7 Weeks to 100 Pushups - Initial Test

I maxed out at 23 good form pushups, which 6 months ago would have been absolutely amazing to me :-) but for now, it's a good starting number. I get to skip 2 weeks of the program because I can do more than 20 already, so this could very well be 5 weeks to 100 pushups!

I begin again next Monday. If I start on Friday, I'll throw off the timing, so the extra couple of days off won't hurt. Not like I won't do some other kind of workout till then anyways!

Thank you again to MakeUseOf.com for providing another good article! I was very happy to find this program (or shall I say it found me!) because I wanted to do more pushup workouts to get more upper body development, and bam, here's a program to do it. I'm a "tell me the routine and I'll do it" kind of guy, so having someone do the work for me was a big help!

Along the way I'll still be doing the basictrainingSF classes as well, which are such good workouts (if you've ever worked out "bootcamp" style, you'll know what I'm talking about!). These ladies know just how to kick my butt, but I feel so good for it later!

The resulting changes to my body are coming along pretty slowly, true, but I have to admit that there are results. Not going to be winning any bodybuilding contests (hahaha!) of course but I'm glad to see changes instead of just hoping for them.

So, I guess I have my first ever fitness goal... beyond "do more exercise, get in shape", which we all know is the biggest load of crap "goal" you can have! 5 weeks from now and Kathi will be here for our Anniversary... and maybe I'll have something to show her!!! :-)

OK, that's the report for now... status reports to come!

Looking for a new home for my loving cat Nizzle

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you may know, I’ve made a big decision in life and I’m going to be moving to Munich, Germany, to live with my girlfriend Kathi. One of the hardest choices I’m making in order to go forward with my decision is to find new homes for my cats. I love my cats like my own furry little children, but I have come to the conclusion that it is in the kitties best interest not to make this long journey with me, but instead to stay here in America with new, loving owners. To force the journey on the cats is too selfish on my part… the long, stressful flight, the possibility of exposure to unknown kitty diseases, possibility of them running away, ect, ect. I think the cats will be better suited to staying here and being put into loving homes.

I wanted to reach out to my friends and family first since I trust you all the most, know many of you to be pet lovers, and I would know that I could feel secure if Nizzle was with one of you.

I’m looking for the right home for Nizzle. I think Nizzle would be best suited to move into a home where he is either the only cat, or the other kitties are very calm and\or older cats. Nizzle has grown up with his buddy Sylvester and he’s rarely ever had any issues with being around other cats, but he’s always been more of a solitary kitty, content with eating, sleeping, and the affections of his owner!

Nizzle is the sweetest, most loving cat I have ever had the pleasure of being around, and the right home is looking for just such a cat! He’s like a sweet, little teddy bear… every night, Nizzle snuggles up in my arms and sleeps the night away! (well there is a routine, first he lays his head on my face, then I push him away, then he goes to sleep… typical cat!). Nizzle loves affection, he can’t get enough, and he is a great lap cat and will give his new owner more love than they could ever imagine! He’s also small, cute and adorable! Nizzle is a funny blend of brave and skittish. He’s the first cat to sniff the new dog in the house, but move too fast or make too loud of a noise, and he’s gone in a grey blur! It’s his special personality that endears him to people and what makes him such a pleasure to own!

Nizzle has been around quite a few dogs and doesn’t have any problems with them… he’ll let them know if they got too close!

I want to find the right home and the right owner for Nizzle. He isn’t complicated and only demands the basic cat needs… feed him and love him! But he definitely makes sure he gets what he needs! The right home and owner wants a cat that is low maintenance, is very loving, is outdoors (Nizzle is a fully trained indoor\outdoor kitty, he will “go” outside or use a kitty box), and probably won't want any more cats (other than perhaps those you may already own). Nizzle won’t need anything additional to come into your home… he’s micro-chipped, he’s gotten his 3 month flea treatment, he is current on all his shots, and he has a clean bill of health from the vet (as of his recent appt a couple of months ago). I’ll provide him with his first bag of food, and if you’d like, with a kitty box.

I only have one special request of his new owner. I’d like to ask that if Nizzle is to become an outdoor cat (which is my preference), that for the first 3 months (minimum), up to 6 months, he remain an indoor cat while he becomes adjusted to his new home, owners, and feeding schedules. He needs to learn where the food is and where home is so that he doesn’t try to run away first chance he gets! I ask because I think Nizzle has a small chance of getting freaked out and taking off before he realizes that he's in a new home for good and I think everyone would feel pretty bad in that situation!

Please believe me when I say that I do NOT want to part ways with Nizzle, but if there is a cat that would definitely have a very hard time with such a crazy move as Germany, it would be him. He is a joy and I love having him in my life. I know this isn’t something that most people would agree to, but I would take him back in a second if\when I moved back to America (though if YOU had Nizzle, you wouldn’t want to give him up!!!).

So, in conclusion, if any of you, my trusted friends and family, think you have a place in your home, but most especially in your heart, for a warm, cute, loving, adorable cat that is sure to make you fall in love with him, please reach out to me and let me know that you’re interested in adopting Nizzle and giving him the awesome home he deserves!!! I’d like to kindly ask that, if you can’t do it or don’t want to, just send me a quick reply that you aren’t interested, and I’ll make sure I don’t bother you with this request again!

Thank you again… pictures included… I definitely hope it’s one of you who take my baby Nizzle home!

PS – some of you may get this same letter via Facebook… thanks! And sorry if you're getting this again, but obviously, I haven't found a home yet :-)

I've never felt more alive and ready for action

I feel like I'm just living on top of a cloud. I am just as excited as I've ever been at the prospect of my own life.

