Relax - Pace yourselves - It's going to be ok.

Motivation:

"You never really lose, until you quit trying."
~unknown

Diary:

Greetings and salutations readers.
First and foremost, kudos to my new subscribers. Hopefully you will be intrigued, amused, or at least somewhat mildly entertained. I see that while I was "gone" I doubled the number of subscribers and received hits from Mexico and Europe! Wonderful.

As indicated in the last post, I was out of the loop last weekend - serving at a Unity in Christ men's retreat. On Sunday, during our worship/closing services, I was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open, however there was still tear-down and cleanup work to do after this service was over. I was so spiritually renewed (cliche?) that my physical weakness didn't seem so bad.

This week was very stressful, however. I knew that it would be stressful, because of the loss of the weekend I would be behind at work, on my 'projects' and research for "The Renaissance Man Project" (which, from this day forward, will be simply known as "TRMP", becuase typing out "The Renaissance Man Project" is just too much, plus, Renaissance is so easy to mispell. Although, TRMP sounds like "tramp" which isn't good. Ok, for now, TRMP must be pronounced "trump", not as in Donald, but as in the high suit in a card game. The Renaissance Man "trumps" the average man. That works ok for now.

I digress, back to the stress. Here is a little snippet:

• on Tuesday, I took my car to get a $16 oil change. 8 hours later, I got my vehicle back after a $2000 head-gasket surgery.
• the last two weeks, I have been limping along without my PDA, which for me is a life changing event. I ordered a new battery online, and after many many calls, found that the company LOST THE ORDER! So, I ordered another one from a competing company, and then got a call from the first company indicating that they were sorry and wanted to send me the battery. They would give me a 50% discount, because of the trouble. So, now I have TWO batteries, and have to figure out how to send the other one back. The whole thing was a cluge, and I am still a little bitter and hostile about the whole thing.
• now I DO have a battery and my PDA is working, but it lost ALL of it's memory. So when I synched it, it got all the old crap on it that I had already organized. It is disorganized and will take a while to get back to the condition I had it in before it died. I will apply my apps (I have a portable Bible, Avantgo reader, Freemind, looking for a good RSS reader, etc) I WILL back it up after it is ready to go.
  
• Speaking of backup - I got an external 500gb hard drive from Best Buy - good deal on a WesternDigital MyBook, plus I had about $130 worth of gift cards that I had to use or they would expire. So I bought it as an early goal reward... even though I haven't reached all my goals yet. This is also a business need, as I have to start backing up things for home, home business, and work. This is a step forward to being able to get other goal items.
• It seems that every letter I get is asking me to do something. My homeoners association, my mortgage company, my insurance company, etc. In their letters, they didn't just say "pay this bill by xx date", instead it said, you need to call us to get some kind of information.... I don't have time, and isn't it your job to get in touch with me, or give me the information I need for you to do your business???? Go away, you gnats..
• I bought something on Thursday night from a store that was the wrong item. When I called to return it, the lady stated "Once it is out of the store, we cannot accept returns." WHAT! Isn't this the 2000's? When did stores start having 'absolute no return' policies? I had to drive all the way BACK to the store, get my hostility on, and lay some smack-down all over the place. I just wanted them to know that this is NOT acceptable and I would not be purchasing from or recommending to their store. Before I could get jiggy, one of the employees recognized the problem and was over the top apologetic. "Oh, sir, we will take care of this. It is obvious that WE made the mistake, and will solve this problem for you. Let me see what I can do." - stop - breathe - boy, do I feel like a real ass.... He was very calm and polite and defused the situation, but also defused me. I just took a step outside myself and realized how carried away I got from a simple issue. I need to relax....
  

Lets talk about RELAXATION!!!! Great topic to dive into after a stressful week.


