A Better Me in 2009

Quick Update

2009-02-20T23:23:00.001-06:00

I know I've been neglecting my posting duties lately. My laptop's battery is dead, and I haven't had a chance to go get a new one yet. Unfortunately, all of my chart data is on the laptop, so I can't access it. I'm on my work laptop right now. I'll post updates for the past few weeks as soon as I can . . . .

Week 4: 28 Points

2009-02-02T11:07:00.002-06:00

That's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I was sick most of the week, even staying in bed all day twice (which contributed to my high average for number of hours of sleep). Because of that, I didn't eat well, didn't get all my workouts in, and was kind of a lazy shit most of the week. But I also managed to come in under weight this week (162.9), probably a direct result of being sick. Unfortunately, this week is February, so I have to drop even more (I was already 164.4 this morning) to get that point back.

Relationship: 5/5
It's so easy.

Home: 2/5
Being sick and out of town, I didn't even have an opportunity to walk the dogs (but they did get walked). I feel like I should get extra points for cleaning and stuff, but I won't take them. We put our house on the market yesterday, so we spent the weekend decluttering and packing everything up to get the house show-ready. Our realtor was amazed at what all we had done, saying, "I could have an open house hear right NOW!" In all fairness, we're pretty clean people anyway, but it's amazing how open your house looks when you take away all the little pictures and things, too.

Diet/Health: 6/17
Not good. Like I said, I was sick. I still probably should have eaten better, but it's difficult when you just feel like eating soup and drinking water. And even still, I didn't get my 8 glasses a day in.

Exercise: 1/7
Thank God I lost weight this week, or I would have to punch myself for this one. In all fairness, on one of the days that I was able to work out, I did it for 3 hours. Maybe that's why I was sick later in the week . . . .

Self-Improvement: 9/9
Very good. I stood up for both myself and my wife this week. Incidentally, I think I should get the points for standing up for her, too. We are going to be moving soon and are looking at houses in our new city. My wife and I are always surrounded by people who have opinions about everything (and LOVE to share them). Sometimes I get a little sensitive when her family (especially sister) tells her what a bad idea something is, especially when it is nobody's business but ours. I love them all dearly, but she is very impressionable, and I think that it's important that we establish some boundaries on a few things. Meredith was talking to her sister about buying a bigger house, and she went off on her like she was an idiot for even considering it. When she got off the phone, I told Meredith how insulted and offended I was and that it emasculated me for other people to act like they had any say in things that are very strictly husband-and-wife decisions. She agreed but said that it's hard for her to stand up to people when it comes to stuff like that. I told her, "I understand, but remember, you're just just standing up for you now, you're standing up for me, too." There was a lot of tension in the air, but it was something that I think I needed to say.

Mind: 5/7
No crossword and no manual dexterity. I missed the crossword when I was sick. It was the last thing I felt like doing.

Again, I'm sorry about the problem with my comments. I'm actually going to call blogspot sometime and try to figure out what the problem is. Until then, if you have comments, please just shoot me an e-mail. I don't want to post the address on here, but Lesli has it.

Prognosis: Negative

2009-01-29T14:16:00.002-06:00

I'm going to have such a low score this week. I have been in bed sick for the past two days, which means that I am not working out or eating right (though I should be) or running the dogs or anything like that. I'll get a few points for helping around the house this weekend and, if I stay sick, being under my target weight, but for the most part this is shaping up to be a bad week.

Week 3: 35 points

2009-01-27T05:42:00.003-06:00

Do I get any points for turning 30? Because I did that just a few days ago, though admittedly it would go on this week. Oh well, I think I'll skip giving myself random points, as that would cause me to lose 2 for taking the easy way. Besides, I already get a point for filling out the damn survey, plus another for posting a blog during the week (which could easily be a mid-week update, but which I missed this week anyway). Here's the breakdown:

Relationship: 5/5
Terrific.

Home: 1/5
Pathetic. I didn't walk the dogs three times (I did twice; but in all fairness, I was gone all week), didn't update the budget, and didn't clean a room in the house. I did help around the house, though. Even though I was only home for one day, I did dishes and laundry and stuff. Go me.

