Losing a part of me

Category: Cigars

  • Day 760

    After a wet and rainy day yesterday, this morning is sunny (for now) but windy. I am told that it is going to rain later, but so far there is no sign of that, nor is it expressed in my phone’s weather app. We will see.

    Yesterday was the first day since I arrived that I did not hit my steps goal according to my fitness watch’s bar. To be fair, it raises the bar higher when I keep hitting it, and yesterday’s goal was 17,250, and I was short by about 1,300 steps. A combination of the rain and a friend insisting we take a bicycle taxi somewhere – and my deciding to not push for it at 11:30pm (I could have, but decided to relax) meant that yesterday was my first day since I got to Cuba that I did not take 16,000 steps… only 15,880. I am not upset.

    My feet are not in pain but looking at them after the wet day yesterday you can see that they are blistered and calloused. I am also wearing my last pair of clean socks, and it is a good thing that I took my dirty clothes to be laundered this morning. I will have them back in time for me to ‘dress up’ for dinner with my friend. It is the first time that I can think of that I am planning to wear long pants and a long-sleeve shirt in Cuba. Even though my clothes supply will be replenished, I am still planning to wear the shirt that I saved for the occasion. I want to look good tonight! No, I am not going into detail… but the shirt is my black guayabera.

    Today is the day I am actually going to start my cigar shopping. Yes, I have bought plenty of cigars to smoke here… I mean for what I plan to take home. I have to be economical about it because I only have so much cash on me… but also there are limits to how many I am allowed to bring back to Canada. Oh well! I will visit a couple of shops to see what is available, and I will make my decisions based on that.

    I am not meeting my friend until dinner time, and my only obligation between now and then is collecting my laundry. I will also try to remember to go back to my casa after lunch to turn on the gas so that I can have hot water to shower before dinner. Other than that, I will be on my own, free to saunter from shop to shop to see what cigars are available. It would be nice if I could hit today’s posted goal of 17,110, but I will not push myself too hard. My breakfast was just served to me, and I’ll have a reasonable lunch. 17,000? If yes then yes and if not then whatever.

    Have a great day!

  • Day 754

    I surpassed all expectations yesterday and am quite proud of myself for it. I ate a healthy breakfast, I went for a jog (which after 1 km in the heat and humidity turned into a power-walk), and I had a healthy dinner. I did a lot of walking, surpassing 25,000 steps! I had a single alcoholic beverage (a rum that was offered to me by a cigar roller friend as we smoked his creation, so I could hardly refuse). All in all, it was a good day. Had I brought my bathroom scale (which I ended up not doing) I suspect I would have been happy with my number this morning.

    I did get taken by a teenager who offered to convert my money at a decent rate. My usual guy was not available, so I tried to convert fifty dollars. The guy disappeared, and I am now $50 poorer than I was. The way I see it, it was my charitable donation to the Cuban economy. While I am usually careful with money, in the grand scheme of things that money was about 30-minutes of work for me… and three months’ salary for him. I was thinking that if I come across him again, I can hold my head high… he may think he got one over on the stupid turista, but in truth he just proved that I am much more of a man than he is. It means I will be able to buy three fewer cigars than I would have. Put in that perspective, I came out okay.

    When I did connect with my brother, we sat with a couple of friends of his for a little while and talked. The guy is from South Florida and works in technology, so we had a lot to talk about. The four of us would end up having dinner later.

    I told Johnny that I would go for a run while he did what he had to do; we went back to my apartment so that I could give him some real money to convert for me, and then he left to do his thing and I changed into my kit. We agreed to meet at 2:30pm at another friend’s café. I hoped to jog five kilometres but decided to pull up at 1km because of the conditions. I ended up walking along the Malecon to the Hotel Nacional, making about a 4km distance. I took a break there, reviewed my stats (6m45s for the jog, and under 9m30s per kilometre walking). I used the restroom, looked in at the cigar shop, and then headed out to walk back – another 4km. I took a cold shower (I miscalculated how far in advance I have to turn the water heater on), and then went to meet Johnny.

