The worlds must have had a magical aligning or something because all of the puzzle pieces I have been fretting about over the past few months seemed to have suddenly coalesced. We were able to get together for board games without Ron in late April and then we resurrected the D&D game with the whole crew and had a great session in May. My weight loss is chugging away and I've now lost 290 lbs in 15 months. The new goal for that is 300 lbs by the 18 month mark. And vacation for this summer is taking shape and looks to be fun time.
I was surprised with how everyone came together for the D&D game. A quick escape scenario was run that let characters come back from the dead in a moderately sensible manner and put a couple of quick encounters out to build their confidence back up. Then I ran a quickie adventure from an old Dungeon magazine because I realized the character group was not strong enough to complete their current adventure. Everyone seemed to have a good time and they are all looking forward to more. June will be busy with Amy traveling for work and going on vacation near the end of the month but here's to hoping we can find a weekend that works.
My weight loss slowed down a little in March and early April but has now settled into a pretty consistent 1-2 pounds a week. I try to only get on the scale once every 2 weeks so that I can notice the change. Less time than that and the weight loss is almost unnoticeable on the scale though I am having to buy smaller clothes again. I picked up a pair of size 38 shorts and a large shirt a week ago. It's the smallest size I've been since junior high school. I've also changed my exercise routine. Now I walk a solid 3 miles at lunch and then do 2 stories of stairs on the outside of one of our 3 story classroom buildings on campus. For the 1st 3 weeks I would do both flights of stairs up and down 5 times. It was surprising how quickly I went from barely being able to get up 5th set at the beginning to jogging up all 5 sets at the end of 3 weeks. Now I'm into my 2nd week of 8 sets up and down. I can feel the burn in my legs but I'm still able to jog up and down through 8 sets. After next week I'll probably try 10 sets. All of this will hopefully keep stimulating the weight loss and help get me ready to do the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hike we want to do next May. I'm really looking forward to that trip.
We kicked off summer vacation last Friday with a concert. Amy and I went and saw Styx, Foreigner, and Kansas at the Dodge Theatre. First time I've ever been to that venue and it was huge. We went with Julie and Michelle and sat in the nose bleed seats but the shows were fantastic. I haven't seen Kansas or Styx in about 12-13 years and both groups were on top of their game. It was sad that Dennis DeYoung was not with Styx but they sounded great none the less. But the real star of the show was Foreigner. I've never seen them before but really thought their energy and crowd interaction was heads and shoulders above the other two bands. It was really their night even though they were the middle band on the bill. We're trying to get tickets to REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar for July. That would catch me up on most of the bands I wanted to see live all those years ago.
And speaking of trips, we're going to spend 2 weeks on the east coast this summer. Amy has a conference in Washington, DC the last weekend of June and we're going as a family so I can finally see the nation's capital. I'll probably spend most of my time during the day at the Smithsonian and try to see the monuments and the Mall in the evening. For a guy with a BS in history, this trip is a long time coming. When Amy's conference is done we're heading to Florida. Her brother lives in Clermont, a little ways north of Orlando and Disney. It's been 17 years since the last time I was in Florida and I'm really looking forward to being in the land of my youth. I'm hoping to see some old friends and some old haunts. I want to show Amy and Elizabeth where I grew up and some of my favorite places, like Gatorland and St. Augustine. And we will spend an inordinate amount of time at Disney World I'm sure. I definitely want to show them some of the local flavor and destinations. Probably try to get out to Sledg's house in the swamp and take a canoe trip to see some gators in the wild. Elizabeth is so excited to see alligators, I just need to make sure she doesn't jump in with them and get eaten.
So things so far this year are looking up and seem like they're only going to get better. I'm looking forward to what the fall will bring but savoring every moment right now.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Too Long...
It's been too long since I last did this. A lot has happened, or at least it feels like a lot has happened. The one year anniversary of my weight loss surgery came and went and I realized I lost 257 lbs in one year, almost 50% of my total starting weight. We started a monthly routine over the last couple of months where Amy and I have gotten together with my friend Curt and his girlfriend, Jessica, for board and card games once a month. I hope to see that continue. But our monthly D&D game has not yet recovered from the total party kill in October.
That is the thorn I'm wrestling with at this point. I love playing D&D and I really enjoy the social aspect of the game; sitting around a table with friends, chatting about movies you've seen, books you've read, new things going on in your lives. The game is the excuse to get together, the framework or impetus for people to meet and share a like experience. Dungeons & Dragons has been the common denominator for me for almost 30 years.
In my teen years, it wasn't the only thing we did. Weekend nights were for watching movies you weren't supposed to see when you're 12 years old, either on the cable movie channels or VCRs. You'd also be really surprised how much walking around you do at 2am when you're 13 or 14 years old. Any excuse to stay out late and not go home. It wasn't because home was bad, just boring. We were just looking for a little adventure and we may have caused a little trouble looking for it but very little in the big scheme of things. Nothing more than you're typical teenagers I would guess.
And that brings me back to now and the demise of the D&D game. Despite being 40 years old, happily married with a beautiful, vibrant 5 year old daughter I still crave that sense of adventure, even if it is only in my imagination sitting at a dining room table once a month. My life is not really boring but it does sometimes fell routine. But more so than that, I have always been a social person and I am fearful of losing those connections with my friends. I'm afraid that without the common ground of D&D that there will be no reason to get together and spend time with each other, that we will drift apart and not see each other any more. And maybe I can't stop that no matter how hard I try; my desire to keep the game going to keep my friendships alive will not be enough.
But I have to try because I value those experiences too much. Here's hoping March will yield a new game.
That is the thorn I'm wrestling with at this point. I love playing D&D and I really enjoy the social aspect of the game; sitting around a table with friends, chatting about movies you've seen, books you've read, new things going on in your lives. The game is the excuse to get together, the framework or impetus for people to meet and share a like experience. Dungeons & Dragons has been the common denominator for me for almost 30 years.
In my teen years, it wasn't the only thing we did. Weekend nights were for watching movies you weren't supposed to see when you're 12 years old, either on the cable movie channels or VCRs. You'd also be really surprised how much walking around you do at 2am when you're 13 or 14 years old. Any excuse to stay out late and not go home. It wasn't because home was bad, just boring. We were just looking for a little adventure and we may have caused a little trouble looking for it but very little in the big scheme of things. Nothing more than you're typical teenagers I would guess.
And that brings me back to now and the demise of the D&D game. Despite being 40 years old, happily married with a beautiful, vibrant 5 year old daughter I still crave that sense of adventure, even if it is only in my imagination sitting at a dining room table once a month. My life is not really boring but it does sometimes fell routine. But more so than that, I have always been a social person and I am fearful of losing those connections with my friends. I'm afraid that without the common ground of D&D that there will be no reason to get together and spend time with each other, that we will drift apart and not see each other any more. And maybe I can't stop that no matter how hard I try; my desire to keep the game going to keep my friendships alive will not be enough.
But I have to try because I value those experiences too much. Here's hoping March will yield a new game.
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