Diet/Health: 12/17
This week, I failed to drink 8 glasses of water a day, failed to eat my daily fruits and vegetables (as always), and succumbed to multiple drinks at dinner. In all fairness, my best friend and I went out to Uchi, my favorite Austin restaurant, for my birthday. Even if we didn't order multiple drinks (we did), one of the chefs bought us a round of drinks after accidentally smashing a glass, a shard of which I caught in mid-air. Still, I managed only a single meal involving red meat, which I consider a personal triumph.

Exercise: 6/7
Weight: 165.4, up from last week, and certainly 163 or higher. Hopefully everything will come down soon. I've been trying really hard, going so far as to workout everyday this week rather than simply three times.

Self-Improvement: 7/9
I actually did a lot of these this week. The only points I missed were for standing up for myself, which I have already accomplished for the current week (more on that later). All in all, a good self-improvement week.

Mind: 4/7
I did no manual dexterity work, whatever that is. I didn't post a mid-week blog. I missed the crossword one day last week. Not too bad, though. I've been doing more than my fair share of reading, actually working on multiple books at a time. Right now, I'm reading The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy and re-reading A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Both very good so far (even if APFOM is a big more anti-War, anti-Republican than I generally like).

I'll try to post again soon. For now, I'm out . . . .

Week 2: 36 Points

2009-01-19T06:26:00.003-06:00

That's right. I doubled my score. Excellent! Still only 72%, but given last week's abysmal 18 points, I'll take it. There were a few areas I know I can do better, but there are also a few that will be much harder in the weeks to come when school and work start back up. Here's the break down for this week:

Relationship: 5/5
Nothing more to be said. I got everything done. Yay!

Home: 3/5
Not bad, but still not great. As I mentioned before, I cleaned the baseboards and counted that as cleaning a room. Saturday, I emptied out our garage and threw stuff away, organized, put things back very orderly, etc. I even washed the floor and scrubbed the baseboards and walls of the garage. I wish I had taken a before and after pic, but I didn't think of it until everything was laying in my front yard, and I wasn't about to put it all back just for a before shot. The only points I missed here were those for walking the dogs. I did it twice, but the third time didn't come until yesterday (Sunday). Unfortunately, that means that I lost 2 points last week. Luckily, since my weeks start on Sunday, I already have a third of my dog walking done this week! I'll probably have to fit in another round today, since I am about to leave for the week (school starts tomorrow).

Diet/Health: 14/17
Much, much, much better. The only points I missed here were for 2 fruits and 3 vegetables and for eating fish twice a week. I had a fish and shrimp dish at P.F. Chang's last week and took the leftovers home. But I ate all the seafood out of it before leaving the restaurant, because it's generally not that good leftover. So I didn't get to count it as a second fish meal when I had the leftovers for lunch the next day. Oh well. 14/17's not too bad. Incidentally, the 8 glasses of water has indeed become easier, as my mom said it would. Also, I managed a full 8 hours of sleep per night last week! Unfortunately, I don't give myself bonus points for going above and beyond, but I sure feel rested (if a little under the weather this week from allergies).

Exercise: 6/7
I couldn't make my weight limit. I was 164.4 Saturday, above the 162.9 it would have taken to make it under the cutoff. Better luck this week. I did get all of my running and crunches in, though. I was a bit sore, but now I'm feeling a lot better.

Self-Improvement: 3/9
Still needs some work. There were no compliments this week. I didn't spend much time around strangers, having spent the majority of the week next to my phone waiting to hear back about job offers (I got one; should hear back from the rest this week). And although I did get one compliment ("This is the coolest coffee mug I've ever seen!"), I didn't count it. My coffee cup can add that to its list. I also lost points for not finding a moment to stand up for myself (though I have already scored those points for this week -- more later) and for taking the easy way out (I think for walking my dogs just to the mailbox and counting it as a walk, but I don't honestly remember. The bitch of that is that I didn't even get the points for walking the dogs).

Mind: 5/7
No manual dexterity (I wanted to play my guitar but didn't get a chance) or news watching. I watched everyday but forgot on Sunday of all days. Points lost. Other than that, not too bad.

On another note, Lesli tells me that my comments are broken. I'll try to get that sorted out. For now, I'm off to eat some breakfast and spend some time with Meredith before she goes to work. School starts tomorrow . . . .

