10 More Pounds

02.26.2013

So it's been 2 weeks since I mentioned my weight. Instead of reporting in every week with what could be a miniscule or awe-inspiring weight report, I decided to just pop in every 10 pounds. So the 1st 10 pounds took 1 week, the 2nd 10 pounds took 2 weeks. We'll see if the 3rd 10 pounds takes a month.

I've been sticking to my diet, mostly. I may have fudged on the carbs a couple of non-contiguous days. With the Phentarmine and paying attention to when my stomach says I'm hungry I generally eat 2 meals per day - lunch around 1:00 and dinner sometime between 5:00 and 8:00 depending on the day. If I'm not really hungry enough for dinner I just have a snack or some protein shakes (still drinking Muscle Milk, which isn't really low-carb friendly but I think the protein content is making up for it). I've also been sticking to my multivitamin and B12 every day. Part of why I skip breakfast may be the handful of pills I take in the morning, once you add in my blood pressure medicine and a couple of Aleve that helps keep my knees from hurting.

But progress. That's the key. The next step is to start back to at least a semi-regular exercise routine. I can walk from the parking lot at work to my desk without huffing, puffing, and thinking I'm about to pass out anymore. Dare I venture back to the treadmill at wellness center? More importantly, do I see if the bicycle tires can still hold air?

This could make for an exciting 10 pounds if I don't just sit around for a month.

But, to summarize:

---

Was: 437lbs.
Am: 417lbs.

Was: Having a hard time walking halfway in to work without stopping to catch my fat-ass full of breath.
Am: Successfully lugging my fat-ass all the way in to work without thinking I'm going to die.

Was: Actually kind of miserable, but I was trying to cover it up.
Am: Having a good day on average.

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I need to PRIORITIZE!

02.25.2013

I've reached another one of those points where I have too much to do, hobby-wise, at least if I sit down and try to do something without planning ahead of time. Here's what all I've got on my to-do list (which may be more of a "keeping me busy" list):

• Zombie Mall - this part I need to break down a little.
  • Rules update: I still have to get the rules ready for the next round of play testing. It was on my list of things to do over the weekend, but I decided to be lazy with Gina all weekend. It was then on my list of things to do today at work, where I expected it to be slow, but then I got busy tracking down database stuff. I just need to get this done so I can at least schedule the next test game.
  • New modular map: I'm not releasing my free game to the general public with a 30"x40" map to print out. The goal was always to have a modular map, so now I just have to break up the map. It's not a simple cut & paste, as some of the dimensions have changed to make the map modular-friendly.

• Unity 3D - it's been a long time since I played around with the old 3D game engine. It's time top get back to it. The bad part is that it's been long enough that I really need to start over from scratch with the tutorials I was working on. There are also a couple of bullets that fall beneath here.
  • Poser/Models - There's still 1 program I have to get in order to import the vast library of Poser models I have into Unity. $60 I've been putting off spending for 2 years. I've slowly gotten back into playing around with Poser over the past couple of weeks.
  • Unity 4 learning curve - Do I stick with the old version of Unity I have (if it will still install) or switch to the updated version? Any changes in the interface will have to be hunted down if I change, but the new version is supposed to automatically do some of that old, hard stuff for you. A qundry, that's what it is.

• Painting & Modelling - I've got even more paper craft buildings to put together now. Gaming figures, too, as I've been looking at the Dust Warfare rules and they're starting to look good to me. Tangentially, I glued together the War Rocket Imperial space ships Jerry got me for Christmas. Next I need to fill in some cracks with green stuff before priming and painting.
• The game after Zombie Mall - I started thinking about rules for a combat skirmish game about the same time I started working on the Zombie Mall rules. I've taken what I've learned from Zombie Mall and started the process of tweaking those original rules, which so far has meant throwing away 90% of what I had. The idea is still valid, so I still want to work on it and see if I can make 2 games that people would play!

All of it I want to do. I just get hung up on which to do first.

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Checking Spam

02.18.2013

This morning I was checking my spam filter on my Yahoo email account (my default, go to email for most things) to see if a reply I was waiting on got filtered out. After scrolling past the hundred emails that arrive at 9:45 tonight, the above grouping caught my eye.

Hidden there amidst all of the porn, women that want me, penis aids, and international prescription drugs, the Christians were lurking. Christians wanting to hook up, granted, but not in the overt, in your face way as the rest of the spam. And for some reason, that made me chuckle.

Stick with any email account for 10 years and you'll get every type of email there is.

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My Home Depot Trips(s)

02.13.2013

Welcome to the world of the LG Electronics 1.6 cu.ft. Over-The-Range Microwave Oven in Stainless Steel, the newest addition to the Russellmania family of appliances after the Whirlpool Over-The-Range Microwave Oven in Stainless Steel stopped heating Monday. The Whirlpool still lights up, the turntable turns, and everything beeps, but no heat.

The LG isn't quite the new addition as it's sitting in the garage waiting for Handyman Mike & Co. to come install it. I have no idea what's involved in installing a microwave. Mike installed the last one so he can install this one.

Getting the LG Microwave was quite an adventure in itself. After scrounging the net Monday night and learning that every microwave gets lots of bad reviews, I decided that Tuesday I would look at HH Gregg, Home Depot, and Lowes and see what they had in stock. From there I would investigate online and see which ones were least likely to explode immediately after being plugged in. At HH Gregg I saw a Samsung that was on sale for $249 ($60 off regular price). Checking online I found (1) the local store had none in stock, but if I ordered it now it would arrive in 5 days, and (2) according to reviews this one just might blow up when plugged in.

