Catching up

Wow, so it has been a long time since I have posted, but I figure why not. My last year has been a crazy roller coster ride, and even since my last post in December, a lot has changed.

As you are probably aware, last August I embarked on a journey weighing in at 332 LBS. As of mid summer I hit 197 LBS. Big jump! But I still struggle keeping the weight down, I'm back up to 210 and constantly struggling to stay down. But life goes on I guess. I have the tools, I can get where I need to be. Problem is winter. In the winter the body starts to store fat, much like how squirrels store food in their cheeks. So with colder days upon us in the midwest, it's going to be harder for me to drop any kind of weight, so the main goal is to maintain until February. Hopefully I can do that.

Also this time last year I was in a job that I hated. I worked at JCPenney for 2 years, and one of my goals this last year was to move into a career somewhere outside of JCP. My first move was to Sioux Chief. It was a good job, but the hours sucked, the pay wasn't great and it was manual labor. Nothing against manual labor for anyone that does it for a living, but it's just not for me. Finally in August though, my dream job opened up. I was very lucky to get into the Fraud Department of a national bank. I love my job for the first time in a long time and the pay is great. I have an awesome boss that is laid back and easy to talk to and I work with great people that keep my laughing and help my though the day when I need it.

On the podcast side of things, well they were going pretty well until we stopped recording. Finally after a few years we got subscribers to nearly 30,000 per episode. Sadly though, when reaching out for help to keep myself from getting overwhelmed, I only had Gerard. Both of us have lives, and hopefully we can start back up again.

Overall life is pretty fantastic right now. I'm lucky to have great people in my life. I only see great things for me in the future and excited to see what comes of it all.

Goodbye my old friend Brightkite

Well, today I am completely heart broken. I have been a long time user of the social media site Brightkite and today the announcement has been made. Brightkite will be no more. I have been part of the site since it was in private beta back in the spring of 2008. It was one of the first social networking sites that I pimped out to everyone I know. It was also a site that got me into a lot of trouble with an employer. We have been through good and bad times together. Most recently my family on Brightkite has had the chance to see a change in me happen, both physically and as a person. I have friends there that will be life long friends and people that I have made mad and they gave up on me. Either way, just like a family, I love them all.

It really saddens me to see BK go in a direction that I can have nothing to do with. Group Texting would be a big deal and worth changing over too if you didn't have services like TextPlus, Tatango, WhatsApp and Pingchat already doing the same thing, and all have been doing it for a while.

Nothing has really been the same since the original team left the BK offices. @sprouticus was one of the best community managers I have every had the pleasure of dealing with and meeting in real life. @hiro and @brady truly cared about their baby and would do anything for their users. Sadly most of us knew bad things were coming when the 3 of them left the company.

It's been a nice journey Brightkite, it's had up's and downs, but it looks now that it must all come to an end. I will miss you, but I can thank you for one thing. Thank you for giving me a second family.

Obesity is your fault

I am so sick of hearing people blaming their fatness on everybody and everything other than themselves. You are in control of your life and eating habits. Mcdonalds didn't make you get that fry or supersize. The gas station didn't make you get the 72 oz of Dr. Pepper. Your Parents didn't hold a gun to your head and tell you to eat until you were fat.

I also don't believe that obesity is a genetic disorder either. My dad was 119 LBS when he married my mom, I graduated high school well over 300 LBS. I have been big my whole life. My dad is now big. Half my family is little tooth picks. Saying that you are over weight because of your genes is like some one from a poor upbringing saying they have no choice but to follow that path. It is your choice if you are fat and obese.

I was sick of being fat, so I am doing something about it. What are you doing?

Almost to my next big goal

It's hard to believe that I am where I am today. Just this time last year, I was struggling to walk because of lower back pain, and I was weighing in at over 360 LBS. My life was miserable. Because of my back pain, I was unable to eat all the time, which was a blessing in disguise. But in August 2010, I embarked on a journey to get a healthier life and get at a healthier weight.

My first goal seemed impossible. Many thought I was setting myself up for failure. 332 LBS at the time, I set a goal to make it down to 300 LBS. Within 45 days though, I managed to make it to my goal with only a change in diet. Since that initial weight loss, I have set up another goal of 280 LBS. Again, most sites and trainers say that I am setting myself up for failure. Today I weighed in at 283 LBS. Just 3 LBS short of my next goal, and I have to say it feels great.

I have at least one more goal in me. I am hoping to make it down to 260 LBS by February of 2011. I see this being a pretty good healthy weight for myself. Also, now that I do workout at Anytime Fitness, I will be able to put on some much needed muscle. Who knows, maybe I'll make a good monster.

The big switch

I have been using SquareSpace.com for the last year for my site. While I love what SquareSpace has to offer, the cost is just to high for me when I don't update my blog on a regular basis. So this is my first post on my new site. Yes, I am using blogger. For me, it only makes sense. Hopefully I will start posting more, But I am focusing a lot of my time on Tech Hijack and on Techhijack.com.