Later that night, I modified the pages of this website. Again. I changed the Forum link in the menu bar to that of a Store link, with the hopes of entering the world of online commerce. Although the change didn't radically alter the face of this website, it did modify it greatly in my eyes. I've feel like I've pushed a part of myself forward to a new level -- a new playing field that I have to learn much about. A whole new world. I love how even though I did the major site redesign this summer, these pages are still evolving - making things better and easier for the end-user, meeting my new creative needs as they arise, and always improving things as technology races on.

Tonight at the gym, I added another five or six minutes to my cardio workout. Not counting a bunch of laps I did around the track, I'm up to 54 minutes of intense cardio. As my energy levels continue to grow and this flabby body gets stronger and learns how to breathe and sweat again, I keep evolving my workout routine. I listen to my body and subtilely change and expand upon the routine as I slowly push myself to achieve new goals.

What is it within me, my family, and many of the people I hold dear to me, that forces us to constantly strive to do better? Why do we constantly reconstruct our homes, websites, daily routines, education, careers, bodies, minds, and personal needs? Our lives our under constant reconstruction. Why is status quo never good enough? What forces this insatiable need to learn, progress, push forward, and evolve?

I am happy to feel an intangible nudge at times -- the constant drive to stay current with technology, home trends, style, fashion, music, art, pop culture, and the world around me. I'm happy that I still hunger to meet new people, see knew lands, and always slightly move my personal relationships into the future, never simply relying on the past. I'm never happy with settling with things or falling into a rut. I never want to get "set in my ways" and unable to change and grow. I'm never happy with "just because." Perhaps that's what keeps me young.

I am happy that I have the drive to constantly reevaluated myself. I am glad I can find where the reconstruction needs to occur, where an emotional new coat of paint needs to be applied, or where a mental addition needs to be added, expanded upon, or torn apart completely and rebuild from scratch.

Let the remodeling continue. Yeah, things might get dusty.

Monday's Playlist:

1. Cinecast #73: Bubblicious

2. Family Guy - Live from Las Vegas

3. Jack Johnson and Friends - Sing-a-Longs and Lullabies for the film Curious George

4. Damien Rice - O

5. Jeff Buckley - Grace

6. Compounds + Elements - An Introduction to All Saints Records

G

|

I love the fact that this site of mine keeps evolving with time. There was a time when the addition of that discussion board was the biggest thing to happen to these pages. Once I figured out the coding to make comments work after each post, it suddenly had no real purpose. Now, it's been delegated to the back pages as I try a new endeavor into a new world of online commerce. My goal isn't to make turn this website into a money-making device, but if I can make a few bucks while sharing my art, then hey, why not? So far, the e-commerce has been slow with only one sale (Thanx Tanya!!), but I'm hoping things will pick up when I add more items to the store. A lot of this will just take time as well. Back when I started this site in April of 2003, I never would have thought in a million years that I'd be selling my stuff online. Wish me luck!

Anyway...have a great weekend and I will catch you soon!

Blogging to: Jack Johnson and Friends - Sing-a-Longs and Lullabies for the film Curious George

G

|

With that said, I got tagged yesterday by gloria jean. I'm not big into this tagging/meme thing. But this one is right up my alley, giving me a chance to talk about some of the songs I've been listening these days that really haven't been represented in my playlists. Here were the meme rules:

"List 7 songs you're into right now. No matter the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they're listening too."

So after much thought at the gym last night (what else is there to do when I'm up to 45 minutes of cardio!?), here is my list of seven songs I'm currently into (and the links I have for each will bring you right to that song in iTunes if you want to hear a preview!):

1). City of Blinding Lights - U2: Okay. It's no secret here that I'm a huge U2 fan. At times, I know this website has become a shrine to Bono and the boys. I can't deny this song. The album's been out since November of 2004. Through the beauty of my iPod, I can get a play count on all of the songs on it. Between various mixes, live versions, and the iTunes Library on my computer, this song has been played 306 times since November 2004. 306. Holy shit. And that doesn't include all of the times listening to it on the CD in my car, watching it on DVD, or the two times I've seen this version of their tour! I wonder what listening to something that many times does to a person's psyche? This is the most uplifting song I know. "Oh, you, look, sooo, beauuuutiful toniiiiight!"

2.) Take on Me - a-ha: Thanks to it making an appearance on an episode of The Family Guy last summer, I rediscovered this 80s classic. It's probably the coolest video of that decade and has one of the most fun and challenging vocals to sing to. I noticed that in the chorus, it goes from very low to falsetto in a very short time. This is a rare gem from the early 80s, a time I remember far too well. I can't get this song out of my head!

