Strong Lifts

Eugen Sandow, the father of modern bodybuilding

Since I've been here my workouts have been in three phases: "I don't know what I'm doing", "I asked a big guy for help" and "something that approaches a plan."  It's pretty much how life is, except that the understanding only reveals itself in hindsight.  Most of the time we think we are in the third phase all the time, until we learn more.

Here are my notes on the phases.

1. Starting program 22 June - 22 July: warmup, random Xfit/single exercise, cooldown
   1RMbench: 225
   shoulder press: 175
   squat:  315
   deadlift: no idea, maybe 375
   row: no idea
2. Midway (22 July - 25 Aug) 5x5: one exercise 5x5; increase weight each set
   Started at 5RMbench: 185
   shoulder press: 135
   squat:  225
   deadlift: 280
   row: n/a
3. Aug 26 to Now; Stronglifts 5x5; increased weight each workout day or week
   Started at 5RMbench: 215
   shoulder press: 135
   squat: 265
   deadlift: 355
   row: 115 (too easy)
   

   			Week 1			Week 2			Week 3			Week 4
   Exercise	Sets	Reps	26-Aug	28-Aug	30-Aug	2-Sep	4-Sep	6-Sep	9-Sep	11-Sep	13-Sep	16-Sep	18-Sep	20-Sep
   Squat	5	5	265	275	285	295	305	315	315	320	325	295	300	305
   Bench Press	5	5	215		220		225		225		225		200
   Overhead Press	5	5		150		150		155		160		160		135
   Barbell Row	5	5	115		135		155		175		180		185
   Deadlift	1	5		355		375		385		395		405		415

   summary of the past month
4. Plan for Oct 2013 - Jan 2014 (Reset after returning home)
   Started at 5RM5x5 bench: 115
   5x5 shoulder press: 80
   3x5 squat:  165
   1x5 deadlift: 205
   5x5 row: 100

Tonight my potpourri workout was as follows:

Squat: 1-225, 1-315, 1-335, 1-345, 0-355
Deadlift: 0-445, 0-445, 5-225
Bench: 5-135
Rows: 3x5x135

This week, I maxed out at the following, for a total of 1,020lbs:
Deadlift: 430
Bench: 245
Squat: 345

So I made it into the 1,000lb club, got my name on a peice of paper in the gym but no free T-shirt.  First video is me squatting 345lbs.  Second one I almost make 445lbs deadlifting.

Proof from the bulletin board.

Today I hit 2000 views.  I try not to get hung up on the number of pageviews, but it is still fun to know how many people are reading this.

See a Man about a Horse

"This is my happy face."

The BBC series "Sherlock Holmes" is finally on Hulu.  Last night I had the pleasure of watching the "Hound of the Baskervilles" episode and Hulu didn't freeze until there were about two minutes left.  So Benedict Cumberbatch, who recently played Kahn in "Star Trek: Into Darkness," is seen above in the movie "Atonement."  The movie was a WWII era drama, with no happy ending.  It was basically one big ball of rape, separation and sadness.  Apparently, both Roger Ebert and Wikipedia gave it rave reviews.  In any event, Keira Knightly is creepy skinny and here's a look at other creepy roles BC has had.

"Bloody hell, why does my mustache smell like horse dung?"

Tonight I finished my bench press; 1 rep at 245lbs.  That went up so easily I tried for 255 and then 250, but couldn't do it.  Friday I'll squat, probably at 345 or 350lbs.  If I am feeling sonsy, I'll give deadlift another shot.

I ate four pieces of steak, a pile of veggies and some eggs today.

I did some laundry and thought I'd get some clean sheets for my last week here.  After careful deliberation, the clerk at the laundry gave me this pillow case:

The pink really brings out the auburn in my 'stache.

Last night Sherlock told Watson, "I've got to see a man about a dog."  I initially assumed this was a singular quote from something way back, but found out it means "I need to leave now and want to politely say something before leaving, without telling you specifically where I am going.  I'm probably going to the toilet.  After that I'll probably meet a man in a back alley and commit a crime."  I'll give Hulu another try at Sherlock Holmes tonight and see if he uses any catchy phrases.

