wild rose d-tox (day six)...

this is the morning of day six. i'm almost half way. it hasn't been as bad as i thought. but i have had my moments. breakfast today: scrambled eggs with peppers. no cheese. i picked out the mushrooms (forgot to ask). i ate the strawberries, but not the other fruit. (not supposed to eat tropical fruit on this thing.) more green tea. water. drops. one thing, again, about this detox, is the, er, surprise and sudden immediate need at times to find a bathroom. i was mid-conversation yesterday with a friend of mine who was in town and mid-sentence it was just, "uh, dude, i gotta go." he was like "hang on a few, i'm just finishing up my beer, i'll roll with you," but i was already out the door walking back to the crib as fast as i could. (sorry brando, i stuck you with the tab for my san pellegrino.)

wild rose d-tox (day five...)

chicken breast and hard-boiled egg. late night snack on day four. didn't get a chance to write yesterday. day five as follows... breakfast: soup. some kind of black bean soup. with some veggies in there. dinner: salad. veggies. i didn't use the dressing they gave me. and i picked out the mushrooms (forgot to ask them to leave them out). for breakfast on day five: oatmeal with berries. i had a turkey burger (no bun) and salad for dinner. forgot to get a photo of it. it was good. okay, there we go. symptoms? feeling a little light-headed still. unfocused. slow. could still be the lack of coffee. i don't know. how long does it take to get over a caffeine addiction? i would think it would be a mild addiction. shouldn't take too long to get over it. a few days at most. five days without a cigaratte as well. i almost cracked at the end of my night last night. luckily, i didn't have any cigs on me. i think i would have smoked one. today, i am thankful. a moment of weakness. oh yeah, i think i might have been a bit of a total bastard during the day yesterday. just one of those miserable sods who is no good to anyone. i was doing my grumpy old man thing. of course, at the time, every little gripe i had felt completely justifiable. funny, the perspective offered by a single day. anyway, yeah, i'm considering doing a total fast when i'm done this detox. another 12 days, no food, just water and lemon. considering it. we'll see how i feel. if i make it through today (and i will!) i will be halfway through the wild rose d-tox. i'm still getting used to drinking green tea instead of coffee. i think, over time, i might even grow to prefer it...

wild rose d-tox (day four...)

this is the rest of what i ate yesterday. lunch, a couple hard-boiled eggs, more chopped green onion, a few baby carrots, and some cucumber. with herbs. and water. mmmm.

went for a jog.



dinner. salad. some turkey on there. avocado. egg. lettuce. no dressing. you don't need dressing when you can stab a tomato for each forkload.

late night snack at the bar, chicken breast, and an egg. (maybe i'm eating too many eggs.)

i woke up feeling pretty good on day three, but by the end of the day, i was a wreck. irritable as shit. at one point at work i misplaced my swipe card and started throwing shit around. not like in a rage, just sort of half-pissed/half-joking, but still. my memory was fucking up, forgetting orders instantly. also, my hearing is fucked. i don't think i have the best hearing anyway, but i found myself asking people again and again to repeat themselves, unless i would just walk away saying "i can't understand you." also, i dropped a few glass last night. i don't often drop glasses at work, so this thing is making me clumsy. by the end of the night, i was a wreck. at one point, when i was putting up the barstools, i had to sit for a couple of minutes, as i felt faint and thought i might drop to the floor. that's day THREE. today is day four. we'll see how it goes...

wild rose d-tox (day three...)

day three. i crashed so early last night. had a great sleep, despite the loud music in the bar downstairs waking me up a few times. woke up at seven am, which, for me, is just shy of a miracle. feeling a little slow today. not drinking is nice. i lack the sharpness of mind that coffee brings, but this will change. going back to go forward. green tea is good. i could learn to even like the stuff. got a slight headache, but it's barely noticeable. nausea? not yet. stomach? yeah, the laxative is working. i'm at the artsee cafe now, holding it in, but i'll be making a run home soon i'm sure. oatmeal again. this time with apple slices and some berries. i guess i'm allowed those. just certain fruits i can't have (oranges, melons, tropical fruits). this is also day three of not smoking. lungs feel tight. a little. expect some "flu-like symptoms," they said. maybe tomorrow. we'll see.

i'm off. did a phone interview last night with sol guy from 4real, for zink mag. gotta finish it up and get it to my editor before work tonight...

wild rose d-tox (day two...)

okay, day two. breakfast. oatmeal. nothing else. yup, oatmeal, plain. and green tea.



a couple of pots of green tea at work.



lunch. grilled chicken breast on spinach salad. with egg. and walnuts.

went for a job on the beach after work.



dinner. salmon. carrots. asparagus. bok choy.

