My 12 week body transformation

I transformed my body in 12 weeks... Was it worth the trouble?   You can be the judge.

For the past 7 months, it has been my unique pleasure to be a member of the United States Air Forces Singing Sergeants.  Thus far, my audiences include: US Generals, foreign dignitaries, nationally televised sporting events, audiences in California and Arizona while on tour and the President and First Lady at the White House.   If you had told me this would happen a year ago, I'da called you a whackadoo.  

My primary duties for the Air Force band in DC are singing and staying in shape.  So... If that's what they want me to do, why not try to be that absolute best I can be at both?   When I auditioned for the Air Force my singing was at all time high.  Vocally, I was in the best shape of my life.  Then basic training happened.  Holy crap, trainee!!!   8 weeks of crazy and I felt like I had to discover singing all anew. BUT... After basic I was in the best cardiovascular shape of my life.  If someone told me to run 20 miles nonstop, I could have done it.   The key I was missing was balance... The question for me was how was I to stay in the best physical shape(or "mission ready" as the AF likes to say) while still singing at a high level?  The answer I eventually found was regiment.  Design a singing and work out schedule/plan and then stick to it.  

In December, I found a guy on bodybuilding.com named Kris Gethin.  His 12 week transformation program was exactly what I was looking for.  He walks you through step by step! Diet, workouts, and supplements.... And the best part about it was that it was all free.  So in the first week of December, 2012 it began.  I had no idea how demanding it would be... 

This is my 12 week physical transformation.  I kept a blog of all the things that I encountered over the weeks to keep my self motivated.  I've used the writing and photos as fuel to keep progress moving and also as an outlet to vent when times got tough.  It was intense, stressful and frustrating at times but what an incredibly rewarding roller coaster it turned out to be.  

Week 1

I'm unhappy with my overall strength.  I'd never pushed myself to the absolute limits like an athlete would while training.  Working out was serious for me but I didn't take any risks or ever try to push through pain.  Not joint or bone pain, but rather, muscle fatigue.  It was time for me to hit it as hard as I could in the gym while still maintaining safety without a spotter.  I have a workout partner once a week but I couldn't rely on any 1 person to hold me accountable accept Kris Gethin.  Kris never misses a meal(every three hours), never misses a work out, and never cheats and eats nonsense that is not on the diet.  He has a video for every day of the 12 weeks. You learn something new about nutrition, muscle fascia and fibers, exercises, recover, supplements.  What an incredible resource.  There's also a female version by Jamie Eason!  She's amazing and inspiring.  I used a couple of her recipes.

Week 2 

Wow, only 1 week of serious training and I can already see some minor results.  Got a tiny taste of what I can accomplish and now I'm hooked.  Don't see much difference in body fat.  Gonna have to step up on the cardio!

Week 3 

Alright alright alriiiiiiiiiiiiight... Now we're talking on some considerable results.  BUT... These pesky lovdydoves weren't going anywhere.  You wouldn't believe how hard it is to eat 3500 calories of GOOD food a day.  Eat 2 Big Macs and you can knock that out in no time... but chicken breasts, salad, oats, fish, veggies, OH MAN!  Also, gonna have to step up my steady state cardio to two short sessions twice a day.  

Week 4

Banannas!  Holy six pack bat man... I think I see a semblance of one.  The cardio is definitely doing the trick but the muscle growth is happening slower than a fat kid runnin up a hill.  I have to change it up because I realize now that kris' program was not really designed for somebody who started off with less than 15lbs of fat to lose.  I need to do some research on what I'm doing wrong cause I'm not cheating and this isn't working how I'd planned.

Week 5 

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.  - Galadriel  "Lord of the Rings"

  It's the magic of glycogen replenishment.  Kris' diet was designed to shave fat off the body.  Only problem is fatty acids are essential in muscle grown.  I was blasting my muscles in the gym a not giving them any love for all the hard work they did.  My insulin levels were through the floor board after a workout and I thought I was helping my situation by not eating any fruit or sweets afterwards.  Sorry Mr. Gethin,  gotta cheat your program and throw some fruit back in the diet.  Only in the mornings and after workouts, though.  That first banana after 5 weeks of nothing sweet was like a flavor explosion.  Truly the nectar of the Gods! 

