For the past five days, I have been in the pool for 1 to 2 hours every day. The pool temperatures began at 63℉ at have since reached 68℉. It is always a jump start when I get in and I cannot wade fast enough over where my shoulders submerge!

The thing is, when I head to the pool, I am exhausted. It is the afternoon anyway, so there is the natural biorhythm of a slump, but I also yanked something or another around the yard and did a bit of homeschooling. And these days are coffee-free so I do not have that artificial caffeine energy bump to fall back on; I am just physically and mentally down a few notches; coach has got to sit me. But once I get into those 60s waters, the initial shock of cold opens me up. In the next few minutes I am rejuvenated and then I can relax while I am motivated to workout 'cause if nothing is moving that chill sets throughout. I feel fresh!

Indeed, it is curious to be in the pool here in Bartlett, specifically near a road that reminds me of my senior year of high school into those early years of college. For a moment, I almost expect those same friends can be dialed up like they always were; I could swing by the Piggly Wiggly down the road to see my friends and grab a pack of Winterfresh gum as an excuse to go through someone's checkout lane. Those are powerful memories. 28 years ago is not so long ago.

And the transition to go from living around Normal Station Neighborhood to where I am today is remarkable. We were living in a cramped 1000 sq ft place with no yard, the homeless digging through our trash, gunshots and an 8-minute walk away from Getwell (OK, that's just a guess: I always tried to block that fact out of my head). My morning walk for Panera was the same route that made national news.

In comparison, where we are now is like a life of luxury. A bedroom for the three kiddos, a place to organize my tools, a park that I like, no random rental eviction/students leaving trash, no liquor bottles smashed—even the sidewalks are level! I went to bed each night at the last place fearing someone is going to smash the glass in our side entrance to getting some deep sleep at this place.

Sometimes in my life, I ask myself the question I did in the pool the other day as the sunshine showered on me: how did I wind up here?

I made another Harbor Freight run the other day, but I am ending my series of sharing my goodies—well for $7, I picked up a 12-piece set of cushioned screwdrivers for which I find delight. I had lost a Craftsman Phillips that was pretty standard for everything.

As much as I love my tools, I ought to focus on what I do with them. I've been wearing out an Ace Hardware wheelbarrow. You wouldn't think the thing was two days old by looking at it! I haven't run a wheelbarrow this haggard since spring/summer '98 when I was doing slump tests on concrete. Yesterday, I moved 128 larger-than-standard bricks (pavers?), 16 a time from my front yard to the back. There was an assorted amount of odd-and-end bricks for another 4 loads. It was just the sort of resistance workout that got me to break a sweat. Then today, that wheelbarrow came in handy when I had to relocate a concrete bench for pondering.

A tool that I did not know was so helpful is a mattock! Wow, I LOVE that thing. Screw gun control: give me that thing with Wardruna and I'll go invade Northumbria.

Since moving here, there was only one day when work was not being performed outside, initially by crews and now, outside of an upcoming concrete pour, on my side of the ledger. I'm totally onboard with my sweat equity because I've watched years of double accounting tracking every penny in Gnucash suddenly explode in a raging river the other way. Ding! I am leveling up my handy skills while lining projects up to my fitness training.

"The Results Are In..."

After 6 weeks with a total of the following of ready-to-eat weights:

• Bacon: 8.4 lbs
• Bacon Fat: 5 cups
• Butter: 5.3 lbs
• Ghee: 8.2 lbs
• Ground Beef: 10.1 lbs
• Beef Liver: 3.6 lbs
• Large Eggs: 17
• Coffee: 6.5 gallons
• Oysters: 0.5 cans
• Prosciutto: 0.5 lbs

I have lost 11 lbs (-4.4%) EVEN in the context of this leg injury and its swelling. In the last 126 days of carnivore, I have lost a combined total of 54.5 lbs. And CLEARLY as you can see above, I ain't starvin' with that low-calorie Hug a Tree / Animals are People, Too nonsense. Naw, I'm all this.

I updated everything on the Fitness page for a comparative review (graphs/table). The 30th Expedition nearly ran parallel to the 15th, with my current lead only attribute to that first six weeks out of the gate back in November. That said, The 16th Expedition: 20⚡25 faltered in terms of weightloss; I was only able to rally when I flipped the switch to carnivore in the waning moments. I should be able to beat it and extend my lead further.

I had fun in The 30th Expedition: Guilty Pleasures. The titles first reflected music that are my guilty favorites, just with parodied titles themed around my diet. Perhaps my favorite rendition was the one I did for that Billy Ray Cyrus song: "I Won't Apply Part, Hibachi à la Carte. Adjust Donut—Sink It in the Sand!" But the most challenging aspect was for me to run down 42 guilty favorites! I just do not have that many; I tend to be proud of what music I choose. But, there is an oddball place in me regarding select Spice Girls off that first album, boy bands of the '90s—that sort of thing. College stuff.

Destination '23 in the Fast Lane

I optimized/stripped everything down out of New Year's Resolutions list to projects I am actively engaged in doing and one reach. As much as I would like to learn Greek and remove the rust and repair my calculus, I do not seem to have the time with respect to other projects. I do not want to do a mediocre job in Python development. And other things I knocked off the list because I want to highlight a core.

The 31st Expedition

All of the celebration is now behind me. I am on to May 8 that is 41 days and 20 hours down the road. As it relates to what I am bringing aboard this ship's stores, I like my BBBE rotation. Unlike the past Expedition, there will be a lot more movement. Even my VR set is coming online after being boxed for such a LONG time! Daily resistance is a focus of this Expedition, but more Rocky IV than the Rock. May 8 is around the corner.