Despite my body wanting to stay in bed, I dragged it out of it at 5:30 this morning, and rode that elliptical for a good 3o minutes. It felt good. The three days in a row is where I usually fall apart. I usually tell myself its ok to skip a day after doing two in a row and that I'll get back the next day, but it never happens. Hopefully successive mornings will get much easier. Lets hope. I cheated a little though. I donated blood today and helped myself to maybe one too many oreo's and lorna doones. Thats OK though. The sugar helps after donating, of which I am the champ of. I must've filled that bag in about 5 minutes. Not an all time best, but impressive nonetheless.

I didn't really practice too much yesterday, so I plan on making up for it tonight by really getting into it.

That is all for now. Adios!

Well, one day down and so far so good. I actually woke up early this morning and hopped on the elliptical for a good 30 minutes or so. That felt good. Exhausting, but good.Just have to stick to the diet and not eat the crap that I find around my office like an idiot. Stay away from any liquid except water, and we'll be good. The key is consistency. Ride that damn elliptical every morning, regardless of whether or not I'm tired, sore or exhausted. Once I get into the pattern, I think it'll be harder to break it. My problem before was I'd start, go for like two days, then stop, but still sick to the diet, until the weekend, and then it all fell apart. I think if I can just get through this week and weekend without any major screw ups, I'll be OK.

On the other front, I've come with a structured practice schedule that I'm going to try to stick to with my guitar playing. All in 10 minute blocks, I'm going to work on scales, varios formations of chords, notes on the fretboard and other stuff, which should take about an hour, and then I can mess around with songs, both old and new for as much as I want after that. I need to work on the fundamentals. The boring stuff, but the important stuff. If I can get better at that stuff, I'll get better at everything else as well, and I'll be able to actually play more things that I attempt to and not get frustrated and give up. Its going to be hard work, but I think in the long run it'll be good.

So thats that. Thats me still in control. For now. But I'm not going to think negatively. Going to stay positive and stick with it. Because I want it all to work. Alright, back to work. Enjoy your Monday!

I think that I am officially in a rut of sorts in my life. Well, mostly in two areas, but they just happen to be the two that have the most control over my self esteem and self worth at the moment. My appearance and my guitar playing. First things first.

I've been on a constant yo-yo when it comes to sticking with my diet and exercising, and I'm getting sick of it. Starting tomorrow, Sunday, not a Monday, I'm sticking to it all 100%. I'm tired of looking in the mirror and not liking what I see. I'm tired of clothes being too tight and wearing the same pair of jeans all the time. So no more yo-yo. Tomorrow I take control.

As for the guitar, I find myself playing the same stuff over and over again. I don't practice what I should from my lessons and whenever I try something new and can't get it by the third try, I basically get frustrated and give up. No more. I'm going back to basics. I'm going to practice the mundane, but extremely helpful things. Back to learning scales, chords and notes, the important backbone of the whole thing. No more learning songs that are just simple power chords, because thats the easy way out. I'm going to take it seriously again and really try to break through this rut/plateau I'm at.

Tomorrow I take control. Wish me luck.

Very slow day at work. The first half of this short week wasn't so bad, but today is dragging. My boss and another co-worker are both out. Not that it matters since half the office is out as well, due to the kids being off from school and people going away on vacation. Fun times. I just need to kill the next three hours. But how? I'lm sure I'll think of something. Any suggestions? They would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah, I know its been awhile, like a week or so since I last posted. What can I say, I'm a bad blogger. I've been preoccupied, with things that have stolen my time, no matter how little importance they carried.

As an update to my last post, the challah French toast was amazing. We fried up some sausage and Canadian bacon, mixed up some screwdrivers, and cooked up some French Toast. Damn it was good. I ate too much, drank too much, and ended up passing out way too early in the evening. It was such a hit, that my mom made some more challah on Sunday for me to take home and I made more French toast for myself Monday morning for breakfast. Good stuff.