Week 6

It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities. -Harry Potter.

Now we're talking...  It's starting to look like I'm taking this seriously.  This week has been frustrating though.  Family and friends give you a hard time.  I had friends I work with literally giving me such a hard time for not eating "a" cookie.  They didn't understand that if I compromise then I run the risk of falling right off the bus and ending up back where I started after six weeks of hard work and dedication.  

Week 7 

Ok boys and girls... Now it's about endurance and focus.  I'm taking it to the next level to try and put on some more muscle mass.  I've been making my protein shakes before I go to sleep and keepin them by my bed.  Set my alarm for 430a.m., pound a shake, then go right back to sleep.  If you're not keeping the food coming in every few hours your metabolism slows down and your body starts eating away at the hard earned muscled you've gained in the gym... Can't have that! 

Week 8 

I've been reading a lot about how body builders get the best results.  Besides the use of anabolic steroids there are a lot of tricks to make you look even better for your final transformation photo.  You can take diuretics, eat certain foods to "carb load" to make your muscles look fuller a couple days before you final shot.  I'm not really interested in all those stupid tricks.  It's just a show... your body can only stay in that depleted state for like 10 hours anyway.  In fact, it's not really healthy for you.  All the pros tan like mad and I think that is stupid.  God made me white and healthy.  That's how I'ma stay.  That's why my Italian friends call me Mozzarella!!

Week 9

Took this picture right after a back workout so I had a nice Cobra back thing going on!  I bought a membership to a really swanky gym in Chinatown at the Verizon center called VIDA fitness.  It's like $90 a month with a military discount.  It's like $145 regular.  This is one thing in my life that I've done to just spoil myself.  The place is very therapeutic for me.  It has relaxing music in the locker rooms, like 12 different kinds of  body washes in the shower, motivated and attractive people pushing hard and doing their thing, amazing sauna and pool.  Having a positive environment that you love going to at the gym is clutch to stay consistent. 

Week 10

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  My body is quite streamlined now.  The though of eating fast food makes me get a weird taste in my mouth.  Now that I've been giving my body nutritious goodness every 3 hours or so, it totally expects it. The hardest thing about this transformation is meal preparation.  You MUST plan ahead. Sometimes I have to plan up to three days in advance in order to ensure that I'm keeping my schedule on track.  3 day weekends away from home are a common thing for me.  That means 18 meals in tupperware or little plastic baggies.  I got a totally nerdy lunch box I bring around with me.  If you go out to eat with friends at restaurants there is usually always some kind of chicken salad.  Just say "No cheese no dressing, please." :)

Week 11

Now that I'm reaching the end of this transformation it makes me think about an important life lesson.  When you begin a journey like this one, one might think once I make it to the end of this successfully, I'll have made it!  The reality is, even though you pushed yourself as far as you can go you end up with an entirely new set of goals.  Inevitably, your standards for yourself are completely different.  We're never a finished product.  There are always improvements to be made.  Thus, the consummation devoutly to wished is enjoying the journey, don't sit around waiting for the final result. 

Week 12

The final week... aahhhhh (sigh).  I feel somewhat relieved and also quite sad.  I've had Kris Gethin to motivate me with a new video every day for the past 80 and now I'm on the final straight away.  My body is quite fatiqued because of the nature of the workout towards the end of the program. DTP, dramatic transformation principle. You'll do 10 sets of the same exercise in a row completely fatiguing the music by doing this rep sequence 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 increasing the weight as you drop the reps.  Then repeat the process in the opposite direction.  One day, the morning after a chest workout, my joints we so sore that I could hardly lift my left arm above parallel to the floor.  After this is over I'll definitely take it pretty easy on the weights for a week or two to let my body recover. 

