The Countdown

So since tracking about 40 days ago I have lost 20 pounds and just have eight more to go until I meet my goal of 177.  Seeing as I gave myself until the end of tax season to get there it should fairly easy and possible to go past.  It is quite eye opening to track everything you eat, but I feel once Spring arrives I will be free from having to watch as closely what I eat.  Biking to and from work at that point will be a great change of pace as well as keep me to meet my goals for the year.

With that, this Sunday kicks off my running races for the year.  I am actually feeling quite comfortable and prepared for this one.  I only get about 10 minutes a day during lunch to run so can only get in 1.2 miles at a time, but emotionally I feel ready.  Personally I feel running is 60% mental anyways, and that is what I will work on leading up to this Sunday and more importantly October for the half marathon.

I didn't have much to say this time just a snapshot of where I am at and where I am headed.  As for the countdown, 6 days til the 5k, 35 working days til the end of tax season, and 230 days until the Detroit half marathon!

One Month Later

A month ago that silly Wii Fit said I was 205, I didn't want to hear it and decided to make a change.  I watched everything I ate, watched the portions that I took, and chose healthier options whenever I could.  Like I told myself I would, I worked out during lunches and pushed myself to live a healthier life.  As of this morning I have reached 187.8, that's down 17.2 pounds.  That leaves just about 11 pounds to go by the end of tax season in 7 weeks.

In the mean time, I am training for a 5k on March 10th.  It has been some time since I have really ran but have been able to squeeze 10 minutes in a day during my lunches and if it wasn't winter I would be able to get in more after work outside.  Really the 5k is to just get me started for the year.  I have much, much bigger and crazier plans.  By the beginning of Summer I plan on running a 10k as a kickoff to the main event in the Fall.  It may be crazy and I have never ran more than 7 miles, but this September or so I plan on running a HALF MARATHON!

I can hardly believe I am saying it but I am kind of excited.  Lately I have been having more energy and feel like taking these leaps and a half marathon will for sure push my body to the max.  This past week I have been reading lots of tips and plans for training.  First I will get myself through the 5k and then the 10k, from there it will be all half marathon training.  I think one of my largest inspirations is my friend Katherine.  About three years ago I was into running and I got Katherine to join a bit as well.  I fell out of it but she stuck with it and looks amazing.  Just a bit ago Katherine ran her own half marathon and now it has seemed to have lit a fire under me.

Well that is it for now, much to do and excited for it!

Dear Wii Fit

Dear Wii Fit,

Thank you for calling me overweight.  I knew I would not like the results after tha past few months have not been that health conscious.  So for the first time in over 3 years I reached over 200 pounds.  Being 205 is not making me smile.  Can I really have gained 25 pounds in four months?  Looks like no more junk food at work for me, just healthy foods with a treat from time to time.  As for going out to eat at Red Robin, or ordering Chinese or getting a pizza, no thanks.  By the end of tax season and in time for my 28th birthday I plan on being back to my post summer weight.

Now besides the above I also need to get back to working out, that has been one important thing that is lacking as of late.  Tax season does not help matters.  However I will try to workout during lunch as well as taking more walks.  Also after work try to find more active activities and play more energetic video games like Wii Fit and Just Dance.  As said in a prior post, this is my fault and no one else.  Currently I am also enrolled in Fundamentals of Human Nutrition so I will be looking more in depth at my habits and work on approving.  I can do this. I will do this.

Yours truly,

Brian

So I feel as though I have let myself go, hahaha.  I miss the months of biking, those miles do wonders.  Since my month of the vegan experiment followed by the two weeks of no taste buds, I have lost most of my want to eat healthy.  So the combination of eating worse and less exercise has not been great.  Oh and let's throw in the holidays as well while we are at it.  These are stupid excuses and I am not going to take it any longer, even if I do have another 95 days of tax season ahead of me.  Already this week I have cut my sugar intake and have tried preparing healthier food options.  Tax season is definitely stressful and exhausting, but I am truly going to try making it better.  If all else fails, February 13th will be here in no time.

Hopefully 2013 brings more opportunities to get outside and explore.  In the past year I was fortunate enough to go visit friends in Florida and swim in the ocean; explore the city I love, Chicago, for the millionth time and meat new people and see new things; and finally jumped on a plane and flew to Denver and made my way north and climbed and hiked through mountains.  Who knows what this year will bring.  Possibly another trip to NYC to visit my sister before she moves on the bigger and better things post grad school, or south to North Carolina to visit Crystal and Ted, or some place simply unknown.  Where ever I go I want to see something exciting and fresh.  Each year brings growth and by chance in the right direction.