Other than that its been kind of busy at work. It looks like some big and interesting projects are coming up, which I definitely can gear up for. Its been awhile since I've had something interesting to do over the long term, so I'm actually looking forward to something work related.

Business as usual otherwise. No news on the dating scene. I was supposed to go out with a girl on Monday but I cancelled and don't plan on rescheduling. I just had a strong feeling that it was going to go bad, and instead of wasting her time, my time and my money, I thought it was best to just pull out before anything bad happened. I felt like a bit of a dick, but oh well. Its been done to me before, so call it karma, or something else. Whatever.

The gig with my guitar teacher's band has been postponed until I don't know when. Should be in the next few weeks though. It gives me more time to practice and learn a few new songs. So thats good, as I wasn't really ready, I don't think.

So thats about it. Hope all is well with everyone out there. Oh, and I think this is post 600, go me! Another milestone. And I think the next legit comment is number 200. Don't I feel special? Adios for now!

Not real food though, just breakfast. My mom made homemade challah on Sunday when it snowed, so I snagged a loaf, and tonight I'm going to make some French Toast for myself and my roommates. I have all the needed supplies. I ran out and got some breakfast sausage and canadian bacon for the side, some confectioners sugar for the top. We have everything else. Bought a gallon of OJ for beverages, and of course, we'll be adding some vodka to them to make some screwdrivers. Gotta have some fun, right? I can't wait. Its going to be beyond tasty!

Ok, thats all. Just think about my tasty french toast and be jealous. And trust me, this stuff is the best bread you can possibly imagine!

What a weekend. I need a weekend to recover from my weekend. I didn't do much Friday night, just relaxed at home, got some pizza, drank some beer and watched the Ranger game, which was awesome. I had plans with the new girl, but she cancelled on me. Haven't really heard much from her since, which makes me think she's not interested anymore. We shall see. Not the end of the world, thats for sure.

Satruday I headed to my parents house, like I do every Saturday. My guitar lesson was cancelled, but I'm going to go on Tuesday night instead. Way to spend Valentine's Day, but I don't care. I love my guitar more than anything else in this world anyway, so in that respect, I'm spending it right. Beats the last two Valentines I had, thats for sure. Not hard to beat finding out that your slut of an ex cheated on you one year, and the next have your relationship on the verge of crumbling, but thats just me. I'm actually looking forward to no pressure of getting a gift, candy, flowers, taking someone out to dinner or anything like that this year. Just me and my guitar... and my guitar teacher, but thats not gay or anything.

Saturday night I headed into NYC with my mom to go see Billy Joel at Madiscon Square Garden. We met up with Seth, Shari and his parents, and grabbed a bite to eat at a great micro brewery at the Empire State Building. THen it was off to the Garden to see Billy Joel. Despite the fact that he's aged (alcohol does that to you, I guess) he still puts on a great show. Funny little guy too. Joking about the inclement weather approaching and telling everyone that was driving home to be safe, and reassuring the crowd that he wasn't driving anywhere. (He crashed his car into someones house while driving drunk a few years back). Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at. All in all, great show. Highlight for me, strangely, was Billy Joel strapping on a guitar, inviting a huge guy from his road crew out to sing AC/DC's Highway to Hell, which I'm now intent on learning. Don't ask me why I loved it, I just did.

We left the city and Seth's parents gave us a ride from some train station to our car at the other. Got home at like 1:30 or so and passed out. Woke up the next morning and all you could see otuside was white. We must've gotten at least a foot of snow throughout the day. It stopped snowing, finally, at about 5 PM, at which point I collected all my stuff and got the hell out of my parents house. Driving home wasn't too bad as the roads were mostly clear. Some were better than others, of course. Relaxed at home last night, woke up this morning and rode the elliptical for a good half hour. Then I found out that my office had a delayed 10 AM opening. I still left way too early and got to work at like 9:20.

Thats about it. Work has been OK. Hit a glitch with something, that I'm hoping will be sorted out with a quick call to Microsoft in the morning. I hope so, or its a whole lot of work down the tubes. I see a lot of loud angry guitar music in my future tonight.