3.) All Around The World - Oasis: One of my favorite albums of all time is their What's the Story? (Morning Glory). This track, a complete homage (rip-off?) of everything Beatles, was on their bloated follow-up. Their egos got out of control and I stopped caring about Oasis. Then almost 10 years later, this song resurfaces on some TV commercial, and I blow the dust off of this baby, finally giving it a home on my iPod. The song is over nine minutes long (great to workout to) and even has an additional reprise track on the album. Yeah, it might be a rip-off of Sgt. Pepper, but they tip their hats off quite well. There are worse things in the world you can try to emulate than All You Need Is Love.

4.) Wake Up - The Arcade Fire: I first was exposed to this group when this song was played at the U2 concert right before the house lights went off and the concert started. It's called out on the Vertigo Tour DVD and I had to look it up. It's really bizarre song, with two or three unique parts. It starts out as kind of this soul thing but ends up with this weird Abba/Roxie Music vibe. It's a great song to sing along to the "Whoa--oh-oh-oh-oh-oh...." part. Yeah, I'm such a dork.

5.) Bom Bom Bom - Living Things: I first got this as an iTunes free single of the week. I love its basic Rolling Stones riffs and 70s rock throwback style. But what caught me was underneath this cool rock track was a pretty blatant anti-war song. Now I'm hearing this song on the iTunes cell phone commercial.

6.) All These Things That I've Done - The Killers: I first heard this song this past summer watching the Live 8 concert. This is another one of those quirky rock songs, much like Wake Up, that has a few different parts to it. When it gets to the part at the end where they break it down and the soul singers start chanting "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier, I've got soul but I'm not a soldier...", well, it's got me once again, singing at the top of my lungs. This song truly feels like a journey by the time it's done, and I mean that in a good way.

7.) Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go - Soft Cell; There's some rap group out right now that uses a huge sample of this song. I can't get past it without wanting to hear the original 80s version which is far better. This song brings back memories of a dry-bar called Club Copa that my friends and I would go dancing at every Friday and Saturday night when I was in high school. Hearing the sparse keyboard part still conjures up smells of liquid smoke, the taste of watered-down, over-priced Cokes, and the feeling of sweating through your clothes while trying to pick up some cute girl from a neighboring school district. It was always a bonus when this extended mix would kick in. Now it gets me through a huge chunk of my workout.

And that's my list of seven. I'm going to break the rules and not "tag" anyone, but I do expect Brandon and Heather (yeah, I'm talking to you) to put your list of seven in my comments, and challenge the rest of you readers to do the same. Thanks for indulging me tonight. This was supposed to be a short post!

Wednesday's Playlist:

1. The Edge - Captive Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

2. Willie Nelson - Spirit

G

|

One of the cool little sidenotes about Saturday night is that at the comedy club, I got carded. I smiled and told the young gal who checked my ID thank you. My two friends I went with both rolled their eyes and groaned. There was a sign that said "Under 30 be prepared to have your ID checked." I'll be 35 in May. This still often happens to me. But trust me, I'm not complaining -- I'm bragging!

Just getting my ID checked, home-brewed thoughts of age and growing older, despite apparently looking a little younger. I knew that was going to be my topic for this Monday night post.

I was caught a bit off guard when I read Bud and Vickie's blogs tonight. They both had posts about age as well. I wonder if there's something setting in with cabin fever, if people are just past the do-gooder stage of New Years resolutions and back to feeling not quite as good about themselves, or if it's all just coincidence. With this ID thing, it's more of a "I'll take it when I can get it" train of thought. I know with my family, because I'm single, have no kids, and collect toys, music, DVDs, and video games, they tend to think I'm much younger than I am. I suppose on the surface, it might appear that I'm immature and never want to grow up. But trust me, this isn't Neverland.

I'd be lying if I said age was something I never thought about. In my 20s I took it for granted. I was excited by the first few years of my 30s. But now that 35 is right around the corner, thoughts of 40 come to mind. And like it or not, subtle pangs of dread stir in my belly when I think of that number. Gosh, where did all the time go? I know what people say -- you're as old as you act and feel, age is just a number, etc., etc. And I agree with all of that. So often, I don't even feel like I'm in my 30s yet. I get excited about movies and music and all that stuff that my parents never showed a real interest in, probably because when they were my age, they had all three of us kids to support and provide for. For me, the thought of being a father of three kids at this stage in my life baffles my mind. I relish my singledom, my youth, my freedom, and my ability to be selfish.

