Day 165 My Integrity Isn't For Sale and The End of The "Brow-Bird"

Day 165

My Integrity Isn't For Sale and The End of The “Brow-Bird”

If you have read the “global” version (same content as the Myspace blog at myspace.com/comedyboy) of this blog in the past, then you might remember seeing Google Ads along the left-hand side of the screen. I originally accepted these advertisers as a way to earn extra income from my blog. But I've learned a lesson in the process. You see, Google would automatically scan my blog and then place ads that somewhat related to my topic. Since my topic is always losing weight and getting healthy, of course they placed ads about a variety of products. The revenue generated was based on per click and per order numbers. It never really added up to too much, but tonight I proudly tell you that I recently told Google to keep that money and go away! My reputation and integrity is worth more than random checks in the mail from Google, no matter the amount. If you ever noticed these, most of them were advertising crazy products with claims like “Lose 18 Pounds in 4 Days!” or “How I Lost 45 Pounds In Three Weeks-order Now,” or “Oprah Approved Product Will Melt Your Fat Away.” For one thing, Oprah doesn't endorse, let alone approve the Acai Berry product---it says that on her website. And neither do I. Nor do I endorse losing 18 pounds in 4 days, or 45 pounds in 3 weeks...or any product that makes such claims. I sincerely hope that none of my readers bought this junk. It feels so good to be free from the spying eyes of Google Ads. I couldn't say what I just typed, had I still been using Google Ads. They would have been upset! It says so in the contract. Any derogatory comments about the products or services advertised is grounds for immediate termination of my Google Ads account. Now that I think about it, I should have tested how closely they monitored my blog by exposing the outright scandalous rip-offs as they popped up. Might have been fun to see how long it would take them to dump me. They're gone, and I no longer have to cringe every time I open the page and see “I Lost 9 pounds in 5 minutes...” OK, I made that one up. I think the claim was in 1 day actually. The people that buy this kind of advertising do it for one reason, to take advantage of people with desperate emotions, who are looking for anything that works and are willing to spend whatever it takes to get it done. I'm ashamed they ever appeared on this blog in the first place. Lesson learned: You can't put a price on your integrity, never, ever, ever!

Tonight at the YMCA I was feeling adventurous! My plan was to do a “hard” two miles. For me, a hard two consist of simply setting the speed at 3.6 mph. I immediately get my heart rate amped up at 3.6, but tonight I wanted to see what I could handle, because soon 3.6 mph will no longer qualify as a “hard” anything. So I tried 3.8 mph. Ok, I can do this...a little different, but doable. Then at about seven minutes in I decided to get crazy. Why not? What's the worst that could happen? Maybe I have to pull the emergency stop plug? I reached down and pressed the button twice taking me to an impressive 4.0 mph! I not only handled it, I stayed there for the rest of the two miles! I've posted an “On The Go” video straight from the treadmill below! What an amazing workout! When I first climbed on that thing months ago, I couldn't even think about getting past 2.9 mph...in fact many times I did 2.7 mph! I know I've said it often, but I'm showing you proof of this everyday: It gets easier and easier! Just keep that in mind if you too are doing this, and perhaps just getting started. When you feel like it's “impossible,” it's not. When you can't imagine ever doing more, you can, and when you're “just not feeling it” Do It ANYWAY! Remember...consistent, positive effort gets results every time. You just have to be patient and trust that the results will come, because believe me, they do!

I've discovered that when you start feeling better about yourself, you just naturally want to improve certain things that really didn't matter in the past. My entire life I've had a Uni-Brow. Just one big eye brow like Bert from Sesame Street. Except I always considered mine to be “stealthy.” You see my friend, from a distance you couldn't tell that my eye brows connected. But when you would get up in my grill, as the kids would say, you could clearly see that two had become one a long time ago. I never really cared much about it. Irene's unconditional love for me was all I needed, she knew it was there, and she must have thought it was cute, or at least tolerable, because she never really insisted I do something about it. But hey, I want to look good for me and my special lady! So today I bravely went where no non-metro-sexual guy would dare go...The Beauty Salon—Snip-N-Clip to be exact. For less money than a value meal, they eradicated that monstrosity once and for all. After an entire lifetime of wearing the Uni-Brow so proudly, it's days have come to an end. I've canceled my membership in the “Guys That Don't Give A Hoot” club. I remember fondly, making Irene laugh as I made my eye brows go up and down...making the uni-brow look like a bird in flight, a bird with big bushy wings. Where the uni-brow met in the middle was the beak of my brow bird. I even had a stand-up routine at one time based on the uni-brow. Ah, the memories...And today, with a dabbing of really hot wax and a super quick rip, I start a new era of personal grooming. Soon, I'll address the ear and nose hair issues, in time my friend, in time. I'm pacing myself. By the way...Another “On The Go” video is posted below, this one shows the “head” of my brow-bird being ripped off. Oh yeah, I don't know if you know this or not, but I'm a big baby when it comes to pain. I once stalled a nurse nearly 30 minutes because she needed to prick my finger for a blood test. I'm a, oh, what do you call it?...oh yeah, a wimp!

Tonight's dinner was absolutely amazing. Irene found some really small inexpensive steaks at the store. Each one had an average calorie count of 240. We grilled 'em up on the Foreman Grill, made some potatoes, boiled some corn, and steamed some green beans with cheese to make a nice balanced meal. And the best part? This filling and delicious dinner took less than 20 minutes to put on the table and the entire plate checked in at 460 calories. A picture with me and the plate is also posted below. This isn't “dieting” my friend, this is learning how to enjoy normal sized portions and eating real food. Any substitute for real food and learning what a normal portion is, can only be a temporary results maker. Long term success, the kind we all want, the kind that last a lifetime, is only found when we have a clear understanding of food and how to properly use it to live. I may not know everything about it yet, but I'm surrounding myself with people that do, and I'm learning everything I possibly can from them.

Tonight I'm posting a bunch of “bonus material.” Below you'll find two “On The Go” Videos and a picture of our meal tonight. On a separate Day 165 Bonus Picture Blog you'll find “before” and “In-Progress” pictures. And on a record setting third blog page you'll find the Day 165 Bonus Video Blog. I have to give giant props to Gayle Williams and Anne Crail of Womyn Aloud Productions for making the impossible possible with this four part video collection. After hours and hours worth of rendering, editing, converting, uploading, and processing...They have provided me four 10 minute segments of my first try at a non-comedy club public motivational speaking event. Melissa Walden, the Fitness Trainer and Life Coach was also a part of the program, and I would have had her on the video too, but decided I better not, since I didn't have her permission to use her image. I enjoyed it immensely, and I strongly believe I may have discovered my future career last Thursday night. Good night and...

Good Choices,
Sean


The Uni-Brow is history.


Progress measured by speed and endurance!


An amazing meat and potatoes low-cal meal!