Tuesday, January 20, 2009

...One Giant Leap For Mankind

Within the five minute period of 12:00 pm and 12:05 pm EST, on the 20th of January, 2009, the world saw Barack Husein Obama, yet another in a long and most proud line of great men, become the sworn President of the United States of America. Across the planet, man, woman, and child of every creed, religion, and socio-economic background stood together, eyes glued to the nearest TV or ears to the nearest radio, to welcome the newest leader of the Free World.

In his first speech as our Commander in Chief, he went straight to work, addressing the problems of the nation and giving a slap on the wrist to all who are at fault, unafraid to place blame on not only the Bush administration, but the nation's people as a whole. Touching on the sensitivities of his new, extended family, there was nothing this man held back. His words of irresponsibility and selfishness no doubt struck the nerves of many, but the same can be said of his words encouraging sacrifice and charity, selflessness and cooperation, community and prosperity.

One of my favorite points he made was of the strength of our nation, not in relation to our size or military, but our values. Speaking not only to the US but to the entire planet, he wanted to reassure the world's nations that the United States is a friend to all, urging those who prefer the fist to consider an open hand. He spoke of our nation's future, one that focuses on matters of the planet, the economy, and humanitarian aid. Broadening his view, Barack then asked allies and enemies alike to come together and work in unison to make the world a better place for all mankind.

Barack Obama is a president, not unlike others, who finds himself inheriting a nation, rather, a world in crisis. With everything this great man has to deal with at present, there is no blaming the guy for calling on the American people to lend him a helping hand. I for one am most happy to lend that hand, and though I realize that not everyone stands in the corner of our new president, it is my hope that all who stand in the corner of the US will do everything in their power to pitch in, as our future depends not on the ideas of one man, but the efforts of the people he commands.

Good luck to you, Mr. President, and may your 8 years prove most prosperous.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potatoes Too Many!

How you doin', then?

Have you heard the news, folks? It seems as though I'm not quite what I seem. You see, I know I'm a right plump young chap, but for some time now, I've been thinking that I stood with a very certain amount of plumpness. Unfortunately, as I've come to find out on this very day, both you and I have been misled.

Here's the sitch:

About a month ago, I had lent my scale (Ol' Reliable, the best darn home scale in all the Milky Way) to my mom for use at her work for a little weight loss competition they were having. In Ol' Reliable's stead, I made use of a dust-covered dial scale...you know, those old antique things that don't have any purty flashing lights on 'em. Every time I stepped on the scale, I thought that I was approximately that weight, give or take a few pounds. I wasn't all too thrilled, but at the same time, I thought I was making progress. Unfortunately, that train of thought met its end this afternoon. You see, my mom had brought Ol' Reliable back to its home in the garage yesterday evening. Thinking I wouldn't weigh too much different on him than I did on the dial scale, I decided to weight myself on Ol' Reliable to gauge the difference between the two.

YIKES!

Yes, upon waking this afternoon, I stepped on Ol' Reliable and discovered my true weight. As it stands, here are my official stats as provided by what is unfortunately the most dependable home scale in all the Milky Way:

Age: 24 years, 11 months, 14 days, and a handful of hours, minutes, and seconds

Height: 5'10"

Body Water: 49.5%

Body Fat: 31.0%

Weight: 257.4 lbs. !

Just in case you didn't get that....

Weight: 257.4 lbs. !!

One more time, you know, to drive it home....

Weight: 257.4 lbs. !!!

Okay, now while I can live with the age and the height, the other three will absolutely not do! I honestly thought I was at 240 lbs. or below...never did it cross my mind that I was 17 pounds above. Naturally, the body fat would have to be that high, though I'm a little surprised it's not a bit higher. The body water though, well, that explains a lot. The human body is made up of 70% water, and if all I'm running on is around 50%, there's no wonder why I'm always dry, itchy, coughing, sneezing, and just not feeling so great all the time.

Brothas and sistahs, we've got some work to do....

It's been asked of me what my workouts and eating habits have been like over the past month or so...what I'm doing, if anything, to lose weight and gain health. Unfortunately, I haven't been doing all I've wanted to. For the past while, I've been suffering through various inconveniences and physical ailments, causing interruption after interruption in what I was hoping would be a new, healthy, not-so-worrisome routine. I wanted to start P90X on January 5th, but that never took off. As well, while I was aiming to eat near perfect for at least the first month of the new year, an askew schedule and complete lack of good sleep has led me to maintain a very poor diet.

I have in no way given up hope, especially since I've come across a few favorites of mine here and on YouTube who have discovered a renewed sense of discipline and determination. I am more motivated now than in the last couple months, and with things settling down, I am confident that I will now have the opportunity to at least start my new routine without any difficulty.

P90X is still the program of choice, though I will not be starting that until February 1st (why is it that the beginning of a month is so popular a choice when beginning something new?). Until that time, I will work at balancing my calories in a manner that supports a man of my size undergoing a routine to lose weight and build muscle. Also in preparation for P90X, I'll be working to build the endurance one finds necessary when doing such an intense program.

Though for only a couple weeks, it is my goal to work my muscles to the max through weight training and body weight exercises. Cardio will also be present, mainly in treadmill and hiking form. To that effect, I will continue with the weekly Friday morning hikes I've grown so fond of, though I may decide to kick it up a notch. For instance, if I have the energy tomorrow when getting off work (even if I don't), I plan on going for a pre-hike hike, providing a two day total of 10 miles up and down an unfriendly series of hills.

My mini goal, should I dare make one, is to scootch under the 240 pound mark by my birthday, January 31st. That would mean losing 17.4 lbs in 15 days. A little crazy, I know, but since a good portion of it will be water weight and my body will have been awaken from a dead sleep, I think it's attainable. Mind you, if I don't make it, I won't be down on myself. A little bummed, sure, but not disappointed.

