: 250-255
January 1: 250
May 5: 220
August 1: 190