Mountain Bikes, Bass Guitar, and other stuff I like

received a 2 on my review at work. this is middle of the ground and means no raise but i will get a bonus. this means over 3 years without a raise. not one cent. i also lost my shift premium starting this year. no chance for a raise until next year also. trying to keep a positive outlook despite everything. feeling less pain at my surgery site today so i am really encouraged. going to the doctor tomorrow for followup visit and to see how long it is before i can bike again.

Day 8 after the surgery. My mental outlook is better today. Had horrible stomach problems last night but I think it helped move things along. I look at this like my body is purging itself and continuing to heal. I am really starting to hear the siren call of physical activity. It beckons me only 8 days into this. I can't wait to get to the doctor on Friday and have them tell me I can resume rigorous activity the following week. I have Tough Mudder on Feb. 12th. That is looking doubtful at best. If I did attempt Tough Mudder, I probably wouldn't even finish. I still have pain on my right upper groin area but not sure why since that isn't where the injury was. No pain in the actual hernia area. Incision sites are doing ok.

At work that is. Don't know if I'm mentally back yet. I could've easily taken another week off to recoup/heal and escape into a fantasy world of cinema and pain pills. It still hurts to bend over or reach for something. My stomach is really bloated too from the pain pills I assume. Only 6 days after the surgery and I've already gained several pounds. I have been eating a lot with no physical activity, no big surprise. Not being able to do something that's a huge part of my life is going to be tough. Physical exertion is extremely important to me and makes me feel like a real person. I don't know if I'll be able to replace that over the next few weeks. Films watched over sabbatical: Cowboys and Aliens (sucked), Avatar (better on 2nd viewing),Star Wars Eps 1 and 2 (still bad movies but they sound amazing on bluray), Drive (an 80s homage that is mostly style and little substance, cool soundtrack) Planet of the Apes TV series (surprisingly good 70s show)

Over the summer I bought a barbell and about 300lbs of weights in an effort to get stronger and gain more muscle. It has worked to some degree but I wish I had someone to check my form because I believe my poor form contributed to my hernia which developed in September. I was deadlifting about 180lb, it was a strain but not enormous. I just sort of jumped in to this mode of training without any proper coaching. 4 months later, I am recovering from inguinal hernia surgery. It's going to be several weeks before I can get back to the strenuous activity that I love. January is probably the best time to be sidelined as the bike trails are usually closed. This winter though, I didn't want to take any time off from the bike since last year it was so hard to get back in bike shape after 2 months off. That hurt, a lot. But it was a good pain. I have Tough Mudder coming up mid-February but I doubt I'll be ready for it. I was hoping to continue running through January and w