True Story: I used to think the 5 second rule meant that after 5 seconds the food on the floor was anyone's game. I learned later in life that I was wrong...too much later.

Quote of the Day: (my friend arrives after driving 1500 miles and brings all of his boxes inside)
A: It's like Christmas...except all the presents are for me!

First weigh-in is tomorrow morning and I am pretty confident it will be down, the question being how much? Not too worried about it. Starting reading a new manga today called Btoom!, watching a new anime, Jormungand, and started Zen the Art of Happiness. All seem like they have potential to be doing well. I looked into a manga I had been reading called Deadman Wonderland and found out it hasn't been updated since 2011. That is quite the disappointment as I thought the manga was looking pretty good. Tomorrow my friend moves down to live with me and my roommates. He is going to bring a new edge to our group that I hope will assist me in my 2013 resolutions.

Geeked out like crazy today. Played some good ol' D&D over skype with my friends. Finally got to the crazy twist where one of the players was actually a traitor working for the opposing country. For those who do not play D&D, players typically create a team and accomplish tasks together. A player going rogue and betraying the party is a rare occurrence especially among my group of friends. Honestly the session was a long time coming and is something else I want to be more consistent with this year. I am pretty sure everyone is looking forward to seeing what happens next and the turn-of-events really shocked them. No matter what other board games or video games come out, nothing will ever beat the creative imagination of the ultimate role-playing game.

Arkham Horror went surprisingly well. When 5 people are playing, 4 are new, and everyone likes the game, it was a good night. Finished reading The Night in Question today. There were a few good stories in there that I would definitely recommend skipping some of the stories. The book felt like it was meant for an english class and should be dissected a little more than I did. All in all not a bad read. Now I am moving onto Zen the Art of Happiness. I don't know what I want to learn from the book, but I hope to learn something. On top of that I am about to finish the anime Black Rock Shooter, which has been decent, but not as good as Magical Girl Madoka. Time to finish that off before I go out for the evening to my friends for some drinks and games.

The week was so short and yet felt so long. So glad it is over. I just stopped by Barnes and Nobles on my way home to pick up book replacements for my current read while grabbing Arkham Horror, one of the best board games I have ever played. Imagine a cooperative RPG board game. I am going out to a bar to watch a college football game, which I have very little interest in, however one of my resolutions is to go out more and to put myself in situations where I am less comfortable, so kudos to that. After the game I plan on an incredible night with a few buddies, introducing them to Arkham Horror, and maybe turning on a game system for the first time this year. I'm not feeling 100%, but I'm not down with using that as an excuse so out I go.

Till Tomorrow...

Today I started cooking for myself again. This is an example of a typical day I will be eating until I achieve my goal.

Breakfast: Eggs with spinach, sunflower seeds, and feta cheese, rarely mixing in some bacon bits
Lunch: Ground beef with ricotta cheese, tomato sauce, and onions
Snack: apple
Snack: peanuts/cashews
Dinner: chicken with peppers, onions, lettuce, and guacamole
Snack: fiber one bar
Drinks: water/tea

I am trying to not be coffee dependent as I switch my sleep schedule to a 5-6 hour schedule off of the typical 8 hour shift most people sleep. Sure I will slip up and have some beers and a fun meal or two, but for the most part that is my typical day in eating and it worked for me last year and will work for me again, especially when I overcome this cold and start working out much harder.

More fun news I tried meditating for the first time last night for five minutes. I was able to truly clear my mind for the full time frame, but today I realized there is a moment of bliss that I achieve every day. The very first second relieving yourself after holding in a piss for so long is potentially the most relaxing moment in life and you get to feel it every day. Honestly now that I am back to drinking 190 ounces of water a day, I am finding that moment of pure bliss a lot more often and although it does suck to pee that much, I have found joy in the fact that I can reach a state of harmony every time.

I have also decided I need a catchphrase, I will post my thoughts as they occur to me.

That's it for today

Man, I never thought I would be that sentimental guy who talks about his family and what is happening in his life, yet here I am about to share my news. Today I have become an uncle. My older brother and his wife gave birth to a boy only a few hours ago. Not until the moment that I heard the news did I truly understand who I would be to my nephew. Having moved 1500 miles away to Houston 2 years ago, I only see my family about 2 times per year. This now makes me the cool uncle who comes back with crazy gifts and amazing stories. Of course I will have to censor most of what I say from now on, but I am pretty sure I can compete with my two younger brothers for that role. My mother's first grandchild so obviously she sent me pictures immediately of the child and I most appropriately responded with a text stating, "WHAT IS THAT THING?!!!" The humor was not appreciated by her, but I am hoping my brothers got a laugh from the text as I am sure it was shared. I am still absorbing what it means to be an uncle, but like all in life it will surely be an experience. Honestly what better way to begin my life anew with all the changes I am trying to make, than to have a new life start alongside me. I cannot wait to meet young Joseph in person.

P.S. Today I weighed in at 250 pounds, shopped at Whole Foods for my meals until Sunday, and had my last unhealthy meal for a long time. Goodbye Five Guys, I will forever be DAYUM DAYUM DAYUMing in your memory. I look forward to our reunion to celebrate my success when I am under 200 pounds.

Year of Change

Today is the start of a new year. I have never before believed in New Year resolutions, but this year I have one: I want to do a hard reset on my life. In 2012 I spent a lot of time in front of the computer after my 9-6 job, eating tons of crap, and basically just letting life continue. I was content, but not happy. Last year was a transition year. I learned how to exercise and eat well and lost around 80 pounds. Unfortunately the exercise and dieting killed my social life, so when my coworkers stopped working out and eating healthy I did as well and gained about 30 of those pounds back. During that second half of the year when I gained the weight back, I found a very good group of friends. For me it was either live healthy or be social. That mistake will not be repeated. Today marks the beginning of a new me.  I am going to learn how to balance my social life and change my eating habits. This year I will NOT be dieting, but rather learning how to eat healthy and happy. 200 pounds: that is my primary goal for this year on top of a lot of little things like making sure to blog every day, writing and reading more, finding exciting opportunities around the city to be a part of, running a 5k, being more forward about helping others, etc. As you can see I have many plans for 2013 and they all get put into action today. During the year I plan to blog about anything to everything. If you like humor, stories, reviews, poems, songs, drama then you have no further to look. I hope you all find this blog entertaining and please tell me what your new year goals are, if I can inspire or help keep you motivated in any way I would be pleased to assist you. I look forward to a great year of change. 

Welcome to 2013!