    The Conde de Villenueva hotel is absolutely magnificent… and it is currently closed… as is the cigar shop which is one of my favourites. Johnny was able to hook me up very well though – he has friends who were able to arrange for us to meet the senior torcedor (cigar roller) there. Raoul replaced my friend Reynaldo when he moved to Mexico, so I was not sure about what I would find. I was pleasantly surprised not only by the stock but also by the quality of the custom-rolled cigars. We sat for an hour chatting, smoking cigars, and drinking coffee and then rum. After enjoying one of his cigars, I asked him to make twenty-five of them for me for next week to take home. Yay!

    While neither Johnny nor I had eaten lunch, we had one more stop to make before heading to the restaurant in Calle San Rafael to meet Dennis and his wife for dinner. We popped in at my buddy Osiris’ restaurant and spent an hour talking with him and his wife. It was wonderful to see him (as it always is), and we promised we would meet him for lunch today (which we will do shortly).

    Dinner was at a Turkish restaurant, and I had a Doner Kebab. I had asked for the plate, but there was a miscommunication, so I got the sandwich instead. No great loss. It was quite good, and while all four of us were exhausted, we stayed there until 11:00pm chatting. I introduced Dennis to cigars, showing him how to properly enjoy it. In fact he enjoyed it so much that he enjoyed a second one! Johnny told him that he was getting a Master Class from me; I told him that he might be getting a class from a master, but it was really a primer. Master Classes are not for beginners!

    When we finally got up and left the restaurant, we said our farewells and exchanged contact information. Johnny and I will meet Osiris today, but Dennis has already flown back to the USA. I walked around for another ninety minutes or so before finding my way back to my apartment… after tracking down (with some difficulty owing to the late hour) some bottled water to take back to the room.

    As I prepared for bed, I realized that I was hungrier than expected. Not only had I skipped lunch, but by now the sandwich I had for dinner was nearly six-hours in my rearview mirror. I decided to have a protein bar so that I was not uncomfortable trying to sleep. My buddy Lyle had recommended the protein bars I brought, and he was right about how good they are. I lay my head down to sleep satisfied after a very complete first full day in Havana.

    The decision to come to Cuba was made because I needed to clear my head and get away from the usual grind. I wanted to relax, do a lot of walking, see my friends, smoke my cigars, and be beholden to nobody. In those respects, yesterday was a perfect day. What will today bring? We’ll see… it started to rain shortly after I finished my breakfast, so I brought my laptop into the smoking salon of the bistro, and here I sit. The Internet is down (welcome to Cuba), so I will likely have to wait until later in the day to publish. In the meantime, the rain seems to have stopped, and I am going to walk back to my apartment, drop off the computer, and then head out to see my buddies for lunch. After that? Whatever I want.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 565

    I cheated yesterday. In the afternoon I had a second omelette, followed by two meatless hamburger patties that I had left in the freezer. This was before I had two glasses of whisky during my final cigar sommelier class. I regret it and will try to do better today. You might ask, dear reader, if I have any food left in the house with which I could cheat without actually going shopping. The answer is yes, there is. While the refrigerator is empty, there is canned salmon and tuna in the pantry, as well as pasta with bottles of sauce. I will ignore them… but there is the option of cheating should my willpower falter again. That is to say nothing of the reality that I can so easily go to the supermarket should I so choose.

    I must stay strong.

    Possibly as a way to remind me what happens when I do not stay vigilant, I was extremely displeased to see my weight up nearly a pound from yesterday on the bathroom scale. This despite having finally being able to move my bowels yesterday afternoon. Yes, I know… eating too much does not get erased because of a good poop. If it did then I would never have gained all the weight in the first place! I should also remember that over three days I lost a lot of weight, and it is not unusual for there to be a slight adjustment from time to time. That it was as much as it was is my reminder that overeating, and then adding alcohol to the mix, is not a good strategy for weight loss. I will do better today.