Spiders

Anansi

Anansi is an African trickster god who was typically personified as a clever spider.  Neil Gaiman wrote about Anansi first in American Gods and then in the almost-sequel Anansi Boys.  Anansi is personified as gregarious, flirtatious, clever and the life of the party.  His character in American Gods is almost forgettable...and then he dies very early on in Anansi Boys (don't worry; it pretty much says that on the back of the book if you are interested in reading it).  What sticks out in my mind from the latter book is a crooked business man who combines 'absolutely' and 'positively' into 'absatively.'  It drives his employees mad.  

Mordred is on the left.

The above tattoo reminds me of the Red King's son, Mordred Deschain, in Steven King's The Dark Tower books.  Mordred is a were-spider and things don't end well for him.  You almost feel bad for the guy.  He's got two sets of parents, he eats one of the mothers and the remaining three are trying to kill each other.  

Which leads to me Spider Soltaire, which I've been playing on my computer the last week.  Apparently, what we in the US call Solitaire, in the UK they call Patience or Solitaire with Cards.  Spider Solitaire is one of the many variations to Patience and is slightly harder than the Klondike version Americans are used to playing in prison or while bored, because it can involve two, three or four suits.  It's relatively quick to figure out the strategy if you decide to give it a whirl.  If you are cheap geek and like Linux, most distros probably include several variations already.  The picture below is much more glamorous than I think I'll ever be while playing a computer game in a dorm room in the desert.

Unfortunately, the necklace doesn't go with my mustache.

With slightly over a week left here, I decided it was time to put my deadlift where my mouth is and make my lifts official.  I got a judge from the gym office and successfully demonstrated I can deadlift 430lbs.  No pictures this time, but I plan on pictures of my squat and bench lifts.  Unfortunately, my right grip is weaker than my left and I dropped the bar.  The guy said my lift was valid, though, probably because I dropped it while I was already full erect, rather than on my way up.  I thanked him for his time and did two cool down sets: 1-405 and 5-315.

Almost done reading Diana Gabaldon's second Outlander novel, Dragonfly in Amber.  Yes, it is a romance novel, but there is time travel, duels, drunk Scotsmen and political plotting.  Which means it will be on TV in a year.  Move over Borgias and Game of Thrones, here come the Gaelic.

I did not gorge myself after a new personal record in deadlift.

Somehow I don't think they would eat this in Mexico.

Olives look like eyes.

I always pray that the heat of the tea is not melting the styrofoam at a microscopic level, resulting in my digesting styrofoam with my tea.  Well, good night then.

Shifted

With my alternating schedule, each day is either a long work day or a strange day figuring out what to do without changing my sleep schedule.  I got to talk to my family for over an hour after waking up, which was a rare treat.  Then went down to the gym and got to experience the crowdedness of late evening.  I still got my workout in a 25 minute span.

Warmup: 2x15x45lb kettlebell swings
Squats: 3x5x305
Press: 3x5x135
Deadlift: 2-415

My neck and lower back are very tight from the deadlifts, so hopefully sleep will help.

Then, I ate this for my breakfast:

The server laughed when I asked for ten wings.

Sam and I tried the Kasbah lounge rather than the Fox Sports Bar and found the selection of wines and scotches to be much more varied.  I had a Ruffinos Chianti, a Tawny port (with a word of warning from the bartender) and finished with a McClelland's scotch.  The bartender told me that most of the patron's he served the Tawny told him it did not taste like a quality beverage.  I assured him I knew what a port tasted like and enjoyed the reduced price tag ($2.25 a glass versus $4.25 for the chianti).  It tasted similar to a raisin wine I made last year.

We sipped our scotches outside and I thought about Scottish Highlanders while thinking it felt like we were in a sauna.

Cheers with McClelland Speyside 12 year

Before we left, I almost took a nap in a couch outside the Gentlemen's Water Closet.

I don't think you'll see this at Big Lots.

After all of that, I went back to my room and read stories to my sons before they went to sleep.  Then I took a nap, still feeling full from my breakfast.  I forced myself to eat some beef ribs and BBQ chicken at the DFAC and will shortly climb into bed.  Cheers.

Say hello to your mother for me.

Downtown

Long day today...which is always strange to say since each day is the same length.  Anyway, ventured downtown for the second (and possibly final) time.  I have 17 days remaining here and might just have my going away at the sports bar (they have Shiraz now!).

Driving around town I saw a billboard with a picture of a juice smoothie and the words, "Test our fresh juice."  I'm assuming that was supposed to be "taste." 

