too easily pleased

weight

2010-02-11T19:53:00.001-05:00

Today's weight: 343.6.

MLK Day, my unpaid holiday

2010-01-18T10:08:00.004-05:00

Hooray, today is my last day of unemployment! I've had nearly 5 months of packing, moving, unpacking, adjusting to a new environment, looking feverishly for work, and waiting. Lots of waiting. And here on the eve of my 27th birthday, I wait some more. Tomorrow I have orientation at 9am at the main branch of the bank at which I'll be working, followed by 6 to 8 weeks of studying for securities license exams. While the next month and a half or so will be tedious, I welcome the task. This morning I'm going to press my work clothes and lay them out for the morning, complete some last-minute pre-employment paperwork and stuff it in my portfolio, and set the coffee maker to begin brewing at 7am tomorrow.

Weight today: 347.2. I'm glad I'm down slightly after this weekend. Friday night Erin and I went to the Maker's Mark Bourbon House and Lounge for a joint birthday celebration dinner and I had a 16 oz bone-in ribeye topped with béarnaise, some mashed potatoes, and country-style green beans with bourbon-glazed caramelized onions and bacon. I was pretty famished after burning 1200 calories on the golf course earlier in the day, but the meal was way more than I needed. It's ok to feast to celebrate your birthday, though, isn't it? Yesterday after church we took advantage of our free birthday burger coupons at Red Robin. I got a turkey burger, added some jalapenos for a little kick, and substituted the all-you-can-eat fries for a side salad. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of flavor the turkey patty offered. Our server, however, made it quite apparent that he was not a fan of the birthday coupons. He grilled us about the legitimacy of the coupons, dropped off our bill for $2.53 before we were halfway finished with the meal, and asked on two different visits to our table if he could take our payment before we were ready. We left $4.53. Sorry we were so cheap, Red Robin server, but you were downright rude.

i'm think i know the reason....

2010-01-15T17:04:00.002-05:00

From telegraph.co.uk, passed along from my friend Brian:

Weight Watchers clinic floor collapses under dieters

The floor of a Weight Watchers clinic in Sweden collapsed beneath a group of 20 members of the weight loss programme who were gathered for a meeting.

Published: 7:35PM GMT 14 Jan 2010

As the dieters queued to see how many pounds they had shed, the floor beneath them in the clinic in Växjö, in south-central Sweden, began to rumble, according to a report in The Local, Sweden's English-language newspaper.

"We suddenly heard a huge thud; we almost thought it was an earthquake and everything flew up in the air.

"The floor collapsed in one corner of the room and along the walls," one Weight Watchers participant told the Smålandsposten newspaper.

Soon, the fault lines spread around the room, and other sections of the floor gave way.

Luckily, all of the dieters escaped uninjured and managed to move the scales to the corridor, which was not damaged in the accident, and were able to complete their weekly weigh in.

The cause of the floor's collapse remains under investigation.

---

Weight today: 347.4 lbs.

good news

2010-01-12T19:53:00.003-05:00

I was a slightly discouraged this weekend over my weight. On Sunday it was up a pound to 351.4. My eating was not as clean this weekend as it has been over the past week or so, but I kept my calorie intake at or a little below what my body burns daily. I guess I'll chalk it up to water retention or changes in the lunar pull or whatever. Today it was down to 350.0 so I guess I'm on the right track. I re-focused my eating today and have stuck at 2000 calories for the day. Normally I stick around 2300-2400, but I got a little too involved in a project today and forgot my about my usual afternoon snack.