Clean a Room

2009-01-14T14:20:00.002-06:00

I just crawled around my entire house on my hands and knees scrubbing my baseboards. Rooms, closets, bathrooms, behind furniture, etc. Now I'm about to exterminate -- spraying along every wall/floor intersection. Although that's not technically cleaning an entire room, I'm counting it.

Meanwhile, I have my phone on extra loud AND vibrate. I am getting a little anxious about this job hunt. Why won't anyone call me?!?!?!

Jobs & Game Improvement

2009-01-13T08:16:00.002-06:00

I'm really on edge right now. I've been in (post high) school for 12 years now, and it feels like an eternity. English degree. Law degree. Electrical engineering degree. I'm so ready to be done. I've had four interviews in the past few weeks, and every one of them should theoretically let me know any day this week. I say theoretically because they all said they "hope" to let me know this week.

I don't know whether I should be more excited or more worried as the days pass. On the one hand, if they haven't let me know yet then they haven't rejected me yet. On the other hand, most of these kinds of jobs will call you if you're hired and send you a letter if you aren't. Letters take longer to reach a recipient than a phone call. My stomach has been in knots this week, I have two simultaneous fever blisters, and now there's blood in my stool (sorry). My wife will tell you, I NEVER stress about anything, so this has her slightly freaked out. It's just weird that after all this time, I may know where I'm going to be living and what I'm going to be doing for the next several years (at least) within a few minutes of any moment. Crazy.

On a brighter note, my game is going much better this week already. I've worked out, gotten extra sleep, read, and walked my dogs. And it's only Tuesday! I should be good for those categories this week, as I'm staying in San Antonio chilling at the house all week. I forgot to watch the news on Sunday, so that's out, and I've missed 2 fruits and 3 vegetables each day so far (by one or the other; never both). I'm guessing a few other things will fail by the end of the week, but as long as I improve on my 18 from last week, I'll feel pretty decent! :o)

Week 1: 18 Points

2009-01-11T13:48:00.002-06:00

18? Are you kidding me?! That's 36%. Lousy. I failed in my very first week! This is going to be harder than I thought.

In all fairness, it was a strange week. I was traveling all week for interviews, so there were certain things like walking the dogs, cleaning a room at home, etc., that I just simply couldn't do. As for the rest? I don't know. I was close in several categories, but this game is an all-or-nothing deal. I'm not going to bore you with every score and every detail, but I'll mention a few with my summary.

Relationship: 4 points out of 5
Not too bad. The only thing I missed was the one point for taking Meredith on a romantic date. Like I said, I was gone all week, so that was expected. The one day I spent in town, we were catering a bridal shower, so that kept us from going out last night.

Home: 1/5
Pathetic. I helped around the house (cooking and hosting the shower, then coming home and doing laundry and dishes), but I didn't clean a room, walk the dogs, or update our budget. On a brighter note, however, I did the budget this morning, which means I WILL get that point this week!

Diet/Health: 6/17
Not very good here either. I was pretty close to getting 12, but things fell apart at the end. I failed in my attempts to drink 8 glasses of water a day, drinking all 8 on 4 days of the week and about 2 on the other 3. I also failed on fruits & veggies, salad (I ate it for lunch twice but never for dinner), red meat (three times), drinking (went out with law school friend Thursday night), sleep (47 hours total -- 2 short; consequence of going to bed at 4 Thursday night), and fast food (my wife brought home Sonic last night for dinner -- also contributing to the red meat issue). I'm trying to be better here already. I'm on my 3rd glass of water today, and I had a salad and apple for lunch today. I plan on going to sleep early tonight; we'll see.

Exercise: 0/7
What?!!?!?!? I only did my crunches one day. 0 points. I didn't run or swim at all. 0 points. I didn't stretch at all. 0 points. My formula for weight is 163 - n, where n is the month. So in January, I'm supposed to weigh no more than 162 pounds. Last night I was 165.4 -- 0 points. I'm getting on the treadmill as soon as I finish this post!

