Let's Sweat!

I decided to go jogging for the first time in years yesterday.  I've been building my cardio with cycling.  I can finish a 7.5 mile ride with 6-7 hills (uphill on both sides) in 35 minutes, and I'm pretty proud of that.  I figured it's time to build my bone strength with the classic-but-effective jog.  I got my athletic pants on, a nice t-shirt, my running shoes and my mp3 player and got all pumped up.  I started out with REO Speedwagon's Take it on the Run and started my jog.  Oh, hell yes, I'm kickin' this street's ass.  I feel goood!

  200 yards later...

  Oh shit...I'm going to vomit.  I can't breathe.

  Yeah...didn't even finish the first song.  I thought that all that biking would've prepared me for jogging, but I thought wrong.  I had to run inside and go all OM NOM NOM on a couple of stuffed eggs and an orange and a few glasses of water before I passed out.  Don't judge, I was going to grill and had the eggs prepared for other people, I just couldn't help myself.  I just have to try harder.  I'll go out and try to jog again when I can.  I'm sure if I combine jogging with bike riding and my pushups then I'll see my weight start to drop again.  I've lost 14 pounds since I started my plan at roughly..March 25 or some time around then.  I've been stymied at 231 though.  Things are looking up, however.  I've already lost a good bit of weight, and I feel great and have been eating well.  Just have to try a bit harder so I don't lose steam. 

  Note: The tootsie roll above is not me, but it's how I felt when I finished. 

Let's See You Top That

I was browsing idly on the web recently and came across this video about a proposal.  It was really amazing, with the guy actually making a movie trailer of him asking the woman's father for his blessing, then him racing dramatically to the theatre where she is watching the trailer so he may ask her to marry him.  Her family and friends are also hidden in the audience. My only complaint is that it might cause women who see it to expect something that spectacular.  You can watch the video Right here.  Warning: it may cause tears.  I would've set it up on this page, but youtube is a bastard and won't let you watch the entire thing on my blog grumble mumble.

  I'd like to do something really special for my lady someday, but I don't have the money for anything big.  I'll just have to be creative...I have plenty of time though.  We've both agreed that we love each other enough for marriage, but we're waiting a couple more years until we're financially stable (love doesn't pay the bills, ya know?)

I Pine to Play

I love games.  I really do.  It's what I'm really good at.  Possibly what I'm best at, but that sounds pathetic.  I've always had a natural talent for ass-kickery online.  I've played a lot of video games, from text-based ones to RPGs and FPS..s.  I'd say action shooters and role playing games are tied for my favorite.  Two games that I was destined for were World of Warcraft and Battlefield 2, but I've done well on all Battlefield games.

  On World of Warcraft I played as a night elf druid, Chameleond (don't mind the 'd', it was a mistake) on the Greymane server.  If you know me, give a shout :D  Man, I loved that.  I lived for PvP, but I was one of the few players that enjoyed the sport of battling other players respectfully rather than "OOOO just pwnd ur ass noob! QQ 2 yo mama! I's so 1337! i friggin whuped yo ass even though i ganked u while pickin' herbs and i had 2 uther guys with me! u gotta suck so much."

  But I won't deny, I was goooood.  I inspired some of the people I fought in battlegrounds to make druids, that's how good.  What I really enjoyed was not only the fighting, but meeting the good players and discussing strategy.  This human mage named Yomshlom was probably one of the best players I've ever met on WoW.  He inspired me to make a mage, that's how good he was.  We first met on the battleground in the 50-59 bracket.  This was only about 12-18 months after WoW came out, before any expansions.  We made a great team and usually had to carry the rest of the team, which is why we rarely won.  Especially against the guild Stacked.  Bunch of Horde buddies had made a guild almost strictly for PvP at the time.  Even if players individually suck, if they listen to each other and work as a team, they'll usually win.  It's just how the BGs work, and I'm not talking about how I want to put on my my my my my boogie shoes, that's an acronym for Battlegrounds.  I made friends with that guild Stacked, too.  Oddly enough, one of the members was so impressed with how I almost beat him and a friend of his that he created an Alliance character so he could message me.  He was 4-5 levels higher than I was and his friend was 1 level higher(not trying to brag, it's just part of the story).  I killed him, then when I almost killed his friend, he came back from the graveyard and got me  We became great friends, and I ended up playing the Horde side, too.  I, of course, made a tauren druid.  I don't play anymore though.  I quit shortly after they announced Cataclysm.  I just got tired of Blizzard pandering to new players and making it hard for anyone to play without the best armor and weapons.

  I know this sounds very long-winded--and it is--but I really miss gaming.  I quit gaming in the harsh December of 2009--not counting online games that I can stream(puzzle games ftw)--and I really miss it.  I've tried playing Warhammer online with their endless free trial, and I do like it a good bit.  My only complaint is that the interface is pretty laggy and the combat text is too small.  It's hard to tell how much damage I'm taking and everything I do seems to have a delay.

  I'm looking forward to Battlefield 3 coming out later this year.  But until then, I may have to continue my search for a suitable game.  It will be an arduous search and I may perish, but I shall try.  I shall regain my gaming strength and return even more powerful than when I was struck down by Darth Vader!! SO HELP ME GOD!!

...Too dramatic?

