Hoppy New Year!

I've held off a bit on making some posts, because frankly, I didn't have something to talk about that wasn't game industry centric. Nothing wrong with being game industry centric, but there is more to life than thinking about work.

As far as work goes... I'm the lead interactive producer/ project manager at Ghost Rabbit Entertainment, working remotely as they are based in Dublin, CA. There, I covered work. Huzzah.

It's a new year, and a time to start over, right? RIGHT! I started working on my new year's resolutions in mid-August. They were rather simple:

• Eat Better
• Be Healthier
• Get Outside

All in all, they are pretty simple resolutions, and when working together... effective. How effective? I've since shed 24 pounds, several inches from different body parts, and hardened up from the various activities I'm beginning to love. It's a bit of a snowball effect actually.

BE HEALTHIER!

What the hell does that mean anyway? Well first off, stop eating crap! At the start of August, crazy work hours and really bad eating habits got me up to 265. The first thing to change, obviously, was the bad eating habits. The first step was to stop eating out so much. Of all people, I should know better, I've cooked professionally, I know how liberal restaurants are with the lipids.

One kitchen I worked in used a 2oz. ladle of oil to start every entree. That's 495 calories, right off the bat. (As per: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/) Granted, this was 13 years ago. Are restaurants and cooks more cognizant of healthy eating? Go to your local Cheesecake Factory and let me know. :)

Healthy eating doesn't have to be boring though, as long as you apply some basic rules:

• Eat real food, not too much (Truth from Michael Pollan)
• Simpler dishes taste better
• Talk while eating
• No seconds
• Red meat once a week or less
• Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner

How has this worked out? I am having the most challenge with eating breakfast, but it helps. you overeat at lunch and dinner when you've gone a long time without eating something, so snacks are important as well. As for the food, I've never cooked so creatively in a decade. I'll be posting pictures of course.

That's not all of it though. You can eat decently and still be in poor shape. I feel being successful requires goals, and I set a couple good ones:

Get in shape for Rugby in the spring

Learn mountaineering (?!?)

Since getting back from seeing my family in October, I joined a gym, and started consistently running. Nothing like working hard, right? I have also started working out with a personal trainer for the first time. Talk about getting your butt kicked. Up until christmas I was averaging about 3-5 hours a week at the gym. I've slowed down a touch since then, what with the holidays and all.

Time to put it all together though, right? Today I ran the first 5k of my life, Lowell's First Run. It was great, and I ran my fastest 3.1 time. Best part, everyone was so supportive, and the camraderie was high. What's next though? Snowshoeing, Cross Country Skiing, hiking, and summiting Mt. Washington in the summer.

Gotta keep it up for new years. What are you doing?