2010
01.09

I remember making New Years resolutions for 2009 but I don’t think I wrote them down or recorded them anywhere so I don’t even remember what they were, or if I even met any of them. To avoid a repeat of this snafu, I’m recording my 2010 resolutions here. I suspect one or more of my 09 resolutions had to do with becoming more physically active which is something I think I accomplished quite well towards the end of 2009, so I’ll be looking to continue that trend. Anyways, here we go:

#1. Continue to build upon my base workout regiment and improve cardio fitness

A few months ago I started running 3 times a week for about 10 minutes, and walking for another 50 mins. Right now I’m up to running 30 minutes and walking 30 minutes, and I want to keep improving on that. My goal is to be able to jog for an hour straight without stopping (or dying)

#2. Explore more trails around SA and the surrounding hill country.

Back in October I bought a mountain bike. I’ve always wanted to do this but I didn’t really know anyone who was familiar with the sport until I met my buddy Bert. He was able to give me some pointers on how to not seriously injure myself, and I’ve had a blast hitting some of the easier trails in San Antonio. I’d probably be out on the trails right now if it weren’t for this ridiculously cold weather. This will also help with resolution #1 as biking is a great workout, and I always feel physically drained after an afternoon session. Anyways, I really want to hit up Salado Creek and Government Canyon among other places. I’m hoping to accomplish this as soon as the weather warms up

#3. Try to be more social, especially when interacting with people I don’t know very well

Anyone who’s met me can probably attest to the fact that I’m very reserved around people I don’t know. I’ve had multiple friends tell me that their first impression of me wasn’t very favorable as I tend to come off as aloof, and a bit cold. I’ve even had one female friend describe me as “emotionally unavailable.” I’m no psych major but I think that my upbringing has a lot to do with my current disposition. I’m a naturally shy person but on top of that I’m an only child, so growing up I always had a lot of time to myself. I never had problems making friends, but being a military brat, I had to deal with moving every 3 years or so and severing ties with my friends and having to make new ones.

OK enough excuses, the point is I know that I want to make a change. While I don’t believe you can (or should) change the core of who you are, I do think everyone can work to make themselves better, and that’s what I want to do. I want to be able to present the best version of me to people whether that be friends, family, co-workers, and especially people I don’t know very well. I have a pretty good idea in my head of the changes I’d like to make, so its just a matter of putting them into practice. Most of them are subtle so it shouldn’t be too big of a deal. I’ve spent a good amount of time the past few months reading self-improvement material. A lot of it is complete crap but there is some good stuff out there. Most of it is pretty obvious too. (improve self-confidence, be able to project that, don’t be a douchebag, etc) Hopefully by this time next year I’ll feel good about the improvements made in this area of my life

#4 Expand my cooking knowledge dramatically

This is an area that I need a LOT of improvement in. Unlike a lot of people I’m not content with being terrible at cooking and just eating ramen and hot pockets every day. In 5 years I want to be very comfortable cooking a large number of unique dishes, and be comfortable and knowledgeable enough to where I can improvise and hopefully start to put my own touch on certain recipes. As it is, I have a specific set of dishes that I can cook, and I know how to cook those well, but anything outside my comfort zone (which is mostly everything) gives me trouble. Luckily I have an amazing mother who is the best cook I know, who is willing to share her knowledge with me. Actually she’s the one always nagging me to cook more and not go out to eat as much. I’m going to make it a point to go to my parents house more and help my mom prepare dinner for the fam. I think this will go a long way in my aspirations to be the next Food Network star.

#5. Improve my financial portfolio

I’ve been really bad about this the past few years. I make enough to live comfortably but I’m not saving for retirement at all. My company has a 401k plan but they don’t do a match, so its tough for me to want to contribute anything even though I know I should. I’d like to explore retirement plans outside my employer to see if there’s a better one out there, at least until they decide to contribute to the 401k plan. It seems like I just stash money in my bank account, and whenever it gets large enough I make a big purchase, such as a car, or most recently, a house. Now that those two are out of the way, I really have no excuse for investing in my retirement.