    My presentation went well l last night, and I am now officially a Habanos Sommelier. What will I do with that credential? I do not know. For the time being I am just happy to have it . I just posted it to my LinkedIn profile. Will it ever result in my getting gigs? Probably the occasional one. Am I ever going to rely on my cigar knowledge to earn a living? No. It is nice to have though… for someone who is so passionate about cigars.

    Okay, I have procrastinated enough. I am going to post this article and then make a few phone calls. I have had too many interruptions, and somehow it is already noon! I am going to try to wait until 1:00pm to have my meal replacement, after which I might try to go for a jog. We’ll see. I do have a few minor errands to run today, but nothing too stressful or taxing. I do have to do some studying for a class I am teaching next month. I do not know if there will be a lot of new material in it, but I do need to go through it because of the different way this material is likely to be structured and communicated.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 564

    My streak of checking my food intake and eating smart continues, and my weight loss streak continues, albeit with a lower drop than I have enjoyed these last few days. I am satisfied that down is better than up… and even better than staying the same. I am encouraged that I am able to get back on the horse… at least for these last few days. I will do everything I can to continue that streak into today… and into the rest of the week!

    Another unfortunate streak that is also continuing is my inability to have a bowel movement. I do not recall if today is Day 2 or Day 3, but I am hoping that whatever the number, it goes no further. It would be nice to feel the urge, and to go before the day is out. We will see. If not, then tomorrow morning at the latest. I can only hope! Well, that is not entirely true… I also added a teaspoon of fibre in one of my meal replacement shakes yesterday and will do the same today. Hope is not a strategy, and when there Is action that can be taken then one would be foolish to not do so.

    After Eduardo left yesterday afternoon I went for a walk. I suspect I broke a couple of personal records during the 12.3km outing. I was extremely pleased with my pace throughout, and while I did feel like my legs were made of jelly when I got up in the night, I am satisfied that when I suit up and go out, I am not wasting my time. Even better, when I came back in, I had a meal replacement shake (after I got out of the shower), and that was it for the evening. The combination of sticking to the plan with regard to food and ramping up my exercise… the results are going to come.

    I mentioned that my wife decided to start the American version of the meal replacement program that I have used (not always religiously) to get to where I am. She is certainly competitive but at the same time realistic. With that said, I am suspicious that when she challenged me that she could drop forty pounds before I could, she might have been doing it with the ulterior motive of encouraging me to get back onto the program religiously, and to blast out of the plateau in which I have been. My wife is no dummy! She knows that while I might not be as competitive as she, I am not one to back down from a challenge. We discussed last night some stratagem she could use to monitor and celebrate her progress, which gave me an idea that I had not tried before. I printed out a table with today’s weight and date at the top of it, and under it numbers descending in increments of two. Every time I drop below the weight on the chart, I will cross it off and write the date on the line next to it. The last is printed in red and has the stakes of the bet at the end of it. I do not know which of us will reach our goal first; I do know that this is a very good way to motivate me to get back on track.

    This evening is my final presentation for my Habanos Sommelier class, and I am going to spend some time today working on it. I have translated it into Spanish so it will not be nearly as easy for me to get through as it would be in English, so not only am I going to edit it down some, but I also plan to practice to make sure I am not going to trip over any of the harder words. I am excited about it but also nervous. Once it is behind me, I will be a Habanos Sommelier! I had a dream last night that I had a phone call with the Master and told him that I wanted to start delivering the classes in English. This is likely because someone over the last few days asked me if I might do that someday, and I told them my Spanish was not good enough. It is something I will think about.

