Jake’s Life

So this is pretty much the first post I’ve made about my fitness goals. Which, yeah, is slow going. I used to work at a gym, so I know a lot about the logistics and science of fitness, nutrition, and supplementation, but here is one thing I never learned: motivation. It should be simple. Just looking at myself in the mirror should make me want to work towards this change…looking at others should do it too. And believe me, it does, but wanting in one hand and shitting in the other always produces the same results. It’s been a personal battle for me and it’s something I am beginning again, so hopefully getting my feelings out about it will help me reach my goals, and maybe even get some support for it.

The kind of person I am, I keep track of everything. I use OneNote for school, preparing my assignments, keep track of classnotes, correspondence between myself and other students/professors. I use Outlook to plan meetings, outings with friends (that category is bare, lemme tell ya), appointments, and other plans. I store chat logs. So why not apply that to fitness tracking? It may help marginally with motivation in the sense that I can see results.

EvenFit is something I found a few months ago that may help (obviously the install file has been sitting in my downloads folder for a while). It’s organized in a very Outlook-esque way, with a calendar, notes section, fitness tracker, even a “Wellness Journal.” The calendar works in a pretty standard fashion, using it to enter workout plans or actual workouts and view previous and next months. The Workout section allows you to see all of the preset workouts, categories (Weight Training, Cardio, Running, Swimming, and Biking), organized by muscle groups, tools used, etc. You can even add new ones to fit your plan. One feature I really like about this (here comes the motivational part) is that it includes a Wellness Journal section that lets you track the noticeable details. Creating a new entry, you can enter your weight, BFI, caloric intake, hours of sleep, general notes, and set a photo. The great thing is you can choose a photo for side-by-side comparison. This is what will help make it real for me, I think, seeing my progress as I go. One reason I have not continued may be that I haven’t seen hard results, but looking down is different than head on, if that makes sense. Oh yeah, and Even Fit is free.

I’ve also come upon some interesting blogs and web sites lately having to do with fitness (Google: fitness+motivation+tactics):

• ShapeFit: Apparently a pretty comprehensive, albeit commercial site that gives a lot of benefits to even unpaid visitors.
• In Pursuit of Fitness: From the blog: “This blog was originally established by fitness trainer Jeremy Likness. Nowadays it’s the personal fitness journal of Jim Foster.”
• BeebleBlog: From the blog: “Hello I’m Beeble, for those of you who don’t recognise me I am that little voice inside your head that tells you when you should be exercising or when perhaps that extra piece of pie was not such a good idea. Well I don’t feel like, for all my trying that any of you are listening to me. But you are going to have to because I have my own blog now.”
• MuscleBlogs.net: This looks to be the infantile MySpace of body building and weight training. It doesn’t appear to have taken off quite yet though…

I know that gaining the respect of others just for having a nicer body is only a small portion of workout results (sarcasm), but do you think that it’s ridiculous someone has to go to all this trouble to “just work out?”

Funny vid on locker room etiquette. I’m no expert…like malls and department stores, I avoid locker rooms like the plague.

I added a few more blogs to the blogroll. I know that some of you will be shocked at how different these people are, and given some of my social issues, why would I read their blog and post them on my site? I am all about learning, understanding, and maybe finding a way to exist with these types of people, which largely outnumber people like me.

Jamie and I aren’t friends anymore. More on this later.

This morning I met up with someone for quasi-breakfast at Starbucks. We both work nights and were chatting on the evil entity known as Gay.com beforehand. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment type thing, definitely not planned. He seems like a cool guy, definitely seems well adjusted for our age, very similar views on certain things that I hold near and dear to my life. We know a few people in common, but nothing that can’t be worked through (j/k).

I updated Wordpress to 2.1, and I’ve started using Windows Live Writer for my blog. I used to use w. Bloggar to post from Windows. For a Microsoft program it’s pretty feature rich, although one thing I would love to see is a way to use password protection through Wordpress (currently I have to either write it through the Wordpress dashboard or publish it in WLW then change it). I’ve also started using Box.net, an online file storage service.

Well, I’m back at work tonight, so off to bed I go.