Ten minutes to go and I'm out the door. Woo hoo!

Happy three year blogversary or whatever the hell you call it to me. Can you believe I've been at this for three years. Crazy. Oh well. Hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have, whoever you are!?

Nothing much going on. I did have plans with the new girl today, but I think they've been scrapped. So I think I'll just go to my parents tonight, as I need to get my hair cut in the morning, and thats always easier when I'm closer. Then its guitar lesson, then Billy Joel tomorrow night, which I'm sure will be awesome.

Its supposed to snow, a lot, on Saturday night, which isn't cool. Hopefully the weather will hold up and enable me to get in and out of the city without a problem. One can hope. Alright, thats it, I'm out. Busy day at work, for a change.

Well, shit, thats the only way to finish that sentence. It sounds gross, I know, and I apologize, but even worse than that is the sight or smell of it. Thats what greeted us this morning. Seriously. I was in the bathroom this morning and one of my roommates was banging on the door, saying we have a Code Black (yes we watch way too much Grey's Anatomy in my house) and all I could think of was that someone needed to get in the bathroom, so I said I'd be right out. They said no, don't go out the front door. Why? I asked. Because there's shit there. I thought they were just talking about the proverbial shit, not the literal shit. So I got out of the bathroom and called one of them up, and just asked, huh? Turns out someone or something, left something foul on our porch in front of the neighbor's door. Nasty, right? So nasty you could even smell it walking down the stairs towards the front door. Thankfully we have the back one too, but don't really use it as the stairs are tricky sometimes.

So I go out the back and put my stuff in my car and the curious idiot in me says, I have to see this for myself. So I walk around out front, look into the porch and sure enough, a big pile of... well... shit. I'd hate to see what whoever left it was eating, because damn, get yourself checked out, and pronto. I was talking to Shari about it and she said we're not even equipped to handle something like that, we have no shovels. Thats how bad it was. I felt even worse calling the care-taker lady and trying to explain it. I tried to do it as best I could, but saying that someone of something left something nasty in front of the neighbors door. What she asked. I ummed for a second, then said feces. She said what? I said, feces. She still wasn't getting it, so I said crap. Then she goes, Crap? Oh, feces. We then proceeded to have a two minute conversation over just how nasty it was and how on Earth it could've gotten there. She said she'd call her husband to clean it up. Poor bastard.

I just hope its gone when I get home, because I think if I have to see it again I'll be traumatized for like. And I'm so not joking about all of this. Who could make this shit up? Pun totally intended.

Nah nah, nah nah nah, it really sucks, nah nah, nah nah nah. Well, someone had to sing it. I am beyond exhausted today, which really isn't a change of pace to how I normally feel most days. I was up way too late last night, watching the Super Bowl, then Grey's Anatomy, then talking to the girl I met for coffee last Friday. And now I'm paying the price. All I want to do is go home and sleep, when I know that I need to go home and actually do things. Like practice, and watch TV, and then sleep.

I'm thinking that on the practicing front that I'm just going to stick to two songs for my teacher's band's show. (yeah, that made no sense). I figure I could try to attempt more, but I'd rather kick ass and have two tight songs, than be OK with a three or four not so tight songs. So American Idiot and Hash Pipe are what I'm really going to focus on, and I'm almost there with them both, which is a good thing. Its getting closer and closer and I am getting a little nervous, but hopefully I'll be OK and won't freeze up when I get there. That would be bad.

Other than that, nothing new to report. I love my TV. Watching the Super Bowl in HD was amazing. And having an LCD that you can actually move, easily, is even better. I hooked it up in the den so we could all watch in glorious High Definition. That was fun. Good time, seriously.

I should be meeting the coffee girl for drinks and possibly dinner tomorrow night. Lets hope it goes well. She's very different from what I'm used to as well, but in a very interesting and good way. I don't know how to describe, so I'm not going to bother, lets just say I hope things work out. If not, back to the drawing board, well, or whatever the hell euphamism I can think of.