    The only necessary aberration from my food plan for today is what I will pair with my cigars during my presentation. I will have a sip of each of the whiskies, and I might or might not open the bottle of wine… but it is unlikely, as the presentation is about ten minutes, and were I doing the actual pairing I would not be going to the wine before forty-five minutes into the cigar. Because of that I will not need to indulge in the dark chocolate either… which is probably a good thing, even though I would love it!

    Yesterday I finished the last of the lettuce that I had in the house, and starting today I am dropping to one solid meal per day (breakfast). I have eggs left for three more days which means that Thursday afternoon I will either go shopping, or I will decide to drop down to the full meal replacement program for however long I decide to do it. I have not thought that far ahead, but I know that if I go back to the full program, I will have an advantage in my bet with Leslie. It is not that she is not sticking to the program, but it is a known fact that men lose weight faster than women. So who knows how much closer I could be to my ultimate goal when Leslie and I meet in California in September if I do that? How amazing would it be if I could drop 25 lbs. between now and the end of September? It is absolutely doable… as long as I stay focused, mindful, and redouble my efforts to succeed.

    Alright, I have some work to get to so I will close today’s entry here. I have to work on my presentation, which is easier to do in English than it is in English and Spanish.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 560

    I was not as successful with my plans yesterday evening as I had hoped. I stupidly bought two boxes of breakfast cereal when I went to the supermarket the other day, thinking that it could be a nice occasional morning treat that I could keep around for when I did not feel like preparing an omelette. Over the last few days I have nearly finished both boxes of it, and decided in the middle of this sentence to throw out what was left. Really, I stopped typing where I was, went to the kitchen, and poured the remainder of the box into the garbage bag.

    Other than the cereal, I ate pretty well yesterday. Unfortunately it does not take very much to throw off a good day. While my weight was only up by .2 lb. this morning, I would much rather have seen it drop by that amount (or more). I have to continue remembering that hope is not a strategy.

    For those wondering how or why I fell off yesterday, I had a lot of anxiety over something that happened during my daytime class – right at the end of class too, so it was fresh when I stood up to stretch my legs. I have to stay mindful and vigilant and not let myself go like that! I will try harder today.

    The class that I am sitting was supposed to be a 4-day class, but it was shortened to three days, which means I have tomorrow off (until I teach in the evening). Weather permitting I will go out for a jog and walk and redouble my efforts to get back on track. I will also work on my final presentation for the cigar sommelier course that I have been doing; I will be presenting it Monday, and I want to make sure I do the best job that I can!

    As for today, I am not teaching this evening… but that does not mean I have to eat. I will eat a reasonable dinner, and then after I take Her Royal Floofness for a walk, I will spend the evening on the balcony, chatting with my wife and smoking cigars. I might even pour myself a drink, depending on how I feel.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 544

    As I sat on the balcony waiting for my wife to join me last night I thought back on my day, what I had eaten, and a John Lennon quote: Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. Most of what I had planned for yesterday did not really happen. I did not get to CVS so I did not pick up meal replacements; I had a salad for lunch (which was planned), and then before class I ate a bowl of cereal (partly planned… I had planned to eat a meal replacement or a small meal). After class I was hungry and so I went to pick up another salad (not bad and not really a cheat, but still not planned). Somewhere in there (spread throughout the day) I enjoyed a reasonable portion of dried mango, a Takoyaki (a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan… usually filled with seafood, but this one was filled with red bean paste), and two Timbits (yes, I brought a box of them from Canada, and have now had four of them). All of that on top of the omelette I had for breakfast. There was too much snacking in there, but I still did not really go overboard. If I had been concerned then the bathroom scale this morning put my mind at ease… I am back down to what I weighed Friday morning (the day before I flew) and have fully shed the three pounds I gained on Saturday (mostly from gorging at the airport, but also on our fried chicken dinner). If I can eat reasonably well today then I will be happy that I am back on track.