Once in awhile, when I start thinking too hard about those age numbers, I start sliding into areas of self-doubt. My plan in life was to be married by 25 and have three or four kids by the time I was 30. But it just didn't work out that way for me. I can't allow myself to ponder on that thought for too long though, on a plan which was just an arbitrary set of goals that looked good on paper. Instead, I think my life has taken me on another path. There's so much I want to do and so many ways I want to express myself and grow as an artist. I really think I have to achieve some of those goals first before I can ever focus on the needs of or thoughts of providing for somebody else.

Don't take this the wrong way. I'm not getting down on myself. Hell, I felt elated that somebody mistook me for being under 30. I guess all I'm saying tonight is that its funny how as I get older, the numbers I associate with time do seem to garner more attention. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes bad. Oh well.

The sketch in this post, by the way, is just another example of how I refuse to grow up (as well as maybe the concept of a boy trapped in the shell of something darker?).

Time… time
Won’t leave me as I am
But time won’t take the boy out of this man

from City of Blinding Lights by U2

On a different note, I want to mention again to check here to see a few of my photographs on items for sale at my very own online "storefront." Eventually this will be a link up in my menu banner and then I can stop nagging you all about it. Hopefully this week, I'll get a few more designs out there. Anyway...

Have a great week!

Monday's Playlist:

1. Cinecast #71: Brave New World

2. Ebert and Ropert - Reviews for the Weekend of February 18 - 19, 2006

3. The Beatles - Beatles for Sale

4. The Beatles - Rubber Soul

5. The BoDeans - Black and White

G

|

Friday: I went to a happy hour for a co-worker's birthday. After a few drinks, I realized I was the only person from work (other than the birthday boy) still at the party. I spent another 45 minutes talking to him and had a great time. As I was making my way home, my other co-worker, who hadn't shown up yet, did the infamous "Anybody left at the happy hour?" cell phone call. Since nobody from work was left there, and neither of us had eaten yet, we met at Round Robin for some crazy-ass burgers (who comes up with these things?) and chatted there well past 10:00. Perfect timing! Last night was a relaxing way to end the week.

Saturday: I got up early this morning and left for my parent's house around 9:00. It was a balmy - 20°F (something like 40 below with windchill!). I spent the entire day over there, with the help of my brother, brother-in-law, and uncle, gutting out their kitchen, laundry room, and the beginnings of the downstairs bathroom. Everything was torn out and thrown in a rented dumpster behind the house: the old vinyl floor, two sinks, all of the countertops, drawers, and cupboards, and all of the old tile and z-brick. There's nothing left but a relatively new refrigerator, the dishwasher, and their stovetop and oven (which are just there so they can still make some grub for the next few weeks until the new appliances show up). I haven't done this much pounding with hammers, tearing shit out, and demolition in my life. It felt good to do some manual work for a change and just be told what to do (I got blistas on me fingas!!!). Now over the next few weeks, drywall and plaster needs to happen, new tile has to be laid down, and all of the rooms need to be painted from head to toe before the custom cabinets get put in. Having a brother-in-law who's an electrician, his brother who does dry wall, a brother who lays carpet and tile for a living, and his girlfriend who's an interior decorator, has turned this into a family affair. Me? I do what I'm told, throw my muscle at it, and give some design advice when prompted. The more help the better. This is a couple month project that will result in three brand-new rooms for my parents, with a consideral cost savings. Lots of work still has to be done.

And now somehow, I have to find the energy to have a social life tonight! I actually feel pretty good right now after having a short power-nap before supper. I have tickets reserved for the comedy club tonight with a couple friends to see Emo Phillips. I've seen him a few times in the past and have always really enjoyed his odd sense of humor. I'm looking forward to some live comedy (a real craft), laughing with my friends, and the two drink minimum! I wonder if martinis will happen afterward? It should be a blast.

Three quick "housekeeping" things to note: 1:) Check here to see a few of my photographs on items for sale at my very own online "storefront." I hope to flesh out more items and integrate this store into my webspace more seriously in the days to come. 2.) Check here for my latest podcast (#6) that I recorded last weekend called "Animal Planet." If you haven't downloaded it yet, check it out! 3.) Check out my webspace at Flickr. So far, all of the photos currently co-exist on this site as well, but it's another fun way to put myself and my art out there. I added a bunch of pix from this site on my snow day.