We found the BAM (Big Ass Mall) and walked around a little bit.  It really reminded me of the Fair Oaks Mall in Virginia, but with one more floor.  Sam and I split (which is much more masculine than saying we shared) a lamb grill and I ordered a Turkish coffee aka cup of sludgey bitterness.  There is a "French Walmart" in the mall called Carrefour and I wanted to see what kind of groceries were available.  I ended up purchasing a liter of acidophilus milk (as close as I could get to kefir) and a 100g box of drinking chocolate.  I chugged most of the milk drink by the time we got to the souq and will use the chocolate tomorrow at work to improve some of our mediocre coffee.  Two possibilities: add the powder to the grounds in the filter or add a half spoonful to my coffee cup and pour the coffee into the cup.  I am leaning towards the latter approach since the cocoa is meant to be made into effectively hot cocoa.

Next we found a souq whereupon (how often do you get to use that word, huh?) one of my companions bargained for pearls and another got pearls for free.  The remaining two of us marveled at a German male wearing capri pants.  Oh and I saw a guy wearing camo crocs at lunch today before I left.

Then we went back to the regular souq.  We traveled down the same backstreets that were filmed in the movie "Beerfest" on their way to the drinking competition and were told that "everything is 70% off today."  I asked the sellers if they had any knives, quaiches or rosaries but they didn't have any.  So we found a Moroccan restaurant and sat on the roof.

...without the whole French occupation.

I spent less here than the previous restaurant and I think the food was even better I feasted on a Niçoise Salad (which sticks in my mind because I think there is a recipe for this in my mom's Betty Crocker cookbook that I referenced in 8th grade) and roasted camel (tastes like beef, another yummy cloven toed ruminant.

I think the stack on the right is hearts of palm.

Hump costs extra.

Boring I know, so I added butter and chili paste.

Downstairs we went for the local hooka.  I had a vanilla milkshake (not paleo/primal/whatever).  Sam speaks Arabic and told the waiter we are "boat engineers."  I started to list the life aquatic terms I am familiar with: transom (thank you Alan Jackson), mark twain (thank you Mark Twain) and James Bond evil villian method of transport.   

Incredibly full, we got back on base and I got back to my normal routine: did laundry, squats, overhead press and deadlifts.

Squats: 3x5x295
Press: 4-160, 4-155, 5-135
Deadlift: 4-405

I think I'll take the next week off due to more work coming up and will lower my weights on everything except deadlift and rows.

Returned two books to the library and donated four books to the free exchange.  I borrowed Dragonfly in Amber; who knows if I'll finish it in 17 days.

Oh and I think I could read War and Peace in the public bathrooms here, as they are much nicer than the bathrooms outside my trailer and more cozy than my wood-paneled room.

I'm going to ask Paul Hogan what a bidet is used for.

Not Much to Say

The Tramp

A sit with mustache in its title wouldn't be complete without Charlie Chaplin's character The Tramp.  Growing up, my dad had a 38 mm projector and we watched Charlie Chaplin and Stan and Ollie silent movies.  Even had a projector screen mounted in the ceiling in his office.  They keep showing commercials on AFN of Chaplin in a movie where a house is spinning, he falls and fixes the chimney and the roof falls onto the ground as Chaplin stands still and doesn't get hit or hurt.

Not much going on today.  Seems the stock market is up and it is getting slightly cooler here.  We actually saw some cumulonimbus clouds today, but no rain.

Scaled back (or up) my workout slightly.  Had another guy running to spot me on my squat.  At this weight, it's probably a good idea if I schedule a spotter.  Maybe I can borrow one of the guys who gets paid to clean the bathrooms.  This week or next week I'll shoot for the 1,000lb club T-shirt.

Squat: 5-320, 5-320, 4-320
Overhead press: 5-160, 4-160, 4-160
Deadlift: 5-395

I think for Christmas I'll ask Santa for chalk.  The last few weeks I've been asking around to borrow chalk when I get to my deadlifts.  Thankfully it's cooling down, so didn't really need it today but I still borrowed a piece.

Mint tea and milk.

Remember, the volume of a sphere is .

Vito Andolini

"Do you need any olive oil?"