2012, The Year That Was

Ok so I haven't posted in quite some time, coming up to two months and the last was a review so really it has been a bit longer.  Well the end of the year is here and that means time for self reflection and where one can improve.  After the lull that 2011 turned out to be, 2012 was a lot about self awareness and growth.  I don't think I did much but I did enough.  (Be sure to catch my favorite tracks of 2012 at the end of this post)

In the past year I have paid $17,000 in loans with only about $22,400 to go, it has made times a bit challenging include this month and the next couple to follow.  This is acceptable because it'll make 2014 that much better.

In 2012, I saw friends come and go, people fade in and out of your life and it is just something you have to accept.  This past 12 months was also a year I felt more alone then ever, a great loss can do that.  However it has made me look inward and will make me stronger going forward and give me something to work and improve upon.

So long 1997 Infiniti, Buzz will miss yo

Howdy 2009 Mercury Milan, stay a while

Also this year meant I threw my first car away, farewell Penny Slots, and hello Janet, nothing makes you feel like you are moving up in the world like classy wheels, especially when it listens to your commands.

In January, I moved from 15ish miles south of Ann Arbor in Milan to just east in Ypsilanti.  The commute for sure is not nice.  It means braking much too often, getting chili on the floor, and basically getting stuck in traffic every day.  However with the move I am closer to friends and to restaurants and parks in AA and Ypsi as well as a short drive to IKEA.  No longer do I have to shop at Kroger, but instead I get the awesome benefit of Meijer and not too far from Trader Joe's.  Being close to the movie theater isn't too shabby as well.  I may have lost the space of a house but at least I have a gas stove.

About February I made a goal to do different things each month, obviously I failed at this but maybe I will give it another swing or just try out of the few things again.

One dumb idea that I know I will never try again, being vegan, worst month ever.  It was completely stupid and pointless, waste of a life.  Meat is too delicious as are eggs, milk, cheese, etc.  Not for me and I see no purpose in it.  Being vegetarian is one thing but veganism is too far.  Since I hate cooking with meat, it is a low part of my diet unless I go out to eat.  It did not help that when I started eating meat and dairy again my tongue when through a wave of pain and numbness and lost the sense of taste for about two weeks.  Very frightening.

Now to wrap this year up I will do it in music, well I made a mix of some of my favorite songs of 2012.  Limiting a year into under 80 minutes is not easy at all.  This list is in no particular order, it is just how I placed them on the CD.  You will notice a few tracks like "Wagon Wheel" (thanks Denver) and "In Step" are a bit older, but I was introduced to them in 2012 and they had huge impacts.  Also by far my favorite albums of 2012 we Babel by Mumford & Sons as well as Some Nights by fun.  Linkin Park seems consistent as past albums, some don't like their different sound since Minutes til Midnight, I'm happy to have both.  It was amazing to have a new No Doubt album after an 11 year no show, still as great as ever.  Special thanks to Chad, Lana is too uberly addictive to not list a couple of times.  With that, bring it on 2013!

1. Some Nights - fun.

2. Starships - Nicki Minaj

3. Somebody That Used to Know - Gotye

4. Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show

5. Daylight - Maroon 5

6. Diet Mountain Dew - Lana Del Ray

7. I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons

8. One More Summer - No Doubt

9. We Are Young - fun.

10. Castle of Glass - Linkin Park

11. One More Night - Maroon 5

12. Your Body - Christina Aguilera

13. Stars - fun.

14. Hopeless Wanderer - Mumford & Sons

15. Burn It Down - Linkin Park

16. In Step - Frankmusik

17. Push and Shove - No Doubt

18. Born to Die - Lana Del Ray

Windows 8 Review

 Okay short break from my regular post so I can publish the review for Windows 8 that I wrote for work, I spent a bit of time on it and wouldn't mind some feedback.  Also all screen shots were done by myself except for the first one.

 
About three and a quarter years have passed since I first started using Windows 7 and it has definitely a refreshing change from XP and a correction of errors that many found Vista to be. So now that Windows 8 has been released what can I possible conclude about Microsoft’s latest operating system? Needed. The answer is quite clear, the world of technology is an ever changing set of solutions and if one is to continue repeating the same then it will be unsurprisingly left behind. Windows 7 turned out to be a quite stable OS and a clear revision of the operating systems before it.

Windows 3.11

With the release of Windows 8 it is clear that this time around Microsoft is looking to make a change. One try with the new system and you quickly realize that it really is the biggest change since August 1995 when Windows 95 was released. The Windows as we know it has been the same basic thought process since 95 passed from 3.11. I have used each OS since 3.1 (besides ME of course) and the change to 8 is drastic. So the question is why? Simple, Apple and Google. Competition creates change and every facet of Windows 8 shows this. Windows 8 was created for the clear purpose to tie the personal computer and the tablet. The OS is for sure benefited with the use of touch but that is not what I had tested.