That's all for now. I need to hop in the shower and get ready for some comedy while somehow staying warm in these sub-zero Wisconsin temps. How did those penguins do it? Stay warm people.

G

|

Sloth Wins
February 15, 2006 Wednesday 8:17 PM
The sloth in me never made an appearance today as I was going to workout. Despite a body that was (and still is) sore from a weight-lifting regiment that keeps getting a little bit more aggressive, I never once thought about NOT going to the gym. I had a good cardio workout after work and it was nice to clear my head. But tonight, after that workout, some errands, dinner, and a few chores around the house, the sloth has finally made his appearance.

I'm tired. Plain and simple.

No deep post about the meaning of life, the existence of God, my views on race relations in 2006, or relationships in this digital age, all initial ideas for a post this evening. No graphic either. I do this website/photography/graphics/visual stuff all day long at work and sometimes just have nothing left at the end of the day. So instead, I'm going to chat, surf, screw around, and maybe watch some junk TV for the few hours I have left tonight before I hit the sack.

I'll have to be sure to get to bed extra-early tonight. I'm keeping close tabs on the weather -- about 10 to 13 inches of snow are supposed to blast this Wisconsin area, slowly making its appearance later just in time for a rough ride into work in the AM. Oh well, bring it on.

Wednesday's Playlist:

1. Madonna - Confessions on a Dancefloor

2. Cinecast #70: Best/Worst of 2005 (part 1)

G

|

I really enjoyed Hustle & Flow too. It's a great movie about music and the creation of it. I was really surprised that a movie about pimps and hookers avoided the typical stereotypes and had a real heart to it. The rap was really catchy too.

I found Crash to be absolutely amazing. It's probably the best movie I've seen all year. It's had a lot of hype, so I wasn't expecting much. It started out with Ludicras talking about how "the man" is holding African-Americans back. I'll be honest and say I had a moment of, "Here we go again; another lecture on why I'm a bad person 'cuz I'm a white man." But my attitude changed quickly when I realized that the movie was about how all races are racist, not just whitey. It took a great approach on how we all stereotype people, whether we mean to or not with, even with the best intentions of not pre-judging somebody. The movie showed the real gray areas of race-relations, and how even the worst of people aren't pure evil and that there can be diamonds in every rough. I was impressed that with its honesty showing the certain frustrations within the different races when somebody would live up to a stereotype that is sometimes true. I loved everything about this movie: the non-linear storyline, the editing, how the scenes were set up, the characterizations, the acting, and most importantly, the use of music. Immediately after the movie, I rushed over to my iTunes music store and scored me the soundtrack. Good, mellow stuff. This movie is going to be with me for awhile.

A cool sidenote about Hustle & Flow and Crash... Terrance Howard and Ludacris were in both movies and shared scenes together in both. When they came together in Crash which I watched late last night, I was a bit weirded out by the coincidence. Two very good actors. Cool beans.

Also this weekend, I did some more updates to this site. On Friday night, now that I purchased some serious additional server space for my site, I added another podcast to my media section. I'm slowly getting the hang of creating a podcast and really enjoying the actual production of them. I've also been able to get the quality a lot better from where I first started, so its all good. On Saturday morning, I split up my media section. I broke the pages up by podcasts, music, sound bites/web junk, and desktops/wallpaper (which I also added a couple more sunset pix to). All of the pieces are still there, but I broke the pages up more like I do for my sketchbook, photography, and snap shot galleries. Now you can access each different sub-section of the media by the sub-links on the bottom of each page. This gives me more room to grow in each section and less reason for the end-viewer to scroll. Now I just need to throw some more content at them! On Sunday, I added a few more images to my snap shot pages. I went out to a hole-in-the-wall dive bar in Green Bay on Saturday night, killed a few too many brain cells, and had a really great time, knowing I was going to crash on a friends couch that night. The evidence of that good time is in those new images.

And that brings me to today. Today was a rough one; your typical Monday. Let's just say things didn't get any better when I got home after my workout and found a summons in the mail for a week of jury duty in late March. So as I write this, I am flush in the face working on my second third glass of wine, which somehow seemed to compliment the single-guy dinner of turkey lunch meat on toast tonight, and has helped make this rough Monday a thing of the past.

Spell-check *hic* don't fail me know!

Cheers!