no severe side effects so far on day two. i'm a little bit spaced out, moving and thinking a little bit slower than usual, but this could just as easily be from not drinking coffee as it could be from the cleanse. (the green tea helps.) the herbal laxative is working. i've been taking more frequent trips to the bathroom, but nothing too gross or anything. i actually felt pretty good waking up on day two. i felt like i had a good amount of energy, but had to use it more slowly, if that makes any sense...

wild rose d-tox (day one...)

this was breakfast yesterday. day one on the twelve-day wild rose d-tox program. you buy the box and get three bottles of pills and a bottle of liquid. twice a day, with a meal, you take two of each pill, and drink water with 30 drops of the liquid in it. the liquid says: CL herbal extract. the three pill bottles say: "biliherb" (bile flow stimulant), cleansaherb, and laxaherb (herbal laxative). they also give you a list of foods they recommend and ones that are banned while doing this detox.

for breakfast, i had three hard-boiled eggs, a can of tuna, with a few slices of cucumber, a couple of baby carrots, and some pieces of green onion.

lots of water throughout the day at work.



for dinner, a piece of trout (fresh, caught in the morning), with asparagus, carrots, bok choy, onions. good times.

later on i had a snack of one chicken breast and one hard-boiled egg.



i'm writing this on the morning of day two, and haven't noticed any effects yet, but we'll see. the literature tells me to expect to experience some or all of the following: "increased bowel activity and urination, mild feelings of nausea, mild headache and other flu-like symptoms, muscle aching, irritability, or an existing condition (such as a skin problem or arthritis) may initially get worse before it gets better."

all i felt yesterday was incrediblty tired and a little bit out-of-it, but i think that had more to do with a few days of lack of sleep, and not having coffee yesterday, the absence of which renders me zombie-like for at least a couple of days on its own.

strange dreams last night. sitting in an apartment somewhat like my former apartment on christie st. in toronto. a bunch of people over, everyone is drinking and hanging out and going outside on the patio to smoke, including this woman ***** who i dated briefly a couple of months ago. in this dream she just showed up and i was kind of surprised but then we instantly were completely getting along and together in a relaxed and comfortable not-worried-about-anything-at-all kind of awesome way... strange.

i feel great not drinking. oh yeah, that's another thing on this. no booze.

more great dreams to come i'm sure. always happens when i'm making a lifestyle transition, adding things, taking things away...



for breakfast today - day two - a cup of green tea and a bowl of oatmeal (no syrup or honey or fruit or jam or anything, just plain oatmeal). it's tolerable, surprisingly...

random goodness...

so, a couple of hiccups, but my health kick is going pretty well, been eating good meals and biking/running/walking lots. with the exception of the copious cider consumption, smokes and cheeseburgers, i'd say i was doing pretty well. kidding. seriously though, i just picked up the wild rose herbal d-tox kit, i'm reading through the instructions right now. i'll be giving it a whirl in the next day or so. thanks to alexis for the recommendation. have you tried it? or anything like it? let me know.






YOU'RE!



my friend mindy's dad griff took me out for a sail. awesome! thanks dude!





these cats lost their engine; we gave them a tow into harbour.

nazi fucks...

here's one for you. last weekend, i'm bartending, and this dude walks in, probably in his 50s, grey hair, ponytail, wearing a tanktop. he orders two drinks, and as i'm making them, he turns to his side and i see a huge nazi tattoo on his bicep... it's an eagle or something, carrying the swastika in its talons. so i walk back over to him and tell him that i won't be serving him tonight. he asks why. i tell him because of the tattoo. that i don't want that tattoo displayed in the bar, that i feel it could make people feel uncomfortable and i won't allow it. he tells me that it's an old tattoo from thirty years ago when he was a different person. i tell that may very well be, but as of right now, it's on display, and i don't want it here. he then says something to the effect of, "i thought this was a free country," which is ironic, considering he's using the "free country" argument to argue for his supposed right to display a symbol which represents that exact opposite. the irony is lost on him. i tell him he's welcome back with a shirt on, but in that tank top, no fucking way. then his lady starts chirping in at me, saying that i'm judging him because of it, again with the "it's from a long time ago, he was a different person..." argument. i tell her, no, in fact, i'm not judging anybody. i say to her "have you heard me say one thing in judgement of his character? no, i haven't. i have simply said that i will not allow that symbol to be on display in this manner, for the sake of the rest of my customers." anyway, they keep trying to argue, until finally i just say, "this is not a negotiation, this is final, you have to leave, good bye."

i just don't get people like this. dude, you have a GIANT FUCKING SWASTIKA tattooed on your bicep. why are you acting surprised about shit? and i don't care if you are a reformed former little nazi piece of shit, guess what, i got two words for you: tattoo removal. or try these three words: long sleeve shirt.

anyway, i later found out that this dude is either the son or grandson of the head of this area's local nazi organization, so, whatever...