After a mostly boring Monday evening, and in the midst of a 12-hour minimum fast for blood work Tuesday morning, I went to bed around 7:30 PM and read for about an hour before turning in.

Then, I was up early and at the lab at 6:58 for them to suck a vial of blood from my arm.

As far as hospital lab experiences go, this one was great (a small town bonus in exchange for fucked up political beliefs and religious kookery), and I was on the road to the trails by 7:10 and on the trail at 7:20. Only about 20 minutes behind schedule and still the first one in the lot.

Sure, I hadn’t eaten since 5:15 PM on Monday, and had zero caffeine in my system, but I was goin’ hikin’ gahdamnit. And despite the lack of food, I felt great on the trails and got a 6.32-mile loop in my feetz with little problem.

I, of course, saw some deer, but only one or two cooperated. I also saw an owl fly through the trees and land about 20 yards to my right, but I couldn’t get a good eye on where it went, and as soon as I tried, it got spooked and flew away. I’ll be back, owl!

Once home, it was finally time for breakfast and coffee, and I couldn’t wait! Finally, after now 15+ hours without food and 6.32 miles of hiking, I was shoveling a 1 egg/3 egg white cheese omelette, a homemade turkey sausage patty, and some vegetarian refried beans down my throat; washed down with a double espresso. I was full, gassy, happy as hell, and WIRED as fuck!

I needed to mow the grass, but the morning dew was still heavy, so after cleaning the kitchen, I did some minor photo editing, waiting for it to dry a little more.

Whilst I edited, I kept telling myself not to check my email for the test results. “No good can come of it. If your numbers are high and in the “yellow,” the doctor will tell you next week, just DO NOT LOOK! It will ruin your whole fucking week!”

*DING* You have a new message from Doctor Bob.

Two seconds later, I looked; so much for resisting temptation.

Log in, find the results, oh HELL YEAH!! My lipid panel results were ALL in the green! GREEN! And I’m considered “Heart Healthy.”

The “good” cholesterol is great, the “bad” cholesterol is at a mere 92 (its lowest since 2020), and my triglycerides are also totally normal, and that’s one I was worried about! Not because of sweets and ultra-processed foods, but my love of beer, pasta, and anything that is made with dough. I also have plenty of room to spare in the green with my blood glucose level. Sweet! Or maybe, (un)Sweet!

While I’d like to get my total cholesterol numbers down even more, it’s totally normal, and this is the lowest it’s been in over five years; far away from where it was before I started the Comeback Special in 2022, when I found myself unexpectedly over 230, and there was talk of meds if I didn’t get it down. Only through begging and telling Dr. Bob of my newfound love of hiking nearly every day did he give me another chance—which I also failed at the first go, lowering it only 10 points—until getting back on track in 2023, continuing through now.

Too bad, I’m still technically obese, despite excellent blood work and hiking 30 miles a week. Sigh… Lexabod™, am I right?

Still, I’m happy with the numbers, and I guess there is something to be said for hiking 30 miles a week, doing all your own cooking, not eating restaurant food, ordering pizza once in a great while, and never buying pre-packaged “meals” laced with fat, sodium, and Dog knows what else. Now, I’ll probably get hit by a bus.

With breakfast and that good news out of the way, I had a little spring in my step as I mowed and trimmed the grounds of the vast (not really) estate of the Cul-De-Sac-Shack.

I finished the day by watching the Spurs play like absolute and complete shit in the Champions League (drawing 2-2), porch time with Lola, food prep, and dinner making, while enjoying a Short’s Bellaire Brown. Such a fine beer, that for some reason I had in my mind I didn’t like, which is easily done with me and some Short’s beers. But it’s an amazing brown ale. I wish it were a tad lower in ABV (that’s 54-year-old me talking), but it’s a fine, fine beer regardless.

Later.