Baseball, Snow and another round of Goal Setting..

Motivation:

"There is no need to boast of your accomplishments and what you can do.
A great man is known, he needs no introduction."
~Unknown

Diary:
Had a pretty good week, ate what I was supposed to and worked out every day. Not much to report here.

Although, this week was fun for me, as I got to test out the 'all-wheel' part of my all-wheel vehicle. The large amount of snow in Minnesota made for fun for me and snowblower owners. Also, a joy to start to hear Twins baseball on the radio. I listened to two spring games broadcast from Florida. I was very happy.

Also, I became an new employee officially this week, as the company I started working for was purchased by the 2nd largest software company in the world. Going from a company of 18 to a company of 60,000+ is going to be a different world. I am looking forward to it, as this will be a very interesting process.

Notes:

#Diet#
Lost 3lbs this week. I am really getting comfortable with my food staples: tomato, green onion, green pepper, string beans, jalapeños, raw shrimp, tilapia, ground turkey breast, and chicken breast. Also, I enjoy my fruits (strawberry and raspberries, nectarine, apple, and clementine oranges). I was eating a fresh, juicy apple the other day and just took a moment to think how good that tasted. I am really starting to treasure fruit as a dessert. (Apple with a little cinnamon and nutmeg... mmmmmmm, nutmeg......)

One of the first things that happened when the company got purchased, the new company removed the price on the soda machines. "Pop is free!, Pop is free!" was gleefully shouted from the break room... I dismiss this as I don't drink soda anymore. I don't miss soda, and I feel more balanced, mentally and emotionally. This is the first "benefit" that I have witnessed, and wonder if there are other benefits that don't involve food.

I also started my picture book, to share with others after I have lost more weight.

#Exercise#
The new company also announced that workers MUST take a 30 minute break from work during an 8-hour shift (mandatory). What a benefit for me, as noon is the best time for me to workout and there is a little fitness center in the basement of the building. It is nice, has elliptical machines, treadmills, and free weights and a weight machine. It also has a locker room with showers.

I have been using my mandatory break to go workout on the elliptical machines. One of them is just a running type machine, and the other is a stair-climber like machine. I like to use the running version, as, well frankly, it is easier. This week, I have had to use the stair-climbing version as the others were being used. (one day, it was by a cute lady, so I was happy to do so) The climber is tough, but a great workout. I am sweating and breathing heavy (no, not because of the cute lady... well...) and at the end of the workout, I am spent.
I do use a Rhodiola and energy drink before my workout, and I think that helps. I don't get a drained feeling, and my mental capacity remains during the rest of the workday.

I have been going approx 2.2 miles, according to the computers on the elliptical machines.


#Fine Art#
Not much of this for the last week. I play accordion tomorrow at church, but other bands have not practiced due to schedules and the weather.

#Geek#
#Money#
#Personal#
My "Geek", "Money" and "Personal" lists are getting somewhat linked this week, as I have spent way too much time thinking about all of the stuff that I want. For example, I want a new computer, and been going back and forth about the pros and cons of building my own machine, upgrading my current box, getting a laptop, or maybe getting a mac. I also have been thinking about all of the accessories that I want/need, like a nice lcd monitor, backup USB harddrive, etc. The list is too large to manage.

Then I looked at my list and the $$ amount rising, and thought to myself, "I can't spend money right now, I have too many debts to pay..." Then I got depressed. I work hard for the money (so hard for it honey) and I deserve to enjoy myself and keep up with technology for my consulting work as well as my main job.... Dang! So I just put this decision off for a while.

Then, as I was up late one night going through my new "Mindmapping" project, I realized that these two issues can be connected in a way that will reward my weight loss, exercise, geek projects, money issues, all at the same time. I am going to institute the "Chazz Vader Employee Bonus Program!"

The employee (me, in this instance) get to have a reward after meeting certain qualifications. Those qualifications are as follows:
1) Meets monthly weight loss goal
2) Meets monthly exercise (5K training) goal
3) Meets monthly geek training goal (learn something new - software, hardware, get certification, read technology book)
4) Must be able to pay off a debt or make a deposit into savings EQUAL to the amount of the crap you want to purchase. (If new gadget or toy costs $300, employee must have $600 available - $300 for debt/savings + $300 to goal purchase.)

These are the basic rules, and I am going to leave it open to add rule addendum in the future. For example, if Qualifications 1 - 3 are met for a month, but #4 is not met, the employee may put a rain-check on the purchase, so that the employee retains the right to not lose a reward, but may obtain the reward as long as all of the qualifications are met.

That absolutely made no sense, but I think you understand the idea. These rules are to be maintained, but are flexible. I am going to continue to work on this, and come up with some sort of matrix to help me maintain the qualifications list.


#Trips and Dates#
I am getting excited about the April 14th trip to Nebraska. I hope my daily workouts are helping my racquetball game. We will test this theory on this saturday, when I kick JMan's butt.

#Work#
Overall, work is going well, as I am getting up to speed with the new company.


COMMENT! Let me give you a subject, and leave a comment below to answer. Question: What cool new thing are you coveting? My newest gadget on my want list is a Blackjack phone, partly because my pocketpc lately has been on the fritz - I think it just needs a new battery, as it is not charging correctly, and probably is getting old.....



more later,

Chazz