So I changed something tonight....

I took out my septum ring, gave it to Sara. I've thought about taking it out for a while now, just seemed like a good time to do it. I was going to give it to her for xmas, but I realized that a small jewelry box that's wrapped would tend to freak a significant other out a bit or give the wrong impression until opened.

Part of the reason why I got it in the first place was that I was insecure, and was extremely self conscious, so doing something that made people take notice and tend to stare was empowering. Granted, I was also an asshole who enjoyed making people uncomfortable. I have grown a great deal in the past year though, and I don't think that's as much of who I am anymore.

My face feels naked.

46 Learn 5 new recipes to cook (1/5)

I made soup tonight, something my mom used to make all the time when I was growing up. I was just in the mood for it, and turns out I can make it without burning the house down :) One down, four to go.

42 Visit Brooke and Merlin at their home at least three times (1/3)

I feel bad crossing this one off, as we didn't get to spend much time with them. I'm crossing one time off of the list, but also adding a time. So it counts but it doesn't count at the same time.

41 Go to 5 events (1/5)

Went to see Dave Matthews Band in KC on 9/30 with Sara. It. Was. Epic. Great show, next time I am definitely saving enough for floor seats rather than the second level we were on this time. Here's the setlist from the show:

Pantala Naga Pampa >
Rapunzel
Proudest Monkey
Funny the Way It Is
Lying in the Hands of God
Shake Me Like a Monkey
Gravedigger (w/ Willie Nelson)
The Dreaming Tree
Spaceman
Lie in Our Graves
Why I Am
You Might Die Trying
You & Me
Crash Into Me
Crush
Alligator Pie
Tripping Billies

Encore
Baby Blue (Dave Solo)
So Much to Say >
Anyone Seen the Bridge > Too Much [fake] >
Halloween

29 Learn regular expressions

I got to use this list item at work actually, it helps me run a report faster... and I was thinking of the xkcd comic the entire time:

51 Learn to use chopsticks

I apparently already knew how to use chopsticks and forgot I knew, or I picked them up REALLY quickly... Sorry, this is the most uninteresting blog post for a list item, but I had to say I'd write about them all.

39 Be in a relationship lasting longer than a month

This has been my favorite list item to cross off by far. I'll do my best to avoid getting too sappy, don't want anybody to gag reading this...

Simply put, this has been one of the best months I've had in a long, long time. I'm with somebody who is an intellectual equal, a fellow tech junkie, and quite honestly the most interesting woman I've ever been involved with. We can literally talk all day long through whatever medium is readily available, be it Twitter, text, Facebook, e-mail, phone calls, or in person.

Ok, so I can't really say anything without getting sappy, so instead I'll just say Thank You Sara ;)

In a side note, I also view this as a major accomplishment for my year. If I hadn't quit smoking, I wouldn't have taken any preliminary steps to improve my life. I wouldn't have started my diet, wouldn't have made my list, wouldn't have the self confidence to ask her out. And now that I have somebody, I want to improve even more.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This is my year. It's more than a mantra at this point, it is literally a way of life, no pun intended.

49 Try 50 new different beers (13/50)

I have now tried Coronas as of last night. They have done nothing to change my dislike for Mexican beer. I've decided that's the last one I'm trying.

2 Lose 50 lbs on my diet

Sara and I went to Salina today to celebrate my losing 50 lbs and a preemptive one month anniversary dinner. I know, I know, I'm a little old to celebrate one month going out, but it's been a while since I had any type of an anniversary... it feels good. In celebration, we went to Red Lobster to eat, something anybody who's seen anything on my facebook the past week is no doubt aware of.

After Red Lobster we went to visit her grandparents for a few minutes. They gave us some tomatoes grown in their garden. I wish we had some more time to stay and visit, but we had to get to the movie theater. We went to see the new Tarantino flick, Inglorious Basterds. The movie was great, one of his best.

To focus more on the weight loss though, it's been a lot easier than I ever dreamt it would be. I don't get cravings for what I used to eat, I don't care much for sweets anymore. This has become more than a diet but a lifestyle change, which is exactly what it needed to be. I will never be that fat again. Here's hoping crossing items 3 and 4 off of my list will be as easy as it was crossing off 1 and 2... it's just a matter of time is all. I didn't get that big overnight, I won't get to my goal overnight.