Anyway, I got some great news this morning, I passed the vetting process for starting my new job. I was offered a job as a personal banker at a large, national bank a couple of weeks ago, which was fantastic. I was thrilled to know that my then 4 month hiatus from work would draw to a close. But as the bank sent my official offer letter and welcome package, I was a little daunted with the process. I had to go downtown and get fingerprinted, authorize a full background check, and complete a drug test. I knew everything would be OK and I would pass the process, but I was concerned that there might have been some delays, causing my start date to be pushed back or the worst-case scenario of the offer being rescinded. In early 2006, when I was hired with MetLife, there were a couple of hiccups in the process and I started a couple weeks later than I would have liked. This time I was a bit concerned about the drug test. ~~The night before the drug test I smoked a monster doobie.~~ A couple of days before the drug test I had an attack of gout in my foot and went to the doc. He gave me some painkillers, and I was concerned that the opoid medication would show up in my urinalysis. I guess it didn't, or it at least wasn't a big deal, because I got a confirmation email stating that I was all squared away to start work on January 19 (also my birthday). It's about time, 5 months of no work has been brutal.

up

2010-01-09T11:01:00.002-05:00

350.4 on the scale this AM. Could be water weight, building a bit of muscle after having worked out the past few days, or being...um...a bit stopped up. Or a combination of any of those. I'm not worried, as the weekly trend is more important than the daily. Daily weigh-ins keep me motivated and on the right track, so I'll continue to do them. Another cup of coffee and I'll be ready to head out into the snow to go work out. (Fortunately I'm just headed to the workout room at the leasing office of our apartment complex). I call it the "fishbowl" as all of the office workers' desks face right at the wall of glass separating the office from the exercise room.

bacon

2010-01-07T10:04:00.004-05:00

The scale read 349.2 this morning.

I never thought I would eat turkey bacon again. The first time I tried it the person who prepared it for me warmed it in the microwave and it was limp and a little slimy. My wife and I were at Sam's Club the other night and were planning on getting our favorite breakfast sausage, Old Folks. If the "you are what you eat" adage holds true, anyone who's ever seen my physique could guess that I'm a sausage fan--but this stuff is seriously delicious. If Jimmy Dean ate Old Folks' sausage, he would be ashamed of himself for producing an inferior product. When you first try it the experience is like Paula Deen herself popped out from under the breakfast griddle to smack you upside the head with a hefty sausage roll of pure country goodness. Sorry, I'm getting a little off track here. Anyway, for some reason we wanted to be healthier or whatever and grabbed the turkey bacon off the shelf above the pork sausage. This morning I fried up 4 slices until they were nice and crispy. It wasn't Old Folks, but it was pretty delightful. And only 35 calories per slice.

But I may have to find this turkey sausage. It looks gooo-od.

weight update

2010-01-06T14:43:00.002-05:00

Tracking what I eat is proving to be effective. I use the fatsecret.com app on my Google phone so upload what I eat and chart my weight loss. Today: 350.1.

weight loss

2010-01-05T09:49:00.001-05:00

I think it would help to journal a bit each day about my progress on weight loss. I'll start today by posting my current weight: 351.6 pounds.

goals

2010-01-05T09:04:00.002-05:00

So I had a great plan in 2008 for getting healthy by setting several goals. Some goals I met, some areas I can see improvement on, and some I'd really rather not write about.

I wrote that I wanted to "develop pathways for good spiritual, mental, and emotional nutrition." It sounds like Kierkegaard found Jesus--I must have written that late at night to sound so existential. I talked about reading my Bible more, finding my "Healthy ID", gaining accountability, and promoting more positive "self talk". I really have made inroads in these areas, though I'm not where I want to be. Getting married is probably the best thing that's happened for me to find a healthy self-identity. No longer am I self-conscious about my appearance because I've found someone who loves me exactly how I am. And through that I have tangible proof of how God love me and sees me. Today I am going to dig out my "self-talk" paper from Zig Ziglar that I posted here before and I'll tape it to my bathroom mirror as a reminder to read it everyday. As for reading my Bible more I have been doing a little better. Erin is more of a morning person while I am more of a night owl, so she heads to bed a half hour to an hour before I do. I usually hop on the laptop or watch tv while she nods off, but I'm starting to pull out my Bible during that quiet time of day.