Notes:

#Diet#

One of thing things that was stressful over the last few weeks was regarding measuring my food intake. I am supposed to have 2 cups of lettuce in my salad. What the heck is that? I was having some stress, until I used one of my favorite tools, Google, too find the answer. I found a site that helped me. McCormick has a Food Equivalences chart that is helpful, but still didn't answer my original question.
Using the Dole website, I finally found the answer. Although, I know I could make a salad cheaper and healthier, I purchase packaged salads - remember the theme is stress reduction - and they are 12 oz per package. Dole indicates that 3oz of salad is about 1 to 1 1/2 cups. If I need to ensure that I have 2 cups of lettuce, then I will use 1/2 of a package. This ensures that I have somewhere from 2 - 3 cups of lettuce. That is 'good enough' for me.

The other stress, when you are as obese as I, is that your own body and mind are trying to keep you fat! Need more proof that fat is trying to kill you? Here are a few posts I found this week:

• Obesity, illness speed testosterone decline
• Belly fat may drive inflammatory processes associated with disease
• Wok Carefully: CSPI Takes a (Second) Look at Chinese Restaurant Food
  

Within a 2 mile radius of my house, I can count at least 5 Chinese restaurants and an additional 2 places claiming to be Chinese Super buffets. Personally, I love Chinese food and if I could, I would eat egg roles all day long while bathing in sweet and sour sauce. Ok, so that's a slight exaggeration, but this is not. - from the "dumb little man" blog.

I am down another 10lbs since I last posted (5 lbs per week.) I met my first goal for 2007, to lose 40lbs. That only took 3 months, so I am on good pace. The clinic assistant that I met with Friday indicated that I am on a good pace to continue this 2 more times. He thinks I can lose another 90 lbs before the year is over, and I agreed.


My current stats and goal list - as always - on the sidebar.


#Exercise#

Good progress - I have stayed committed to working out 30 minutes every day at work. I am going to start walking for the 5K - starting next Saturday.

I am meeting with on of my 5K running partners on May 12th to do a trial run and go over our game plan. I am looking forward to this event. Remember the big run is in Northfield, MN on September 29th! Time to get started.

I am finding that exercising daily is a HUGE stress relief for me. It gives me a chance to break from my desk, which is starting to become a wasteland of undone things. It also let's my mind go for a while, during the elliptical or stair climbing routine. As my legs and body run, I can just think about random stuff - knowing fully that I can't do anything about these thoughts at the moment, because I am physically incapacitated.


#Fine Art#

I have one week remaining to finish up the "What I believe" essay for St. Olaf. I have a lot of ideas rattling around my head, but pen and paper have not yet been married. I will block off some time to do this, maybe Sunday. I will post it on this blog.

I am really excited about music this week, and am playing in worship service again on Sunday. I am also slated to play next week, I believe. Easter for sure.

#Geek#

I have been pretty busy at work, so not much geek stuff has happened at home. Things will start to pick up later this week. I am going to start (finally) my studying for A+ Certification, as well as TRMP, and going to start Podcasting.

I have decided, in the spirit of "relaxation", to not be so exact about my reward/goal list. Not that I am giving up on this idea, but looking at my wish list, I decided that I didn't really need all of this 'stuff'. What I really need to do is reduce my debt and live more peacefully. So I am just keeping things on my list that I really think will be things that I will enjoy and use often, instead of every cool thing I have ever wanted.

Also, I am going to keep the other requirements fluid. As long as I stay on the right track, I am qualified to reward myself for goals that I achieve. Some may take longer than others, and that is ok.

#Money#

I am all set to start my debt reduction. I have decided that as soon as this season of 24 is over (the day after) I will cancel my digital cable to save about $80 a month that I will use for other bill payments. I don't watch TV enough, as a single guy, and I am planning on going to / listening to Twins baseball games during the summer, so my TV watching may go down. I will still have basic cable ($8 a month) and my Internet access is through cable, but this is also a business expense, so there are justifications there.

The thing that I learned about saving money or paying off debt is this: Choose a small goal, and start saving that first. For example, if you want to save $2 a day (by not getting the gourmet coffee, or something) - do this first in the morning, and do something physical to remind yourself. For example, actually put $2 in a piggy bank or write down in your pocketmod for that day that you paid yourself $2. Set up a savings account, if you don't have one - then make the $2 transfer to this account every day. It may seem silly at first, but after 3 months, you will have saved $180 dollars.