It's been over ten years since I've seen "Godfather Part II", but after reading the recap on Wikipedia I remember enjoying it much more than the 3rd installment and just a normal bit more than the original.  I also see parallels to "The Empire Strikes Back."  Both movies are darker than the original, Han in carbonite/Fredo dead in the lake...actually, the comparison fits better if Michael Corleone is compared to the Emperor.  Michael's career at the top of the Corleone family is encountering many snags (Congressional inquiries, Jewish mobsters in Cuba, traitorous brothers) and the Emperor of the Galactic republic is wondering if he can build a space station (that's not moon...) without a simple weakness, turn the son of his right hand (hand, hah!) to the dark side and work with gangsters to capture the key figures of the rebellion.  The flashbacks to post-WWI New York City are more reminiscent of  "A New Hope" or maybe even "A Phantom Menace" with the build-up of Vito Corleone's career similar to Obi Wan Kenobi's Jedi training.

Slight segue via the import-export business...tonight I feasted on Cento sardines, made in Morocco but imported from New Jersey.  I've probably eaten a dozen cans of sardines since I've been here, which isn't really that many for me.  The flavors ranged from soaked in water (ick) to jalapenos crammed in the can. If you haven't eaten sardines or are simply apprehensive about eating fish (or things out of a can), Cento in olive oil are for you.  They are not fishy and taste like meat with oil.

John Kerry is Sam the Eagle and I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Basically tonight's repast was the same as last night's.

2 eggs, 2 burgers and 2 sausages.

Today was my mom's birthday.  I didn't get her anything yet, but will have the opportunity to find her something uniquely Middle Eastern in two weeks when the souq comes to the base gym.  She's never used a hookah, but she probably doesn't even realize how fashionable they are in Pennsylvania.

Here's me squatting 315 five times the other night.

And here I am deadlifting 385 four times.

That's all for now.

Steeler's Stache

I'm not really mean...I'm a deep thinker.

When I was growing up, my dad had an array of collectible soda and beer cans.  Several of the cans lining the shelf in his study (back before the days of laptops and internet bloggers...he had an electric typewriter) were commemorating the Steel Curtain of the 1970's.  Tonight I watched the Ravens and Broncos game and I had no idea going into it who the significant team players are.  Actually I only watched a little past kick-off, as it was 0415 and they barely had one play.  Never cared about professional football, probably never will and, regrettably, only played one season of Fantasy Football (I had no idea what I was doing).  So the best way I can connect to football is to think about the Steelers.

Actually, when I think about football I also think of this:

...or this.

"Al, I think people came here to see some FOOTBALL!"

In case you don't remember, Family Guy premiered after the Super Bowl on January 31, 1999.

Back to the squats, press and deadlift workout:

Squats: 5-315, 5-315, 3-315, 3-315 (third set I basically squatted myself into the floor)
Press: 5-155, 5-155, 5-155, 4-155, 5-155
Deadlift: 4-385

I have videos of me squatting 315 and my set of deadlift but they are still in the pre-processing phase.  More to come.

Slightly different than my typical meal...

Catch you on the flipside.

Labor Day Ramblins

No exposition on the history of the Monday in September when we have off work (feel free to Google it yourself).  I'll be at work earlier than normal to get some abbynormal work done.  Plus, it is Mexican Monday so no reason to complain.

One of Neil Gaiman's short stories dealt with Shadow from American Gods meeting up with a hulder (huldra?).  So I had to look up what the Scandinavian faerie was all about.  Seems a huldra is a faerie that looks like a woman, but a hollow backside (not sure what this really means) and a tail.  They can bend horseshoes and typically marry farmers.  According to Gaiman, if you are a gangster pederast, don't mess with a huldra.

Update on the DFAC workers names: tonight I saw one bronze skinned gentleman with the name Roshan.  Apparently, this is also the type of work phone I have been using for an alarm clock the past two months.  It looks like an old flip phone everyone had in the late 90's.  So, thanks for the beef sausages Mr. GSM Phone.

Only $1,9995.95 at your local Radio Shack.

Old Crow Medicine Show's Wagon Wheel video...wow (official and BBC).  I would say not safe for work, but I don't know how much décolletage you normally have at work.  I heard of the band from a site dedicated to paracord weaving that recommended listening to OCMS while crafting some knickknacks.  I figure any band with a mutton-chopped banjo player, go-go boots, fishnet stockings and carnies, probably do not lead boring lives.