Another goal I wrote about was being aware of what I consume and limiting my calories to 2800-3000 per day and reducing my intake thereafter. I did this on and off last year and ended up losing about 30 pounds since July, 2008. Not nearly where i want to be, but closer to it at least. Now it's time to refocus. Over the past month I've done that and I'm down another 9 pounds. I know the health risks of obesity, but being so young I hadn't been affected by my weight until over the last year. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, gout, and high triglycerides. I also had a couple episodes of plantar facsiitis. I am being treated with CPAP therapy while I sleep, and I hope that as I drop weight my doc will eventually give me clearance to discontinue it's use. Gout is somewhat diet related for me, but I think it also has to do with my weight, as does my elevated triglycerides, which put me at risk for pancreatitis. The excess weight on my feet is also what causes the stress on my platar fascia arches. These are all excellent reasons to shed this fat suit!

I was able to pay off half of my debt (excluding auto and home). My stress and anxiety over finances has greatly diminished. Erin and I have been following Dave Ramsay's debt snowball strategy and have been seeing some serious results. In just the past 3 months we've eliminated $305 in minimum monthly payments which we've "snowballed" onto our other debt payments. In the next 3 months we'll have another 4 creditors paid off, leaving just a handful of debts owed. It's a great feeling.

what a difference a year (and a half) makes

2010-01-03T22:09:00.002-05:00

I was reading my friend Brian's blog tonight. Before his most recent posts it's been several months since he's last published his thoughts. It's been so long since I've shared my thoughts I'd nearly forgotten about my own little corner of the web. Reading through some old posts was like pulling long-lost treasures out of a time capsule. Ok, well not quite so dramatic.

I was struck with how much life has changed since I last ruminated here in the summer of 2008. It's a different decade now, and life looks drastically different, in some really great ways. This Colorado native now sits in bed writing this post in his apartment in Louisville, KY with his wonderful wife of 8 months, Erin, sleeping soundly at his side. We moved at the Lord's leading last November, leaving behind our condo in Colorado Springs to sell (please make me an offer!). My wife is working for a mayoral candidate here in Louisville as his personal assistant. The current mayor, "Mayor McCheese", as he is affectionately referred to by some residents of the city, is stepping down after twenty years (not all consecutive) as head of the Derby City. Business has been booming for Kleenex since this announcement. And I am currently unemployed, at least until my new job starts on the 19th of this month, also my 27th birthday. The health insurance industry treated me well, unfortunately my former employer did not. Some severely poor financial management led to the reduction-in-force of, well, it was more of a decimation-in-force. The layoff coincided with our move, and though I could have worked remotely from our new digs in Lousiville, I welcomed a fresh start at a new company.

I did make some goals in 2008 which I need to update all of my readers (Mom) on. I'll do that tomorrow, or at least before 2011.

feed bag

2008-07-25T13:55:00.001-04:00

New Wearable Feedbags Let Americans Eat More, Move Less

self talk

2008-07-24T17:48:00.004-04:00

I promised I would put this up here. Zig Ziglar promotes "self-talk". The fact is that we all talk to ourselves, but too often we're lying to ourselves. I believe that what you speak can be prophetic. Not for any mystical reason, but if you are speaking positively, you are in the correct frame of mind to see new opportunities. If you are speaking negatively, it puts you in the position to where you expect problems. Do you ever notice how negative people seem to attract trouble? Part of it is perception, as well. When you're in a positive mindset, problems seem small and the good things are overwhelming. I read the following every morning and every evening, out loud, to give myself a "positive talking to". Anyway, feel free to take this and adapt it for your own use:

I am an honest, intelligent, organized, responsible,
committed, teachable person who is sober, loyal and clearly understands that
regardless of where my paycheck comes from I am self-employed. I am an
optimistic, punctual, enthusiastic, goal-setting, smart-working self-starter who
is a disciplined, focused, dependable, persistent, positive thinker. I am
an energetic team player who appreciates the opportunities God offers me.
I take honest pride in my competence and appearance and am motivated to be and
do my best so that my healthy self-image will remain on solid ground.
These are the qualities which enable me to manage myself and help give me
employment security in a no-job-security world.