Update on my life

Ok, granted, nobody reads this damn blog, but that doesn't matter :)

I met somebody a little over a month ago, and have been in a great mood since. I've gone from spending most of my time at home or online to having a full social calendar. Since school is starting soon we won't have as much time together as we have during the summer, what with work, school, studying, etc, but as I've been told, I got spoiled meeting her in summer ;) We're going to DMB in September, staying at my sister and brother-in-law's house.

In other news, I finally got the lead position at work, so yay promotion. I'm getting close to hitting my halfway point on my diet. When I hit that mark, Sara and I are going to eat at Red Lobster. Should be this coming Friday, we're going to see Inglorious Basterds the same day.

That's about it for now, not much else new for me :)

49 Try 50 new different beers (12/50)

Had a team building last night for work, tried a total of three new brews.

Mothership Wit - Not a bad brew, it's an organic wheat beer.

Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout - this one had a bit of a bite to it. Nate said the beer was stale so that could have had something to do with it. I may have to try it again in the future, not bad for a stout.

Sam Adams - Not bad, didn't have a full one, just tried it. Can't complain, will have to have a full one again sometime

12 Make a list of movies people tell me I HAVE to see and watch them within a month

I failed.

On July 4th, Az told me I HAD to see Ghostbusters II. Since I met somebody I forgot all about that list item except for the movie she told me I had to watch. So I have one item on my list that I have failed at now. This is the first $5 that Childs Play gets from me.

33 Set aside one day every six months where anybody can ask me anything all day long and I will answer truthfully.

The first day will be August 21st, then my birthday after that. This is the public notification of it. Get your questions ready.

49 Try 50 new different beers (9/50)

Sara and I went to a friend's birthday party on Saturday, and she got to choose the type of beer we took. Boulevard Wheat was the new beer of the night. It wasn't bad, probably one I'd drink again.

I'm also noticing the problem with waiting almost a week before writing about the beer I drink, it doesn't work out well for critiquing it... I'll listen to you next time hon, and post sooner ;)

Update, DMB Concert, etc...

So just a quick update on something other than my 101/1001 list. Life is good, I'm much happier now than I was a year ago at this time, or even a month ago at this time. 2009 has been good to me. Quit smoking, down 44.4 lbs so far, tons more self confidence, beautiful girlfriend, new promotion at work... I'd say I'm doing pretty damn good :D I also took out my eyebrow piercings, hadn't really cared for them for a while now and finally had a reason to take them out other than apathy towards them.

Yesterday I got tickets ordered for the Dave Matthews Band concert that Sara and I are going to on 9/30. We'll be staying with Brooke and Merlin in KC, so that'll be one of two times to visit them I get to cross off my list. Also one of five concerts to cross off.

I'm really looking forward to the concert, only been listening to DMB for about three weeks now but I will admit I'm hooked. Sara says I have no idea how great they are in concert, and I can't wait to experience it.

67 Try out Chrome as a browser

I've been using Chrome off and on at home for the past few weeks, and I gotta say, I'm not sold... I think I'll be sticking with Opera and Firefox for the few sites that won't render in Opera properly due to bad coding. Just something with the feel of it I don't care for yet, also its slightly unresponsive on my system, not as quick as Opera and FF are.

61 Install Ubuntu server on the MediaBox

I finished this goal yesterday, and it was a pain in the ass. First tried to get it installed off of a flash drive, but it kept asking for the cd-rom drive, which wasn't installed in the case. After giving up and throwing a dvd-rw into the system, I install again, and it puts the boot loader on the secondary master instead of primary master, and won't accept that as the boot drive.

So after disconnecting all other drives except the primary one, I finally get it installed, and start to get all the software installed that I need on it for mediabox use.

Long story short, next time I decide to install a linux server, remind me how much of a pain it is, I was working on it for the better part of 12 hours yesterday.

12 Make a list of movies people tell me I HAVE to see and watch them within a month

So yeah, my friend Crystal told me I HAD to see Pinata Survival Island, a B Horror movie with Nicholas Brendon. This movie has 2.1 stars on IMDb, if that tells you anything. It was bad. Horribly horribly bad.

Do not, whatever you do, do not watch this movie. It's about a demon pinata that comes back to life and starts killing college kids on an island on Cinco de Mayo. It's a bad CGI creation, and will shapeshift from the pinata look to a big Megatog-esque demon but will revert back to its wimpy pinata form to kill... why not just stay badass looking the entire time?