The Hunt Begins

  Well, I've been job hunting now for the past couple of weeks.  Nah, I'm kiddin ya.  I've been spending time with my precious angel.  She makes my life whole.  Anyways, I'm hunting for a job now and I may have already found one.  A friend will see about recommending me to work at a "Mental Healthcare Home" or something like that....loony-bin is what I heard, except it's not an asylum.  It's more like a nursing home for crazy folks, old and young.  I don't mind though because I've had plenty experience with mental illness myself to last a lifetime.  Perhaps I'll do some good there, assuming I do get the position.

   In other news, I'd just like to say that I felt some serious embarrassment last night.  I was coming home late and had to stop at a gas station to put in $5--that's why I need the job, don't be judgin'--and saw this big ol' woman in flip flops *bleeds from eyes*, a black skirt and blue shirt rolling like a blueberry across the parking lot calling to some dogs.  I try to ignore it and go pay for the gas, but when I come out, the scene is even more horrifying.  She's now talking to some fat mother fucker in shorts and nothing else.  I threw up a bit in my mouth.  I don't know what was on his mind that told him it was acceptable to stand barefoot and shirtless in a dirty gas station parking lot.  He had a beat-up truck in the bed of which his dogs were sitting happily.  And he was hairy.  Austin Powers hairy.  If he were gay, he'd be labeled a Bear.

  I'd like to say that I don't judge fat people, because it may seem like I do from the earlier statements, but I've been down that road myself and know how it is.  It's when fat people think it's fine to emphasize their fat and make themselves look even nastier than they could be.  Besides, even if he weren't fat it'd still be nasty.  Mostly naked in public isn't attractive in my book, no matter what gender or level of fitness.  Fortunately, most people around my area aren't like that, but the few who are make me feel very embarrassed to live here.  I felt annoyed that he would help perpetuate the stereotype of the South--whether he meant to or not.

             I don't have a witty closing for the post, so I leave you with this seal of approval.

I'm Free!

  And freedom tastes of reality...Yes, I am free for now.  Now I just have to start job hunting over the summer.  But before that, I will enjoy my spare time and go riding on my bike when the sun starts to go down...too hot to do it now, I'll probably have a heat stroke.  Nonetheless, I will go out shopping for groceries and enjoying myself as much as possible and prepare for a date this Saturday with the most beautiful and angelic lady who has ever graced this unworthy planet with her presence.

  It's nice to be able to do nothing though...my stress is definitely down.  I stopped biting my fingernails :D  Perhaps they'll have a chance to recover from the abuse soon.  And as I said before, I can ride my bike again.  I have been neglecting it for the past 3 weeks or so because of the heavy workload, but now I can get back on the road and drop some more pounds.  I lost 10 pounds over the past month or maybe 6 weeks just by watching what I've been eating.  Once I start riding again I'll get down to a healthy weight again and hopefully stay that way.   I've discovered that riding a bike is a great way to transition into jogging.  My cardio was so terrible before that I could run about 30 seconds and then fall out wheezing.  That, and I weighed so much that it would kill my knees unless I ran on soft grass or something.  But I recently had to dash to a building to be on time and I felt good after all that running, even though I haven't exercised in weeks.  Only downside is that a bike is kind of expensive.  Still, my mother had a bike when I was a kid and it was of a lesser quality than mine is and it has lasted her almost 13 years and seems to still be going strong, even though it needs a tune-up and perhaps new cables.  So the money is a good investment...it's lots of fun and good exercise.

  Having a fun thing to do for exercise is really important.  If I'm not having fun, then I just can't exercise...too damn boring.  Anyways, that's enough rambling for now.  I'm just excited to be finished with my...business.  Yes, let's call it that.  With hope, I'll have something interesting to write about in the near future. 

The End is Nigh

Forgive the lack of posts, everyone (literally, just one person so far).  I've been very busy with medical-related stuff.  In a couple of weeks I'll have a good deal of time spare to write more things.  That, and I'll hopefully have good material.  I just don't see the point in typing useless crap every day just so I can stay current.  Might as well make my posts worth it, ya know?  I have to punch out in a little bit, but I'll leave you with a handy book review.

    The book Wake, by Lisa McMann, has a pretty decent story.  It's about a poor girl who discovers that she can enter the dreams of others, regardless of whether she'd like to.  I'm not going to get all high and mighty and start pointing out the tiniest flaws.  I enjoy books quite a lot, but I'm not really a critic, nor do I want to be.  Personally,  I thought it was...decent.  It is classified as a teen read/young adult book, and it does fit the description.  The plot is really interesting and has a lot of potential, but my grievances are directed toward the flow of the book.  McMann seems to assume that other people know exactly to whom she's referring, and thus leaves out the names of characters (not always, but it lead to some confusion).  For example, the character Janie meets a guy named Caleb.  At one point in the story she hears him come to the door in the middle of the night.  She was just thinking of him, so I'm guessing McMann doesn't need to put his name on the person coming inside.  I can't remember the exact quoting, but the general gist of it is Janie is thinking of Caleb so on and so forth blah blah.  And then a few lines after mentioning his name it has something along the lines of...His footsteps sounded on the walkway.  He knocked on the door.  Came in.  She was happy to see him.  Like I said, I'm not quoting, but you can see that it has a bit of a flow issue and it doesn't name "Him".

 So, aside from the minor flow problems and choppy dialogue--and the fact that the first book (it's a trilogy) ends right when it gets good--it's a good read.  I enjoyed it, and the book in paperback was 6 dollars, so it's a bargain as well.  Especially when you--meaning me--read it in the store over the course of a few days to avoid the risk of buying a book you don't like.

 I hope to be able to post more often and with more interesting material in a couple of weeks, but for now I'll be mostly AFK.