I am a compassionate, respectful encourager who is a considerate, generous,
gentle, patient, caring, sensitive, personable, attentive and fun-loving
person. I am a supportive, giving and forgiving, clean, kind, unselfish,
affectionate, loving, family-oriented human being and I am a sincere and
open-minded listener and a good-finder who is trustworthy. These are
the qualities which enable me to build good relationships with my associates,
neighbors, friends and family.

I am a person of integrity, with the faith and wisdom to know what I should do and the courage and convictions to follow through. I have the vision to manage myself and to lead others. I am authoritative, confident, and humbly grateful for all
the graciousness of God. I am fair, flexible, resourceful, creative, knowledgeable, decisive and an extra-miler with a servant's attitude who communicates well with others. I am a consistent, pragmatic teacher with character and a finely-tuned sense of humor. I am an honorable person and am balanced in my personal, family and business life, having a passion for being, doing and learning more today so I can be and do more tomorrow.

I am a healthy individual who is physically fit and mentally sound. I eat proper quantities of nutritious food to fuel my body and to give me an abundance of energy to complete my daily tasks. I regularly take time to exercise my body, nourish my soul, and sharpen my mind.

At Night
These are the qualities of the winner I was born to be and I am fully committed to developing these marvelous qualities with which I have been entrusted. Tonight I'm going to sleep wonderfully well. I will dream powerful, positive dreams. I will
awaken energized and refreshed. Tomorrow's going to be magnificent and my
future is unlimited. Recognizing, claiming and developing these qualities, which I already have, gives me a legitimate chance to be happier, healthier, more prosperous, more secure, have more friends, greater peace of mind, better family relationships and authentic hope that the future will be even better.

In the Morning
These are the qualities of the winner I was born to be and I will develop and use these qualities to achieve my worthy objectives. Today is a brand new day and it's mine to use in a marvelously productive way.

progress

2008-07-24T15:15:00.002-04:00

I guess I should start blogging everyday. This past month has been great. I've had energy like I haven't had in 3 years. I'm finally down to where my scale will give me a number, not just an "E" for error. I had to wait until my physical exam 2 weeks ago to find out that I weighed 389. The scale this morning read 379. Beautiful. I've been doing quite a bit of walking at night and at lunchtime. I also purchased a used weight bench and weight set off of craigslist, and that's kept me sore all week! That's about it for now.

I'll try to get better at updating more frequently.

Cheers.

sesame street

2008-07-10T23:19:00.002-04:00

Things have been going pretty well. I've been eating much better and in better portions. I started off the first few days above my 3,000 calorie ceiling, but I've kept it between 2,800 and 3,000 since then. If you're nosy like me and want to see what I've been eating, you can check it out at www.fitday.com and put in username "natethenorsk" and password "poiuyt". After you do, please go get a life.

Anyway, I've been walking lots more, too. My goal is 30 minutes a day 6 days a week. It's been more like 3 days a week so far, but I'm improving. Tonight the dog and I went to Memorial Park to walk around Prospect Lake. It's about a mile around, so it's perfect for an evening walk. It's been years since I've been there, and I was struck by how diverse the park visitors are. I felt like I had walked onto Sesame Street. There were hispanics, asians, blacks, whites, young, old, disabled, fully-mobile, dogs, bikes, boats, jet-skis, wind-surfboards, and roller blades. People were fishing, swimming, playing basketball, engaging each other in chess, working out, playing frisbee and lots of other activities. I thought Gordon and Maria were going to walk out from behind a tree with Big Bird and Elmo. It was a bit surreal. But things are going well.