Drop a post and tell me what you have planned for your fitness goals.  Did this motivate you at all to make some life changes?  Remember there is no such thing as a successful diet only lifestyle changes. With diets you'll drop weight and put it right back on twice as quick as you lost it.  These no carb, grape fruit, weight watcher diets are a big waste of time in my book.  It boils down to... do you have the discipline to eat 6 small meals a day and have a consistent workout plan that you stick to, no matter what???  That's it!  That is the key to transforming the body that God gave you... no matter what genetics you were given or the work schedule/family life you have to keep up with.  You can do it!  I believe in you!  Let me know if you need encouragement or accountability!  

Bless you,

Daniel

The finals days in NYC...

Mj Stop existing and start livin..

Believe it or not, I’ve been going to the gym pretty regularly because my brother just had his bachelor party in Los Cabos, Mexico.  Now I couldn’t do much about being the whitest mamajamma on the sand BUT… I could be held responsible for the sacs of love hanging above my gluteus trying not to be the MAXimus. I’ll save the details of that trip for another day….  However, if you want to laugh, go the Planet Fitness on Dyckman st. in Inwood, NYC.  I’ve never seen so many shamockeries all amassed in one habitation. 

I’d like to introduce you to Signora Maria Dolores Martinez Ruiz.  She resides in the vicinity of the free- weights, mostly, and will be flossing to the max.  You might be so lucky as see her wearing her stilettos, pants made of 5% polyester and 95% spandex(to make sure you don’t miss any of the details), and a very nice sequined front-half of a shirt…   Signora Rojas is a fierce two handed texter, and can  somehow spear a Dorito chip from the bag with her stiletto, while maintaining 75 wpm on her dissertation to her friend Angelina concerning:  her hombre cheating on her with some “white trick.”  However, she doesn’t always remain stationary;  on the seldom occasion, she will make a trip to the drinking fountain in a zigzag fashion, while crop dusting pheromones that manage to distract just about every dude in the gym.

But Maria is not all that you will see at Planet Fitness.  Between 6 and 9p.m., 7 days a week there resides a man known as Raphael, usually wrapped deep in an extravagant soliloquy of his own awesomeness, as he gazes aghast upon the snake tattoo athwart his arm and chest.  Raphael wears a trash bag shirt (to sweat out water weight –of course) that wraps snug around his Pabst Blue Ribbon inspired stomach.  He wears gloves to prevent his feminine hands from acquiring any calices, and always applies lotion while talking to the ladies at the front desk.  I must warn you… beware of this man, for it appeeeeaars that his charisma is overwhelming to women, but may be possessed! Sounds of Beelzebub bounce of the walls as he throws the dumbbells across the gym after completing his elevety- billionth rep of bench press. Also, Raphael has been known to be a bit of a nose picker…  You’ve never seen desire like this until you’ve witnessed this deep romance, during a staring contest with himself in the mirror, as he caresses the deep hindquarters of his inner nostril.  Oh, and if you don’t speak Spanish your conversation will stop right after… “How are you?  Very good.” 

Last Sunday, I was waiting on a cross-town bus on my way home from church and I noticed a girl hurting on the street corner.  She wasn’t asking for attention, but I could tell that something was seriously wrong.  Tears were on the verge of streaming down her face and I could see the emotion beginning to overwhelm her.  I thought seriously about walking up to her, giving her and hug, and telling her it was going to be ok…  Knowing New Yorkers she probably would have wounded me with her hand bad, sprayed me with mace, and kicked me in the shin while I was down.  Truth is... this place only works for the strong willed.  If you hate the word “no”, dislike big crowds, and are uncomfortable with uncertainty… GET THE HECK OUTTA NYC.  However, this place sure has a way of breaking you down and then making you stronger.  Make no mistake… If you mess up and leave 10 minutes late, you can expect to drop $15-20 for a cab ride.  Don’t think that your boss won’t fire your butt after one mistake. You will be harassed by bums, hit on by weirdo’s, and see things that no spectator should ever witness on the subway.  But if you got a fire in you that makes you want to be the greatest person that you can be, regardless of the challenges you may face… then come to NYC. 

