This has been something of an interesting day.

This afternoon I was working on my PC when my mom came into my room. She asked me to come downstairs and see our visitor. I raised an eyebrow, and wondered what she was on about. I cautiously asked if I would need my shoes, and she said it’d be a good idea. I put them on, followed her downstairs, and went out into the back yard… where I got to see our visitor for the first time.

Dad had found her in the open garage. She had a collar and something that looked like a leash. Dad did some asking around, and it turned out someone had tied her to a stop sign for a couple of days. Another family took her in for a day or two looking for her former owners, but finally let her go free, hoping she’d return to her original home. Obviously that didn’t happen.

She bonded pretty quickly with Chase, and then a bit later with Star. After a bit, Dad decided to take her to the shelter on Canino, only to find it was closed. So, he brought her back to have her stay with us overnight. At first he planned on having her stay outside in the back yard, not letting her in, but Mom convinced him to let her in.

After she was in for a bit, Dad sighed and said he couldn’t take her back to the shelter, knowing she’d likely be put to sleep in a few days. So, the decision was made to keep her.

Her name is Taz, and she’s a Australian sheep dog and Australian cattle dog mix as near as we can tell. She’s very friendly, and should be a nice addition to the family. Now we just need to see how she does tomorrow when all of us are away.

… now, the only question is how Gus and Ringo will react when they realize the numbers now favor the dogs. :-)

Well, yesterday it was time to weigh myself again. Truthfully, I didn’t expect much, as I didn’t keep to the diet as much as I would have liked. Mind you, I tried to mitigate it as much as possible, but there’s only so much one can do. To my surprise, I had lost two pounds. At this rate, I might actually make my goal by the end of the year.

This past week, my coworker Brent came in from Houma to get ready to implement our ERP software at our relatively new location on the northwest side of Houston. I spent most of the week at the location as well, in case he needed any quickie database maintenance done. While I was good and had salads for lunch every day this week, I can’t say I was the same for dinner. Tuesday through Thursday, I joined Brent and our consultant Chuck for dinner. Tuesday was a meal at a place called Taso, which interestingly enough was right behind the Party City Dave works at. We had a very delicious meal of sushi there, which in the grand scheme of things isn’t that unhealthy. :-)

On Wednesday night, Brent and Chuck decided they wanted to go to Taste of Texas for a steak dinner. Having never been, I decided to tag along and see what the fuss was. Man, that was a nice steakhouse. Truthfully, I hadn’t had such a decent steak since the Old San Francisco Steak House on Westheimer closed its doors. Normally when I eat steak I have to have something like steak sauce or mustard with it. This time, it was juicy enough and tasty enough where I ate it on its own. I was good diet-wise as well, as I had a salad with low-fat Italian dressing and sauteed mushrooms with the steak. Unfortunately, at $35 a steak, it’s not someplace I would go on anywhere near close to a regular basis.

Thursday night was a meal at Pappadeaux. I ended up having pepper shrimp, which was grilled shrimp in a vaguely Asiatic pepper sauce, with dirty rice and asparagus. This is a definite change for me, as normally I get a seafood platter filled with fried shrimp, fried fish, fried crab, etc. This time I definitely intended to eat healthier. To be honest, it also ended up being a tastier meal than I usually get there too, so it was a win-win scenario for me.

I definitely intend to be better this coming week, but with coworkers coming in again it’s going to be a tad difficult. Still, it shouldn’t be too bad so long as I think about what I’m doing and making healthier eating decision. Of course, keeping up the exercise regiment is important as well. I’m still using the hand weights in the morning, and have increased the time doing the DDR thing in the evenings from twenty minutes to twenty five. We’ll see how it goes.

Otherwise, it’s been a quiet weekend, other than doing some database work in the afternoon. I’ll probably watch a rented movie or two tomorrow, and probably do a bit of work if need be. Other than that and talking to Misty, I’ll just take it easy… and prepare myself for the busy week that’s to come. Fun fun.

I admit that I’ve been posting about Talisman quite a bit recently. I apologize; the thing to keep in mind (and those who have known me for a LONG time know this) is that Talisman was more or less my game obsession before Mortal Kombat came around. I had almost all of the expansions for the second edition of the game, save Talisman Dragons. My full set disappeared about 15 years ago, and let’s not get into how that happened. In any event, like I said before, Jeff and Malinda got me a new copy of the game recently, and the Capcom version of the game should be out sometime this year. So, all in all, I’m a happy camper.