the new plan

2008-06-30T23:00:00.005-04:00

The new plan for getting healthy (that's the real goal, weight loss is only a part of it) has several facets:

Develop pathways for good spiritual, mental, and emotional nutrition. I believe this is more key than developing physical nutrition. My friend and mentor, Vaso Bjegovich, has developed a program called Healthy ID, that encourages people to first search out what their identity (ID) is wrapped around, to deconstruct their false identity, and to build a healthy ID. When you have a healthy ID, you treat your body right because you want to, and you'll naturally become physically healthier as you treat your physical person with respect. Healthy ID isn't about appearance or performance. The program is currently not available as Vaso waits for the right time to take it mainstream, but if you are interested in the concept, let me know and I can get some more information, or even the Healthy ID package (audio CDs and journal) to you. I'd love to have even more company as I embark on this journey. Anyway, I'll be using Healthy ID as a foundation, and I will read my Bible more. I'll also read my Zig Ziglar "self-talk" sheet everyday. We all talk to ourselves, usually it's silent, but we believe what we tell ourselves. Our subconscious can't tell the difference between the truth and fiction. By telling yourself everyday, day in and day out, that you are a fantastic friend, for example, you will become an even better friend. You can't help it! I'll be reading to myself out loud, telling myself that I already am the things that I want to be. I'll post Zig's "self-talk" here soon.
Being aware of what I consume. I've started tracking my food intake on www.fitday.com. For the next two weeks I'm going to limit my calories to 2800-3000 per day. From mid-July to August, I will consume 2600-2800 per day, and I will keep reducing that amount by 200 calories every two weeks until I'm consistently eating 2200-2400 per day. I will also be sure to eat 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit everyday.
Walking 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week. The dog loves it, I need it. Humans were made to walk, and I'm tied to my cubicle desk everyday. The body was designed for walking. Walking outside helps maintain a healthy emotional well-being, and it also helps "reset" your body's natural weight set point. Frankly, walking is about all I can physically handle right now.

This is the beginning. As I progress, the means to get to my desired end result will change. Walking will still be part of the regimen, but so will hiking, skiing, and climbing fourteeners again. As my taste buds begin to enjoy the flavor of fresh fruits and vegetables again, I'll incorporate more of those types of foods into my diet. I'm beginning with the end in mind, but I'm taking it one baby step at a time.

goals, revisited

2008-06-29T23:21:00.014-04:00

Looking back at this post from January, I thought I'd bring you up to speed:

I've also set two important goals for the year. They're not resolutions, they are goals. They are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and have a completion date attached:

1. Lose 100 pounds by December 31, 2008. This year, I'm going to limit myself to two meals out per week. I'm going to walk at least 10 minutes continuously a day, and do other exercise for at least 20 minutes for 4 days per week. I will eat at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables per day. I will drink at least eight glasses of water a day. I will consume no more than 4 servings of dairy (excluding eggs) per week. I will enter my food daily onto fitday.com as best as I can remember until I have lost 50 pounds. I will take at least one cycle of hCG this year.

2. Pay off half of my debt (excluding auto and home). I will negotiate balances and payoffs with all of the creditors I can and will be current with every creditor by year's end. My list of creditors will be reduced by two thirds.

Ouch. January doesn't seem like that long ago, but here it is, the end of June. I'm not 50 pounds lighter, I'm probably about 30 pounds heavier. I'm not sure. My scale caps out at 380 pounds. Since my "plan" hasn't been going so well in regards to weight loss and fitness, I've enlisted the help of my folks. We've outlined a plan for me to lose 50 pounds by the end of the year, and I know I can do it. More on how I'm going to do that in a later post.

As for the debt, I'm on track or not far off. Of course, I'm not looking at the hard numbers to make that assertion, but I've been paying down the debt quite steadily over the past 6 months. Several small bills have been paid and I am making significant progress on the larger ones. I haven't sat down to recalculate balances and numbers of outstanding debts, but I will do that by week's end.

