My name is Raul Torrento. I am a local, born in DC proper and raised in the area (Aspen Hill, Springfield, DC, Falls Church, Annandale). Music, gymnastic strength training, and Muay Thai are just a few things I enjoy. I also have a slackline and a skateboard. Those get used.
I am a lover of complete and total physical and mental exertion. Finding new ways to achieve that panting glory is what keeps me spry. Music is something I’ve always loved, since my hands first touched the congas at age four. A father of three, I appreciate every little moment I remember to focus on – because they tend to pass by in a blur as a result of trying to keep up with them. I don’t take myself too seriously, instead I focus on the importance of my work – whether that’s practicing a tuck handstand, fine tuning an L-sit, finding a new groove on my bass, nailing a new recipe, or whipping up a classic cocktail for a complete stranger. Oh yeah – I’m a bartender too. More importantly, I am a student. Of everything. Forever.
My Posts
Hawthorne Grill (the end is a beginning)
So this is it - my final MC blog. The end of a chapter, like the end of Episode IV, but so much more left to do. Montgomery College has been (and still is -…
I Shouldn’t Have Left You
I'm very tempted to make an Erik B. & Rakim "I Know You Got Soul" reference, given the amount of time that has passed since my last post, but I'm pretty sure that's been done.…
Falling forward, failing upwards!
Day 18. Bunked out during Strength & Conditioning due to the fast. Not exactly sure where I went wrong - sleep, fat content of the prior day's intake, or not having a sub-50 cal portion…
gitupstandup
Short week - back at it! How was your break? My wife and I spent a few days at a cabin in WV for our 5th Anniversary, and made it back in time for the…
The (Not So) Fast Track
Feeling like me again. No Strep, no fever. Mild state of ketosis - I'm on day three of intermittent fasting. Experimenting a little with kicking my fuel source from carbohydrates to fat, despite the mountain…
“Kombuchampionship Rounds”
First, allow me to apologize for the deliriously-written foray into deep recesses of my mind. This fever has taken the driver's seat periodically. I'm curious to hear how you all are dealing with the flu-like…
A Cavalier (in my mind)
I sit at my table listening to Max Richter's From Sleep spilling out of the kids' room. I've just sweated out a brutal fever. I went to bed with a sore throat last night, woke…
Week Three the Hard Way
31 UNANSWERED POINTS. Okay, I am moving on to the current situation: two of three children screaming at the top of their lungs intermittently, asking to be released from the terrible punishment of bedtime. The…
Another (Week) One Bites the Dust
*Cue the beautiful bass line and Freddie Mercury's beautiful voice* A few homework assignments done and an exam already looming - feels like home again 😉 Surely we all read and used our adult coloring…
Fix the Break!
Here we are! The semester is over for most of us - some of us have a final tomorrow morning (me) after bartending tonight (also me), and feel really good about everything so far (also…
What is happening?
I am currently freaking out. Kind of. I'm not only trying to study, but Christmas is coming (haven't shopped),and my daughter is not sleeping. I'm also trying (failing) to install a new operating system on…
The Wind-Down Gear-Up
Two weeks left in the semester - how truly bittersweet. I'm sure I've mentioned how I decided to go back to school over the summer and began the enrollment process at Montgomery College within 48…
Pensando/Meditando
There are few things like meditation. Sorry to lead sounding so woo-woo right off the bat, but there have been some moments this week that have needed some smoothing over. Meditation has dried those tears…
Hypertrophy Mesocycle and Summer
So I'm working my way through the semester, minding my own business...and boom! Out of nowhere, my Bio professor decides to send me an email that illuminates a pretty interesting path to my current goal…
Mid-Terminology
We're halfway through. That really flew by. I haven't really hung out my kids as much as I'd like, but they've been wanting to read and draw a lot more since dad has been doing…
Learning How to Learn How to Learn
So they say there is more than one way to skin a cat. College is a cat with a lot of skin, and thick skin at that. Over the past week, I've been reexamining my…
Getting Up to Speed
This is the first one, where we begin our magnetic relationship. I've spent the last few days immersed in a few different things: practicing L-Sits on homemade PVC parallettes, studying biology, doing deep squats…