Personally, I started this concept in February of 2004, when I found out about INGDirect. I setup an account and saved $2 a day. (Although now I do it in 15 day increments - $30 on the 15th, and another $30 on the 30th.) Today I have over $2,000 in this account, which seems like a small amount, but it is a good start for an emergency fund.

This same concept can be used to pay down debt, just take it in small chunks.

The Minneapolis StarTribune had an interesting article about Debt Relief that I am learning some things from.

#Personal#

hmmm... I think these topic labels will change in a few weeks. On a personal note, I feel behind in my cleaning and feel pretty bored with my meal choices and the ability to stay 'on top' of things.

on a positive note, I am excited about the concepts that I am working on to get more organized and set goals. I found a couple new sites, if you are interested in setting goals and keeping track of stuff, like me.

• Joes Goals
• Simple Todo Lists

Note that I haven't tried either of these sites, but they look cool, and I would enjoy your comments or feedback on these tools.

On a personal note, I am also excited about the pending release of the next version of Command and Conquer. The hours that Jman and I spent online battling each other and our enemies - well we could have actually done something productive with our lives, and saved my sister much frustration. I hope Mary is ready for the new version......

#Trips and Dates#

Kurt L informed me that we will start 5K training in April. The first trial run is "The Tortoise and Hare" race is set for Thursday, July 26th, at 7PM. I think it either begins and/or ends at the Eau Claire YMCA. I told Kurt that I will dress up like a Tortoise, and he can be the Hare.

Time will be recorded for this race, so we can compare it with the September 29th run. Not that this actually matters to anyone, but I am a geek, so tracking things seems to come along with it.

#Work#

Relaxation at work - interesting concept... I have been reading, and have a stack of information that needs to be read, regarding organizing my work day. They have all basically come from the same source - Zen Habits.

• Are your days crazy?
• The Art of Doing nothing
• How not to Multi-Task
  

These three articles were very good for me to review this week. I need to get beyond understanding and start doing. Maybe I will have a chance to do this in the coming weeks.



COMMENT! Let me give you a subject, and leave a comment below to answer. Question: How do you wind down after a stressful day or week?

more later,

Chazz

Squirrels! (a.k.a., let's talk tools)

Motivation:

"We should not let success go to our heads, or our failures go to our hearts."
~unknown

Diary:

Before we get too far this week, let me start by saying "What a beautiful day." I am sitting in my den, the laundry just finished drying (I will stop now and fold and hang laundry.) There are SQUIRRELS (what an odd word. say "squirrels" three times fast.). The sun is shining - it is 40 degrees, and in Minnesota 40 degrees is window-down driving weather. The Twins Baseball is on as I write (going into extra innings - Twins 3, TampaBay 3) and John Gordon's voice is lulling my stress level down lower and lower. A gigantic chunk of ice just fell from my roof with a loud 'thud', exposing the shingles for the first time in several weeks. I have my lists all up to date and am ready to now sit down and write about "tools.' Follow with me, if you wish.

First, the weekly weight-loss update! Overall good news, I believe. Check out the Current Stats ------ WOOW, by next time I check in, I will have made my current goal - 367 lbs. I am currently 1/4 pound over 367, so for the next blog entry I will need to calculate a new goal weight to attain.... Yipee..

Notes:

I got several emails and notes this week. People seemed to click with the idea of linking the things (toys and events, etc) that I want to do/have directly with the things that I need to get done. One reader (K.) advised me to make a chart of my wish list. K says:

The saved $$ wouldn't need to be actually put into a physical shoe box or a bank account, but recorded in a spreadsheet tool that you use frequently.

The idea is how to do this and "get your arms around" real $ that could be spent for awards

If one actually went with the idea one would need to

1.plug in their own debt instruments,

2.decide which had the highest interest, and

3.increase payoff effort to one or more debt instrument.

4.record the actual $ saved (transfer from debtor charges back to you)

Yes, great idea. I was working on this for a while this week, and will attach the starting version to this blog post. I found other blogs that spoke of this concept - how to make goals and rewards. I found Zen Habits site discusses financial principals. (Actually, Zen Habits is one of my curious sites this week. I am going to add it's feed to my reading list, as it makes me feel justified about this new search to be more organized. The Zen Habits site discusses details about the "Renaissance Man Project" that I have been needing to ponder, such as "Productivity Boosts" and "Getting the Most Important Things Done First" in your day. These are things that the Renaissance Man does habitually.