If you decide to see it, do not blame me for it, I've given you all fair warning.

49 Try 50 new different beers (8/50)

Shock Top: the Sam's Club Cola version of Blue Moon.

It's not bad, it's just not Blue Moon.

My date last night

This should be the start of my blogging about things other than just my list. Last night I went out to eat after work with somebody I met online.

We went out to eat at IHOP (romantic first date location, lemmie tell you) because it was the only restaurant open when I got off work. I met her up there rather than pick her up because it was a public place, and it hadn't been determined if I was a scary stalker type yet ;). After eating we were talking by her car and watching the lightning storm, then sat in her car listening to most of the songs off DMB's new album to get me some exposure to it. We probably sat outside of IHOP for 45 minutes to an hour just talking and listening to the album.

I know we both broke the "don't call for at least a day" rule and I'm ok with that :). We were talking online after we each got home, and have been talking today too. She was leery about posting a blog about it fearing I'd read what she thought about last night so I told her I'd write one first. If she reads mine, I get to read hers.

So Sara, if you're reading this, let me know ;)

12 Make a list of movies people tell me I HAVE to see and watch them within a month

This is one that I've had a hard time with. Az told me I had to see The Dark Knight, which is apparently the best comic book movie of all time. The problem though, is that I am coulrophobic.

It was a struggle to make it through the scenes with the Joker and his henchmen, but I managed. And I will never see it again, I just can't sit through that a second time.

49 Try 50 new different beers (7/50)

One new beer, the Chili Beer is definitely interesting... and not one I think I'll get again. It has an interesting slow burn to it, it hits in the back of the mouth. There isn't much to it though, it's fairly light and just a little hot, not that great. I think I'm officially not caring for Mexican beers from now on. This beer may go good as flavoring for a chili or with ice cream to contrast the burn, but now for a regular drinking beer.

49 Try 50 new different beers (6/50)

So, I've tried two more beers over the past few days...

Flying Dog's In-Heat Wheat is a good beer, definitely one of the better ones I've had so far. I think I'm going to check out the rest that Flying Dog makes, I'm intrigued.

Fosters is the other kind I tried, and I'm not sure if I care for it or not.

Sorry for the little blurbs, it's been a few days since trying them.

Red Robin

So I cheated on my diet today, but oh was it worth it... Crystal and I left at 9 am to pick up Patrick from the airport in KC since he flew back from Bolivia today. On the drive back, we stopped in Topeka to eat at Red Robin. The Banzai burger and the Burger Parmigiana were the ones I had... and no, I didn't eat both. Crystal couldn't decide between the two and I couldn't either, so we each ordered one and had them cut the burgers in half, I got half a banzai and half a parmigiana. The banzai was good, as always, nothing better than a burger with pineapple and teriyaki sauce. The parmigiana though was very different... a mozz stick cut in half and marinara on it, mmm tasty. It also came with garlic parmesan fries. Extremely good

Wash that down with a 20 oz draw of Blue Moon, and I ate like a fat kid. I feel bloated, I couldn't finish my fries, but I think that makes it all the more satisfying, because I used to be able to eat all that plus another basket of fries.

49 Try 50 new different beers (4/50)

Tried two more beers to add to my list last night.

Modelo: Mexican beer, not bad, not anything I think I'd get again though. It's a bit on the light side, not much substance to it.

Blue Moon summer brew Honey Moon: This one had more to it, but I'm still undecided if I like it or am just apathetic towards it. The honey taste to it sets it apart quite a bit from the normal Blue Moon that I really liked. This is... different. Might not be bad as just a summer time brew, don't think it'd be something I'd drink regularly though. If anything it would be a pickup for a barbecue.

49 Try 50 new different beers (2/50)

I've started my 50 beers challenge and have tried two so far: Killian's Irish Red and Blue Moon.

Killian's isn't bad, not something I'd go out of my way to purchase again in the future though.

Blue Moon has an interesting citrus taste, I can see myself picking up a six sometime after this goal is accomplished.

32 Go on a blind date

Went to a friend's tonight for a BBQ, she was trying to set me up with her friend. Long story short, it didn't go well, but when do blind dates ever go well? If anybody doesn't think this should count just let me know, provided you're willing to set me up on another one.

99 Convince somebody else to do a list

I just was informed that Joe "OJ" Wagner that I work with is doing a list. Number 99 down, and is including my number 49 on his list. Depending on how often we buy beer, it'll be done within the year, or within 6 months.