Tried my hand at more breath taking, dizzying squats.

Warmup (on because two guys were still on the squat rock): 10-90lbs & 5-180lbs leg press
Squats: 5x5x295
Overhead press: 5x5x150 (finally got all sets of 5!)
Deadlift: 3-375 (only got 3, but I still feel pretty good about that weight)

Borrowed some hand chalk from another guy who was doing tricep pushdowns because it gets very sweaty and humid in the gym.  I only got 3 reps, but still feel good about that for that weight.  It was over two weeks ago on 17 August that I got 2 reps of 365, so I'm slowly moving up in the (deadlift) world.  Then when I was walking to the cafeteria, I saw the same guy from whom I borrowed the chalk and just said, "Thanks."  He stared at me blankly, which made me assume that he 1) was scared off my mustache, thus allowing me to borrow his chalk and 2) didn't recognize me in the darkness of night.

I allowed myself some more tater tots and a banana tonight.  Smothered the banana in almond butter and shredded coconut.

This was before the hot sauce hit.

If you are tired of seeing eggs at the end of these blog posts, console yourself with the fact that I head across the pond in 4 weeks.  But then I'll probably create a new blog, something like platesofeggs.blogspot.com or upperlipbarbells.blogspot.com or fairtalesandfrenchfries.blogspot.com.  Please don't register these names with a DNS server before consulting with me.

Work

The mustache says, "I kill wild animals."  The mutton chops say, "I ain't got time to shave."

To continue the conversation from yesterday regarding inherent ability versus how hard work goes into success, take a look at a Teddy Roosevelt comic (note the manly sideburns).  TR was also the New York City police commissioner, just like our friend Jim Gordon.  If you didn't know, Gotham was modeled after NYC.  This isn't biography of our 26th president, so I won't recant the whole wikipedia article.  He was simply a man's man who did big things.  That being said, it's probably easier to do big things when you are born into a wealthy family in New York City.

Along with aptitude vs. work, "Do what you love and the money will come." is another work related motivational phrase that is counter intuitive and maybe overused.  But maybe the part of that phrase, "what you love" doesn't have to be narrowly defined.  I like eating chips and watching movies, but it might be tough to get paid to do that.  Maybe I can be passionate about or willing to work hard or lead in another, perhaps similar area.  Marcus Brotheron talks about this idea in this post.

Similarly, Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs fame and an Eagle Scout) talks on TED about doing what you love.  He meets with some sheepherders and helps castrate some of the sheep (there's no video).  What he really talks about is the idea of loving what you do and that this doesn't really make sense to most people.

Read some of the page stronglifts and an infographic that combines paleo with leangains and stronglifts.  Stronglifts recommends 5x5 workouts, like I have been doing, but combines three of the exercises on one day.  I used to feel that that is too much on one day, but if I remove my warmup and cooldowns, it would be reasonable.  Also, rather than trying to increase on each set (my ego getting in the way of proper muscle and ligament development), I can be okay with doing 5x5 of the same weight during a workout.  So, tonight I planned on doing 5 sets of shoulder press at 160 and 1 or more sets of 5 reps of 315 deadlift.

Ok, so I actually got more than 1 set of deadlifts and barely got through 5 sets of presses.

Shoulder press: 5-160, 4-160, 4-155, 4-155, 4-155
Deadlift: 5x5x335

I'll save those of you with squeamish stomachs the image of my bloody right shin from the last set of deadlifts.  My form has improved, but I still need time to heal.

Decided to add a few carbs into my post workout meal.  We'll see how long I keep that up.

We'll see how long I keep up the tater tots.

Saw this video at the coffee shop.  I don't speak Polish, but I think I want to shave my head and dance by an abandoned train station now.

Points

Tonight I have two slightly conflicting dress and appearance comments.  A 1st Lt saluted me and then told me my rank on my at was crooked, about a "million miles" to the side.  He must be an academy grad with a B.S. in business administration.  Twenty minutes later I was approaching the gate to my building and a colonel was coming towards me.  "No Salute area" sign be damned, I saluted and he greeted me with a very sincere, "Nice 'Stache."  No hint of sarcasm detected, although my sarcasm detector could be inhibited by the humidity.  Based on rank, I'm going to call it a net win for the day.