Monday's Playlist:

1. Cinecast #69: Your Cheating Heart Will Tell On You

2. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Waredrobe Original Soundtrack

3. Madonna - Hung Up (DJ Version) - EP

4. Madonna - Confessions on a Dancefloor

5. Mark Isham - Crash (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

G

|

G

|

They call it music's biggest night. To me, the Grammy's are my Super-Bowl. When U2 won one, then two, three, four, FIVE awards, it was if I was cheering for my home team. When Kelly beat out Mariah (one piece of double-sided tape away from a wardrobe malfunction) I clapped loud enough to make the cat go running. Yeah, I'm a big dork. And as I read in a review of the Grammys today: Mariah, enough with the choirs. You might keep pointing to God, but with that cleavage, you sure as hell ain't in church. Actually, I found her performance to be pretty inspiring as well. The only real sour note of the night was at the very beginning when Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keyes started their little impromptu thing. I thought to myself, gosh, here we go again. But from that point on, I enjoyed the awards like crazy.

And speaking of the Super Bowl...The only part of it that I caught Sunday night was the Rolling Stones' half-time show. I simply watched it out of morbid curiosity....and that's what it felt like to me: morbid. "Bring out your dead, bring out your dead." Considering that Keith Richards must have been recently embalmed, he still looks quite good (practically life-like). The Stones sounded like a shitty cover band doing the Stones. I actually found and watched U2's half-time show from the Super Bowl in 2002 just to get the taste out of my mouth when the Stones were finished. Weren't the Stones and the Beatles contemporaries? Why does Mick sound like death warmed over while last night Paul was one of the highlights of the show, still running strong? And by the way Mick, U2 called, they want their stage back.

One final observation from last night: When they announced the nominees for one of the final awards, they showed Paul McCartney sitting in front of Bono who was sitting in front of Sting. It's amazing the talent, craftsmanship, heart, philanthropy, and pure genius that was sitting so close to each other. Despite the Britneys, Ashlees, Jessicas, and Linsays of the world, music is still alive and well.

Just not on MTV.

Or the radio.

Okay... enough of this incoherent rant for tonight. It's been a long-ass week. Later.

Thursday's Playlist:

1. U2 - How To Dismantle and Atomic Bomb

2. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway

G

|

I'm in one of those moods where I don't know what I want to write about. My initial idea for tonight's post was to talk about my workout and how I'm trying to look at it as just taking minor baby steps up a mountain (a la Return of the King). But an aggressive workout, a busy day, and a belly full of ravioli has me feeling blah about that subject right now. I know it's something I will focus on again; it's now a huge part of my day. But at the moment, I'm just tired and want to curl up with an old movie or some episodes of The Family Guy or something equally as mindless.

So what to write about, what to write? As I search for the something to gauge how I'm feeling right now -- when I'm not really feeling anything too high or low -- I remember something from a blog on creativity that one of my friends sent me:

If you’re looking at a blank piece of paper and nothing comes to you, then go do something else. Writer’s block is just a symptom of feeling like you have nothing to say, combined with the rather weird idea that you SHOULD feel the need to say something.

Why? If you have something to say, then say it. If not, enjoy the silence while it lasts. The noise will return soon enough. In the meantime, you’re better off going out into the big, wide world, having some adventures and refilling your well. Trying to create when you don’t feel like it is like making conversation for the sake of making conversation. It’s not really connecting, it’s just droning on like an old, drunken barfly.

And that is exactly how I'm feeling right now. I hate making conversation.

But why is it I can still somehow write four paragraphs on having nothing to say?

And now some lyrics that are about as relevant as the sketch:

If you've got something to say
Why don't you say it
If you've got something to give
Why don't you give it to me
Day after day I have to say it
We're moving further from heaven
And closer to the deep blue sea

from Something to Save by George Michael

Tuesday's Playlist:

1. Cinecast #67: A Tragic Top 5

2. Michael Stipe - In the Sun EP

G

|

I added three new desktops/wallpapers to the media page (scroll down to the bottom of that page), all of photographs that I've shot. A majority of the images that I add to that section at one point or another have been my homepage graphic. It feels good to take some of the photos that I'm most proud of and share them with the viewers of this site. (Did you know I have a homepage to this site? If some of you come in via other links, you may not. Click on the tan "G-Man Ink" at the top left corner of the menu bar to see a graphic that changes often. Also, on the bottom right of that page, I always indicate when and where the newest update to these pages has occurred.)

Last night I spent much time adding a new gallery, Book 4, to the sketch book section of this site. The gallery consist of 50 more drawings, paintings, or sketches that were added to the pages of this journal from the time period of July 15, 2004 through February 7, 2005. Now they can be easily accessed through that gallery.

