No it didn’t really make much of a difference in my online activity.

I was supposed to do an intensity press this past Monday but I forgot when I got to the gym and tried to do another volume press. I ended up pressing 162.5lbs for 5, 4, 2, and 1 and did a back-off set at 150lbs x 5. The strikingly decreased performance after the second set probably came from the fact that I was super-setting my presses with front squats, and hit 335lbs for 3, 3, and 2, which is pretty close to a kind of volume PR.

This workout would have been better if I pressed 172.5lbs for a triple, or 175lbs for a double. I will prob be attempting that tomorrow and doing a lot of weighted ring dips for accessory/bodybuilding. Unless my warm-up presses feel like shit, then I’ll just do push presses and a bunch of ring dips, then continue with regularly-scheduled programming.

My aunt from Hawaii is in Dallas this week. I’ve been hanging out over at my other aunt’s place where some of the family has gotten together. My grandma asked me why I didn’t have a girlfriend. I said I don’t know. She asked me how old I was. I said twenty-five. She said I needed to hurry and get married, but not to a Korean immigrant. She recommended finding a good American-born Korean girl. Or a white girl. They were OK, too. I said ooh KAY.

I also had another unreal conversation with my dad a few days ago:

Dad: Hi, Brent.
Me: Hi.
Dad: What are you doing?
Me: I’m at work.
Dad: When are you off this week?
Me: I’m off Wednesday.
Dad: Eh?
Me: I’m off Wednesday.
Dad: Monday?
Me: Wednesday.
Dad: You’re off MONDAY?
Me: No, I’m off Wednesday.
Dad (frustrated now): Brent, are you off Monday or Wednesday?
Me: Wednesday.
Dad: MONDAY!?!?
Me: Can you hear me?
Dad: What?
Me: Can you hear me?
Dad: Yes.
Me: I’m off Wednesday.
Dad: Oh, Wednesday. OK, Brent. Don’t work too hard. Talk to you later.

Just so fucking unreal. This is my reality. There are no lettuce or beans in it.

I realized today that my so-called “happy place,” or my go-to thought for a mental break from work or a stressful situation, is to think of myself squeezing belly-tight into an externally-rotated start position for the snatch by first tightening the back, then loading the hip. That is what I think of when I’ve been working a busy shift, or when the girl with the pretty smile at work doesn’t pay much attention to me.

Ryan writes:

I am from Hugo, OK which is about 15 miles north of Powderly. It’s probably the smallest town in Texas.

What’s the gym scene like in Hugo, OK? Also – you wanna hang out sometime? Like train together and have a post-workout meal. Come at me if you’re interested. At the very least I can bring my 40lbs dumbbell and meet up somewhere, we could do a bunch of sets of db curls to failure and then eat at fucking McDonald’s. That last sentence was pretty serious except for the part about eating at McDonald’s.

Best writes:

Had a great week of lifting last week, each day was better than the last and I’ve never felt so far from suicide. I’ve decided to give up reading anything written by anyone positive and instead focus my attention on the miserable and use that to feel really good about my sunshine life.
Thanks Brent.

Hey man that’s cool keep me updated. I’ll be here. Waiting. With the muzzle of an M1911 in my fucking mouth.

I called VPVG when we were both working Saturday. She didn’t seem terribly excited to talk to me.

VPVG: Hello?
Me: Hi, VPVG.
VPVG: Hi, Brent.
Me: What are you doing.
VPVG: I’m wor-
Me: Please respond.
VPVG: What?

No, but how funny would it be if I did say that. She was asking about the girls working at the front desk at my clinic and I said

“Why, are you afraid I’m going to cheat on you?”

to which she replied, “Oh no, you would never!” Be still my heart. We spoke on the phone for about five minutes and then I had to get back to work. Then she didn’t respond to a text I sent her. Please respond. Take care.

If it sounds like I’m depressed, I’m not. This is me having a good day.