A Day in the Life

Alright blogger people - today I wasn't really struck with a fever to write anything in particular, but I did think it would be interesting to some of  y'all if I gave you a run down of what a day in Arizona is like for me. SO.....here goes.

7AM - Wake up ("Circle of Life")

Yes, the theme to "Lion King" is my alarm, and its by far the best way to wake up in the morning. I feel like a newborn lion cub who is king of all the light touches. This lasts about 6 seconds, then I feel the affect of only sleeping 7 hours, turn the alarm off, and head into the shower.

7:30AM - Breakfast (Starbucks)

From the apartments this is about a 10 minute drive to the complex, and I stop somewhere along the way to get some food. "Food" can be many things, but more often than not I head to Starbucks for a coffee and whatever looks appetizing that day. Usually this is a choice between the Greek Yogurt and Honey Parfait and the Sausage and Cheese sandwich. I also inevitably order a coffee to counteract my lack of sleep and give me that peppy attitude that so endears me to the training staff at 8 in the morning.

8AM - I Start Treatment (My Elbow Gets Bipolar Disorder)

For me, this means hit the "wet" area of the training room and do a contrast bath for my elbow. *For those who don't know - I contracted a mild UCL strain in August and I'm now in Arizona getting treatment for it* A contrast bath starts in a warm water whirlpool for 3 minutes, then my arm goes into ice water for 2 minutes - then back and forth once more before I end in hot water for 5 minutes. Basically, I'm trying to get my elbow to be so freaked out that it has no choice but to get better. Also -its a way to loosen it up.
After the contrast bath I get a massage and then an ultrasound (I have a really tough life, I know). This is all done to loosen up and get me ready to actually do things that are going to help me get better.

8:15AM - Cardio (ESPN)

I get to run on the elliptical machine for 10 minutes, again to loosen up my body. Like any psychical  activity, treatment its better and safer once you've already warmed up. This time on the elliptical is when I catch up with the previous day's sports by watching 10 minutes worth of Sports Center. Today, I actually did cardio for 15 minutes cause they kept putting "Top Plays" on the little bar of upcoming events and then didn't it.....bastards.

8:30AM - I'm Back in the Training Room (Actual Work, If You Can Believe It)

This time I'm back to work. For the next hour and a half, I'm lifting, stabilizing, pushing, pulling and holding every weight you could imagine in every position position a shoulder or forearm get in. The idea is to strengthen and stabilize the areas around the affected area so the strain of throwing will be more evenly dispersed throughout my arm and my elbow will end up with a less strenuous load.

9:30AM - Lifting (Operation: Get Jacked)

This is what I look like now. This is not a picture that comes up when you google "steroids". This is how big I am after I pumped iron Tribe style. 

10:30AM - Ice (Netflix)

If there are some other stabilization things that have to be done now, I will do these with a trainer. Otherwise, it's time for me to pop out my iPad and watch some Arrested Development. I ice for 20 minutes, and if I get a head start on the trainer - I can fit one episode perfectly in the time I'm getting iced. Also - I've heard Modern Family is the best show ever, and I'm really not happy about it not being instant on Netflix. Not classy Netflix. First you raise prices, now this? Tsk Tsk

11:30AM - Leave the field (Dive into the Unknown)

Now comes the most challenging part of my day. After ice, shower and getting dressed - I'm done. So now the day is mine - and I'm faced with the eternal question - "What now?"

12PM - Blog (The Thing You're Reading)

I get home around noon everyday after getting some lunch. I use this time to hop on here and blog for about 30 min to an hour. But once I'm done with this - I'm back in the exact same position I was in about an hour ago. I check Facebook, see if @colbyjameswest said anything funny on Twitter and head to the couch.

1PM - Chill (Video Games)

I will kill at LEAST an hour playing video games. If I get comfortable, this could a lot more time. But usually, I get restless after about an hour and have to escape my apartment. 

2:30PM - Adventure (Drive Around Aimlessly)

Because I refuse to leave the apartment without looking presentable (or at least what I think is presentable), it takes me about 30 minutes to shower and get ready. As soon as I lock my door and get in my car, I pretty much regret it. My apartment is air conditioned and nice. The heat in Arizona is enough to make anyone angry at everyone else. 

To combat this, I crank the AC all the way up and drive toward whichever mall I think is most suitable for what I currently want to do (keep in mind, I have no idea what I want to do).

4PM - Find an Activity (Decide to See a Movie)

I've been here since Wednesday and I've already seen 3 movies in theaters - not to mention all the movies on Netflix before I go to sleep. Now, I have a problem and I'm addicted to movies, but really there aren't ANY good movies out right now. I saw "Our Idiot Brother" the other day, and really liked that, but "Conan" was just......really bad. And I haven't gotten up the courage to see "Contagion".

7PM - Dinner (Buffalo Wild Wings)

I'll catch the end of whatever later baseball games are on. And have one eye on Sports Center hoping to see a sick catch or cool hilight. But really, I'm just hoping that I don't see anyone there who knows me and will make fun of me for eating alone. I sit there the whole time playing the scene from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" in my head where Jonah Hill makes fun of Jeremy Segal for eating alone - and all I know is, I would LOVE  a magazine right now.

8PM - Back at Home (Praying Tosh.0 is on)

I am channel flipping like a demon right now. It's not Thursday, so there's no "The Office" to look forward to. And since I don't really watch any other shows, every other night I just pray that there are some good reruns on that will hold my interest for a while. 

10PM - Bedtime (Netflix Again)

I don't know why I can't just fall asleep like a normal human,  but for some reason that isn't a possibility for me. The worst part is that I know every movie that is instant on Netflix by now, and I've already decided I don't have an interest in any of them. This doesn't stop me from scrolling through the lists about 50 times and then settling on something I've either already seen, only KINDA wanna see, or an old episode of "The Office"

12AM - Sleep (Sleep is Just Sleep)

Finally get to sleep ready to start the whole thing over again. Hopefully I'll think of something interesting to do tomorrow so I won't have to subject myself to another bad movie.