Being Health Conscious

Wow, with as bad a day as I had on Saturday, wait till I tell you how awesome my Monday was!  (That’s for you, Dave.  But this post won’t actually be about that, nor does it mean that it’s necessarily true.  I mean, why, exactly, am I still watching Heroes?)

I pointed out a few weeks ago that I joined a gym.  The point is, of course, to get healthier.  And by healthier I mean lose weight, gain muscle, and achieve an overall better sense of self health.  I have 24-hr gym access for the next 15 months or so, and I fully intend to take advantage of it.  So far I’ve only gone on Mondays, but I hope to eventually be able to go 3-4 days per week.

One of my goals is to lose weight and lower my BMI.  Currently, as of yesterday morning, I weighed 228.8 lbs.  While I’m not obese, I am overweight for my six foot height, and I think losing some weight will help my body feel better.  In addition to going to the gym I’ve been limiting/watching what/how much I eat.

One problem I have is that I don’t drink enough water.  I like water, but I like Diet Mtn. Dew, too.  And the Dew provides that little boost of caffeine in the morning that I love so very much.  And the cold, cold acid burning my insides, too, which is an additional perk.

I like vegetable and fruits, so that’s no problem.  If fruit wasn’t so expensive, I think I could happily eat it all the time.  Really, my biggest problem is just overeating, or not limiting my portions.  I’m so used to having all that I want (and I don’t want to waste anything) that I eat until I’m more-than-full.  So, once I get down the portion control thing and the gym thing together, hopefully I’ll see some results.

And we all know that I like cheesecakes.  And other deserts, too.  And the quick, convenience of eating fast food.  And Doritos.  And Ramen.  Curse it.  I didn’t wind up going to the gym last night, as I felt a bit under the weather.

Tonight, Alex and I are going out on the town again with our backpacks.  I first mentioned this back on December 10.  This time we’re planning on riding the busses around town, hoping to meet people on the bus.  With the still below freezing temperatures and snow, we’ll hopefully be able to help some folks.

Random Bits and Pieces

• I have a headache.
• Spider-Man 4 has been officially canceled, with practically everyone involved canned.
• My brother will be in Bagram in Afghanistan.
• Brandon Sanderson posted on his blog yesterday that the likelihood of a Mistborn movie is very high, with production starting late 2010/early 2011.
• The Avatar depression blues thing is hilarious.  Really?
• Writing Wednesdays tomorrow.

My Reading List: 2009 Edition

It’s the time of the year where Top 10 lists and Favorite lists are popping up, and this is certainly true in the blogosphere. In many ways, this will look very similar to any other favorite list you may look at, but this is the only one that reflects my personal opinion.

I thought I read more books than I did during this past year. In total I’ve read 55 books, but there may be some that I have forgotten, as I didn’t start my list until halfway through the year. I did not include a few books in my stats (children’s books). If you’re interested in the complete breakdown of data and to see every book I’ve read this year, follow the link here. Otherwise, the data in this post may suffice for general perusal.

Data

Oldest Story: The Shadow Over Innsmouth, by H.P. Lovecraft, published in 1936
Number of Audio Books Read: 7
Number of Library Books Read: 33
Number of Read Books Published in 2009: 8
Number of Books Forsaken: 1 (Dan Simmons The Terror)
Number of Different Series: 15
Number of Different Series Finished: 6
Total Number of Books Provided by Publishers: 7
Most Popular Author: Brian Vaughan (Y: The Last Man series)
Most Popular Publisher Read: Vertigo

As you can tell, I’ve read quite a few graphic novels. I’m not really sure how to approach this method of storytelling. Graphic novels aren’t technically a genre, but a medium. So If I charted the technical genre breakdown it would look something like this. While I really enjoy graphic novels, are they on the same level as a traditional novel? Furthermore, how many reads do they count as, especially if they’re a collection of trade collections (I’m looking at you Absolute Sandman)? For me and for my data, I counted one book as having one cover and back, regardless of how many individual comics were inside.

