Here it is. It has now been two-and-a-half months since I have updated. That's a big gap for a guy who was posting upwards of ten blogs per month. I'm sure there are a lot of questions. Then again, chances are that many people have stopped visiting because no one expects there to be anything new. In that case, there are likely no questions as to my whereabouts. My bad.

But in the off chance that anyone still checks Moose Jockey, I have been in Phoenix. I have been working a lot. Flying to and fro. Over the last two months a handful of things have happened. I went back to Canada for a brief trip to see my mom and dad and a few friends. I was there a total of three days. I rented a car and checked out my home town. I hadn't been there in a little over four years, so much had changed there. I saw people I hadn't seen since I had graduated almost a decade ago. It was surreal. My worst suspicions were confirmed when I drove into Sylvan Lake. It was not the town that I had remembered. It had doubled in size since I left, and I didn't know everybody who walked down the street. Buildings that once existed were replaced with new, cooler, and less charming buildings than those of my childhood. Sigh. My home town is no longer my home town.

Another thing that has happened since I last made an entry is that I have lost a lot of weight. Since December, when I first stepped on the scale and decided to make a conscious effort to do something about my portly exterior, I have lost fifty, count 'em, FIVE ZERO pounds. I still have about fifteen more pounds that I'd like to lose, but so far I'll count the fifty mark as a victory. I stopped buying food at work. I bring protein bars and dried fruit and tuna in a cooler, and that is all that I eat. I also run a lot. Up until the middle of March I had been running a lot more, but late in the month, I came up lame with an iliotibial band strain (ITBS), and I have been struggling ever since. I was running about 10K three times a week, but now, I'm lucky if I can make it 2.5 miles without crying from the pain. Why not take up swimming? Because I LOVE running. I love it. My doc offered a localized steroid injection; I declined, but I was tempted. Anyway, the injury has forced me into strength training in order to continue to burn calories. To me this was not favorable because I have a muscular build, and I don't want to bulk up. I'm bulky already. But it has brought some balance to my routine.

Anyway, the ITBS caused me to be quite lazy. Also when I went home to Canada I had a few cigars with some friends. Which immediately launched me into buying cigarettes when I returned to Arizona. After smoking several packs over the period of several weeks I realized that I was being stupid. So I went from a nicotine-free person, back to a 4mg nicotine gum chewer again. It's a setback. Battered but not beaten. I expect to be gum-free buy the end of the summer. The lesson? If you've nixed something. Don't even walk near it again.

Unfortunately, work has kept me from getting home more than it ever did when I was out in Washington DC. Now it seems that I only get home once or twice a month, and only ever for one or two days. This is taking its toll on me, and I must say that I have lost a lot of my inspiration because of it. I think this might explain why Moose Jockey has been suffering so badly. Poor website. I guess, the thing is I haven't been learning much. Putting my new realizations in writing makes me happy.

So, here I am. I want to say thank you to all of you who over the last few months who have asked me to take some laxative. Apparently, the title to my last entry was very appropriate.