So far this weekend not much has gone on. I spent some time with my grandmother–”Gammy”–yesterday. She had to take care of some banking and since it involved my name on her accounts, naturally I had to be there. Spending time with my grandmother is always special for me (even though she moved back to town, we still only see each other every one or two months). Yesterday we had to go over some plans in case anything happens to her. Ever since mom died we’ve talked about this a lot, but each time it brings up the same emotions.

I also picked up Season 3 of The Shield, which only leaves Season 2 to complete my collection. By now, they have all been watched though. When I get something like that it’s time to sit down and disappear for a while. I was going to go to Best Buy today and see if they have seasons of The First 48, which has rapidly become one of my favorite shows. They don’t carry it. If you’ve never seen the show, check it out. The A&E web site has a video section, and The First 48 is under Crime & Investigation.

Here are some random info nuggets:

I’ve been reading several other blogs lately, some of which I’ve really enjoyed so far. Others are more of a glimpse into the minds of the enemy. Blogroll points your way.

I believe I have seen the next push to invade the US, coming from Japan naturally. This will allow the little people to infiltrate our nation without even being seen. Countdown to invasion begins…

That is, unless the invasion is a bunch of angry, treasonous lesbians.

I know that there is a lot to catch up on, but I need to get something out of my system first. A few months ago I mentioned something about gay-for-pay Falcon star Marcus Allen being held for murder charges and how hot he was, but the current states of gay murder is almost getting too weird. This isn’t the first time it has happened…years ago (and I am unable to find links to anything about it, but I distinctly remember this) a popular “straight” XY Magazine model committed murder against his sugar daddy.
Two weeks ago Bryan Charles Kocis, owner and producer for Cobra Video, and seemingly overall shitbag, was found killed in his home. Not only was the home (and him) burned, but he was stabbed 28 times and his throat was slit. I rarely mention anything on here about porn, gay porn for sure, but for anyone who knows he has been in a huge legal battle with one of gay porn’s hottest stars at the moment, Brent Corrigan. (Background: Brent’s first movie was a big hit and he has appeared in several for Kocis up until the legal issues when it came out that he was only 17. You can imagine what waves this made…) Naturally, Brent was seen in a different light after this.

A 19-year-old escort was then seen as a person of interest, which may or may not have had anything to do with the light blue SUV seen leaving the area at the time of the fire, who has said that he has never met the person or even interacted with him. He did, however, admit to interacting with Brent Corrigan. Hmmm. He is also, FYI, a model for BoyBatter.com (I know, Vince, boy batter boy batter, I’ll never hear the end of it).

Overall, this shit is crazy. When did the gay folks make the jump between dying with a bottle of pills in their hand, tears in the eyes, and showtunes playing in the background in a melodramatic fashion to being stabbed 28 times and having their throat slit? Big jump in criminal evolution, I think. Was it not on its way? Well, Kocis was in a legal issue over having sex with a 15-year-old boy (who, of course, misrepresented his age, leading Kocis to believe he was 18). Brent Corrigan also stated in interviews at Gay Porn Blog that during shooting of films, and during more personal times with Kocis, that he knew he was 17. Issues with the underage seemed to follow him.

Now, obviously I am not all heart broken and torn up inside over this, so why mention it? I can’t help but think that one day, while flipping through textbooks, training materials, etc., that a case like this would appear. My criminal investigation textbook, Criminal Investigation: Reconstructing the Past, has many photos of burned bodies, stab wounds, etc. One day will Kocis’ stabbed, slit, and burned body be somewhere for another student to learn from? Would they recount the forensic evidence taken from this case and expound upon what it gleaned?

As you may have noticed, since January 12th jakeslife.net was a simple domain registrar placeholder page. No, I’m not getting rid of it, it was just a product of my laziness in not renewing it. And boy they got me back…$80 fee because I waited this long.

There’s so much to catch up on: School, work, home, including new work goodies and a listening device placed in someone’s body armor because he’s cheating on his boyfriend with me! Whoa! (He’s not really cheating on him, this is all sarcasm directed towards him.)