End-of-Week Check-In: Saturday, January 23

Given that I haven't been able to update with any degree of regularity lately, I figure I should at the very least resort to a weekly update.  Hopefully in the upcoming weeks I'll be able to get back up to speed: 

• Thing #1: A few updates here in my effort to get under 200 pounds.  First off, I'm around 222 or so now.  Second, I officially joined the gym at work...which makes it a bit easier to get a workout in if I have a late night at work, or if I want to escape during lunch or something.  And finally, I invested in a pair of new Asics Gel cross-trainers for the gym...tossed out the old sporty Diesels.
• Thing #2: I bit the bullet and purchased Rosetta Stone's Japanese language module, Levels 1, 2 and 3 through Amazon.  Set me back about $485, though...so hope this was a wise investment!
• Thing #3: No progress...yet.  I am going on a cruise in March, though, and if it is like the last Carnival cruise I went on, and they have an acupuncturist on board, I may hit that.
• Thing #4: No burgers since my last report.  Apparently need to step up my burger consumption.
• Thing #5: I finally got my blog started (www.thepopcultureaddict.blogspot.com) but need to step up the entries.  TV shows and films will likely dominate content in the short term, as books and video games are going to take a bit longer to get through.  Also, doing a movie marathon tonight, so will hopefully have something interesting to report on coming out of that.
• Thing #6: No investigations into the paranormal yet.  I need to begin reporting on this.
• Thing #7: Well, I finally cancelled my $15/month "Unlimited Guest Privileges" package at 24 Hour Fitness...so that frees up some money.  My next move is to max out my contribution to my Roth IRA for last year and this year.  Almost called UBS yesterday, but wanted to make sure I knew who to contact about my accounts and to have that info on hand.
• Thing #8: I'm trying to get my office Survivor pool off the ground, in anticipation of the upcoming season, Heroes vs. Villains.  I think I can turn anything into a game, sometimes...

A Couple Healthy Notes

In Regards to Thing #1 ("The Obvious Thing")


Apologies for not having updated my progress in several days.  Unfortunately, things have been slammed at work, so the only thing I've really made any progress on is my effort to lose weight.  A couple specifics:

• I joined the fitness center at work (www.theclubatpct.com).  This is in addition to my 24 Hour Fitness membership.  It's nice to be able to duck out at 6:00pm or so and get a workout, returning to the office if I have additional work to be done.  Plus, it's very clean, so you don't feel like you're going to contract tetanus or something by showering there.
• A buddy and I signed up for a cruise to Mexico in March.  He's been stepping it up over the past couple months in terms of fitness, and now that leaves me no choice but to do the same.  To that end, have been pretty good about my diet so far this week...let's hope it continues.  Until I continue on my quest to find the "best damn burger out there," that is.  Heh.

The Final Four Things

To keep on schedule, I should be posting Thing #9 today.  But...I'm going to change up the rules on the fly a little bit.  Because I might find out as the year progresses that there is something I should be focusing my attention on, I'm treating these last four Things as "Wild Card" slots.  The only condition is that I must identify what they will by September 1st...this way I still have a solid four months to work on each of them.

The Pop Culture Addict

In Regards to Thing #5: "The Media Thing"


I finally settled on a name for my pop culture blog: "The Pop Culture Addict."  Sadly, "Pop Culture Addict" (sans the "The") was already taken.,  Regardless, you can track it down here:  http://thepopcultureaddict.blogspot.com/.