76 Get rid of my MySpace page

I just put in to have my MySpace account cancelled. They say it will take 48 hours to go through. Another list item down.

13. Try a Pickled Egg

I was on a road trip to KC to drop a friend off at the airport, and got a pickled egg in a convenience store. I couldn't post anything then, but I wrote down my response:

Pickled eggs are damn disgusting. I see now why I made it 29 years without eating one.

The List so Far

Day Zero

So I found a site today called The Day Zero project. So I figured I'd get my list and start it when it is full.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focussed. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

The List:

Health
1 *Lose 25 lbs on my diet*
2 Lose 50 lbs on my diet
3 Lose 75 lbs on my diet
4 Lose 100 lbs on my diet
5 Walk 2462 miles (Distance from NY to LA) (0/2462)
6 Get CPR certified
7
8
9
10

Fun
11 Have my picture taken in a photo booth in a mall
12 Watch all of AFI's top 100 movies (0/100)
13 Try a pickled egg
14 Play Frisbee golf
15 Be on a boat while listening to "I'm on a boat"
16 Learn to juggle
17 Watch Bruce Campbell's filmography
18
19
20

Educational
21 Program an app for my phone
22 Get Network+ Certification
23 Learn a programming language
24 Finish the Rosetta Stone - Spanish
25 Learn to count to 10 in 5 languages
26 Apply to Mensa
27
28
29
30

Personal
31 Dye my hair blue
32 Go on a blind date
33 Set aside one day every six months where anybody can ask me anything all day long and I will answer truthfully.
34 Get another tattoo
35
36
37
38
39
40

Travel
41 Go to 5 concerts (0/5)
42 Visit Brooke and Merlin in KC at least twice (0/2)
43 Visit Karla at her home at least twice (0/2)
44
45
46
47
48
49
50

Cuisine
51 Learn 5 new recipes to cook (0/5)
52 Eat lobster 3 different times (0/3)
53 Cook on the grill
54 Try 50 new different beers (0/50)
55 Try 20 different wines (0/20)
56 Learn to use chopsticks

Finances
57 Donate 3 games to Child's Play at least $20 or more
58 Donate $5 for each goal not accomplished to Child's Play at end of 1001 days.
59 Save $5 for every goal completed
60 Pay off my debt
61

Tech
62 Install Ubuntu server on the MediaBox
63 Set up RAID array in desktop PC
64 Set up RAID array in MediaBox
65 Buy a laptop
66

Misc
67 Compile an address and birthday list of my friends other than what's on facebook
68 Write my will
69 Set up an info folder in case something happens to me
70 Buy a new computer chair
71 Reconnect with an old friend
72 Get rid of my MySpace page
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99 Write about everything on the list after I do it
100 Convince somebody else to do a list
101 Start another list with everything I didn't accomplish on this one plus 101 more items for the next 1001 days



More to come later, I'm still brainstorming for it

Couch-to-5k progress

Ok, so my knee told me tonight in no uncertain terms that fat people with bad knees should not be running. For the time being I think my running program will have to wait. At 243 lbs my body is telling me I'm still too big to run. 

For now instead I'll be walking three nights a week with a friend. Possibly the same nights I've been running, we'll have to see. I'm trying not to let this one minor setback get me down, since I am kicking ass in other areas. I will not let this slow me down. 

Update

Ok, so maybe it's going to take a bit more to get me to start doing this... well, I have internet back now, so it will be a bit easier to do this. 

The diet is still going, down 26.9 lbs now. I've slowed down a bit, but this is bound to happen with any diet. I did miss W2D3 of my Couch-to-5k program on Saturday night because I walked 6 miles on Friday night for Relay for Life. I realize that exercising one more day of the week doesn't mean I can't on another day, but when the previous day's exercise gives you blisters on your feet to where it hurts to walk, makes it a little hard to run. 

Weight Loss So Far

I'm currently down 23.8 lbs, and still going strong. I added a few things to my list of what all is changing with my life so far this year. The list currently stands at:

Accomplished
Quit smoking
Bought a car
Start saving money

In Progress
Quit being fat
Get out of debt
Couch-to-5k Running Program
Learn Spanish

Not bad for being less than halfway through the year

First Post

We'll see how long this lasts. Figure I have my own domain just for the e-mail address, might as well put it to use.