New Year's Resolutions

It is the year 2013 and everything has gotten off to a good start. I usually hate talking about new year's resolutions, but this year, I'm going to mention them a bit because a lot of people are mentioning them.  Okay, here it is, the brass tack of the issue. I don't make new year's resolutions anymore.  Why? Basically because that are now pointless, and repetitive. Since 2005 I have been making the same resolutions: To keep personal devotions, to lose weight, to maintain an exercise program, and to finish some personal projects. 
Well, since then, I have done all of them. They have become more than a shallow promise to do something that year, all of those "resolutions" have become "ways of life" or "habits" for me now.  I have my personal devotions every morning without fail. In the past five years I can only think of a couple times when I missed having devotion time.
I have lost weight, and continue to do so little by little. But since I have started building muscle over the past three years, I gained some weight, but lost several inches all over my body which is better than just depending on weight to determine health. So, I am still working on building muscle mass and losing fat.
I workout 6 days a week every week. Again, I can only think of a couple times when I didn't workout, and that was because I was away from home in the US and couldn't. There were also a couple times when I was unable to workout because of a sudden change in my schedule that was unavoidable.
Projects! I love my little projects. I have set little projects for myself focusing on my DVD collection and how to organize them. I am getting more efficient at keeping them in order every year. And my collection keeps growing.  Last year, I purchased software that allows me to keep a digital record of all my titles and I was also able to separate movies from TV shows.  I also bought a separate case for Animation and Reality.  The two shows my kids like to watch with me, so they can get them without touching the big cases.
Anyway, since I am always in process, and I am pleased with what I am doing, and how I am doing it, I see no reason to mix it up with new year's resolutions. I'm not the type of person that forces himself to do something new just for the sake of doing something new. If something needs to be changed, I change it at that time. I wouldn't wait till January 1 to start doing it. That would be stupid, and I would probably lose my motivation to do anything anyway.  Happy New year everyone.


Okay, I guess I could make one new year's resolution: Be more consistent with my blog. At least one new blog a week. That's not too much, is it?

Happy New Year!

Mosquito Ninja

Okay, this is a weird post, but I was so intrigued by an experience I had the other day with a mosquito.  First off, let me say that I hate mosquitoes.  I see absolutely no redeeming qualities in mosquitoes.  They are just pests and pains in the butt.  But I couldn't help be impressed with their unique abilities of duck and evade. 

I was in our shower at home getting ready to take a shower when out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of a mosquito flying by.  Our shower room is all white so I thought it would be easy to hunt and destroy.  I got a beat on it and just as I was about to smash it into the wall, it literally vanished right in front of my eyes. I was so focused on it I didn't think it would be possible for it to escape, but it did.  I quickly closed the shower door to try and contain it.  Luckily I did.  I caught sight of it again and tried to be even more careful, but again it disappeared. This time I stepped back and widened my view and I saw it in a totally different part of the room.  I was like, "How in the world did it get there in a split second, right in front of my eyes." This happened three or four times.  So I took a wet hand towel and just started to swing around until it appeared again.  Finally it landed on the white wall where I smacked it with the towel and that was the end of Mr. Mosquito.

The mosquito is an amazing creature.  I wonder what purpose they would serve in a perfect world.  Because they certainly wouldn't be sucking blood.

SLACKER!!!

Okay, I'm a slacker.  I wrote earlier that I would try to write every week.  That was almost 3 months ago... I think.  I could give a bunch of excuses as to why I haven't written, but I won't because that wouldn't change the fact that I haven't written.  So, I will again say that I will try to write more.  And yes, I am not going to give a timeline, I'm just going to write.

Although I have not been active as a blogger, I have been very active on facebook.  I have also joined two other Internet communities that I have been more active in: Instagram, and Pinterest.  I regularly post photos to Instagram and regularly post interesting photos on Pinterest.  Definitely not as time consuming as writing, but it gets my tastes and ideas out there.  My Instagram and Pinterest accounts are connected to my facebook account so what I post is public notice.

If you are interested in any of these communities, you can check them out on the net.  I saw that Instagram was being bought by facebook for $1 billion.  Wow, that is a big chunk of change for an app.  But there are millions of members so I guess you could justify it.  I just hope that facebook doesn't change the interface all the time like it does with its own interface.  That would be a pain!

