Boy, I sure hope (insert year) is better than (insert previous year)!

I've noticed this on Facebook over the past few years. Every December, people start putting up their "I sure hope next year is better than this last year!" as their status updates. In 2009, everyone was hoping it would be better than their 2008's. Same goes for the dawn of 2010. If I would have believed the hype as 2010 was approaching, I would have thought that 2009 may have been the worst year in history. It seemed like almost everybody was complaining about their 2009 like it was the worst thing that had ever happened to them. I have a couple of responses to this.

First off - If the previous year was so bad for you, it's up to you to make the next year better. Granted, I know that a lot of bad things happen to people that are beyond our control. But how one feels and reacts to adversity is all a matter of perception. Kimberly and I tried unsuccessfully to get pregnant through the better part of 2007. We failed numerous times, despite fertility drugs and procedures. However, as 2008 started, we didn't count 2007 as a failure. We didn't say "I sure hope 2008 is better than 2007...what an awful year 2007 was". We just looked forward to the next year in hopes that our efforts would be fruitful. It's all how you choose to look at things.

Secondly - It seems like it's the same people that are posting these things every year. Even if I did believe in the concept of a "bad year", are these people having a "bad three years"? I doubt it. I bet these people are just looking at bad things that happened over the course of these years and deciding that these things will be the focal point of their memory. Did nothing good happen during these three years? I bet it did.

I guess everything goes back to my first point. Be positive. In 2009, our septic system shut down, and we had to completely replace it. It ran in the neighborhood of $10,000 that we had to split between two credit cards. As a result, our monthly credit card statements are still outrageous. We're still feeling the aftershocks of that hit to our finances, and it'll be a loooooong time before that's all paid off. I don't by any means think that 2009 was a bad year, though.

Like I said before, I know things happen that are beyond our control. Things we'd like to forget or have never lived through. These things happen, though. It's up to us as to how we react to them and how we move on.

That being said...I hope 2011 is just as good as 2010, but better than 1978 (because if 1978 was better, I will be bummed that I missed it by not being born yet)

Thirty Something

A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself.

Dear Daniel,
I don't think you're dopey.

Love, Daniel.

Twenty-Nine is mighty fine

Something you hope to change about yourself. And Why.

It's stupid, but here it is. Every fast food place has combo meals. They generally consist of a sandwich, fries, and a drink. Of course, one has the option of upsizing this combo to include a large fries and drink as well.

Going back to my "I'm a super-big guy who doesn't care about my weight" days, I used to have the idea stuck in my head that the average combo meal didn't really apply to me. I would get the meal. I would upsize it (of course), and then, just because it wasn't "enough" for me, I'd throw in an extra sandwich...you know, for good measure.

I apologize...I'm speaking in the past-tense, which is inaccurate. I still do this. Given all of my work I've done to lose weight - all the miles I put on the bike and all the hours I put in at the gym, I still refuse to believe that the standard combo meal is enough for me.

McDonalds - Number 10 Value Meal, large fries and drink, plus a double-cheeseburger.
Wendy's - 3 orders of 5-piece nuggets, plus a jr. bacon cheeseburger.
Five Guys - Five Guys is the worst - A bacon cheese dog, plus a large order of fries (if you aren't familiar with the Five Guys fries situation - a regular order might as well be two orders...the large order is insanely too much for one person...probably two). Then, if that wasn't enough...they have awesome grilled cheese sandwiches, too. Well, I have to throw in one of those, since they're so good.

Basically, I eat waaaaaaay too much. I need to change it. Problem is, my body is used to that amount, so when I don't eat that much (or even when I do sometimes), I still feel hungry just an hour or two after eating it.

I have maintained my weight loss, surprisingly, but in the past month and a half, I have not lost any more. I still have 30-40 pounds to go, and if I would just take this simple step of eating portions that I should have, that would certainly help.

Makes me mad about myself.

Twenty-Eight Days Later

What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?

Look...I try to be a good person. I generally live with the consequences of my decisions. In this situation, though, I just don't know if I could handle it. I'm just not ready for that kind of responsibility. I think I'd have to split. I'd probably move out of state and pretend that it never happened. I'm sure my wife would be upset, since we've been married six years and already have one kid, but I just don't think I can handle two, you know?