So what's been going on with these goals?

27.1.08

more goals

I said that I would post the rest of my goals in the categories of fitness, mental/educational, spiritual, relational, and domestic here.

Fitness: I will be able to run one mile in under 9 minutes before the year is through. I will be able to climb the Manitou incline in under 60 minutes before October 31. My first time up the incline, I finished in 48 minutes. My goal that day was to make it halfway. My best time up the incline was 34 minutes, and I made the whole trip (up the incline, down Barr trail) in under 60 minutes.

Ummm, you can probably figure this one out by seeing my lack of progress on my first goal. It's ok, my new fitness goal is to walk for 30 minutes continuously 6 days a week. I'll be kicking the incline's butt in due time.

Mental/Educational: I will read one fiction or non-fiction book (I prefer non-fiction anyway, frankly) per month. No more 7 or 8 months without reading, then reading 5 or 6 books all at once. At least 6 books this year will be about sales or the health insurance industry (not including my monthly HIU [Health Insurance Underwiter] trade magazine). I will also begin my first RHU (Registered Health Underwriter) or REBC (Registered Employee Benefits Consultant) class through The American College. Which track I take depends on if I will continue to specialize more and more in group health insurance or individual market insurance at work.

Ok, so I haven't met my goal of reading 2 books per month, but I have been reading with greater frequency. Progress in this area, at least.

Spritual: To read through the Bible by year's end. I've read through it completely only once, and that's not nearly enough for a believer of over 21 years. This will take 4 and a half chapters per day. I'll also begin church "shopping" in February, and I'll get plugged in before Spring.

Convicted again. Reading the Word is part of my revised plan to get healthy. I need to remember to ask my folks to keep me accountable in this area, too. I haven't been to church, either. I have been in a guys' accountability-type group through Pulpit Rock Church, called Real Men of Genius, but I haven't started attending PRC or any other church.

Relational: This goes hand in hand with being at a new church. I'll gain at least one new friend this year.

This one is coming together.

Domestic: This may sound like a stupid category for you, but I think it's appropriate. I will thoroughly clean my bathroom and kitchen, vacuum, wash my sheets, and do two loads of laundry once a week. I will dust the house once every two weeks. I will also finish my 3 year old baseboard project by touching up with paint and caulking. I will replace the kitchen and bathroom linoleum and install new baseboards. The baseboards will be completed by March 31 and the new flooring will be installed by December 31.

March 31 has passed and the baseboards are in the same sad shape. The house is cleaner and I keep a running list of what to clean each day to maintain the organization of my home. I also would like to refinish the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and add hardware to them this year.

I'll keep you updated on the progress of these goals here.

And I'll do my best to do it more often than every six months.

i just made iced tea

2008-06-17T01:23:00.003-04:00

i don't know why, but i always gain lots of satisfaction from making iced tea.

the full pitcher of freshly cooled, tea and herb-infused water.

the pale color.

the heaviness of the container.

the sound of the ice knocking around inside the glass as i pour.

the anticipation of a tasty, refreshing, and healthy beverage.

blessings come with responsibility

2008-06-02T22:46:00.006-04:00

I'm glad the warmer weather is here! It's great to be able to sit outside on the balcony in the evening and read or bring the laptop out and surf the net. It's not silent out here, I can hear the rush of traffic a half mile away on Fountain Blvd, the hum of the a/c units, and the giggles and gleeful cheers of newly-liberated school aged children playing nearby. There's something so peaceful, though, about watching the sun set and stars appear, even as the noise and busyness of the day draws to a slow close. Even when the rest of the world is moving, God brings me into this strangely still place.

Last year I hardly sat on my deck. I holed up in the cool air of the climate controlled bedroom most of the summer. I wasn't as happy. I didn't have purpose in what I was doing, and I wasn't adequately supporting myself. I know I shouldn't derive my happiness from my job, my income, or my employer, but I let those things become a major factor in determining my happiness.