What’s not quite so well known among my friends is that the copy of the game Jeff and Malinda got me isn’t exactly my only copy of the game. What Jeff and Malinda got me was the recently released fourth edition version, which other than art changes and a couple of minor rules changes is almost exactly like the second edition (the most popular version of the game). The thing is, Games Workshop re-released Talisman four and a half years ago, and I managed to snag a copy. The edition I got back then was a reprint of the third edition. I had scanned over it but hadn’t had a real chance to unpack it and play it. Last night, out of curiosity, I pulled it down from the closet, opened it, and looked it over.

I have to admit, the second/fourth edition is much more appealing. The figures for the characters are unpainted minatures; the game came with a painting guide for painting said minatures. I’m not one for painting, really. I can see the appeal of painting minatures for armies in Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer Fantasy, but not for a board game. As a result, it just looks unfinished. The art isn’t to my style, either. A perfect example is the artwork for the Talismans. In all but third edition, the Talismans are distinctive triangular gold pendants that look unique. The Talismans now just look like generic sun pendants. The rest of the artwork also has a bit of a cartoony flair to it.

The gameplay changes don’t appeal to me either. In the original game, there are three regions, and it’s difficult to travel between the Outer and Middle Regions for at least the first half of the game. The Inner Region isn’t entered until the endgame, and it has a static layout with two paths that can be taken (each path is tailored to whichever attribute you decided to make your primary). In the third edition, it’s now much easier to travel between the Outer and Middle (now Inner) Regions, and the old Inner Region has been replaced with something called the “Wizard’s Tower”, in which five cards are used to determine the path to the final battle. It just strikes me as being a quicker and less involved game as a result.

In a way, too, I wonder if the re-release of the third edition was incomplete. The rules I have are more of a pamphlet that takes up four pages. The second/fourth edition rules were much longer, and unlike the second/fourth edition rules, this copy I have omits any mention of the endgame and how the game is won. Ah, well.

This third edition of Talisman is going to end up back in storage for the time being. Maybe someday I’ll bring it out just for something different or to actually give it a try. In the meantime, though, I’ll stick with the fourth edition Jeff and Malinda got me, which has the second edition rules, much nicer artwork, and a much nicer box to put everything in (complete with holders/slots for cards et al). :-)

All right, everyone, it’s time for me to discuss one of my major pet peeves.

What has me so annoyed, you may or may not ask? Well, there are times when I get a call on the phone. When I ask who’s calling, they respond with a first name only. Now, when I say I get a call “on the phone”, I mean on the land line at the house. Those of you who know me know that’s an instant red flag, because NONE of my friends or coworkers know the phone number at the house. Not even Misty knows it. The reason is because ALL of my calls go through my cell phone. So, in other words, this is not someone I know personally.

Anyway, so I ask, “So-and-so who?” Said person then reveals that he or she is in fact with a company or a political campaign. Very sneaky, guys. I can see how this works: the caller is trying to trick the person into taking the call by pretending it’s someone the recipient knows on a first-name basis. I don’t know about anyone else, but being tricked into taking a call by semi-trickery is not something I appreciate, and in fact sours me to whatever you were trying to sell me on in the first place. More to the point, I’d be even more apt to avoid or recommend against it than I might have been.

So, what prompted this rant, you might ask? Well, I got an example of such a call a few minutes ago. If anyone’s wondering, it came from Barack Obama’s campaign, which is heavily working in advance of the primary on Tuesday.

So, congrats guys. You managed to turn me off him even more than I might have been already. You might have said he was for change, but this kind of change into campaign tactics I consider dishonest isn’t a change I consider for the better.

Well, I went ahead and weighed myself on Friday. Weighing myself on Monday was mainly done to get a starting figure, as that was the day I began the diet. I was afraid that there wouldn’t be any change… or worse, that I would have gained weight.

I lost four pounds. Go me.

I don’t really expect to be able to keep up losing four pounds a week (or per four days), but even if I lose one or two pounds a week, I should come close to my goal of losing sixty pounds by the end of the year. Even then, if I don’t lose sixty pounds but lose six to eight inches off the waistline, I’ll be equally happy.

To celebrate, or to be more precise have my “splurge” meal, we went to Texas Roadhouse at I-45 and FM 1960 for dinner last night. We had never been, so it was a new experience for us. It turned out it was very much like Logan’s Roadhouse, which was a plus in my book. I ended up getting a single margarita (and water for the rest of the night), a burger (with a house salad w/ Italian dressing instead of fries), and a brownie a la mode. As hefty as that sounds, I usually eat MORE when out and about. I would have normally gotten an appetizer and chowed down on fries, plus probably have had more than one margarita. It was good, and I’m actually looking forward to going back. :-)

Also on the food front, we had a bit of an amusing exchange at dinner. Mom made spaghetti in a tomato meat sauce for dinner. While she was serving, she said, “I made this using a low carb pasta, so you don’t need to worry.” At that moment, Dad raised his head up from his own bowl, turned, and glared at her with a dirty look. Oblivious, Mom continued, “It’s the same stuff I’ve been serving for the past two years.” Dad blinked, went back to his dinner, and muttered, “It’s a good thing you said that…”

In any event, tomorrow brings week two. Hopefully things go as well this week as they did last week. We’ll see…

I admit to confusion.