Several weeks ago I made a wonderful decision to spend 10 days in remote KS with my oldest brother.  I had missed Christmas, Thanksgiving, and every other form of family oriented event since I moved to NYC in September.  It was…. Divine!  Kayla, my sister in law, cooked me amazing food, a friend named Mona cooked me authentic West African food, and my only real responsibility was to give a couple of my favorite kid’s voice lessons. 

We went out on the farm to shoot guns of all sizes.  High powered rifles, tiny buddies, 9mm’s, and one extraordinary high powered pistol named “the Judge.”  It shoots pellets like a shot gun and it was SCARY to think of the damage this could do to a person.  My new friend, Tim Garrett, fired the first round on the Judge.  A pellet rickaishayed and hit him in the leg.  Tim said, “Oh man, I should probably back up with I shoot this one.”  I was like… Oh man?!?!  Damn, you didn’t tell me it was like THAT!  I woulda been hidin’ my butt behind the truck if you woulda told me how that gun gets down.

I guess there’s not much for a fella to do in remote Kansas other than eat, shoot stuff, and blow things up.  Conveniently, this guy Chris had a cannon that he built himself.  HAhahahaha!  A freaking CANNON!!! So we got the bright idea to put a bowling ball in it and see what happens…

This thing flew over 400 yards.   Fortunately for us, there was a “sweet little old lady on a motorized cart” that would drive us to find the ball.  BANANAS…

Last but not least…

I took a job with the Air Force Singing Sergeants.  This is a four year commitment to serve my country singing for events with the President, highly honored Generals, and events that you can’t even pay to get into.  This group has performed for every President in the past 60 years and travels the country as the “face of the Air Force.”  I couldn’t be more proud to be an American.  I’ll take pride in being an ambassador for my country in the best way that I know how; not by shooting somebody, flying a stealth bomber, or being a navy seal… but by using my voice.  So, now it’s time to enjoy my last few days as an adolescent.  I’m going home to Missouri next week.  I’ll unashamedly let my Mom cook me meals, stay up watching movies ‘till 4 in the morning, finish every episode of office there ever was, and cause nothing but trouble with my best friend Craig.  This means I won’t be a wondering vagabond anymore.  I’ll have full benefits, a nice salary, and a place to call my own for the first time in my life… and it feels good.  Maybe I’ll have time to even get to know a girl... since I’ll be in the same place for more than 6 weeks.

-         

      -   Chase the dream… not the competition.

Post something below about your favorite person you see at the gym…

No Pants Subway Ride...

When you're gone you're gone... enjoy yourself while your alive.

(The sound wouldn't work when I tried to upload the videos, so I have to use youtube links instead)

This guy is just chillin' in the park with drums and all kinds of cool percussion instruments, smilin' at people.  As soon as it gets warmer Ima wear a shirt that says I love Lamp and a fanny pack, run out of the trees in Central Park and smile at people, hand em a bag of fruit snacks then scanter off back into the woods.  On my back it'll say, we all cant be astronauts.

My Dad and his wife came in town last week. I've been in New York City for 6 months and have hardly seen any of the "must sees" in NYC.  We saw an opera at the Met, empire state building,  an exhibit at the met museum "From Donatello to Bellini" which was DaHOOOOOOPE, china town, Little Italy, took em to my favorite yogurt spot, and it warmed up enough to go for a walk in central park.

Crazy bird lady...  She would toss up food and birds catch it in mid air.

 It's crazy how much I'm turning out like my Dad.

My Dad is an elder in a church in California called the "local church" or the Living Stream Ministry.  He's about the most conservative man I know... like fallin' asleep with his headphones on so he can watch fox news without waking up his wife status....  So my Dad, his wife Robin, and I get off the train and walk up on a group of about fifteen hundred people down by city hall.  At first, I thought it was a protest or some kinda union rally nonsense.

.