So, In this episode, I am going to discuss the tools that I am using to help me maintain my categories. I am starting to build a 'system' that helps me to plan and prepare life events from daily tasks to long term goals. I am going to also include links to find these items, if you think they would be useful in your life.

#Diet#
Other than the diary that I use to track everything that I eat and drink, I use a couple of tools to track my weight loss and statistics. They are free, and can be found on Microsoft's web site. The Measurement Tracker and the Fitness Chart for Men or Women is here also. I use these to track my measurement and weight loss on a weekly basis.

#Exercise#
I have a couple helpers - one being my "Jared Cooley" workout:

Jared Cooley Workout

Warm-up:
5 min cardio (elliptical)

Stretching:
toe touch
arm pullover
seated back twist
seated touch shoulder-blade

Exercise:
Body-Weight Squats - 2sets x 20reps
Shoulder Press - 2sets x 20reps x 25lbs
Torso Twist (pulling hand underneath) - 2sets x 20reps x 20lbs
Standing Rows (pull straight into shoulder blades) - 2sets x 20reps x 40lbs
Biceps (pullup) - 2sets x 20reps x 20lbs
Triceps (pulldown) - 2sets x 20reps x 25lbs
Good Mornings - 2sets x 20reps x 20lbs

Aerobic:
on Lift days - 20min
on Cardio only days - 30min

Cool Down:

Since every workout I have had has been a "Cardio Day", I haven't used Jared's workout, but I still have it when I want a quick weight training day.

I also have read the Tom Venuto Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle book, and it is an educational tool for exercise and to understand your body more. I also enjoy reading Men's Health Magazine, and think the workout information is pretty straightforward.

I don't yet have a chart for exercising, but in my Reward Tracking Spreadsheet, you can see a column for "walking venue" and 5K training. Along with my regular training (currently aerobics at least 4 days a week for 30 minutes) I will be doing a 2+ mile walk in prep of the 5K event later this year. Here is the kicker though - YOU WILL VOTE for my walking venue, so it is important that you check into the blog at least once a week to vote on the next location of the walk. I will post the poll on the bottom of the page (just keep scrolling), and you can vote anonymously. I will hopefully have this up by the end of the weekend, but may not be sure. All are invited to walk with me, if you like, although as I stated I listen to my iPod during my walks, so there isn't a lot of chat going on, just walking. More details later.

I have the authority to veto the vote, due to weather conditions or other factors. I have many indoor locations listed on this first poll, since I don't know if it will be safe to walk outside yet.

If you have suggestions for places to walk, just choose "other" on the list, and reply to this post, or email me, with the suggestion. I will add the other to the next poll...

#Fine Art#
I did play with the church band on sunday, and will play again this week. I need to practice more on the guitar and accordion, and these are falling behind. The Reward Tracking Spreadsheet does have a column called Music Training, so hopefully this will force me to practice or partake in some music events before I am allowed a reward.

From one reader, M., regarding my Fine Art category:

As a real Renaissance man, you should do this! :) Love ya! M
-----Original Message-----
From: The St. Olaf Alumni & Parent Relations Office
Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 12:01 PM
Subject: Ultimately Worthwhile: A St. Olaf Alumni Essay Contest

As an alumni office, we are often very busy planning events and opportunities for alumni and parents to connect to each other and to the college. Over the month of March, we challenge you to be a part of our newest initiative: an alumni essay contest.

As you probably know, the St. Olaf mission statement includes the phrase, "In the conviction that life is more than a livelihood, [St. Olaf] focuses on what is ultimately worthwhile and fosters the development of the whole person in mind, body, and spirit."

Lives of alumni have developed in both expected and unexpected ways. Values have been solidified. Experiences have shaped ideas and thought. Indeed, alumni have grown from relatively naive first-years to capable, successful, and thoughtful citizens of the world. As such, we ask essayists to reflect on their lives and share their beliefs and values with the entire St. Olaf community.

