HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHARON "BIG GUNS" L.!

You never cease to amaze me with your indomitable spirit and strength, both mental and physical. Keep pushing the limits and breaking new ground as you enter into a new year of life! Thank you for being my hardcore workout buddy, and more than anything else, a dear friend.

***

It was only fitting that we perform a "Filthy Fifty" today to commemorate this wonderful lady's 50th birthday. People scaled as necessary, and so we saw a whole spectrum of variations, ranging from "Totally Thirty-Five" to "Shitty Seventy" (yes, yours truly can testify as to the appropriateness of the latter title).

WOD
"Filthy Fifty"
Perform 50 reps of the following exercises. All reps of an exercise must be completed before moving to the next.
Box Jumps
Jumping Pullups
KB Swings
Walking Lunge Steps
Knees to Elbows
Push Presses (45#)
Back Extensions (we subbed arm haulers)
Wall Ball Shots
Burpees
Double Unders/ 3x Single Rope Turns

WOD:Revolution
25-minute Spin, followed by:
1 Back Squat - 10 Russian KB Swings
2 Back Squats - 9 Russian KB Swings
3 Back Squats - 8 Russian KB Swings
.
.
.
9 Back Squats - 2 Russian KB Swings
10 Back Squats - 1 Russian KB Swing

***
"Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is really a friend."
- Plautus

i don't quite know how to say how i feel

Some pictures from today with my super awesome friends:





Last day in Singapore and I'm feeling somewhat wistful - once again, time seems to have sped by all too quickly. Funny how I never want to leave Ann Arbor when it's time to return home, and funnier still how it's hard to pull myself away from the familiarity when it's time to go back to the States. This summer vacation back in the tropics has been altogether awesome. A fruitful vacation attachment, traipsing the jungles of Brunei, getting to know fellow military folks, meeting up with my dearest friends in Singapore, and of course being reunited with my family, has made it all worthwhile. Today was spent in a whirlwind frenzy that involved finishing all my last-minute pre-flight preparations, and final meetups with friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in more than a year. As I was walking today, it struck me that I'll be back for good the next time I'm in Singapore. It's a sobering (though not sombre) thought in many ways, and is a definite cause for me to treasure my final year ahead.


My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why
I got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window
and I can't see at all
And even if I could it'd all be grey,
but your picture on my wall
It reminds me that it's not so bad,
it's not so bad

I drank too much last night, got bills to pay,
my head just feels in pain
I missed the bus and there'll be hell today,
I'm late for work again
And even if I'm there, they'll all imply
that I might not last the day
And then you call me and it's not so bad,
it's not so bad and

I want to thank you
for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you
is having the best day of my life

Push the door, I'm home at last
and I'm soaking through and through
Then you hand me a towel
and all I see is you
And even if my house falls down,
I wouldn't have a clue
Because you're near me and

I want to thank you
for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you
is having the best day of my life

Dido -- Thank You

Sunday 08/17/2008

I'm officially done with my vacation attachment and it's time to relax and enjoy my final week-and-a-half in Singapore. That's me in the picture above together with two of my good friends from secondary school (we go back a long time... it's been nine years since the first time we met). My friend in the middle played the yangqin at a Chinese Orchestra concert last night, and we were there to support her (and hopefully become marginally more culturally-aware in the process).

WOD
6-mile base run

WOD
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of:
American KB Swing
Double Under
Flutter Kick (4-Count)

***
"Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought."
- Napoleon