This year my life is 180 degrees from what it was last year, success-wise. I am one of three salespeople that, along with sharp new management, has helped to take an off-track health insurance agency that had a third party fulfillment service that was upsetting prospective clients and losing existing policyholders like the Plague had just swept over town to the number one producing new broker in the state for many of our contracted carriers. Aside from a generous compensation and benefits package, my new employer values my opinion. VPs and managers have regularly asked for my opinion on important decisions, and in many cases have actually taken my advice as they've acted on those decisions. Our partners currently market our products to 700,000 salespeople in their field force, and with the partners who've just signed on with us, that number will increase fivefold within the year. It's finally all good on the work front, but I'm learning that with the success comes responsibility.

David said to his son, Solomon:

11 "Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. 12 May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

I'm learning that I have much more responsibility than ever before. It comes with the territory, but I never realized it. I have a responsibility to everyone who calls in for a quote. As ridiculous as some caller's requests seem (the lady on 5 psychotropic medications who demanded guaranteed approval coverage NOW that would pay for her $800 a month pharmacy bill, the mom who inquired if any of our dental plans would cover a root canal her son had LAST WEEK, or the young dad who wanted health insurance coverage for his family for LESS than $30 a month), they are all important. More importantly, I have a responsibility to my applicants. They lay one of the most important financial decisions they will make on an annual basis at my feet. Not only that, but I've got to find the best coverage with the carrier that will give them the best coverage for their conditions at the best possible price. It's not always an easy task, but it's an important one.

As I was just writing, I thought of Luke 12:48: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." I guess I should be expecting to have more expected of me in the future.

catch up

2008-04-26T02:02:00.003-04:00

Whew. A lot's happened in the past month or so. I've been working hard, of course. April is so far a record month for sales with 29 written health applications, with 3 business days left. I'm hoping to hit 32 by month's end. Only 16 issued, though, and 12 individual cases and one small group case in underwriting. March and April have been the months of declines by the insurance carriers. The economy, perhaps?

I went to L.A. last week for my first out-of-state business trip, which was extremely interesting. 18,000 Primerica reps filled the L.A. sports arena for their West Coast Convention. We manned our PFI Benefits booth, promoting our health insurance products and free prescription drug discount card. I made some good contacts and have written two policies so far this week on contacts from the convention. Some other good news--our company was the number one independent broker for United Healthcare's Golden Rule in Q1. Can you say "cash bonus"?!

how time passes...

2008-03-20T23:01:00.002-04:00

Wow. Seems like I posted just last week. Life gets busy, I guess. I've been following the weight watchers plan and I'm down about 3 pounds. Nothing to write home about, but slow and steady wins the race, right?

Last Sunday my parents and I took a day trip to the Celestial Seasonings factory in Boulder, CO. It was a nice, relaxing day to get away from the ordinary and do something new with the family. I've been drinking tea like there's no tomorrow at work as a result of the trip. My normal 5-6 daily cups of coffee is down to 0-2 (sorry, Pat) as I've been drinking all sorts of tea. I've forgotten how much I enjoy it and how much it soothes my still-sore throat.

Things have been going slower at work, too, until this week. Our company has gained some interest at PrePaid Legal Services and Primerica conventions last weekend, so there's been a lot of follow up with reps who need health insurance. Also on the good news front, another network marketing company with 50,000 active reps and 300,000 total reps will be likely signing on with us next week. That will increase our market to over 1,000,000 people. Also looking to sign on with us in the next couple of months is the fastest growing skin care product company in the world. Primerica will also likely allow their licensed reps to earn fees for referring their clients to us for health insurance. Very exciting stuff as we will likely triple our already healthy sales volume by year's end.

Elling, my beagle, is also going to go to his second obedience training lesson this Saturday. This week we've been working on having him give me his full attention when his name is called, sitting, and not jumping up on people. He's a good little trooper and is learning quickly.