In my case I decided to upgrade from a self-made PC from years before, using the standard mouse and keyboard. In this review I’m not going to throw out a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo because honestly the average person does not care. So the basics, my computer has a Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz processor (so a couple generations behind the current), 4 GB memory, and an integrated dated video card. At one time it was a quite decent computer but time has passed and my computer is no longer anything to write home about.

Windows 8 DVD package

So let’s get this started, first the installation. Simple, it was clearly simple. I went with the DVD option but that was simply before I had a $30 credit from Amazon. The easiest and cheapest route is downloading directly from Microsoft for $40, if you have recently bought a computer then the upgrade is only $15. So coming from Windows 7 you can keep all installed programs, settings and files, I chose to do a clean install instead, be sure to backup prior though. Now the process of the actual installation will vary of course, but at least for me I found it simple, extremely simple. I began the install and zipped by in no time, the install plus setting up an account and picking custom settings took all but less than 30 minutes. In this process you will setup a Microsoft account, this will be needed to be able to get apps through the Microsoft Store and use SkyDrive (more on these in a bit).


Once you are all setup you will be thrown into something new, a redesign and re-imagined Start. No longer is there a start menu but instead a Modern user interface or sometimes referred to as Metro. It is a screen full of scrolling tiles, and even without touch they react well and I found clicking on them to be quite enjoyable. The animation of the sprites just seems smooth and as for the tiles themselves they seem to come alive as you use them as they are updated with content and flash with what lies behind. At first I was confused and did not understand how you could have Windows without a Start menu. As I made my way through and became more comfortable it became quite clear that the idea of Start has not actually been lost and is instead the core belief of the redesign. The old Start screen was just a series of multiple clicks, then with Windows 7 you could pin the most used programs to the taskbar. With Windows 8 it combines both of these ideas, but with a smooth colorful interface that seems intuitive.


Now to be honest it took me a bit to get used to this and after 17 years of one thought processes it is not easy to change. To be honest, I am more worried about others. I love new technology and the ever changing innovation it brings. However, people tend to find change uncomforting. I feel that once you work around a bit it’ll seem quite fluid. Windows 8 can seem like it is from two worlds, there is the Modern UI Start screen where the Window 8 Store apps run and then the classic desktop where legacy programs run. The switch can throw you off at first and is probably one of the biggest drawbacks, but I wouldn’t say it was a reason to not use it. As for the legacy programs or those built to run on the classic Desktop they still work. At least I haven’t run into any issues.

Newly designed Start screen

One huge change that you will notice right away is that when you are in the new full-screen apps there is no close, minimize or resize buttons, so how do you close. Well simple drag the mouse from the top and throw it to the bottom, also the old Alt+F4 still works wonders. Also by hovering to the left side of the screen you will see little previews of what’s running. Another issue that I have with the new operating system would be that when in the apps they are full-screen which is great except you can’t see the clock and this is annoying. Actually the only way to see the time is to go to the classic desktop or when in the Start screen move the mouse to the upper right or lower right to bring up the Charms options. Another concept that must be seen to fully understand. Keyboards shortcuts come in use as well. By simply using the Windows key you will switch between the Start screen and the most recent used App that is opened. To quick bring
up Charms use Windows + C, and my favorite because using OneNote Windows + S for cropping a screenshot live.


As mentioned before the Start screen is made up of live tiles that pull from apps from the Windows 8 Store. In general I found the store pleasing, until actually looking at the apps available, it seems more like a list that can get confusing fast. Luckily Windows 8 has great search built in, again more on that later. Selecting apps is simple, for ones that have a price you typically can try them, and easily see reviews and what changes have recently occurred for the app, basically what you would expect using a cell phone or tablet. Now after installing a bunch of apps if you decide that you no longer want it, just right click on it a remove it, poof it’s gone.

List of Apps and programs installed along with Search

Back to the search, as easy as it was in Windows 7 but better and more defined, each app that is downloaded also can use it to benefit. Just click the Windows key and start typing the app that you want to run. If you are in an app like say Netflix, begin typing and easily find the movie you were looking for. In the Windows 8 Store it makes the mess I was speaking of before more usable, although stills needs to be improved quite a bit. Going to the search right from the Start screen allows you to pick the app in which to search from or search in general as well as show you everything install, be in from the Modern apps to those built for classic Windows. This is where you can easily bring up those legacy programs that date back years before like Paint, Notepad, and Windows Media Player; although they seem less important by the majority of the simple apps that have replaced them. Then again I find Xbox Music completely horrendous compared to the Zune software that it replaced, Xbox Video seems to be quite simple and easy to use however. The one benefit of Xbox Music that is kind of cool is the ability to stream music for free, much like Pandora or Spotify.