    To refer to the weather today as hot would not do it justice. The forecast calls for temperatures approaching 110° Fahrenheit, with no sign of clouds anywhere in the vicinity. I would love to try to get some exercise today, but walking outdoors would be a monumentally bad idea. My body is simply not used to this level of heat as it once was… when I was young and stupid. I might spend a couple of hours at the pool and would do some swimming but would also sit there passively for a while with a cigar. We’ll see. It was originally my intention to take my stepson to the pool for a while, but he has not been feeling well these last couple of days so unless his mother says something then I am not going to even bring the subject up.

    I had my usual omelette for breakfast today and will likely pick salads up for Leslie and myself… and possibly something else for the boy. I am not worrying about that right now. When I do go out I will stop in at CVS and see if there are any meal replacements that work for me. If they do then I will grab those and should be able to stay on track for the day. I am teaching again this evening, so if I have a meal replacement before class, and either another one, or else a salad afterward, then I will be able to call this a very successful day… and the numbers on the bathroom scale tomorrow morning should reflect that.

    I spent a couple of hours at the cigar lounge yesterday, but that Is not in my plans for today. I do need to go back one day this week to discuss a couple of things with the owner, but that is not going to be today. I love it there… but I do not feel like venturing out more than I need to today.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 513

    Leslie and I checked into our Bed and Breakfast last night and then drove down the street to a local pub for dinner. I did something that I have not done in years… I ordered a pint. It went very well with my fish and chips! After dinner we picked up a bottle of wine to enjoy with our cigars in the garden of the inn (and for the Shabbat blessings). So far the weekend is going great!

    I am not on a diet this weekend but I am also not going to go overboard. There will be opportunities to indulge, but I will make a point to not overindulge. Leslie is being very helpful with that! As an example, when she was full, she offered me the last bites of her fish… but spoiled her remaining French fries, which I appreciated. At breakfast I could have asked for more toast, but decided not to… both to be good, and to not let Leslie think I was falling.

    We are currently enjoying our latté and cigar in the garden, which is truly a peaceful oasis. Our plans for the rest of the day are to do whatever tickles us at the time. That might include picking strawberries, a vineyard tour, or who knows what. We are together and we are not working, and that is our only goal… to enjoy being together.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 507

    Leslie is flying in today and I could hardly be more excited. My eyes popped open at 7:09am – three minutes after the first text from my wife who had just settled in at the airport. In four hours she will be in my arms where she belongs.

    I was worried about the bathroom scale this morning. It turns out I was about where I had been the previous morning, so I will take that as a win. This I took Her Floofness out for her walk and came home in time to prepare coffee and a breakfast meal replacement shake. Ordinarily I would only make a half pot of coffee, but my diet buddy is coming over, so I prepared the full pot. I know she will not take offense that I poured my first cup prior to her arrival. I look forward to seeing how she has been doing, and to hearing about her mud run.

    After our meeting I will probably leave straight away for the airport. That is likely a bit premature, but I am excited. I might spend an hour working on my demo environment that I have been growing of late. Normally I might sit outside with a cigar, but I am probably going to have my first cigar with Leslie on the balcony with a café latté… we have been looking forward to that all week, and while it would not spoil it for me to have a cigar before that, it will be nice to have that first one with her.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 470

    Okay, it was bound to happen, especially how I’ve been eating. My weight jumped a little today, which took me just above the 260 lbs. mark again. I am not at all upset by this. I know that last night, after preparing a lovely roast chicken dinner for the family (with French fries, which are immediately a bad idea), I decided to have a piece of toast with peanut butter. I knew then that the carbs of the bread and the sugar of the peanut butter were a terrible idea, but I did it anyways. I will do better today!

    Speaking of today, I finally slept last night. I do not remember when I fell asleep (nor do I even remember going to bed) but I woke up around 2:00am to use the washroom and realized I had been asleep for a while. According to Garmin, I was asleep by 9:15pm, and got ten full hours of sleep. I feel much better today than I have the last couple of days, and I am ready to go for a light jog. My Body Battery is at 81/100, which means that I am not really at risk of running out of steam. With that said, I have not jogged in the last ten days so I do not expect too much of myself. I will not be trying to win any races.