In 500 words or less, the Alumni & Parent Relations Office asks alumni to craft the perfect essay: a concise, touching, and educated response to the simple question, "What do you believe?" in an attempt to evoke reflections on that which is ultimately worthwhile.

President David R. Anderson '74 and a committee of his choosing will review all submissions and choose 2-3 writers of the best-crafted essays to discuss their ideas and values at a private meal. All submissions will be posted on the alumni website at www.stolaf.edu/alumni.

The challenge is acknowledged and accepted. I will write under 500 words of text to attempt to describe what I believe. I would challenge this for others, even if you don't submit it, it is an interesting and thought-provoking test.

#Geek#
Work was pretty busy this week, so not a lot of time for extra geek stuff. I have been doing a lot of Vista research, and decided there is no need to force the upgrade. I think I will get Vista with the next computer I buy, but that might be a while. I am not (and don't recommend) upgrading to Vista if you don't have a good reason. I am researching mini voice recorders to help me put together another podcast. Please be patient, as I hope to have an insightful podcast ready by the end of April. I will be interviewing a local individual who has put some thought into goal planning and personal improvement. That is a great start, and hopefully you will like it. (Did I mention yet that after listening to an interview on the radio, I have decided that I would like to interview Terry Ryan, general manager of the Twins Baseball team, because when asked how he recruits new players, his answer was one that a Renaissance Man would give. He has to organize his day the same way I approach my day in order to keep track of all the major league teams, minor league teams, college prospect, the internal organization and just overall business stuff on a daily basis year round. Wow. That is cool. I realize that this is his job, and gets paid handsomely, but it must take real commitment to details and organization skills to stay up with this set of habits. Anyway, when he answered that question, I thought - I need to ask him some questions about his daily routine and how he approaches the rest of his life. What tools does he use to keep up on all of the potential information that is out there - and how to separate the chaff from the real prospect rumor. Fascinating. And, overall he seems like a straightforward genuine nice guy, and comes off as humble. Perhaps I could try to get an interview with him. I would need to hone my question making skills...)

#Money#
There are a couple of tools that I have been using to track my fiduciary responsibilities. These include a Debt Tracker Spreadsheet, and a Monthly Budget Template . Of course, I have modified these templates for my own information, and I would suggest that you do the same. I did use Microsoft Pocket Money on my iPAQ pda, but found it difficult to use. What I found recently is helping me, however. It is so simple, so ingenious, that at first I laughed it off. Then after using it for a week, I think it is exactly what I needed. Who would have thought that a blank piece of paper would revolutionize my life. I follow the directions, folding the paper, and labeling each day. During the day, I quickly note what I purchased, $$ and reason, and at the end of the week, I consolidate all the data into the Monthly Budget Template and start a new folder paper. It is so cool...

It may seem like a pain to collect this information, but at the end of the year, I hope to have a clear way to track my spending on a monthly basis - and refer to the notes if I have questions beyond this. Because a lot of what I purchase I may use for tax reasons, I am keeping ALL my receipts in a expandable folder file, and will also include these folder weekly papers in the file with them, and at the end of the month, print out a Monthly Budget spreadsheet. Is this too anal? Not if it makes me less stressed out about my current financial condition.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Total side note here - I really like the new iTunes 7.1 upgrade.... I set it to random play and it is playing like a charm. Really mixing up the music. The mini-player view is nice because it is not obtrusive and just shows me what I need to know. I am digging the music.

That reminds me, Friday was hell-day at work, as many projects were due, but I didn't get them done. While it wasn't all my fault, I was feeling pretty down about it. After working late, I got in the car to discover a huge traffic jam on the way home. I started the shuffle feature on my iPod, and was entertained with these songs:

1. Fatal Wound by Uncle Tupelo
2. It's Allright to Cry by Rosey Grier
   
3. Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel
4. Ron Cey by Memphis Evans
5. Istanbul (Not Constantinople) by They Might Be Giants
   

Talk about your slow progression from total suicide mode to being wide awake and ready to fight again. This was a big jolt to my system, as each one of these songs has an emotional connection with me, taking me back to when I first heard this song and who I was around. They are completely different in moods, and odd that my iPod chose these songs to play after a long stressful, tiring day. Although, if you are a regular reader, you will know that my mp3 players have been known to match what I needed to hear.
------------------------------------------------------------------

#Personal#
Let's see - items on the personal week such as laundry, dishes, made my own meals, kept up the house, clean the bathroom, wash the car, etc - all of these got done.