Hmm....

Didn't I say I'd be posting more frequent, shorter blogs from now on? Sometimes I just don't realize when I type up a storm. Hope I kept your attention throughout! You guys mean more to me than you know. ;-)

I hope you are all having a very wonderful week and continue to find yourselves at peace for the duration.

As always, very much love to the lot of you!

-TripleQ

PS: Anthony, I guess we're not as identical as we thought we were, eh?

Friday, January 9, 2009

That's Some Killer Heartburn, I Tell You Whut!

Good Friday, good people!

While I planned on having a new video on YouTube by tonight's end, I'm afraid there was simply too much to edit and too little time in which to do it. As well, I've got little time to do it tomorrow as I'm scheduled to see a movie (Gran Turino) immediately after work and being held to the promise of running errands with a father who is seemingly incapable of going outside his house without me at his side. That being said, I'll try my very best to get it uploaded by tomorrow night, though I cannot promise anything.

As I'm currently engaged in the final gripping minutes of the final episode of Stargate: Atlantis, I'm afraid this blog will have to be cut short. Although, to tell you the truth, I'm thinking about bringing under control my predisposition to drawn-out blogging.

While I do have much to say and I've yet to receive the request to limit my verbal onslaught, it seems as though I always have the urgency to pack every blog entry, even videos, with as much information as possible. I realize that when I do this, the frequency of entries and videos tend to decrease as a result. Rather than limiting the feed of information I release into the world wide weberverse, I believe that it would better serve my time, and yours, were I to keep short my entries and simply post more often. That way, not only will you still get your fix of my awesomeness, but you'll get it nearly everyday. And that is my plan, by the way...to post on a near daily basis.

Consider this a simple update...nothing too glamorous, just a little insight as to what I'm currently thinking. I'll try to make my next entry just a tad more entertaining. :-)

I hope the lot of you find yourselves in a good mood for the duration of the weekend. This week has been a long one and we no doubt deserve a good couple days of rest and relaxation.

Goodnight to you all...and Much Love!


-TripleQ

Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy New Year! Resolution time, anyone?

First and foremost, I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

I don't know about you, but 2008 was filled with many trials and tribulations...mentally, emotionally, and physically. For starters, I won my work's Biggest Loser competition, losing nearly 30 pounds and reaching an 8 year low in my weight. Unfortunately, I allowed emotional woes to get the best of me and bring me back up to 255 lbs, 10 lbs more than I weighed at the beginning of 2008. In 2008, I forged the first real friendships in my teenage/adult life, from which I experienced true happiness for the first time in over a decade. Within seven months, that true happiness was replaced with true heartache, for reasons that I will never understand. As a result, I am left without a friend to my name once more. Finally, my irresponsibility has further dug me in the financial ditch known as debt. At first it was managable, but due to the current state of the economy, the lenders of my credit are taking action to protect themselves, cutting my credit limits in half. Where my debt to credit ratio was in good standing three months ago, as of today, I now have far less available credit compared to debt.

If I could sum up 2008 in one word, it'd have to be "depressing."

I'm not one who's easily depressed, so you'll forgive me if I'd like to forget that the year 2008 ever existed. From hence forth, my only concern is what transpires in 2009, and if I have anything to say about it, this year will be far different, far better, than these past 12 wasted months of my life.

What are my resolutions? Well, as a fatty, I'm pretty sure you can guess what the number one vow will be.

I know I'm able to lose weight, gain muscle, and become healthy...after all, I've done it before. I've allowed so many things to interfere with my goals as of late that it seems as thought I've just given up alltogether. In fact, I haven't given up on the hope or the efforts. My discipline has been loose to say the least, so with the new year and the refreshed sense of hope that comes with it, I'm positive that I can get my act together and keep my eyes on the prize.

My second resolution for this new year is to pull up the roots that I've been planting for far too long. I have allowed myself to become accustomed to the everyday routine, doing the same thing, living the same life, day in and day out. This false comfort has stunted my growth in life, from losing weight, making friends, and finding a careerpath that would allow me to maintain a prosperous way of life. I am far more messed up that I'd like to be, and along with finding my way to 185 lbs and 8% body fat, I'm looking to reshape the social and professional aspects of my life. Forging friendships has always proved rather difficult for me, painfully so, but I welcome this challenge with open arms.

This is perhaps the most difficult resolution of the lot. I work a dead-end job, getting paid small bucks for a job that others get paid so much for. Living as a border in my mom's house, the only child paying rent while purchasing my own food, with bills including credit cards, charge cards, insurance, DirecTV, and Verizon Wireless...I don't make enough money to live comfortably unless utilizing any available credit to my name. For someone with so many responsibilities, I haven't been living all too responsibly. While I have vowed to live off a very strict budget for as long as it takes, budgeting will only go so far towards paying off a debt and preparing for the future. I need to work towards finding a career, deciding not to work as a graveyard shift stockboy for the rest of my life. I don't know what this will entail, but I'm willing to do whatever's necessary to advance to the next stage in my life. It's time to finally grow up....

There are probably other resolutions that I hope to keep throughout this year and many to come, but these three are of the utmost importance.

What are your resolutions? Surely you've got at least one. Whatever they may be and however you go about accomplishing them, I hope that you find the solace you're looking for in this new year.

As always, I appreciate your time and attention. Thank you for keeping up with me here and on YouTube. Knowing that I've got good people keeping tabs on me helps to keep me accountable, and any success on my part wouldn't have been possible without you. As you continue to follow my journey, you will come to find what one man can do when he really puts his heart, soul, and mind to it.

You all mean more to me than you know, and again, I wish you a very Happy New Year!

Much Love!


-TripleQ