    This evening is my last class with the group that I have been teaching since the beginning of February. Three nights per week for three months I have spent with this group, and I am so proud of their progress. They still have exams to take, but they are on their way to becoming networking professionals. Next week I will be starting with a new group, but only for a couple of weeks. It is not often that I get to work with a group for this long, and I have loved every minute of it… despite a lot of frustrating moments.

    The end of class means that starting next week my Monday evenings will be free. This works out perfectly because I have been invited to sit a class for cigar professionals that is Monday evenings for the next few months. I am very excited about the class, and only hope that I can keep up… they told me that they will be delivering it simultaneously in Spanish and in English, but I know one of the instructors and his English is almost zero. I do not know how they will do it, but my dues are paid and whether I need to use a translator or not, I am ready to start.

    Despite what the forecast predicted, it is a beautiful day outside. Between now and noon it is going to hit 85°, but for now it is in the mid-70s. The rain is predicted to start around 3:00pm, with the high temperatures forecast to hit 95° by then. That would not be comfortable jogging weather, but right now it is. It is time for me to suit up and hit the road so that I can be back before the worst of it starts. I had a few things I needed to take care of before getting out, but I think most of them are done so I am ready.

    My goal for today is to get back on track, both with jogging and with eating. Let’s see if I can drop below 260 again tomorrow. I know that I will likely not be able to jog tomorrow or Sunday, but if I can have one good day in Dallas before returning to Canada then I will be happy.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 468

    What an amazing weekend this was! I was completely off my diet, and did not care. I told Leslie that I expected to go back to Canada on Sunday around 270 lbs., a little over 16 lbs. heavier than my best weight ever. I truly expected that with all of the eating and drinking that I did, coupled with the fact that I did not do any exercising whatsoever, I would step onto the bathroom scale this morning (we returned to Dallas last night) ten pounds heavier than when I left Canada. In fact, I was in for the shock of the day when I saw that I had actually lost 4 lbs. since the day we flew to California, which is absolutely a small wonder… if not really a victory. I should mention that in the week leading up to that day last Friday I was on edge, eating much more than I should have. I would even go so far as to say that I fell off the wagon completely, binging on the airplane ride from Canada to Texas. As such, my weight from that Friday was somewhat artificially inflated. With that said, I am extremely happy with this morning’s weight.

    When I showed Leslie my weight this morning she was shocked. The only meal that we did not enjoy together in California was breakfast Monday, and other than that she saw what (and how much) I ate. She is and has been my biggest supporter on my weight loss journey and has been very aware of my mental ups and downs caused by some of my transgressions, plateaus, and roller coasters. I had told her before we even left for California that I fully expected to gain ten pounds this weekend. For me to have lost four pounds blew her mind as much as it did my own. All of my friends commented on how amazing I looked with my weight loss (I have lost sixty pounds since I was there in October). One of them joked that brides and grooms do not actually gain weight during their wedding weekend, and I told him that I so wish that were true. Who knew that it actually is!?

    We sat on the airplane yesterday and I could not help but notice that the man sitting in the row in front of us had his fat hanging over the armrest. I thought back to not too long ago when that was how I was, and how much happier I am now. Eighteen months ago I would never have been comfortable in a seat that did not have armrests that could be raised… not to mention how embarrassing it was to have to ask for a seatbelt extender. We took our seats in the exit row (which afforded us much more leg room, but rigid armrests), and I was perfectly comfortable in my seat. I only wish I had taken the middle seat to let Leslie sit in the window… and what an amazing victory that is, knowing how miserable I would have been in the middle seat at my heaviest weight. Yay!