While waiting for the cleaning crew to let us back into the laundry building tonight, I walked over to the coffee shop to get another bag of beans ground.  As soon as I walked into the shop, the guys there were like "How many bags tonight?"  I only had one bag to grind and turned to watch the Bollywood show on the TV.  Someone behind me said, "Are you going to do that [crazy Indian dance moves]?"  I turned around and there was a smiling female, apparently not scared off by my Tom Selleck impersonator.  She and her male companion (didn't see rings, so I'm guessing it's a deployment relationship) wanted to me take a picture of them, so I completed my good turn daily and scored one more mustached point.

If you are male and considering wearing crocs, just ask yourself the following question first: Did John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Tom Selleck, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable or Steve Prefontaine wear crocs?  The answer is no if you didn't realize it.  Same goes for mustaches, but the inverse is true.  Tan or sage green crocs don't make them better.  If you are under the age of 16, you get a pass.

Update: Yes I realize that the above named individuals probably wouldn't wear Vibram Fivefingers.  For that matter they probably wouldn't blog, make their own pickles or read books on improving their marriages.  I'll pick and choose stereotypes as I need them.

Warmup: 4 82lb weighted dips (I put 3 25lb plates in my backpack, which put a strain on the Oakley)
Workout: Deadlifts: 5-300, 5-315, 5-335, 3-365 and 3-385
Cooldown: 4 135lb squat cleans

My grip is failing on the 3rd rep, but this is a 25lb gain in two weeks.  If this keeps up, I should be looking at a max deadlift around 460 by the end of September.

Trying to keep the carbs down yet again...

If this would have had some roe and veal, I would have had a balanced meal.

My first time at the Fox Sports bar here and my first glass plastic cup of wine in almost two months.

This is my drinking shirt.

Also, the 'stache wins at cutthroat.

The table has multiple stains on it, has duct tape over one pocket and smells like pickles.

Final note: for those of you not familiar, we are only allowed three drinks a day.  Each drink you buy, they put a big blue chalk mark on your forehead.  If you look like you should be playing drums in a show with two other bald guys in Vegas, you don't get any more drinks.  I only had two servings of Merlot tonight.

Running mustache

Steve Prefontaine had a mustache.  Don't think I'll run a marathon, though.

Finally got a haircut today, which ends in a shoulder massage.  Some have called it "the knuckle cracking head and upper back beating" but it feels pretty good after power cleans make my trapezius' (trapezii?  what is plural of trapezius?  Mr. and Mrs. Left and Right Side Traps) tight.  You just have to forget that the one giving the massage is a middle aged man with a mustache, who doesn't speak English as his primary language.

Read a few posts, nay manifestos, about ketosis and the biochemistry behind it from Dr. Peter Attia, M.D.  Biology was back in 1996, so I remembered some terms but basically didn't understand what he was talking about...er, that which he was discussing.  One thing that struck me was the discussion of how a diet too high in protein (this might be me) and low in carbs (around 50g a day) would not necessarily lead to fat loss, since unused protein turns to glucose.  The ketosis article started with the discussion of how, yes, our brains need glucose, but the rest of our systems don't, and our liver can produce enough glucose for our brain to survive for a long time (382 days in the case of one obese man) just by metabolizing our fat stores.  So, since I have the time, I decided to get back to using fitday.com to track what I eat.  Going back two days, I put in a rough estimate of what I've eaten, obviously guessing at weights of food and putting a lot of faith in fitday's database.  Below are two charts detailing my intake for the last 36ish hours.

So, if my calculations are correct, once this baby hits 88mph, we're going to see some serious shit.  Wait...I mean, if those charts are correct, I don't think I'm eating too many carbs (the honey roasted peanuts at work aren't the best for me), but I think I need to alter my fat intake to lean more towards the saturated variety.  Thankfully Amazon has several types of coconut (milk, cream, flakes, manna) to choose from.

Back to deadlifts tonight...

Warmup: 6 30lb chinups
Workout: deadlift 5-280, 5-295, 5-310, 3-325 and 5-345
Cooldown: 6 30lb dips (too easy)

I decided to make the increases each set 2-5% increases rather than last week's 10+%.

Got to the DFAC after 3am, but did have the pleasure of combining roast beef, carrots and turkey bacon with 4 eggs over hard.  Grapefruit is supposed to be good for you, so that added some color to the tray.

If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.