Even this second graph isn’t without flaws. It’s too difficult to keep books restricted to one genre, as many of them cross several genres. Is Star Wars fantasy or sci-fi, or is it simply a genre by itself? Is an alternate history book with magic fantasy, historical fiction, or mystery? There are too many discrepancies with limiting myself to one genre, but I have tried to appropriate my reads the best way I could.

Favorites

Below are my favorite ten reads from the past year, with links to my reviews. They aren't really in order of my liking, as each one has its own merits and awesomeness. Some reviews are combined for the entire series (Mistborn, Sandman), while others are typical reviews. All are spoiler-free.

1. Mistborn: Hero of Ages, by Brandon Sanderson
2. Absolute Sandman Volume 4, by Neil Gaiman
3. Mistborn: The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson
4. The First Law: Last Argument of Kings, by Joe Abercrombie
5. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
6. The Book Thief, by Mark Zusak
7. Mistborn: Well of Ascension, by Brandon Sanderson
8. The First Law: Before They Are Hanged, by Joe Abercrombie
9. The First Law: The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie
10. Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson

Out of these books listed, only one of them was actually published in 2009. While I’m sure there were a lot of new and exciting books released this past year, I spent much of the year reading older books and finishing college. I did want to read Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie, but I didn’t get around to it. I also intended to read Bill Willingham’s Peter & Max, as well as Fables Volume 12, neither of which made it onto my reading pile this year. And I have Ken Scholes Lamentation (thanks Krista) to read, but no time for it, either. I started Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker just a few days ago, but I won’t have it done before the end of the year. Once again, to see all the books I read this year, follow this link to the Google Document.

Overall I felt that this was a great reading year for me. I discovered both Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie, two bright and shining voices for the world of fantasy. Mistborn was hands-down the most exciting fantasy book series I read, and I’ve found myself recommending it to many different people. I literally tore through the concluding volume of the series. And Abercormbie’s First Law books were fast-paced and terribly fun. Two books outside the typical genre—Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and The Book Thief—even made it onto my top ten favorite reads, and both of them were superb. I’m still excited about Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and I hope to see more from Susanna Clarke on this story. The Book Thief was definitely the most emotional, heartfelt story I read, and I likely will revisit those pages, too, one day.

For 2010 I’m looking forward to another good year of reading. I fully intend on reading through the Wheel of Time novels, hopefully getting caught up before Sanderson & Jordan’s next installment comes out. I hope The Wise Man’s Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss, comes out next year, as well as George R. R. Martin’s antepenultimate ASOIAF novel, A Dance With Dragons. Who knows, maybe Sanderson will release his new work, too, and my brain will explode. I hope to read some more steampunk books, and maybe find another alternate history or two, as well. I also plan on reading The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and hopefully a few other “Classics,” like 100 Years of Solitude, Crime & Punishment, and Alice in Wonderland. And there’s still Jim Butcher to get into… Sigh. Too many books to read.

Writing Wednesdays tomorrow. Another sort of year end conclusion post coming Thursday. Remember to visit your public library and to frequent local used bookstores. Just give ‘em a wink and tell ‘em I sent ya.

Break Time

It's break time here at work. That's right, that says what you thought it said. Break Time. This is a perk I failed to mention about my new job at the MLC. Every morning at 9:45 and every afternoon at 2:45 is the company break time. To my understanding, back in the day when there were around 150 folken working here, break time was mandated. Now, tradition carries on, and I get to take a break twice a day.

What do I do during this time of forced un-labor? It depends. This morning, I sat at the Table of Knowledge and worked on a crossword puzzle. (That crossword was finished at lunch, by the way, and would not have been possible without the assistance of two lunch pals. If you want to work an electronic version of the paper crossword that I solved, click here.) This afternoon, I decided to post a snippet on my blog. Last week I gobbled up the time by reading Mistborn.

So, where does that put me now? It's break time here at work. After finishing Mistborn I bought another Brandon Sanderson novel, Elantris, but I chose not to read it today during break. But I do think I'll go and fill me up a cup of coffee here pretty soon.

It's a tough job here, with everyone being so nice and me getting two mandatory break times during the day. It's almost like I'm not even at work during those break times. Almost.