In doing the new gallery, and looking at the previous three, it surprised me a bit how much my drawing has slowed down over the past year or so. On the positive side, I am writing more now these days than ever, plus making a lot more music (also found on my media page), and still doing more photography -- so the creativity is still alive and quite well. But my drawing has always been my special gift, and it's time I start utilizing that gift even more, outside of a work environment.

Melissa over at Recovering and Discovering Self read in an earlier post where I hinted that I needed to get back into my drawing some more. She issued me a challenge to do a sketch of her based on a photograph. I met that challenge and it felt great to add another new drawing to these pages. Thanks for the little push Melissa!

I seem to go in these cycles with my art. I've spent way too many years before I started doing this website not doing anything creative once my workday was done. It's easy to make excuses, and many times, they are valid. Life does get in the way. Family is a priority. Work does wear me out. Chores and errands have to get done. Bills have to get paid. And a sometimes active social life needs to be balanced into the equation. But what I need to do is to continue pushing how I use my downtime in regards to my creativity.

And simply just start drawing more.

Oh well. Thanks for indulging me this morning.

G

|

1.) I've been meaning to watch more movies this year but haven't rented or gone to any since my Christmas vacation. Tonight I came home with The Island, The March of the Penguins, and Grizzly Man. I'm not getting my hopes up where The Island is concerned. I"ve never been a fan of Michael Bay movies (I think The Rock (which doesn't even deserve a link) was the worst movie I've ever seen), but this one has my man-crush Ewan McGreggor in it, so I'm looking forward to turning my mind off for awhile and watching my favorite actor in something other than Star Wars. I've been looking forward to the two documentaries since this summer -- amazing how fast stuff comes to DVD these days. They both sound quite different in tone from each other. I think after being so smitten with King Kong and all I took away from it about humans' relationship with animals, it will be interesting to see Grizzly Man. I'm hoping the penguin movie is as beautiful to look at as they say.

2.) Here's a quote from last night's The Office: "I don't see blue-collar workers here; I don't see white-collar workers here. I'm collar blind." That is why I love this show.

3.) I saw this joke on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim the other night on one of their bumpers. This was a joke that Diane told Sam on an episode of Cheers:

Question: How many surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb.

Answer: Fish.

Perhaps it takes four and a half years of art school to appreciate that one.

and last but not least, 4.) Melissa, I'm up the for the challenge.

Anyway, have a great weekend!

Blogging to: Go Go's - Greatest

G

|

I already feel stronger and in better shape. My cardio workout is more intense. I am faster on the machines, much more aggressive, and find myself breaking into a deep sweat more rapidly. My breathing is getting more regular but also more intense during the workout. But once I stop the workout, the sweating and breathing resumes back to normal much quicker. The heating and cooling system on this unit feels quite operational.

This is my second week on my earlier work schedule, which has forced me to go to bed at a far more reasonable hour for the first time since I was a young boy. These weeknights, I'm in bed by 10:30 vs. what was my normal midnight or 12:30. I've also cut way back on soda; at most, I allow myself one diet soda a day vs. the three or four or five cans a day I was drinking. Between the increased workouts and the huge cut-back of caffeine in my system, I am sleeping much better these days which allows me to get up bright and early at 5:30.

The increased sleep and added energy is fueling my workouts. The only thing in my way now is the mental thing. Tonight, it took all of my will to hit the gym. I got out of work tonight much later than usual, so, in my mind, I heard every possible excuse not to go or to do a half-assed routine. Instead though, I had my best and longest cardio workout of the year. It appears that at any given moment, my psyche is victim of the good cop/bad cop interrogation. So far this year, the good cop has won and has told Bizarro G-Man to stuff it.

I'm doing my best not to get frustrated with my weight loss, which I was hoping would be more than just a couple of pounds. I keep telling myself to look at the big picture and realize this is a long-term, year-long goal. But with my added energy and noticeable increased strength levels, its hard for me to feel too frustrated. Plus, after just watching the American Idol auditions, I feel real good about myself.

Now my goal for this month is to keep pushing this workout forward, but also start drawing more and throwing some new sketches at these pages. The only way I seem to get stuff done these days is if I set goals for myself.

Monday's Playlist:

1. Cinecast #64: 39 Steps Lead Down

2. U2 - Achtung Baby

3. Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volume III

G

|

P.S. Be sure to check out the January archives. I didn't have many new graphics, but did manage to get a lot of good posts with some great comments during the month. Also, I managed to add a few new songs and cool desktops/wallpaper to my media page. This site of mine continues to grow. When one door opens...