I have also been somewhat active on Twitter.  I post comments a few times a week.  Not like everyday, or every hour like some people, but a few times a week.  Not really sure why, just to stay connected I guess. There are people following me there so I guess I like to let them know that I'm still around.  But blogging takes a lot more dedication that I once thought.  My fitness blog on Beachbody.com has also come to a standstill.  I don't really have anything to write with respect to fitness.  I have been exercising for several years now and everything would just seem redundant.  Nothing new, so I don't write.  My most recent post was about the pain in my hands when lifting heavy weights.  I thought it was new, but when I went back and read previous posts, I had posted the same idea just the previous month.  OOPS!

When something comes up, I'll write again!

What a "WASTE"!

Okay, this entree is not what I totally intended, but it seems as this blog is turning into a gripe session about my life in Japan.  Each day, I learn new things about life here that I am more surprised about, and often times disappointed.  This is one of those days.

I collect DVD/BluRay media.  I usually buy USA produced material which, if I am buying a TV series, for an hour long program, has at least 4 episodes on one disc.  Recently, I have been getting Japan produced DVDs for school and use in my classes.  I is upsetting that each disc has only two episodes.  The number of discs goes up unnecessarily as does the amount of plastic for cases.

One thing I totally HATE about all production companies is this "Vol. 1, Vol.2" deal with program seasons.  This gives the broadcast companies the ability to charge double for a single season.  They make money when the show airs on TV through ad revenue, but then they have to bilk the consumer by releasing half seasons at a time.  Aren't they rich enough?

But back to Japan.  One redeeming thing is that they are starting to release slim-box sets, but you have to wait a lot longer for those to come out.

That's it for this rant!

I'm a bad blogger:-(

This is one resolution that I haven't kept... Obviously. I really wanted to keep up my writing but things have been really busy since new years.

There have been times that I had time to write but just didn't have anything relevant to say. Or, I didn't want to bash the same old drum over and over again. When something comes to mind, I will write about it.

New Years Resolutions

Okay, I think it is about time for me to start writing this year.  I said in my last entry that I would write every week and that is already out the window, but fortunately I wrote that before the new years deadline so it doesn't count. LOL!  But that is just a technicality.  I will do my best to write something every week.

Today, I have decided to write out my new years resolutions.  One reason why I think it is a good idea to write out resolutions is because it makes me accountable.  If it is on "paper" it will motivate me to keep it up.  If I just say it, it is too easy to forget and throw out. I really don't want that to happen.  So here goes...

Resolution #1- To Journal.  Sine junior high, I have always wanted to keep a journal every day so I could look back at the end of the year and remember some of that years highlights.  Several times I went out and bought a book to write in.  I was very good for about a week and sometimes two, but if you look at those journals today, only the first few pages have writing on them and the rest is blank.  Last year, I bought an iTouch.  (I'll go into details of that purchase later.) and I found an app that would allow me to keep a journal.  It is awesome and easy.  I am perfect so far and because of my iTouch, I foresee that it will be easy enough to keep everyday.  Another great thing about the app is that I can attach pictures to my entries.  So I can take and attach photos to what I write.  So great!

Resolution #2- I was debating on whether or not to do this one but I have decided.  I want to be able to do 15 full extension unassisted pull-ups in a row without stopping by August.  It may seem like an easy goal to reach, but it actually isn't.  In order to do 15 pull-ups, I need to lose weight and gain strength.  When I hit my goal of 10 last year, the next time I tried, I could only do 8.  It took me about a week to get back to 10.  I just tried some pull ups on Wednesday and I did 12 with a big struggle on number 12.  I want to do 15 easy and struggle on 16 and maybe 17.  But I want 15 to be my base by August.  By extension, I want to lose inches around my gut.  I have lost fat around most of my body, but my gut is still undefined.  I want to see definition in my gut this year.

Resolution #3- Get back into the arts.  I want to play more trumpet, go back to JSB, and take more photos.  I need to start carrying around my camera more, not just my iTouch, but my 35mm SLR.  I'm going to start making photos again!  How exciting!

Well, that is it, actually not.  I have one more that deserves more of a personal touch that is connected with my religious beliefs but that also will be a topic of another entry.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!

It has been over a month since my last blog.  I'm very sorry for not blogging more, but things got really busy and I just didn't make the time to write.  But, as one of my new years resolutions, I am going to blog more this coming year.

As I look at the clock, it is 6 minutes to midnight.  So, I am going to officially end this years series of blogs by saying HAPPY NEW YEAR!  As a new years resolution, I will blog at least once a week.  Starting tomorrow.  Please look forward to my 2011 wrap up!

Time to wake up my daughter!  She really wanted to "COUNT DOWN" to the new year.

Cheers Everyone!