    So let’s talk about the weekend. Firstly, we woke up Friday to find out that our flight was delayed by four hours, and when we finally got onto the plane, we waited nearly two more hours while they dealt with a mechanical issue. Arriving in Southern California at 3:30pm instead of 9:15am completely wrecked our plans to meet a friend for cigars in Beverly Hills, but that’s part of life. We checked into our magnificent hotel room and went for dinner. We both had pasta which was out of this world, and which is of course completely forbidden on my diet program. Following dinner we attended the Sabbath evening services at the shul which was lovely. Not only was it great to see so many of the people I have not seen in two years and to experience my first such service in that time, but it was also Leslie’s first ever Sabbath service. Despite being a bit overwhelmed (by both the experience and some of the people), she really enjoyed it. Following services, we adjourned to the hotel where we enjoyed a cigar on the patio before turning in.

    The plan for Saturday was to run the last couple of errands that were outstanding – and there were not many of them – and to then meet with the rabbi and his family in the afternoon to discuss the wedding. We ate both breakfast and lunch at The Stonehaus (where I have spent countless hours, and where she and I would spend a lot of time during this trip). We then had dinner at a posh waterfront terrace where the sushi was some of the best we have ever eaten, and despite the lousy service (and the cold which came on fast when the sun went down) we had a lovely time. As is our norm, we then returned to the hotel for a cigar and then bed.

    Sunday was the big day! I was stressed because I was still waiting for confirmation that some of the final details (some of which were quite significant) had not been confirmed. I find it much easier to rely on other people when they communicate better with me, so not having heard anything from the bakery in a week I was stressed that the challah and wedding cake might not be delivered. It was not until 1:15pm (the wedding was starting at 3:00pm) that I received confirmation that they had been delivered. That was the last of it… we were ready to go! My bride was absolutely ravishing in her dress, and my new shirt and tie fit perfectly under my suit. I had a very minor scare that my belt might not fit, but I realized the problem and then there was no problem. We arrived at the temple exactly when we were meant to, and just before our first guests began to arrive.

    A Jewish wedding consists of three pillars: the ketubah, the chupah, and the yichud.

    The first pillar, the ketubah, is literally a contract. Before the actual ceremony the rabbi must read the contract aloud to us and have it confirmed by two witnesses that he read it correctly. While he reads it, we had to hold onto two ends of a handkerchief. Had one of us dropped our end, the wedding would not have happened. Fortunately that did not happen. It was a bit amusing that it turned out the two witnesses that I selected did not even know how to write their names in Hebrew, but this was not the rabbi’s first day on the job, and he knew to help them beforehand. Still and all, their signatures in English look much smarter than their Hebrew ones!

    The second pillar is the chupah, which is a wedding canopy that symbolizes the home. It is traditionally the groom’s tallit (prayer shawl) attached to posts held up by four men, and the ceremony takes place under that. Our rabbi did such a marvelous job of explaining all of the traditions and symbols to both us and to the attendees. I am glad that one of my friends recorded it, as so much of it was a blur to me. The important thing is that Leslie and I were married, and after we kissed I stepped on the glass to break it… an old Jewish tradition.

    The third pillar is the yichud, where the bride and groom spend time alone. While historically this was when the bride and groom would… consummate the marriage, this tradition is mostly an anachronism today… which is good, because the room to which we were led was separated from the hall by a curtain. Today the tradition is for them to spend a few moments together alone, feeding each other, and enjoying our first minutes as a married couple alone before greeting the guests. Leslie and I went into the library and shared a plate of food for ten minutes before we ventured out to the bridal table, on which was placed the largest challah bread I have ever seen. It was not only huge, but it was also delicious! We said the blessing over the bread, and I was asked to rip off pieces to throw at the attendees. It was a lot of fun, and this was a tradition that was new to me!

    When the wedding cake came out we shared a piece, and Leslie did manage to smoosh a piece into my face. The pictures of that are amazing! The cake, one of the last pieces I was worried about, was indeed perfect… as was the rest of the wedding.