I am not a Democrat. I am not a Republican. I consider myself Independent; something of a fiscal conservative with socially liberal beliefs. That said, I can’t remember the last time I voted Democrat. If I had to guess, it would be when I voted to re-elect Bill Clinton to the White House. In the past two Presidential elections, I voted for Bush the first time (which I fully admit was a mistake), and for Badnarik the second time. Otherwise, in local races, I usually vote Republican. (I would give quite a bit for a “none of the above” option, though…)

That said, why the hell is Barack Obama’s campaign sending me flyers and having people call me? I was bemused when I received a flyer for Obama’s campaign when Mom and Dad didn’t. (Then again, my parents are registered Republicans.) This morning, though, I got a call from Obama’s campaign. I pretended I wasn’t in mainly because I didn’t feel like talking to them, but still… what the hell?

*sigh* I’ll likely vote in the primary on Tuesday. When I do, though, I’ll likely end up voting for Ron Paul. Not because I think he’ll win, but because he the best choice of the group (and frankly, we can probably depend on Congress to keep him from implementing some of the ideas even I think are a bit extreme). Still, I’ll go in there wishing there really was a “none of the above” option. Dad put it best, though…

“Go in there, and vote Republican on the primary. Then you’ll have BOTH sides trying to contact you!”

UPDATE: Actually, I just talked to Mom and she explained what’s going on, as according to something she heard on NPR. Apparently Obama campaigners are getting onto governmental sites and getting the names of ALL registered voters, and contacting them via phone calls and flyers. I was wrong; Mom and Dad HAVE been getting campaign calls/flyers from Obama. I have to admit, it’s a brilliantly sneaky tactic…

After this past weekend, I resolved to improve myself. I started this past Monday. It’s Wednesday, and I’m already feeling sorry for myself.

This is a wonderful sign, methinks.

Last week, I went to Oklahoma City to get our new location onto our company network. While there, I once again met up with Jeff and Malinda; on the Friday night, we picked up barbecue and went back to their house to play some Talisman. While at their house, Jeff fired up the VCR, and to my surprise, it was playing a recording Jeff once had done of a session we did of one of his LARP campaigns. The tape mostly showed Jeff, Malinda (who was shocked by the amount of makeup she had on), and our friend Mikey (who tended to make these sessions hysterically funny with his one-liners). I wasn’t in the tape for more than 60 seconds (as my character was off elsewhere doing something else… long story), but when I did appear I felt a bit shocked and humiliated.

I was relatively slim back then. I was a bit overweight, yes, but nothing like I was now. I saw a reflection of myself… and I felt terrible about it. So, I gave up and resolved to do something about it.

First thing Monday morning, I weighed myself. I was rather mortified to learn that I weighed 258 pounds. From there, I started on a regiment. My goal is to lose either 60 pounds or six inches off my waist by the end of the year, and try to keep at around that size from then on.

Monday through Friday, when I wake up in the morning, I spend ten minutes or so working out with a couple of handheld weights. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, in the evening, I break out the Playstation 2, dance pad, and my copy of DDR Max 2, and spend about thirty minutes in workout mode. I can handle all of that with no problem.

My problem is that I love food, and I’m having to seriously change my eating habits. Normally when I go to lunch or dinner, I’d get something like a burger, or pasta, or pizza. Now I’m finding myself eating small sandwiches (like 6″ Subway subs), salads with minimal dressing, or just stuff like baked chicken with cabbage and green beans (my lunch today). Beer is right out, as are margaritas. I’ve also cut out most soda, limiting myself to one Diet Coke a day. As a result, I find myself just staring at my food for about half a minute, pining for a juicy burger or maybe a decent plate of pasta. I then dig in, knowing intellectually that this will make my body healthier, but still wishing I could have that damn burger.

About the only saving grace that I see coming is the fact that I’m allotting myself one splurge meal a week. I’ll have that burger, and maybe even a dessert. (No fries, though.) I know for a fact that if I stay on this regiment without ANY break, I’ll end up breaking it simply because I can’t take it anymore. My scheduled splurge night is Saturday; it’s Wednesday night, but Saturday still seems like a ways off. Here’s hoping time flies.

Ah, well… enough griping and moaning from me. I’m just hoping I do make my goal, and end up healthier for it. Ten months seems like a lot of time, but in a way, it’s like no time at all these days. I just hope it’s all worth it.