1,500 people had assembled to play a prank on the city.  They divided everyone into 12 groups by the month of their birthday.  This decided what subway they were supposed to ride.  Each of those groups divided into 10(by their last number of their cell phone) to decide in which car of the train they would ride.  It was a no pants subway ride!!!!  They just stand on the train in nothin' but their chonies!  GHAAAAAhhhh... brilliant!  With whom do I walk up on this glorious social experiment other than my DAD?!?!  Dad said, "Son I don't understand, why would this many people want to support this cause? Hahahahah... He just doesn't get it. I said, The beauty is... you don't have to understand, people just do their thing here.  If I would have walked up on this on ANY other day I woulda found a pink speedo in 2.5 minutes flat and rode the train to nowhere for the next halfa day sippin on some starbucks readin' a good book.

My cousin Michael came in town from Boston.  He's doing his doctorate at Harvard in Physics!!! What?!?  How am I even related to this yehoo?  That is bananas!  That fool got the good genes for realzies.  He's a little shy, very soft spoken, but absolutely brilliant.  He'll drop these one liners and I'm like... WHAT? BABBAHAGAGA...  He brought his girlfriend in town to hang for the weekend.  She's super cool and plays the Cello... NEAT!  She's sitting next to him in this video.  What a cool match...

I've been looking for a great place to get my hair cut and I found it.  These ladies massage my head for like 10 minutes while washing my hair.  A Russian Dude named Alex, that sounds straight off the boat, cuts my hair.
Opening conversation goes as follows...

Dan:  Russia huh?  Why'd you move to New York?
Alex:  I got in too many fights in my country.
Dan:  Oh dude...
Alex:  The Mafia is bad there my friend.
Dan:  Oh dude...
Alex:  I was attacked by 5 guys, I got a hold of two of them, but I couldn't fight them all by myself.  I had so much adrenaline when I ran away I didn,t realize they stabbed me in the leg.  I got home and my Mother saw blood all over my pants.  She lifted them up and I was missing a big triangle of flesh... my Mother passed out on the spot.
Dan:  Oh DEEEUUUuuuuhhhde!

This guy was crackin' me up the entire time!  He told me he was real sad when his hair started thinning.  I was like yeah, I'll probably lose mine one day too brotha! It's all good.  He said, oh I havent lost it... it's just migrated.  BOOM!!!  This fool kept em comin' the entire time I was there.  At the end he brought me behind the counter and said... "You are good man, and friend, we do shot together. WHAT,  are you serious? He said, "Yes, we start tradition."  I said you're the boss.  This how we do in "Mother Russia."  He said some crazy toast in Russian, we downed some Hennessy, and I was on my way.

I went to the World Trade Center Memorial with my parents. It was powerful.  A young architects design was chosen.  There are two giant wholes in the ground where the towers stood, with waterfalls that go down so deep you can't even see the bottom.

Thousands of people lost their lives, in the most infamous attack in the history of our country, in the exact spot where I was standing. Brothers, children, Mom's, nephew's, best friends were taken.  In that moment, I had to words.  I stood in breathless awe of the power and affect of this momentous tragedy.  This happened just months before my 16th birthday.  Comprehending the magnitude and consequence of 9/11 was far beyond my maturity then. I'm just beginnging to truly understand how deeply this wounded our country.  In 15 years, if I have a family, it will no doubt mean something far different to me then.

Then I saw this...

Today I sang in a concert in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.  A choir led the audience in singing "We Shall Overcome."

Let justice role down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. MLK Jr.  Amos 5:24

A sad day in Harlem...

Ladies n' Gentlemen, I give you William Hearn...

It was my unique pleasure to live with this southern gentleman for 1
full month in NYC.  We had some great laughs, talked about singing for
hours, BOTH got sick, and lived in a real sketch part of Manhattan...
Harlem.  For two months I live I lived in Inwood.  This is an area in
the northern Manhattan about 40 blocks above the upper west side.
That neighborhood was like a walk in the park compared to Harlem...
literally.

Will and I shared a master bedroom at 142nd and Lenox.  It was always
an adventure arriving back to the apt. because I was excited about what I might
see.

One day I came home to see this...

Somehow the ironing board was standing on its side.  At that point, my
brain cycled through the possibilities of what could have possessed
Will to do this.  I came up with no good reason.  Later I asked him about it... He replied, "It seemed like the best option at the time.

