Camp NaNoWriMo...and "Oh, the HORROR!"

Today starts my quest to write book 5 (wow...already on book 5!) in the DEAD series. This one is titled Dead: Siege& Survival and might give Dead: Winter a run for its money in the realm of dark. I will start warning people now...there will be some VERY unpleasant moments ahead for some of the characters as winter tightens its grip on a world overrun by the undead. The complete lack of infrastructure is something not to be taken lightly. I won't give away too much here, but I have been doing my research on things like hypothermia and The Donner Party. Stay tuned...this will be THE ONLY place you will find some raw excerpts.

In other news...I have a special offer. Anybody who comments on today's post and says "PICK ME!" will be thrown into a random drawing to be a guest character in my DEAD world. I will even let you choose the role of hero or villain. You will have no say in how your "namesake" is depicted or how long he or she will live. However, if you want to see your doppelganger appear in the pages of Dead: Siege & Survival...now is your chance. You must respond today (August 1, 2012) because I will be writing the Geek story today and "you" will be included in the  Vignettes section.

I would like to apologize for that horrifying image. I did warn you that it would be part of today's post. Kinda like a car accident that you can't look away from isn't it? Yes, after suffering a serious knee injury that I do not have the insurance to take care of, I sat around and gained almost 55 pounds. That is NOT okay. SO, knee injury or not...I have committed myself to returning to the P90X program. While I will probably not be super strict on the dietary part...I will be changing my eating habits considerably. 

After day one (Chest & Back and Ab Ripper X) I can say that I am in terrible shape. I have ballooned up to 259 pounds and here were my numbers. (For those not familiar, you do 2 rounds of every exercise): 

Standard Push Ups: 18/12  Wide Front Pull-Ups: 4/3  Military Push-Ups: 12/7 Reverse Grip Chin-Ups: 3/2 Wide Fly Push Ups: 16/11 Closed Grip Overhand Pull-ups: 3/2 Decline Push Ups: 12/7 Heavy Pants: 12 reps 17#/10 reps 17# Diamond Push Ups: 5/4 Lawnmowers: 12 reps 17#/12 reps 17# Dive-Bomber Push-ups: 6/5 Back Flys: 10 reps 17#/10reps 17#. Ab Ripper: 10 reps (of 25 for the full program).

I give huge credit to my wife, Denise, for stepping up and joining me. I will not post her numbers because those are her business. I am posting mine because the "shame factor" will hopefully motivate me. From having a 315# flat bench, 225# incline, and to hit 400# squats and deadlifts for reps of 20...to this. It is just not something I am very happy about. I won't bore you with all the workout details...but I will post the occasional update and I hope my friends will chime in with their support from time to time.

Aoife, my Border Collie, is very supportive...plus, I am like her own personal salt lick. The only time it gets a bit tricky is when she wriggles underneath me during push ups and tries to lick my face. So, that brings me to today's Olympic challenge...this one is easy. Do a cartwheel. Now imagine doing it on a balance beam. What a great performance by the women's gymnastics team!

Tomorrow, D.B .Tarpley will helm the ship and I will announce my Day 1 word count. Don't miss it.