I hope others around me can pick up on my good vibes and their own day's are a little better for it, because I'm really radiating positive attitude right now. You would too if you were me :-)

Europe... ahh, what a place. I could explore and get lost there and never go to the same place twice! And could there EVER be a better companion for the road ahead than my beautiful woman? I think not! Life is on it's way to being a story that I can tell and other people actually listen and say... "wow, that was hella cool, I wish I could... " :-)

I feel good, I feel healthy, I feel alive, and I want to spread the joy! Oh yeah, I feel LOVED by my family, my girl, and my friends, and nothing feels better than that!

100% cornball, that's my way of thinking, but I'm smiling and bouncing and feeling good, so you can't knock me! Maybe you'll try it yourself! You are what you tell yourself, so tell yourself that you're awesome and today is great and you wouldn't change who you are or your life in one single way! If you don't love yourself, who else can?!?

OK, enough, take my vibes and run with it!

Wednesday Thoughts

The due date is fast approaching! I'm soon to be experiencing something new and different. I'm not that guy that is all "I'm sooooo excited!", but even I'm starting to get butterflies and it's really starting to hit home that I'm doing this.

Germany is going to be an awesome place. I can't wait to see what it has to offer me.

Really what I'm excited about the most will be our opportunities to travel around Europe. Just get in the car for the weekend and take off! Get on the train and go somewhere! I'm really excited for this!!! And there couldn't be a better person to do it with than Kathi, the best girlfriend a guy could ever ask for!

There is still alot to accomplish, lots of details to take care of... but I'm so ready!

Dead Wrong - Notorious B.I.G. - Eminem lyrics

There's several different levels to Devil worshippin: horse's heads,

human sacrifices, canibalism; candles and exorcism

Animals havin sex with 'em; camels mammals and rabbits

But I don't get into that, I kick the habit - I just,

beat you to death with weapons that eat through the flesh

And I never eat you unless the fuckin, meat looks fresh

I got a lion in my pocket, I'm lyin, I got a nine in my pocket

and baby I'm just, dyin to cock him

He's ready for war, I'm ready for war

I got machetes and swords for any faggot that said he was raw

My uz' as, heavy as yours, yeah you met me before

I just didn't have as large an arsenal of weapons before

Marshall will step in the door, I lay your head on the floor

With your body spread on the bedspread, red on the wall

red on the ceilin, red on the floor, get a new whore

Met on the second, wet on the third;

then she's dead on the fourth - I'm dead wrong

Thursday Thoughts

Today, I feel good. I feel better about the way my life is progressing. There are still alot of improvements to be made, but truth be told, if you stop improving, it's probably cause you're dead or the most boring person ever :)

Losing all this weight has made me feel so good about myself. I've proven to myself that I can do the hardest thing possible, and do it well! Being on WeightWatchers and having a plan of attack (using their system) has definitely given me the right tools to get it done, but it still came down to me and only me. I love the fact that I can look in the mirror and say "yup, I did it, 100% all me". No one picked up the fork for me, no one told me I "had to eat this or that". It definitely feels good to know I made the right choices most times and that I'm seeing results for it! I can't wait for my girlfriend to see me! If she loved me when I'm pudgy and cute, she'll flip for her skinny, sexy boyfriend :-)

I've stopped talking about my finances because... well because the systems I've put in place are working! Most of my payments are automated and everything just pays itself. It's pretty awesome :-) I love that I hardly have to think about it more than a couple of times a week, at best!

I'm going to Germany! I'm going to take a cursory visit to check out the country, see the place I'll be living in, and of course, to spend time with my lovely Kathi. It's a short visit, only a week, which is not what people normally do when traveling to Europe, but hey, I think its totally worth it and I can't wait to see Kathi. Almost 6 months apart has been terrible!

Nothing else to report... just happy, loving life, and excited to see my love again!!!

Love when things go good!

A moment of frustration just adds clarity to my situation.

My frustrations have come strictly due to work. Mostly just frustrated because the things that I wanted to happen with this job never panned out. I'm doing work that I'm simply too good for. I don't mean that in the derogatory sense, but in the sense that I've trained and have experience in WAY more than I'm doing. I feel like an experienced, certified mechanic who's stuck doing oil changes at your local 10 minute repair shop.

But again, with frustration comes clarity. If there is one thing that I know, for a FACT, is that I AM A SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR. I am not Helpdesk. I am a Systems Administrator doing Helpdesk work. This week, I've come to realize that my next job, no matter how long it takes, or where, or when, will be with either the title of Systems Administrator or Windows Administrator. No middle ground, no half ways, nothing. Sys Admin or bust.

The only exception to this would be the for the chance to get a sponsored job in Germany. I'd be willing to stay in parallel with my career as it is for the opportunity for a guaranteed job. It's going to be hard enough getting a job, so while I'm certainly applying for, trying for, and gunning for a Systems Administrator job in Germany (which is essentially a promotion to a new job in a new country where I don't speak the language), the realist in me says "take the job that comes your way, get your foot in the door and get over there... THEN you can have some wiggle room to do something else." If time were no factor, I'd only try to get the Sys Admin position, but I miss my girl and I want to get out there already :-) so any job will do, basically!

I have to say though, I'm feeling real good right now because I'm moving in the right directions. Because I've set a goal for myself, I actually have something to look forward to, something that is achievable and I can reach for. Once the decision was made in my mind to move to Germany, my path and my options all seemed to come into focus. I see where my career needs to go, I have plans in motion to get myself out to Germany, and I'm getting things done, and more importantly, getting them done right.

Challenges, problems, frustrations... these things are my teachers and they help me to grow. Without them, I'd never have the opportunity to prove that I can BEAT them! Win your challenges, overcome your problems, and work thru your frustrations. You are only a better person for it... and I'm a better person now for it as well!

What else you got for me life? Think you got a challenge I can't win, bring it on, I dare you!