The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
June 21, 2022
Training (The Good)
I started training again with goals in mind. I don’t want to jinx it but it has been going pretty well. I have slowly started seeing results in my speed, distance, endurance and strength. There really is no substitute for working hard, rest, and proper nutrition. There is no worm-hole to quick, sustainable weight loss. I tried IF (intermittent fasting) before and it worked, albeit very slowly at first, but I did it without really training continuously other than a 45 minute gym workout.
I absolutely need to constantly feed my body. During my first few weeks of IF overlap and continuous daily training I got so weak and drained a few times I found myself bonking just doing easy workouts. The training cycle I am on does not really allow for cheat days. Nutrition has to be on par with the effort or performance will suffer. Not only will performance suffer but my mental health and the way I treat those closest to me changes as well. I get cranky, short, and foggy. Not good for someone who still entertains audiences and must maintain positive rapport with people.
Between all of this I am still maintaining a full time work schedule, climbing when Anna and I can, gym workouts, and practicing/playing gigs with the band and as an acoustic entertainer. I am busy. I am trying my best to be Renaissance.
In our little bubble we are happy. We do our day to day in our mountain town bubble. We don’t have any small children to worry about and both have great jobs. I can work remote and take off to wherever. There is money in the bank and I can still get high. BUT…
The Bad and the Ugly
I mean, can you believe this SCOTUS? WTF? Maddening. Perplexing. Infuriating. In my almost 52 years here I have yet to see our country so divided, so angry, so unhealthy both mentally and physically. Then you have SCOTUS fanning the flames with this Roe Vs Wade decision that 67% of Americans were against (ie- Americans approved of Roe Vs Wade). Conservative judges who took an oath, who were questioned on the stand denied that they would touch RvW and yet here we are.
What do you tell your kids who look up to these judges? It’s ok to lie to get what you want? The influence of hard right christian bible thumpers who spent decades trying to overturn this has finally come to fruition and is anybody surprised? We have this tinder box of a country, with corrupt politicians in two of the three branches and now you have this supposed unbiased Law of The Land SCOTUS that says “No, we are going with the minority on this., despite what the law and common sense says”
I feel bad for all the women: young and old. Whether you are of the age where you can have children, or past it, or not there yet, it is a sad sad time in this country. Not only does this signal a sign of decay in our foundations, where minority rules, but it tells 51% of our population “your bodies are not yours”. Pardon my language but it is total bullshit.
BUT this isn’t the only thing they are doing. SCOTUS rejected the idea that the US Environmental Protection Agency could use a sort of “system” thinking in its regulation of the power sector. Congress has not given the agency that authority, the court ruled. This is huge for the whole planet. And they are not done. After fucking over women and the planet now, they plan on going forward with overturning LGBTQ rights and voting rights. Clearly not having a problem with gerrymandered districts and rigged elections, women’s bodies as their own, and the whole entire worlds climate, now they want to rip apart other sacred constitutional rights.
The justices also enlarged the Second Amendment, favoring gun owners, and redefined the balance between the First Amendment’s prohibition against government “establishment of religion” and its “free exercise.” That will allow more prayer in public settings and require more government money for religious education. Will the churches start paying taxes? Don’t hold your breath.
When Rome fell it was in large part due to division and infighting between two factions, civil war (it’s coming), corrupt politicians and lawmakers and invasions of barbaric tribes. I mean, if you look at hillbilly redneck militia types and the bible thumpers as the barbaric tribe invading from the inside then you have the recipe for the fall of an Empire. Now, however, thanks to technology and an every shrinking world, it is sped up by a factor of 1000.
I honestly hope I don’t see it in my lifetime. I hope I can shrug off this mortal coil before the drought, heat, massive extinction and destruction of ecosystems, and toxic air make our world unlivable. I hope i make it out before we all kill each other for your gun rights which the law of the land now says is more important than a woman’s choice. Because your magical book states laws you don’t even follow yourself but you hold on high for everyone else to abide by and is now influencing the law of the land.
ok back to your regularly scheduled programming…
Written by Corey Smaller Follow me on Instagram