Hope everyone is having a better Monday than me.

Yeah, I know, I'm still horrible at keeping up to date here. I can't explain it. I just think I'm ashamed with just how boring my life can be sometimes, and don't feel the need to share the boredom. Not that I'm depressed or anything, its exactly the opposite, I'm quite content with life at the moment and I actually think things are going well. So here's a recap.

Had a date on Wednesday night that I wasn't looking forward to, and with a good reason. There was absolutely no chemistry. No attraction. Bad and halting conversation. Just generally no good. She got the form letter e-mail that said it was nice getting to know you and meeting you, but I don't see us being more than friends, so good luck. To which I got a the feeling is mutual, good luck to you too reply, and thats was that. Whew. I hate bad dates. I see to have way too many of those lately. But, on the bright side, I met another girl for coffee yesterday and that actually went well, so maybe there is hope for my love life after all.

I took the day off yesterday to run some errands and get my car services. I know, lame excuse for a day off, but I was also at the Islander-Rangers game Thursday night where the Rangers beat the crap out of the Isles 5-2, in the Islander's building. It just doesn't get any better than that. There were definitely more Rangers fans there, or they were just a whole lot louder. The Rangers went up 4-0, the Isles started mounting a comeback in the third to make it 4-2, but we added an insurance goal to make it 5-2, which was how it ended. All in all, a great game. LETS GO RANGERS!!! Big game today against the team they're tied for first with. A win today gives them sole possession of first in the Atlantic division. Need this win.

Have my guitar lesson today. I didn't really practice "Blister in the Sun" too much this week. I really want to get that riff in Hash Pipe down because I don't want to play it some cheesy way. I want to play it the way its meant to be played. Less than three weeks to the big debut. I'm not nervous yet, but I know I will be. I hope that someone takes video of it with a digital camera or something so I can post it up. Should be interesting to say the least. I'm going to try to not look like a moron up there. Its one thing to play well, but you have to look good doing it, you know? Think back to School of Rock if you will.

Alright, thats about all I can take for a Saturday morning. Have a great weekend everyone!

Its been awhile since I posted anything. Bad blogger, yes I know. But I'm making up for it now, with another post of useless information, as nothing of note continues to go on in my life. Its simply the status quo. Well, not entirely true. I have a date tonight, that I'm not too excited about, I don't know why. But I'll go and see what shakes loose, see if there are any sparks as you never know. Maybe its because I started talking to this other girl as well, and I have a very different vibe from her thats a bit more positive. We shall see after tonight.

Other than that its the same old same old. The guitar lessons continue and I really need to work on my tunes for my teachers gig. So far we're definitely doing American Idiot, and if I can get the riff for Hash Pipe down, that one too. Its not that hard, I'm just a spaz like that somehow. We've also added the Violent Femmes "Blister in the Sun" as a possibility if I can learn that one. Again, they're not hard, I'm just a spaz when it comes to this stuff sometimes. I really shouldn't considering I've been taking lessons for something like 8 or so months. Maybe I'm just psyching myself out because I'm nervous to get in front of people and play. Yeah thats it. That one works for me!

Work is the same old. Taking the day off on Friday to get my car serviced. It just needs an oil change and a speaker or two looked at, because ones been buzzing for about as long as I've had the car (its what happens when the second you drive it off the lot and blast Pearl Jam and scream along) and I think another one is just plain busted. Also Thursday night my older brother and I are going to the Islander - Ranger game. Unfortunately its at the Coliseum, which is right across the street from my office, like literally, right across the street. I'd prefer and Isles - Rangers showdown at the Garden, but those tickets are impossible to come by. This should be fun though, as the Islanders suck and the Rangers are playing well (when they can actually finish a game. Bastard were up 2-0 in the third and lost it 3-2 in OT the other night. Heartbreaking).

Alright, back to work, or whatever it is that I do. I'll try to be better, I promise!