Self-Improvement: 5/9
Not horrible, especially compared to the other categories. I filled out the chart, my free point. I also complimented some strangers at the shower yesterday, received many compliments on my cooking abilities, mailed off all my thank you letters (for interviews) on time, and prayed everyday. I missed points for not standing up for myself, but that's okay because I wasn't really challenged in that area. Also, I lost points for taking shortcuts. I needed some guacamole for one of the dishes I served at the shower yesterday. Usually I would make it myself, because I make amazing guacamole, but I bought the little package from the store and just mixed it together last minute. I had forgotten that I needed some as a garnish/condiment for one of the dishes. My bad. No points.

Mind: 2/7
Not good. I read for an hour, but only twice. I learned many new things, so no problem there.I posted a blog last Monday. I only worked the crossword 6 out of 7 days. I did nothing to improve my manual dexterity. And I didn't pay much attention to the news. Bad Andrew.

Hopefully this week will be better. I'm off to a decent start, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Rocky Start

2009-01-05T21:50:00.002-06:00

Sunday went well. I started off strong, keeping on pace for the week in most of my categories. Monday came. I've already lost points for the week. I went to a job interview today and then spent the afternoon traveling. I didn't fit my 2 fruits and 3 vegetables in. I went 1 and 2. Not good enough. Points lost. I also haven't run or stretched this week. I'll need to catch up, which will be hard since I'm traveling to more interviews the rest of the week.

Incidentally, drinking 8 glasses of water is much harder than it seems. Especially when you don't think to start until 4:00 PM. I spent all yesterday afternoon having to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes. I felt so waterlogged when I went to bed, then had to get up twice during the night to go. Today, I started earlier, but the interviews and traveling limited my drinking time. I feel bloated right now and have to go to the bathroom again in a minute. My mom (who is a nurse) and my dad (a surgeon) tell me that the constant peeing will subside once my body gets used to the increase in water intake. Ultimately, it will be a good thing. Right now it's annoying.

On a brighter note, I have already had salad for lunch, one fish meal, and no red meat, so I'm on track for a few points there this week. My interview tomorrow includes lunch at a seafood place, so I'm going to lock down some points right away.

In the "Whoa, that was awesome" category, my interview today ended with a Lear Jet ride back home on the law firm's private plane. My car was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs when I arrived. Awesome.

Back to the Fiesta Bowl. Hook em!

Rules of the Game

2009-01-04T11:25:00.007-06:00

After much deliberating, I think I have my score card ready (well, version 1 anyway). I've broken everything down into appropriate categories and assigned points. Note: Some items may not be applicable every week. I've explained a few of the categories where necessary. I'll explain them further when describing my end-of-the-week scores and telling stories about the challenge. The total possible score during any week is 50 points.

Relationship: 5 Points
- Go on a romantic date with Meredith once a week (1 point)
- Tell Meredith "I love you" everyday (1 point)
- Talk to Meredith for an hour straight about life, marriage, work, etc. (2 points)
- Don't get jealous of Meredith's attention to dogs (1 point)

Home: 5 Points
- Walk/run dogs three times a week (2 points; difficult because of schedule and commute)
- Help around the house (1 point)
- Pick one room a week and clean it thoroughly (1 point)
- Update household budget (1 point; we track all of our spending and break it down into categories)

Diet & Health: 17 Points
- Drink 8 glasses of water everyday (2 points)
- Eat 2 fruits and 3 vegetables everyday (1 point)
- Salad: twice for lunch, once for dinner sometime during week (2 points)
- Eat fish twice a week (2 points; would be easy, but my wife hates fish)
- Eat red meat only once during week (2 points)
- No fast food (1 point)
- Floss teeth everyday (2 points; I'm horrible about this)
- No more than 1 alcoholic drink at any meal (2 points)
- No seconds at any meal (2 points)
- Average 7 hours of sleep per night (1 point; naps add to cumulative total)

Exercise: 7 Points
- Pushups/crunches: 100 x n, 3 times per week (2 points; n = month number)
- Running/swimming: n x 7 miles per week (2 points; n = quarter)
- Stretch for 30 minutes, 3 times per week (2 points)
- Weight on Saturday within self-imposed range (1 point)

Self-Improvement: 9 Points
- Fill out this chart (1 point)
- Compliment a stranger (1 point)
- Receive a compliment (1 point)
- Turn everything in on time (1 point; school: assignments; work: bill appropriate hours)
- Pray everyday (1 point)
- Stand up for myself (2 points)
- Don't take the easy way out (2 points)

Mind: 7 Points
- Read for 1 hour, 3 times per week (2 points; work/school reading doesn't count)
- Learn something new (1 point)
- Post a blog (1 point; score card report on Sunday doesn't count)
- Work a crossword puzzle everyday (1 point)
- Work on manual dexterity: 30 minutes (1 point; e.g., write with left hand)
- Watch/read news everyday (1 point)

And the game begins . . . .