Leadbelly keeps coming on the radio, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Mistborn, A Review (Spoiler Free!)

I do not remember who recommended the Mistborn series to me, but I am glad they did. After finishing the third and final volume of the series, The Hero of Ages, I feel the urge to recommend this series.

Mistborn was written by Brandon Sanderson, a relatively new author to the fantasy world. Sanderson’s series received wonderful praise by many colleagues and reviewers, and I want to join my voice with them. Mistborn was a powerful story, one I could visualize with every paragraph. Sanderson’s portrayal of the world and its workings is completely believable, and I found myself riveted by the story.

The series begins with Mistborn: The Final Empire. In this book the world is ruled by a cruel emperor called the Lord Ruler. He is the God of the people and of the lands. He is the result of what happens when a Hero takes the power at the Well of Ascension and uses it for himself. The world is eradicated of culture, religion, happiness, and basic humanity.

In the Final Empire, there are two classes of people: nobility and skaa. Skaa live lives worse than slaves of old, and they are the ones that do the daily labor of cleaning the Empire.

In the Final Empire, ash falls continually, piling onto the streets and fields daily. Skaa must clean the ash before they can begin their work. And then at night, the mists come out. There are things in the mists that skaa and nobility fear, and so no one goes out into them. No one, that is, except for Kelsier, the Survivor of Hathsin.

Kelsier’s fame spreads throughout the skaa, and he preaches a message of rebellion. He hates the Lord Ruler and wishes to free the skaa. And the things he can do is supernatural. He can fly through the sky, play on people’s emotions, move with incredible speed and resilience, and many other things. Kelsier is Mistborn.

The system of “magic” developed for this series is very well thought out, and quite simple to understand rather quickly. I’ll admit, at first I was slightly confused about what was going on (and even a little unsure whether or not I liked it), but I overcame those thoughts rapidly.

The story, beginning with The Final Empire, becomes more and more exciting with each passage. I found myself reading whenever I had the opportunity.

To keep this simple, I will say nothing of books two or three, save that they were phenomenal. After finishing the first volume, I immediately bought the second, Mistborn: The Well of Ascension, and started on it; and, hungrily I moved on to the concluding work, Mistborn: The Hero of Ages, after finishing book two.

The story is interwoven and grandiose. Themes of love and trust and betrayal dominate the characters.

My final offering of praise and recommendation goes like this: if you enjoyed The Name of the Wind by Pat Rothfuss, then you will love Mistborn. Both of these authors have found a way to transcend the typical fantasy mold and create a masterpiece. In fact, Pat put in a word for it back when he was doing the Heifer Project.

Finally, after finishing the series, I started thinking about a movie. Wow, this series would make for an excellent movie, be it Hollywood or the Sci-Fi channel.

So, friends, take this series and read it when you get a chance. It ranks as one of the best series’ I’ve read in a long time. Give it a try, you won't regret it.

Some Catching Up (Part 2)

Well, when I started the "catching up" series, I intended to finish it the next day. Unfortunately, things got hectic and I didn't get to finish the catching up bit. And, after re-reading the last post, I realize that its brevity pretty much sums everything up.

Life's been very busy.

And still, it's busy. But there have been some pretty cool things to happen for me. For instance, our new home comes with all appliances except for the washer and dryer. As providence would have it, one of my friends called me up the other day and we were discussing things, and he happened to have an extra washer and dryer that I could have. Also, we need to buy a mower for the lawn, and my mother-in-law's boyfriend just happened to be a channel for getting a new mower absolutely free of charge. This frees up funds to put into something else, possibly paying on student loans or something.

And then there's work. My job is to design culverts, channels, and such systems, but this is all mostly new for me professionally speaking. So, I've been learning by doing and reading design manuals.

A few more points to make:

1. Wasn't the finale of LOST tremendous?
2. If you've not read the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, I highly recommend it. So much so that, once I finish the series (I'm on the concluding volume) I intend to put a plug in here.
3. Heath bars are good, eh?

It's time for church. Farewell now. And I promise, once things settle down, I'll be back regularly. Thanks!