Being James Bond

What do you do? Or would you have to kill us if you told us....?

No kidding... or you might have to fight some of us off as we try to unseat you!

Just an update from the field. This helps keep me focussed on what I need to get accomplished this year.

1. Lose those last 20 lbs. Still haven't been able to tackle this one. Although with all the snow I've shoveled recently, my upper body feels better. I won't be able to attach this one until I've cleared out more room in the office, where the treadmill and free weights are located.

2. Plan weekend away with my wife. I've spoken with my in-laws and were working on a time so they can watch our daughter. Now that they've settled in to their home and new jobs, it'll be easier for them to figure out a few days they can take off so my wife and I can have a long weekend together.

3. Get new job. This has seen the biggest improvement so far. I've started taking online courses through work to obtain my ITIL Foundation certification. This certification will be a big differentiator on the resume. I've been told that, combined with my work experience, will be a big foot in the door. And after speaking with my wife, we've decided to remove the geographic limitation on my job search. I'm going to look for my dream job, where ever it may be.

4. Get new suit or two. I'm holding off until I can loose those last few pounds, or at least start losing them and can complete my ITIL certification above. My current suits are going to the tailor next week to be, "modified," so if an interview pops up, I'm ready for it.

5. Finances. Made a final jumbo payment on one of those interest free, "loans." This is the scam where you can get a credit card and pay interest free for a year. I say scam because if you're late on the final payment, then you owe all of the interest instead of just what's left. I still have another month left, but wanted to get that off my plate. Once I've confirmed I owe nothing, I'm cancelling that credit card so I can keep things simple. Then it'll be time to review expenses again to see what can be cut.

That's it for now. Hope everyone is doing well with their goals.

My mission plans are to remove my inappropriate pride, ego, envy, and anger. Currently, I am recovering from orthopedic neck, back, and knee issue. Once I recover from my medical issues, I will return to training praticing mainly judo, tae kwon do, and akijujutsu. Also, I return to my military training.

This sounds great! It is nice to hear your stories.

How's everyone doing on their 2010 mission plans as we head into the 8th month?

I would like to hear more updates, how is everything still going?

As you wish HoS.

2010 goals

1 – Improve my eating habits, specifically reduce & ideally eliminate my diet coke and french fry consumption and improve the quality of food I eat in general.

Still looking for a diet coke replacement but overall I have improved my eating habits and I have lost my fondness for french fries.

2 – Continue exercising, but make this more focused. I really liked the suggestion from the latest podcast to use 12 week or 3 month time frames. Last year, I set a goal of losing 20 pounds for myself and I met it in the late summer. I really noticed that I struggled the rest of the year to motivate myself to hit the gym regularly. I will talk this over with my trainer once he returns from his vacation to develop 3 month goals. I am thinking initially of an abs/core focus but I will get his opinion first.

As noted in my revised 12 plan, I have at least provisionally hit 205lbs which I am really pleased with. The short term 12 week plans definitely help maintain the motivation - thanks HoS!

3 – Continue to improve the wardrobe but I need to do this in a more organized fashion, ensuring that the new item is not something I already have and if it is decide if I really need another or to replace an existing item. If it is a replacement I need to dispose of the old one when I get the new one to avoid being a packrat.

This has been harder than I expected, I am more than willing to spend but doing so in a controlled manner is the tough part. I have added 2 new suits and 2 pairs of slacks but I need to either dump or tailor some existing clothes as I have successfully dropped some weight. Finding a tailor is not as easy as I had hoped nor have I put the effort into it too be honest.

4 – Spend more time with my daughter. Not just so called “quality time” but time in general where I am with her. First off I need to start planning a regular time to go to the pool with her during the week and stick to it. The “non-quality time” just requires me making myself available not just physically but mentally too.

This is going well, we enjoy swimming together on a fairly regular basis especially now that she actually swims instead of having a tea party in the shallow end. I have gotten her a snorkel mask which she loves, so now we mostly dive for stuff in the pool. Plus we have added some other stuff, like playing games I think she will like and can handle rules wise - she is a highly active 6 year old so it limits things a bit. There are still tough times when I am just tired from work and want to sit and enjoy a little peace an quiet which are not her strong points.

5 – Spend time on myself. This means making time for my own hobbies and taking some time to learn new things in order to avoid mentally stagnating.

This has been tough, but I am working on it by adding more non-fiction reading to my daily commute and trying to fit in some of own interests into my evenings instead of relaxing in front of the tv. Things I am considering are hang gliding and kayaking but so far they have been out of reach. I am looking forward to snorkeling next week on vacation with my daughter and whatever other things I can get up to while I have an excess of time on my hands.

I know i'm pretty new to the board but I have been working on my plans this year.

1 - Loss that excess fat.

I am very lucky in that I have never had a weight issue however I had let my self go in 2009. My six pack slowly crept under a thin layer of fat. Nothing bad other than my pride was wounded when my wife commented that there was nothing there anymore. So I have worked hard to reveal these again. So far it had been extremly succesful. I owe it all to low carb eating. Marksdailyapple.com (sorry if advetising is not allowed) is a great site that I think many should visit if not for any other reason than to learn something.

2 - spend more time with my family.

This goes without saying but with a two year old this was my main objective of the year. I never wanted to become a parent who was always doing something else rather than spending time with my kids. My father was always working and never had time. So from the moment I walk in the door till she goes to bed she is the only thing in the world. No matter what is going she has my full attention. And it is the happiest 30 - 45 mins of my day.

3 - give more attention to my wife.

We discussed this late late year and realized that barely did anything together as a couple. We had almost become two house mates rather than a couple. so now we make a point of going out for a night together every other week. We stopped eating dinner in front of the tv and now sit at a table where we can have each others attention. Its like were back in the newly wed stage again. Its was scary how even after only 3 years we had lost all aspects of a relationship. We still were madly in love just never showed it to each other.

4 - Spend more time on things I wanted to do.

By this I didn't mean more time watching bond or anything else but things to get me out the house. Like Dr. Fell I took up my 3rd martial art. Am now on a 7th sash. I started yoga classes, My wife and I went to ballroom dance classes as all gentlemen should be able to at least waltz. I began to make and effort to get out the office for lunch breaks and read a book. I just try to do something that will please me each week and hopefully allow me to grow as a person.

Sorry for the long post.

How's everybody doing on their 2010 goals?

2011 is only 4 months away!!

I think im getting most of my plans covered. Still struggling to do all the things I want but that is both a matter of time and funds. By doing some of the things I want I would be sacrificing my other goals of being as good a father and husband as possible. Its all just a juggling act and I certainly feel like a juggler (or is it jester?)

Having just passed a major milestone by accomplishing a major goal, I'm happy... But I still have more to do in the next four months!

Soon we'll all be talking about our 2011 goals!