More About the Game

2008-12-31T07:19:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking about my scorecard categories, making up some good ones and eliminating some bad. Doing so, I have discussed the idea with my wife, mom, and sister-in-law. Surprisingly, they all thought it was a great plan. I rewatched "if i" to see how Demetri did it, and he commented that the entire thing was a huge waste of time that made him realize how obsessive compulsive he was. I'm trying to see it a different way.

By doing this, I hope to push my New Year's Resolution further into the year. In a way, having a New Year's Resolution IS my New Year's Resolution. I always attack my resolutions full force in the beginning, as many people do, eventually giving up on them after too many slips. This year, I am instead making many smaller resolutions, keeping track of how many I accomplish on a weekly basis. Instead of promising to do everything all the time, I am promising to do some things all of the time. My scorecard is worth 50 points. My goal will be to average at least 35 for the week. That way, if school or work or travel gets in the way of certain things, all is not lost. If for example, I am on a week-long vacation without my dogs and cannot run them three times during the week (thus missing out on 2 points), I can pick up the points by eating fish twice durin the week (1 point) and learning something new (1 point). So all should balance out.

About the point system. Everything on the scorecard will be worth either 1 point or 2. Things that I think I'm already pretty good at (e.g., tell wife "I love you" everyday; work a crossword puzzle five times during the week) will be worth 1 point. Things that are harder for me, either because of time or effort (e.g., floss every single day; eat red meat only once during the week) will be worth 2 points. Some of the items have to be done every day to earn points (e.g., drink 8 glasses of water daily) while others have to be done weekly (e.g., turn everything in on time) or periodically (e.g., read for 1 hour, 3 times per week).

Demetri's program included a lot of abstract things like "display moral courage," which I have tried not to do. The subjectivity of those kinds of things will be difficult for me to monitor. Besides, I have come up with so many individual activities that I'm still narrowing them down right now. But I do have some that I'm seriously considering putting in. These include things like "stand up for myself" (i.e., express myself if I disagree (as long as it is important) rather than caving and taking the submissive position always) or "don't take the easy way out" (i.e., don't just pack things up and stick them in a drawer or closet and say I cleaned up; don't swim 4,800 yards and then round up to 5,000; don't eliminate part of a paper or assignment because I don't have time to do it well). A million things could go in this category, but if I honestly think at the end of the week that I've done a good job of doing everything well, I get 2 points.

I'll post again later this weekend and describe the categories, once I have finalized them. The game officially starts next Sunday. It should be an interesting week for a first run. I have three job interviews in three different cities and won't be home until Friday night. Then I'm catering a bridal shower next weekend, so there's a lot going on to get in the way of my plans!

New Year's Resolution

2008-12-27T14:29:00.001-06:00

I got the idea from Demetri Martin. In his show "if i," he talks about making a personal inventory to track his worth as a human being. He allows himself points for learning new things, eating right, and generally being a good person. He deducts points for various life failures, which I suppose could be different things for different people (in fact, I'm counting on it).

So this is my New Year's Resolution. I will make a personal scorecard for my daily life and assess my performance on a day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month basis. I'll give myself points for working out, eating right, doing well in school, happily doing chores around the house, etc. I'll deduct points for wasting time, not walking my dogs, and getting into petty arguments with my wife about meaningless stuff. Everything will begin January 4th, the first Sunday of the new year. I'll spend the meantime making up my scorecard and designing the rules for my little life game. Sometime between now and then I'll post an example card and explain the rules of the game. Then, if all goes according to plan, I'll post the results once a week. Hopefully blogging about my quest will keep me honest and participating in the challenge.

More later. I'm off to work on my categories!