My stress level has been pretty high due to my volunteering for this men's retreat coming up next week. It starts on Thursday and ends on Sunday night, and while it will be a 'good thing' for me spiritually and emotionally, it has been stressful for making sure everything is ready to go. I have to still make bible bookmarks, a poster to post photos of the speakers during the event, order a water cooler, and rent a roll-a-way bed for one of the attendees. It isn't much to do in the grand scheme of things, but with my diet I also have to prepare 10 meals ahead of time to take with me AND pack AND make sure all of my work at Work gets done by Wednesday end of day so I can leave on Thursday with a clear head. The next few days will be stress filled for me, so that is that.

Note that it also means I won't be posting a blog next weekend, but look for another diatribe (spell?) on March 24-25th time range. I will also start my 5K training 2+ mile walk event on this weekend, so I will be looking for your votes at this time.

#Trips and Dates#
Again, big upcoming dates are

• March 15-18, men's weekend, sequestered in a church in a southern metro town.
  
• by March 30, finish 500 word essay on "What I believe".
  
• April 3, my first Twins home game in 07.... hip hip horrraaahhhahahahahaha
  
• April 13-15, racquetball challenge in GI, Nebraska.
  
• June 15-17, ?? unplanned event in Nebraska.
  

#Work#

Stressful, since I am still new, and the changes are almost ever going. I get several emails a day from corporate HR of things that have to be done - I wonder if they realize that I also have deadlines that can't wait. Maybe in the next few weeks I will catch up with everything that is being asked of me. I appreciated this article at Zen Habits, and the look on the woman's face in the picture is how I felt this week.....

As far as tools, I do use several tools for organizing my work day and week. On Monday, I print out my Daily Planner, which includes different quadrants in the corners - One is a section of calls/emails that I need to make or respond to this week, a section on personal items that need to be taken care of, a section for High Importance but Low Urgency items that need to happen sometime but not necessarily this week (good for things that can be delegated to another person perhaps), and a section for Low Importance and High Urgency although I haven't found any good examples of this. In the middle, splitting the quadrants, is a large section for High Urgency , High Importance items. There are 10 lines in this section, and it is where the meat of this planning sandwich happens. I refer and maintain this document during the week.

I also print out my Outlook (I know, yuck, I don't like Outlook either, but have too much in it that links to other things to switch) weekly calendar weekly. I also print out my daily calendar daily, and maintain this. It seems like a waste of paper to print out my calendar every day, even if it is on my computer, but the printed version is helpful to me and contains more than just my calendar - there are open tasks on the calendar and other helpful notes about things and stuff....

I have a nice binder that a former coworker gave to me. It has the STC insignia on it and is very nice. I put all of these papers and more in it and have it with me all the time, basically.

The last tool that I can say I have tried to use at work is from one of the blogs that I read about a Procrastination hack . The concept of working really hard for 10 minutes, 2 minute break, then 10 minutes of hard work seems to work for me. This helps me to not stress about "completing the project" and just "getting it moving forward". If I do 2 or 3 of these "power dashes" at work, I find that I am much farther along the project and leave happy at the end of the day.



It is funny that while I have been thinking about my habitual habits, morning and evening routine, organizing the way things get done, on Sunday the sermon was on being habitual in our relationship with God, and during Lent we are asked to participate in rituals such as Fasting, Praying, Meditation, and Service to others in preparation of Easter.


COMMENT! Let me give you a subject, and leave a comment below to answer. Question:
Thinking about the habits that you do every day, what tips or tricks do you have that make your day easier?


Next time, I will discuss other Renaissance men. I am going to read up on Ben Franklin, and other influential men and see if I can extract some helpful hints to use in life organization.

more later,

Chazz

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