I guess that's about it for now. Happy Easter, everybody!

the good life, it feel like atlanta, it feel like l.a. ...

2008-03-03T21:56:00.002-05:00

The flight and hotel reservations are booked. I'm heading to L.A. in April, and I'm really looking forward to it. It won't be anything uber-exciting, I'll be there for 28 hours or so for Primerica's West Coast Convention manning our booth and promoting our health insurance products for Primerica's field force, but just the fact that I've never been on a business trip that required flight and hotel reservations before makes it cool. And I haven't flown since 2 months before 9/11, so the new rules for air travel will be interesting.

Anyone want to dog-sit for 2 days in April?

blogging again

2008-02-29T23:00:00.001-05:00

I'm online again! My power adapter was on the fritz and I had to buy a new one to power the laptop to post to my blog! So, $89 later, here I am.

I've been eating pretty well, and walking a lot. My friend Allison convinced me to join Weight Watchers with her. I thought having a partner would help, and so far it has. We keep our food and activity trackers open on our monitors at work, and we can IM each other periodically to see how things are going.

More later.

tangible progress

2008-02-17T22:41:00.002-05:00

I've been eating well this week (not perfectly, but well). I'm trying to follow the 90% rule for eating, so I eat well for 18 or 19 meals a week. The other 2 or 3 won't be the healthiest, but that's ok. I will never achieve perfection for a long period of time in this area, so it's better to just do the best I can 90% of the time rather than to eat perfectly for a few weeks and then eat like crap for another few. I've also been taking long, regular walks with the dog. My goal here again will not be to do this everyday, but to do it 5 or 6 days a week. Now that my work schedule is changing, I will be able to take morning walks every other week, and take evening walks on the alternate week. (I'm working 8am to 4:30pm one week and 9am to 5:30pm the next).

The scale today said: 342.

happy v-day

2008-02-14T20:30:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody. It's just another ordinary day to me--the only action I might get would be due to Elling, my beagle, taking advantage of my leg. He's prone to do that every other week or so.

goal updates

2008-02-12T22:06:00.003-05:00

Just got back from a 30 minute walk in the park with the dog. He's happy, and I got my exercise in. There's something so nice about not being in front of a computer monitor or a tv or listening to the radio for a few minutes and just being out in the stillness of that little patch of God's creation.

A few goal updates:

Health: I've been walking the dog a bit more. I need to work up to walking for at least 30 minutes a day of continuous walking. Walking is not only good exercise, it also resets the body's weight set point and cures depression. I also weighed myself on Sunday--348. Ugh. Well, at least it's better than 365 like in early fall of last year. I've also been eating better. I bought a blender to keep at work and I have a supply of soy milk, frozen fruit, and meal replacement powder to make smoothies for lunch. All I have to do then is bring some fruit and veggies. I stocked up on high-protein Balance Bars. They're 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein, and only about 45% tasty, but they were 50% off at Walgreens. Add those up and you get 195%. My ultimate goal weight is 195. Coincidence?

Spiritual: I will check out a church this weekend. I promise.

Social: A coworker walked up to me after work today and said "I want to talk to you about something. I don't have many friends. Do you wanna hang out sometime?" That's an exact quote. She's pretty cool and we get along great at work, so I'm sure we'll be compatible on that friend level. No, Mom, she's engaged.

I'm off to read for a couple hours before bed (one of my Educational goals). I heard authors Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins talk about their book on Hugh Hewitt's talk show on the way home from work today and stopped by Borders on the way home to pick up a copy of The Nuclear Jihadist: The True Story of the Man Who Sold the World's Most Dangerous Secrets...And How We Could Have Stopped Him. Click here to see Hugh's February 12 blog entry about the book. I'll let you know how it was later.

One more plug...Check out my dad's new blog, Condensed Wisdom.