That’s all I have for now. There are a few other things I want to improve that are minor and don’t warrant an entry here, but I think 5 is a good number. The common theme here is self-improvement. I’ve worked hard to get to this point, and now I want to tweak and re-calibrate various parts of my life to be the absolute best person I can possibly be. I feel very blessed to have gotten this far, now its just a matter of continuing the progress I’ve made.

-h

2009
11.02

I has a bike!

As mentioned in my previous post, I made a promise to myself to purchase a mountain bike, and start spending more time outdoors.  And unlike every other promise I made to myself, I actually followed through on this one.  Hooray for me!

New bike!

I ended up getting a Trek 4300D. I wanted to find a bike which didn’t cost a ridiculous amount of money, but was still something higher than an entry level bike. I’ve read a lot of reviews about this bike and it seems to be just what I’m looking for.

Bert graciously accompanied me to Bike World and brought along his bike hitch, since I don’t have a bike rack yet, and this bike doesn’t even come close to fitting in my trunk. I ended up taking it out to OP Schnabel park 2 Saturdays ago and had a blast. I think we rode for a good 3 or 4 hours and I was physically drained. Exactly the kind of activity I’ve been craving!

So anyway, I’m looking forward to falling my ass out on the trails. :D

-h

2009
10.18

Random thoughts

- I need to buy a mountain bike.  Its recently come to my attention that I’m completely out of shape.  This poses a problem because I like to describe myself as athletic and at this point it would be a lie.  I’m already starting to hit the gym again but with the weather being so unbelievably AWESOME, I need a new outdoor activity.  Some obstacles that will need to be overcome:

  • Price.  A decent mountain bike will likely run me around $650 or so
  • Transportation.  I don’t really want to put a bike rack on my car and risk scratching the paint.  I’ll have to check to see if the bike can fit in my trunk with at least the front wheel removed
  • People to ride with.  I’ll need to find more people to accompany me on my zany adventures into the South Texas back country so that when I inevitably do something stupid and injure myself, I have some backup.  Hopefully my friend Bert’s hand is sufficiently healed.

- Netflix absolutely LOVES customers like me.  I’ve been sitting on the same two movies for almost 4 months.  I did finally watch The Aviator last night.  Pretty good film.

- Red Zone channel rocks my world

- I lost my sunglasses yet again.  This time it was a pair of Oakley Square Wire 2.0 lenses that cost me $150.  They don’t make that style anymore so I had to get them from eBay.  I’m debating whether to buy another pair or find a different style.  Everyone always asks why I don’t just buy a cheap pair from Walmart or wherever.  I’ve tried to use cheap sunglasses but they always fall apart within a month, and I’ve become spoiled by polarized lenses.  No, I think the real solution would be for me to find a way to NOT lose anymore sunglasses :(

- The weather is fantasic and I need to wash my car.  If I do, I guarantee the weather will instantly turn to crap.  Like as I’m drying the car off, rain clouds will form.

2009
10.04

2009
10.01

Oh look I made a blog

I was browsing wordpress.org and found a pretty cool looking theme so I decided I’d make a blog in order to showcase said theme.

I have to say I’m pretty impressed so far.  Nine times out of ten the actual theme never quite measures up to the thumbnail preview.  I guess that fake picture of the boat really makes a difference…

I’ve had a few previous wordpress blogs but I always stopped updating them due to laziness and uh…well thats about it.  A lot has happened since the last iteration of my blog.  Some major changes include:

- New car

- New job (still with Rackspace)

- New house

So basically I bought a bunch of shit.  In a time when people are starting to become more frugal, and maintain a tighter grip on their finances, I’m moving in the opposite direction.  This will either turn out to be a really good decision or a complete disaster, but that’s how I roll.  If it goes south I’ll just fake my own death or something.