Since I mentioned a few apps I will mention a few more. SkyDrive, once mentioned earlier, is Microsoft’s cloud service and is highly integrated in the OS and you can save settings and documents here so when you log into another location you can access them, even when you are not at a Windows 8 computer your files can be accessed. For the SkyDrive you get about 7GB free with the ability to expand. Another app that Microsoft is pushing is Games, it can tie your Xbox account into Windows and keeps tracks of scores and gain achievements, allows you to download a long list of games and as time passes expect to see more game distribution through it (the main reason why Valve and Blizzard are bad-mouthing Windows 8, not because it is bad for gaming but their distribution profits). Honestly when it comes to games on the PC my first question is how has Solitaire changed, Windows 7 actually brought some nice refreshing changes, and Windows 8 actually brings some interesting things to the table (trivial maybe, but I keep tabs on solitaire).

Netflix and Cookbook apps running side-by-side

People is another app that is quite craftily built to tie in your Microsoft, Google, Skype, Facebook, Twitter as well as a few others to bring your life, friends and family front and center. I enjoy using it briefly for easily communicating using different services, but for Facebook in particular would be nice to have a dedicated app. However, just pinned the address to my start and can’t really tell the difference. Now one app that really was a surprise, Internet Explorer 10, I think I  have used it more for personal use in the last few days than I have used IE in the past few years. It is simple, gorgeous and fast, yeah I’m talking about Internet Explorer and I have been a die-hard Firefox to Chrome user for a good 6 years or so. Really the true power of the apps come from those that you pick and choose. So far my top apps would be Netflix, Cocktail Flow, Cookbook and OneNote, but I have so much more exploring to do.


This review or opinion piece is far from complete, much has not been discussed here and some that was probably did not have to be. There is much to learn and to explore about Windows 8 and I find it intriguing. Really no matter what I say it doesn’t matter and neither do the numerous other reviews. If you are interested, go try it out for yourself and create your own opinions. In fact if you have any opinions start the discussion below.

Full Circle

People always talk full circle and always sounds great and cheery, I believe in my case it actually is quite an exciting thing.  Even though there has been many changes in my life there are some things that have oddly looped back, more to my amusement then anything.  Four years ago to the date I was writing a very similar post preparing for the very same event.

It was October 10th, 2008, I was President of Fabiano/Emmons/Woldt Hall Council, working 20 hours at the front desk and 20 hours at Target at night, that and a full load of classes.  All of this basically equals the 50ish hours a week I am working in this busy tax season, well minus the lack of fun and thrill of the rush.  The main reason for this post was that I saw four years ago I was preparing for my very first 5k.  Now I am preparing for my sixth or seventh race, but all of them lead back to that first race.

Beginning of March 2008, embarrassing 

The race of course was for the CMU Homecoming with benefits going to the Special Olympics.  Much like then and not surprisingly I was not quite prepared, could have given myself more time for preparation.  But it was for charity and much as every time it was for myself, to show that I am still alive and can force myself to push on.  Back in 2008 I really made a push to better my personal being, mostly through exercise and what I was eating.  My urge to really start wanting to run a 5k was Spring of 2008, February of that year i weighed an ungodly 240 pounds, I know hard to believe.  I cut back fast food, watched what I at, and by the end of the Spring semester I began to run.  If anyone knew me back then can attest, I despise running, which dates back to middle school, ha ha ha ask a few people from back then.  I made the decision to run because I hated it so much and it is because of this I knew it was good.  By the summer of '08 I was running every day, sometimes over 6 miles (I wish I could get back to that again).  I kept at it, but then school began again during the Fall and I got busy lost focus, but still I stuck to my goal of running my first 5k race.  Looking back at some blog posts to refresh my memory on some of the details, I saw that it took dedication, a dedication i hope to get back.  Not all was lost though, I still value my healthy lifestyle, still try to workout and eat healthy.  By the middle of that summer dipped below 200 pounds and before the race I weighted about 183 pounds.  I am proud to say I have seen 200 since, let alone the disgusting 240.  At times I reached 193 but mostly I've stuck in the 185 range, last I checked a few weeks ago I was just barely under 180.

Homecoming - October 10th, 2008

So Homecoming 2012 will be a great celebration not just to see some old friends, but to bring me back to a point when I had a vision and I saw it through.  Life had been rough up until then but it got better.  Since then I had run into quite a few hurdles, but I fought past them and learned from my mistakes.  i am now in a place in my life that I am happy and successful.  If failures come my way I know I only have myself to blame and troubles are only temporary and with a bit of determination will be a joke to my future self.  2008 Brian it was great to know you, but 2012 Brian is way better for the troubles you had.