I admit, I allow myself a few personal quirks here and there to offset my relatively minimalist and “dark” preferences in terms of decor and the like. Then again, like everything else, I prefer such things to be functional more than anything else (with the occasional exception). This weekend, I took the time to deal with one of these quirks… namely, my piggy bank.

Yes, I have a piggy bank.

Back when I was working at Toys R Us, I was getting to the point where I was wanting somewhere to store my spare change, and I figured I might as well get a piggy bank. The problem was that when I looked at all of the piggy banks in the front of the store in the seasonal area (where they were typically kept), they were all flimsy, cheap plastic and ugly to boot. Then, one day, I happened to be doing some work in one of the preschooler areas when I noticed Little Tikes made a piggy bank. This one was cute, and VERY sturdy to boot. I went ahead and picked one up… and have been using it to this day.

What I do is every day when I come home from work, when I empty my pockets, I take the silver change from my pocket and dump it into Piggy. Then, every few years or so, Piggy gets so full that I end up emptying him and rolling up all of the change and using it towards a splurge purchase. Anything that doesn’t go into rolls goes back into Piggy for the next time.

So, what will I be using with the money I’ve gotten from Piggy? Well, this time… it’ll be an iPod Classic. My current iPod is okay, except for the fact that it won’t hold a charge. (Apple has said that whatever the issue is, it’s not the battery.) Also, I want an iPod that will play video for when I go on flights and the like. I might not have enough for the 160 GB model, but it’ll go a long way towards it. Ah, well… we’ll see what happens when I actually count it.

Though I do admit, I’m looking forward to taking the rolls in and depositing them, if only to see the looks on the bank tellers’ faces. :-)

Right now, I’m at a Landry’s off of Westheimer waiting on dinner. Well, more like we’re waiting to be seated. We had originally intended on eating at Bennihana, but when we met at Louie’s, Dave told us we would have to change plans. Apparently the location we normally go to is closed for remodelling. Ah, well…

When we get done here, we’ll go shoot some pool. But for now, our table is ready earlier than expected. Fun fun…

So, I’m home from Oklahoma City. We had just purchased a new facility out there, and my mission was to evaluate the building and see what would need to be done to get it onto our network. It was a routine trip reason, but I can’t say I enjoyed how it started. Thunderstorms caused our plane to leave an hour late, and when we got into Oklahoma City, it had already started snowing. Fortunately the roads were mostly clear, so I got to the facility with no problems. I got done what I needed to get done, and was able to leave before Oklahoma City’s equivalent of rush hour started.

I had plans to meet up with my old friends Jeff and Malinda (who live in Norman), so once I got to the hotel I called Malinda and we made arrangements. At 6:15 or so, I made my way down to the lobby and waited for them to arrive. Malinda eventually walked in… and damn. She had not changed a bit. (Keep in mind it had been eight years since I’d seen her or Jeff.) Jeff looked like he’d gained a little weight, but that’s not a bad thing considering he was really thin before. We all got in the car… and they decided to surprise me.

I’ve posted before how I loved the board game Talisman and had even recently wandered into a Games Workshop store looking for a copy. Well, I had forgotten that I had introduced Jeff and Malinda to it way back when, when it was out of print. So, imagine my shock when they handed me a bag that contained this:

Damn. I can probably get George to play, or maybe even Sean and his group. I don’t think Louie or Dave will ever be willing to give it a try, though. Hell, I can’t wait to introduce it to Misty… :-)

As you might imagine, I am very thankful and grateful. Thanks, guys! Now I just have to return the backpack I borrowed to take it home in, considering I had only brought a laptop backpack with me as an overnight bag.

Anyway, from the hotel we went to this GREAT Italian restaurant just off the campus of OU called Victoria’s. After a very satisfying meal there, we went to their house, where we continued to catch up, and took time to watch a hilarious Doctor Who parody called The Curse of Fatal Death. After a while, though, it was time to go home, as I had a flight back to the States in the morning and they had work. We did agree to meet up again when I go back up. :-)

Today was uneventful, though. I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, which was used to get onto the company network and do some work. Once back in Houston, I met Dad for lunch at Denny’s, and from there went home and worked from there.

So, what’s going from here? Tomorrow evening I’ll be going to Sean’s birthday dinner and whatever they have planned afterwards. Next week looks like a standard week of work. The week after, though, looks more and more like I’ll be in Oklahoma City for a few days. I had thought that it would be a month before I returned for the network implementation, but instead the boss wants it sooner. I’ll have to email Jeff and Malinda to warn them ahead of time.

Either way, I don’t mind. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time to catch up… and play Talisman. :-)