We are almost to the 21st Febrehab in history. This one I think is going to be relatively easy. I decided that the only things I'm giving up besides alcohol are caffeine and sugar. There's a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, I am about 8 lbs lighter than average. Turns out 18 months of health issues are a great diet! So I don't really want to lose weight.

Secondly, this year after having my gall bladder out and being advised to avoid fat, and then having a really bad kidney stone and being advised to avoid oxalates, I hired a dietitian. They were covered by my insurance and I figured that would be a lot easier than doing all the research myself and coming up with a new diet plan. I met with a guy on a zoom call and he seemed really knowledgeable. He laid out what he would do in the way of tracking food, balancing macro-nutrients, and increasing calories, protein, and calcium. Turns out I've been under-eating for years, and not getting nearly enough protein. And even though my kidney stone was made of calcium-oxalate, and I was advised to reduce oxalates in my diet, the other thing you can do is INCREASE calcium. Turns out more calcium in your diet binds up the oxalates before they can get to your kidneys.

Then the douche ghosted me. He never delivered a meal plan. He never spent one second thinking about me after our initial meeting. But ... what he did do was make me think, "Oh that's all you were going to do? I can do that." So I built a spreadsheet and started meticulously tracking what I was eating. Then I made minor adjustments to breakfasts, lunches, and dinners until a week of eating balanced everything out. That included having a protein shake every day, since it's nearly impossible to get enough protein without it. We both think we're seeing a change at the gym since we work out consistently, but perhaps were just starving our muscles previously, and now they are able to grow.

So, I don't feel like abandoning my new healthy balanced diet just to deprive myself for a month. This will be an easy Febrehab as a result. It's not without precedent, but they've been getting harder lately. And last year was the 20th anniversary, so I made it especially hard.

Speaking of 20th anniversaries, tomorrow is my 20th anniversary with Daniel. You believe that? I do. Love you, Daniel! Here's to the next 20.

I said before that I had migrated all of my social media content to posts on SideshoViD.com, but that wasn't entirely true. I had not posted any of my Instagram stories. To be honest, that's mostly because I didn't know I could. I thought that once they disappeared they were gone. But the other day I noticed my "Archives" on Instagram had every story I'd ever posted.

They made it basically impossible to access that content from my laptop, but on mobile, there was a button to click to download the photo or video. I was astounded at how quickly videos were downloaded to my phone and then uploaded to my website. They must be compressed or optimized somehow. It was literally as fast as I could click that they were done. As a result, it only took a few evenings sitting on the couch crunching through them to complete 2018-2024.

The cool thing about that is that there was a period of time, a couple of years even, where stories were the sole format I used. I liked that they were more ephemeral, less pressure, and felt more spontaneous or narrative. So now a huge chunk of time from around 2022-2024 that was previously unrepresented has some history here.

I also like that it took the topic tag for "squirrels" from obscurity to #6 most popular topic. Those were the primary years we spent getting to know Muffin and trying to get her to eat out of our hands. So that is all documented now for posterity. She's here right now in fact having a little breakfast before heading out to work. Look for her to pop up a lot more in the This Day In History section! 🐿

I. am. so. hungry. But I made it through the day. Supposedly the hunger fades by day three and then it's smooth sailing. You would think it would be torturous, but I find that smelling food actually helps. I cut up some garlic for Daniel's guacamole earlier and the smell of raw garlic on my hands almost makes it as though I'd eaten it. I wonder how tomorrow will be. I've definitely gone a day without eating in my lifetime -- though admittedly, not since college -- but I don't think I've ever gone two days.

The laxative tea was not really a laxative. I noticed nothing out of the ordinary when I woke up in the morning. I didn't even need to go to the bathroom. But that lasted only until I drank the saltwater flush. You mix two teaspoons of salt into a quart of water. It's kind of like a salt flavored big gulp. And it was hard as hell to drink. And it went through me faster than a Coors Light ever has. But after that brief morning episode, the rest of my day was normal, gastrointestinally speaking at least. I was a smidge light headed in the late afternoon but some lemonade helped. If it wasn't for the cayenne pepper, the lemonade would be just plain delicious. But that heat the pepper provides is so out of place. I would omit it altogether but I promised to follow the rules to the letter. I'm a lot more confident about being able to pull this off while at work all day. I was afraid I would be chained to the toilet.

Other than being hungry this is pretty easy. But even the hunger subsides after a glass of lemonade. It's going to be so nice not to worry about food for a couple of weeks, but looking ahead on the calendar and realizing how long I've committed to this for... phew. It's daunting. I will say that much. But there's really nothing I can do about it now, other than hunker down and reserve calories. My daily weight chart is already showing a downward trend and I can only imagine it will continue. I'll post results at the end. Wish me luck. I'm gonna need it.

I found out today that my trip to Sweden is a definite. I have to buy a plane ticket by the end of the week departing on April 2nd. I'm way too excited. But see, the thing is, I figured as long as I'm in the neighborhood, there is no sense in not seeing some of Europe. How often do you get to fly across the pond for free, right? So instead of returning to the USofA on April 16th after two weeks of new product testing, I'll be returning sometime around April 21st. That'll give me 5 days to gallivant around Germany and France.

I've never been a big sight seer, as anyone who has ever vacationed with me will know. So my only two goals, in reality, are to eat sausage and saurkraut with mustard in Germany washed down with a nice tall Weissbier, and to have a croissant and a glass of red wine in France. I hope they serve Messina Hof.

The reason I need everyone's advice is to ask what else I should do while I'm there. Keep in mind that if I want to SEE something, I will google it. I am looking for things to DO. This could also affect how long I decide to stay. I'm still trying to get ahold of my friends in Germany which would be awesome. But that would mean I am going to Munich again when I'd really like to see Berlin.

I dunno. Maybe afterwards I'll go to Bed, Bath & Beyond, I dunno if I'll have time.

Welcome one and all to the fabulous new SideshoViD.com -- Version 7. I'd first and foremost like to take this opportunity to welcome my friend, Joseph, to SideshoViD.com. For years now we've talked about him becoming part of this operation. After maintaining his own successful blog for many months now, and always managing to make me laugh, I decided it was time to get him on SVC to blog about his day. I hope you all will enjoy his posts as much as I always do and will take the time to click on the buddy list to the right to send him a welcoming message.

Speaking of that buddy list over there, that is not just to contact Joseph and me. That is there for you to have your screen name on. If you would like to be on the SideshoViD.com buddy list, just send me a quick IM expressing that desire and we will have your name up there within 24 hours. Hopefully, it will grow very large very fast.

There's still a little bit of work to do on this page, but I was just so excited that I had to release it STAT. Joseph's webcam link doesn't work yet, but mine does. Its a really boring story as to how that happened, so I won't share it. If you want to download the Song of the Day just click on the mp3 icon to the right. Today is 50 Cent - In da Club. He's my new favorite rapper. Go Shorty, its yo birfday!

The comments page is still kind of ghetto. I need some inspiration as to what the comment form should look like. If you have any idea on how to attractively package it, let me know. Other than that, click around and reacquaint yourself with all the trappings of an SVC. Thanks for coming back. EoL\n