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

Today's the day, ask away and I shall answer

90 Read Fight Club

Just finished it. Great book. I have to say I almost like it better than the movie, which is odd I guess having seen the movie first. I think have to track down a hardcover copy of it now to add to my collection.

91 Buy 10 albums from artists not signed to RIAA labels. (2/10)

Picked up Swagger and Within a Mile of Home by Flogging Molly on Amazon, the MP3 albums are on sale this month for only $5. I admit, I had them pirated, but I bought them now, so it still counts.

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

February 21st, get your questions ready

49 Try 50 new different beers (36/50)

Ok, haven't updated this one in a while, got 10 new beers to add...

Guinness Extra Stout - I know, I know, should have had it a long time before. Very good.

Goose Island IPA - I found out I am not a fan of IPA's. WAY too hoppy.

Gella's 1 - Pale Ale - not too much of a fan

Gella's 2 - American Wheat Ale - clean taste, very light

Gella's 3 - Amber Ale - not bad

Gella's 4 - Downtown American Brown - didn't stand out too much, could have been the beer overload from trying the sampler

Gella's 6 - Oatmeal Stout - mmm, tasty

Gella's 17 - Honey Brown

Gella's 18 - Winterfest Ale - I don't think I'm much of a fan of seasonal winter beers for some reason

Gella's 39 - Pete's Porter - thick and robust flavor, I like it.

49 Try 50 new different beers (26/50)

#26 - Tallgrass brewery's Buffalo Sweat... it's a dark cream stout, really unique, and tastes a bit like coffee. A nice stout, it's one I may get again this winter.

49 Try 50 new different beers (25/50)

With Crystal's help last night, I made it halfway to my goal on trying new beer. Thursday night OJ brought over some St Pauli Girls, not a bad beer, a little light for my tastes though. Throughout my taste testing, I've noticed I like Witbiers, stouts, and porters.

Beer 25 was Odell Cutthroat Porter, from a CO brewer. Crystal picked it out since I was in the mood for a porter, and I have to say it's really a nice pick.

As a side note, in trying to find the exact name for the Cutthroat Porter, I found a site I may join, beeradvocate.com. They have a lot of beer reviews there, they'll definitely be used for finding future purchases.

49 Try 50 new different beers (23/50)

Got a sampler pack of Sam Adams Winter classics containing six different brews, and got to cross each one of them off:
Sam Adams (technically had it earlier in the year at the Holiday Gala)
Sam Adams Winter Lager
Sam Adams Coastal Wheat
Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic (not a fan)
Sam Adams Holiday Porter (awesome)
Sam Adams Old Fizziwig Ale

And one from the local brewery that I had at supper last month:
Gella's American Hefeweizen

Almost halfway to my goal of 50 new beers. I think I need another sampler pack to knock a bunch out at once again.

2009 In Review

So since the year is up figure it's time to run down a list of what all happened last year...

My last cigarette was 1/4/09. I admittedly had a hard time quitting but I did it. I bought a car, started losing weight like I'd needed to for years, made a list for self improvement. My favorite thing that happened though was that I met somebody. She doesn't care for me being sappy at all, so I will leave it alone after one sentence. Due to meeting her, I can say that in 2009 I started being genuinely happy again. Last night was spent at home with Sara, Fawn, and Az, playing Boom Blox Bash Party and having a quiet night in, and was one of the best New Year's Eves ever for me.

For my list, I have done quite a lot. I lost 60 lbs, learned regular expressions (computer stuff), got set up on a blind date (it was horrible), started to overcome my fears of approaching strangers by buying a complete stranger a drink in a bar, and took Sara to a DMB concert since she hadn't seen them in years. I've learned to use chopsticks, installed Ubuntu on our media box, tried out Chrome (not switching from Opera yet, but shows promise), gotten rid of my Myspace page, tried 20 new beers, 1 new wine, and learned to cook some new recipes, much to the delight of those who eat my cooking.

I need to cross more things off my list in 2010, what gets your vote for being crossed off next? Should it be something serious like writing out my will, something fun like learning to juggle, or something for self improvement, like applying to Mensa? I'm all ears for what to do next.

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