At Home Depot, I found the above LG (I know, spoiler alert). The reviews for this weren't as bad, with only roughly 25% of the people saying it would blow up. When I went to Lowes I saw less of a selection, and nothing I hadn't seen other places. By the end of Tuesday I decided on the LG. Wednesday I went to Home Depot to get said microwave, as the online inventory listed 3 in the store.

Me, standing by the microwaves looking at a dark haired, orange clad woman in front of a computer.
Orange clad, dark haired woman: Oh hi. Can I help you?
Me: Yes, I'd like to buy a microwave.
Orange clad, dark haired woman: Do you know which one?
Me: Yes I do.
Orange clad, dark haired woman: Ok, let me see what I can do. [Grabs clipboard and starts to head toward what looks like the refrigerators]
Me: It's right over here.
Orange clad, dark haired woman: Ok, which one?
Me: This one. [points to 3rd microwave over from where I've been standing the whole time, almost within reach]
Orange clad, dark haired woman: Ok, let's see... [Writes stuff on clipboard] I'm going to check if it's in stock. I'll be right back.
Minutes pass
An orange clad, red haired woman shows up at the computer previously mentioned. Hi, can I help you?
Me: Actually I think I'm already being helped.
Orange clad, red haired woman: By the dark haired lady?
Me: Yes.
Orange clad, red haired woman: She actually asked me to come help you.
We now repeat the Point at Microwave, Write on Clipboard process. We go to a different computer than the one 4 feet away and she checks the inventory. It says
here we have 4 in stock. Let me get one of the guys to check back where we keep these in stock.
One of the guys walks by and is enlisted to check. I'm handed off to him and we go to the back wall of Home Depot.
Guy, checking handheld inventory gun: This is saying we've got 4, but there's only 2 LG microwaves back here.
What follows is 10 minutes of people checking other places only to find that the 4 listed in inventory are missing for one reason or another. I leave dejectedly.

Later I find myself at the Decatur Home Depot. In the microwave section are an orange clad Old Biker Dude and Shoulda Been a Librarian, both helping a woman that sounds like she is price comparing to redo her entire kitchen. I stand uncomfortably close to their computer until one of them notices and asks if I need help. Shoulda Been a Librarian asks Old Biker Dude to help me. Orange Clad Old Biker Dude: So what can I help you with?
Me:I'd like to see if you have a microwave in stock.
Orange Clad Old Biker Dude: OK. [grabs clipboard, walks pass me and heads what amazingly looks to be toward the refrigerators] Which one?
Me:This one [pointing to the microwave I'm standing EXACTLY in front of, which he had to walk past on his aborted trip to the refrigerators]. The LG.
Orange Clad Old Biker Dude: Let's see. We can order it for you.
Me:So you don't have any in stock?
Orange Clad Old Biker Dude, pointing at description & price above microwave: No, it says here this is for home delivery only.
Me: Really? I know it's a long shot, but the website listed 1 in your inventory. Maybe it's the display model?
Orange Clad Old Biker Dude: Could be. I can check though.

We walk to another computer and he pulls up the website, which does indeed list 1 in stock. He checks the store inventory and it lists 3. After telling him I do want it if they have any (isn't this how I started?) he goes off to check. 10 minutes later he returns to tell me they do have it, in fact they have 2, so the other one listed in the inventory must be the display model. Is that the one I want? YES, YES IT IS THAT'S WHY I CAME HERE AND TOLD YOU MULTIPLE TIMES I WANTED IT YOU OLD FART. I then get handed off to someone else who takes my personal information to print out a barcode that can be rung up at the register. She'll get someone to pull the microwave for me (they still don't think I want this microwave). I go and spend $270 for a piece of paper, where 10 minutes later the girl that printed my barcode wheels up the microwave that I can finally take with me.

I have a new respect for Home Depot. Given what I saw today I have absolutely no idea how they stay in business.

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Diet: Week 1

02.11.2013

A week ago (roughly) I started my diet in earnest. From my visit to the bariatric surgeon I learned that was a hefty 439 LBS. It's a 6 month route to surgery, and the doctor wants me to lose 25-30 LBS before the surgery - this would mentally start a mental argument of well if I could lose weight I wouldn't need weight loss surgery. He gave me a rough diet plan to follow (basically Atkins which I successfully managed 6 years ago). Instead of complaining about a diet or putting it off, I decided to start. I also got a little help from my regular doctor in the form of a new prescription for Phentermine.

I've taken Phentermine once before and it did no good, mainly because although my appetite may have been suppressed I still ate like I normally did. Taking it in conjunction with the high protein/low carb Atkins approach it may work better. One of my goals has been to eat when I'm hungry, not because it's a certain time or I'm sitting in front of the TV. It's surprising how much difference that can make. I've found I generally don't get hungry until after noon. That may also be the Phentermine kicking in.

When I weighed myself at home the day I weighed 439 at the doctors office, I weighed 437 bare ass naked in the morning. From that, besides guessing I wear 2 pounds of clothes, I decided my starting weight diet-wise would be 437. This morning when I hopped on the scales they read 427. My weight can fluctuate up and down through the day (and even the week), but I checked every morning for the past week and my weight was consistently dropping. Progress!

I've also started taking a multivitamin and a separate B12. Between those, the Phentermine, and dropping 10 LBS I'm starting to get a little bit of energy back. I remember telling Gina last Thursday that I was feeling better than I had in months. Today was the first time in at least 2 months that I managed to walk from the parking lot to my desk at work and wasn't huffing, puffing, and sweating (and it was in the 50's, as opposed to the time I was sweating and it was 28°). So diet GOOD!

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