    We finally drove to The Stonehaus, where most of the guests joined us for cigars. I think one of the guests bought a bottle of champagne as well, but at this point I remember very little The cigars were amazing, but the best part of the after-party was that I had nothing left to worry about. I had actually planned a wedding that went off perfectly, and at The Stonehaus it was all about chatting with friends. I did give a speech in which I hope I did not forget to thank everyone who needed to be thanked.

    Between all of the meals (aside from pasta, we shared several pizzas and French fries, breakfasts, a shabu shabu (Japanese hot pot) meal with desserts, plus so much more), snacks (don’t even get me started!) and drinks (I drank more wine this weekend than I have in the past year), it is a wonder that I did not gain fifteen pounds! I was certain that I had lost a lot of ground with my progress. I knew that I would need to return to my disciplined program; on our return to Dallas I would start with a modified program, and then when I return to Canada next Sunday, I will be back on the full-fast program. Despite the fact that I did not lose any ground this weekend, I plan to stick to that plan. I do not know for how much longer I will stay on the full-fast program, but I am going to try for at least six weeks more. We will see how well I do in the next month… and how well I feel doing it. One way or another though I am going to be transitioned to at least semi-normal (rather, my new normal, as my old normal was how I kept gaining weight in the first place) by the beginning of July and my birthday.

    Cigars… wow, did we smoke a lot of good cigars this weekend! Of course I brought a couple of very good boxes of Cuban cigars to share with our guests, and many of them gave us cigars and booze as presents. I also brought three special Davidoff Royal cigars – one for Leslie, one for me, and one for the rabbi. Any cigar smoker who has looked will know that while the Royal is not the most expensive of their offerings, it is in the top two. When Leslie first got into Davidoff cigars last year she saw them and bought two – one for me to smoke on the night of our civil wedding, and one for me to smoke on the night of our religious wedding. That was before she realized how much she really enjoyed cigars, and so I made sure that there were enough for the three of us. We took more than fifty cigars to California with us, and we came home with about the same number… having received many as gifts, and we also found a couple of unexpected treasures in my favourite Westlake Village cigar shop!

    Friends… everyone wanted to spend time with us, and while I love all of my friends, they had to understand that this trip was a short one with one purpose, and that we did not have a lot of bandwidth for extra socializing. One concession to that was Monday evening when we went to my old cigar lounge to meet some of the boys. It was a lot of fun, but Leslie and I were both already drained before we went there. It might be the only time I have been there when I only smoked a single cigar. One bonus that came from that evening was that one of the boys told me that one of our old members is now working at a cigar shop in Dallas! I plan to surprise him today by just popping in. I can hardly wait to see the look on his face!

    I have not been sleeping very well these last few nights, and last night was no exception. It is no wonder with the time change – we were in bed by 11:30, but where we woke up it was only 9:30pm. I hope tonight I will be able to get some rest. If I can, I will try to take a nap before I teach. Fortunately, I know that my class (the second to last one after three months with the same group) will be entirely review, so I really do not have a lot of preparation to do. That does not mean that I do not have to stay awake during class, so if I do not nap then I will have a coffee before class starts.

    Tomorrow I will try to get out for my first jog in over a week, but I need at least one more day to recover. While my fitness watch is showing my Body Battery at 69/100, I have no faith in that this morning, just based on the fatigue (both mental and physical) that I feel. It was a most wonderful weekend, but it was a stressful and exhausting one. My body may be in much better shape than it was in several months ago, but it is still nearly fifty-one years old and cannot get by on four hours of sleep like I did in the Army. No, I did not only sleep four hours last night… according to my watch it was 6.5 hours. It could have been ten hours, I still feel drained and I doubt there is anyone who watched me go these last two weeks who would question why that is. Tomorrow I shall jog. Today is one last day of decompression.

    Have a great day folks!