Another occasion I walk in to see...

I was like, "Will... what the heck are you doing?"  He said, "I don't
wanna get my pants wrinkled before my audition."  He was pulling a
Seinfeld, where you put your pants on last. I thought it was an
interesting idea when I saw the conductor do it on the show... but
didn't think that people actually did it that way.

Will and I went to the oldest bar in NYC... McSorely's

This bar only has two types of beer... light and dark.  Each of which they brew right there in the bar!
There were these dusty old wish bones hanging on strings above the
bar.  It was a bit disgusting, so I asked Will what the heck they were
about.  He told me that soldiers would eat their final meal before
going to war and hang their wishbone on a string hanging from the ceiling. If they
survived the war, they'd come back and retrieve it.  So the wishbones
were from the civil war and they still remain.  WOW!


Thanksgiving day parade!  Will was the only person I knew that was
willing to face the crowds and actually go to the Macey's Thanksgiving Parade. 

We saw snoopy, Kermit, Deil Diamond, a famous men's a cappella group(I had no idea who
they were), and of course Santa!  We got as close to the performances in front of Macey's
that we could without having a pass.

If offensive language doesn't sit well with you... you shouldn't read
this last part.  A large majority of living in New York is not fun to talk about for me.  The reason for starting this blog was talk about life as a performer in NYC.  Many moments like the one I'm about to tell you about... are really sad.  However, this blog will not just describe about how WONDERFUL life is in the big city.  But rather, the reality of living in NYC as an artist... in all of its glory and sacrifice. The following is a true story that happened to me on Dec. 9th.

On my commute to the upper west side to sing for Houston Grand and
Sarasota Opera, I ran into some trouble on the Subway.  The subway car
was filled with people.  There was African American man that was talking to himself
sitting next to me.  Usually, I think nothing of it.  He began to
heckle a girl sitting across from me saying, "What you lookin' at
bitch?" She immediately looked down trying to avoid confrontation. But then
he stood up and got in her face. She quickly moved to the other side
of the subway car.  I pretended to not pay attention because attention
is usually what they want.  This guy was way more confrontational than I was used to with other transients.  Usually, if you don't bother them they won't bother you...

Even though I tried my best not to let him know I was giving even a second of my attention to him... he knew he was aggravating me.  So he leaned down right in my face and Said, "You ugly white boy... What the fuck you doin' in our neighborhood.  If I had my strength I would just kill you.  Das right, you white nigga!!  Or maybe, I should just get my gun and shoot your fuckin' ass."  At this point my heart was racing. I sat absolutely motionless hoping he thought that everything he said had zero of my concern.  I thought, "Oh God... am I about to have a death match with a bum?"

My heart ached inside.  I could see the pain in this guys heart.  I'd never met anybody so filled with rage and hate.  Simultaneously, I sat with adrenaline pumping through my body but at the same time my heart ached for this guy.  How wronged and forgotten by society does one have to be to be filled with such absolute hate for another person?  A person that he doesn't even know.  I wanted so badly to stand up and pray with him,  ask God to lift the pain from his heart that he expresses in hate towards others.  I wanted to hug him in front of a train full of emotionally cold New Yorkers and show them that you can live with compassion for all people... but I was afraid.  Afraid of what?  I don't know being stabbed, beat up, shot?  Instead, I sat with a stone cold look on my face saying... I don't care about you.  Not anything you say or anything you do.  In my own way I fought hatred with hatred that day.  I got off the train 30 minutes before my audition for Houston Grand Opera and wept.  I called my brother, then my Mom.  No answer.... it was at that moment I realized how alone I am in this city.  I'm surrounded by hundreds of people that I knew from a different life... childhood, college, people from my hometown.  In that moment, I knew that I couldn't rely on any of them.  That was the most alone I had ever felt. 

Often, I find myself wondering if this stretch spent in NYC will be something I'll look back on and say... Wow, I'm sure glad I did that.  Or will it be, that was the biggest mistake of my life.

Time will tell...


The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
-Psalm 23

Like Whoa...

So I got my haircut the other day in my neighborhood(Inwood).  Nobody speaks English!  So you've got this goofy white dude trying to explain a haircut with a poster of 20 Hispanic haircuts including rat tails, mullets, and lighting bolts.  Try and make that work!  At one point I had five Dominican ladies all gathered around me trying to translate.  They tried to take the clippers to my forehead and "line me up"  I was like... No, no, no Signora, por favor.  It was either this or go downtown to some swanky place that will hook me up just right but I'll end up dropping $60.  There has got to be places that are somewhere in between but I just don't have the time to go wondering around trying to find them.

This town has begun to take its tole on me! I went out for a drink with my friend DeAndre and he was like Dang homey... eat a steak or something.  You lookin' skinny."  I took a look at myself and was dangit... I am.  Stepped on the scale and sure enough I had lost 10lbs of muscle mass.  My friend Melissa used to make fun of me around finals every semester because I would get so caught up in school that I would not have enough time to work out and lose a bunch of weight. The thing was... I could always go home for break and do nothing but sing, workout, and EAT!  My Mom would cook me enough food for a week and I would end of eating it in two days. Then do it all over again.

NYC for me is like finals week all the time.  I spend so much time on the subway getting around it ends of taking two hours out of my day.  But the 'skinny thing' is just not going to work for me! So I've been eating protein bars while walking around the city, eating eggs every day for breakfast, and protein shakes after workouts trying to get back on track.

I've now been here two months as of today.  Now I'm sprinting around the city with my "NYC game face" on.  It was so strange to me how people had this look on their face that says "Don't talk to me"  Now it makes sense.  At every corner there is a bum trying to guilt you for change, some crazy lady trying to hand you a flyer to rent you a bicycle, and if you're not careful you'll step in a puddle of heeby jeeby water or get hit by a bus.

As challenging as this place has been it still gives me the fire!  I have improved as an artist more in these past two months than my entire two years at a conservatory.  After my audition for Glimmerglass Opera they said... "We'd like to hire you."  I said, "Huh....?" Hahaha... I guess all this work with my teacher and coach these past few months is actually paying off.  Glimmerglass Opera is a solid company for young artists.  It's not the Metropolitan but they bring in many singers that perform in the best houses in the world.  Many agents and producers come there every year to listen for young talent.  It could be a great thing for my career.  Next week they finish their auditions so there is nothing written in stone but they'll call me next week to talk details.

For the past couple weeks I've had this poem I read cycling through my brain by Rudyard Kipling...

If you can keep your head when all about you
are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
Can you trust yourself when all men doubt you,
but make allowance for their doubting too.

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
yet don't look to good, no talk to wise.

Can you dream?  Yet not let dreams be your master?
Think, yet not make thoughts your aim?
If you can meet with triumph and disaster,
and treat those two impostors just the same.

If you can talk with crowds and still keep you virtue,
Or walk with Kings and not lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much...

If you can fill the unforgiving minute,
with sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours if the earth and everything that's in it,
And what's more... You'll be a man, my son.

I felt like this British poet was speaking straight to me and it hit hard.  Isn't it crazy that he calls triumph an impostor?  Then I realized, that is exactly what it is.  Success can bring pride, confidence, and make you feel comfortable.  But every day I ask God to keep me humble, hungry, and make me wiser. No matter the cost.

Well that's enough serious talk for now.

Honey Badger- over and out.

"Always and never are two words you should a always remember never to use."

You've had this pair of gloves this whole time...?

Wanna weird out a New Yorker?  Walk by one on the street and give em a big Mid-Western smile and "Hi, how ya doin?"  They look at you like you just slapped them over the head with a big bag of weird and stare at you for a few seconds like you just ate a booger.  I love this town!!!

So I was on the subway heading downtown one day and all of the sudden 6 kids jump on the train like they're gonna steal everybody's money... but instead they start doing break dancing to an 80's boombox.  This 8 year old kid was doing the dopest break dancer moves ever!  Only in New York can you see a Mariachi band and a break dance troop all for the cost of 1 subway ride($2.50). I was rushing to meet a friend for a drink and I had to show up a half hour late because I had to see this black dude do a flip or 10 kids standing side by side.... on concrete  WHOA!

Starting to get cold in the city!  Whoo hoo.. not even Halloween yet and I'm already excited about Christmas!!  Speaking of which... I need to get organized and come up with some sweetness for my costume.

So... I have this amazing future sister-in-law that has this incredibly talented amazing family that I got to spend the weekend with cause they live near NYC.  Her sister lives in Manhattan and is a VP for the fashion designer J. Mendel.  I walked by Lincoln center and saw that it was Mercedes fashion week.  Then I was like HOLD UP WAAAAIIIIIIT snoop dogg style and said I wonder if I can get in because of my future sister-in-laws sister.   Dude.... she took me to an exclusive party at the Gramercy Hotel with nothing but beautiful models, open bar, and gay men!  BAH AH AHAAAA.  It was incredible!  I got a picture with Monsieur. J. Mendel  himself.

On a nerdy note-  I saw opening night at the MET with Anna Netrebko and Steven Costello in the production of Anna Bolena.  The singing was hit or miss.  There were some really world class moments though.  The production was great.  The ending was super epic.. but I'm not gonna ruin it for anybody who might still wanna see it.

Tomorrow, I'll be competing in a voice competition called Opera Index.  This one's cool because you have to be recommended by opera professionals and they pick based on your resume AND they give lots of money.  I'll be competing against singers that are much older and have a lot more time in the business than I do, but I'm thrilled to compete at this next level.  It's the reason why I moved to NYC instead of taking a job in Arizona for a year.  

Tomorrow night, my friend is taking me to my first show on Broadway.  She won't tell me what it is but I'm super excited.

Next time you're in an elevator, walk in and stand the opposite way as everyone else with your nose touching the back wall.... dare you.  

Excuse me Flo....

My first days in NYC

So... I picked the 10th anniversary of September 11th to be my first day living in NYC.  Great idea Dan!  In the past, flying has NEVER made me nervous.  Honestly though, I was trippin'.  BELIEVE that I was looking around for any yahoo's trying to cause trouble on my flight from Chicago into the city.  It would have been a jump over the seat with a Missouri Monkey punch like POW!  Despite my hope that a terrorist would even TRY and act out on my plane... nothing exciting happened.

My first day in Manhattan was BANANAS!  I explored all over Manhattan to see what kind of trouble I could get into.  Wall St. has always been on my bucket list so there I went to see what all the commotion was about.  The streets were flooded with people speaking dozens of different languages.  Most people were either a part of a tour group or stock brokers chain smoking cigs looking stressed out...

Next was time square... between all the lights, the dressed up crazies, smell of pizza and grease, I knew I could call this place home.  Then for something completely different... I went to Columbus circle and went into some really nice shops, ate a peach overlooking the park, eavesdropped on some people with crazy NY/long island accents, then moseyed along my merry way.

I went to a memorial service for those who had passed on 9/11/01 at the trinity Episcopal church downtown.  The choir was excellent and the orchestra was decent.  The horns were playing on period instruments with no valves so everything was out of tune.  That's hard to do, understandably so, but I just can't enjoy "fracking" all over the place.

Ok, so I met a girl.  Actually, I wasn't even into the city yet.  We met in Chicago before boarding.  She had the long beautiful hair, fashion forward, the whole bit.  She looked like a "Southern Bell" and I was right, she's from FL. There were these psycho babies screaming and running all over the place.  She was obviously looking at the munchkins thinking... Oh... my... God.  So I smiled and said, I wish I had 3 just like em.  And that was the beginning.  She told me to save her a seat cause we were on a Southwest flight.  The flight flew by so quickly.  We talked the whole time.  Our first date is Wednesday... I'll let you know how it goes.


Girls are like phones.  They love to be held, talked too but if you press the wrong button you'll be disconnected....


Peace OUT foolz!  Uhhhgg... did I hear a 9er in there?