arthurdent1975

Along with many of my fellow gamers at Con at the Cob this past year, I ended up catching the "con crud", as it's affectionately called.  It took a few days to catch up with me, but when I started feeling chills and other fun aches last Tuesday, I decided to take a day off of work to hopefully rest & kick the bug.  I alternated between sleeping and watching TV, which seemed to take care of the worst of it.  I'm still coughing a bit, but it may be my bronchitis being aggravated by the whole thing. 

As a side note, who knew that sharing a hotel room with four fellow gamers, eating greasy food, and staying inside for four days straight would be bad for the old constitution?

I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned here, but I'm not seeing it.

I've had this issue for a while now concerning my dogs and my neighbors for a while now (about three years).  Namely, it's how the kids next door tease my dogs.  In the past, it was just annoying.  The youngest (probably around 8 years old by now) would run up at the fence, yell at them, things like that.

Recently, it's come to my attention that this behavior is escalating.  Now he's waving a baseball bat at them until they angrily bark and pace at the fence.  This has happened in full view of the parents without so much as a word from them, which is, as far as I'm concerned, the worst part of this whole situation.

Now, I have big dogs.  They're well behaved, and I don't normally expect aggressive behavior out of them, but I know the reality is that they're animals.  If provoked, there's certainly a chance that they'll attack.  I'm well aware of the possible consequences if that happens, the best and the worst.

My dilemma here is how to deal with the problem.  Legally, I know there's nothing that can be done.  So far every entity involved has remained on their own property.  So, what now?  Talking to the kid isn't going to help, this I realize.  It's the parents that need to be talked to, but I need to think it over before I do so.  This has me angry to say the least, and my tact tends to suffer under such circumstances.

I was originally going to write a post-con wrap-up entry, but I tweeted at an alarming rate when I was there, so if you're interested, you can check out my twitter entries here. 

Of course, realizing that, and coming up blank for what to write, I came to the conclusion that microblogging on Twitter is sucking out my creative juices.  The problem is that it's that it's just too damn convenient.  I can come up with anything short, be it profound or just a pointless observation (probably more of the latter, I know), quickly type it up on my phone in 30 seconds or less, send it, and move on.

Unfortunately, I do know that it's cutting down on my entries here.  I try to put some thought in to my writing on LJ, but no such internal quality barometer exists for my short attention span musings on Twitter.

So, my goal for November?  Tweet less and start writing more entries here.  Time to reclaim my brain cells.  To arms, self-control!

As for Con On The Cob, I had an excellent time, and can't wait for next year.  I played in many games, bought much gamer swag, and have sufficiently appeased my geeky side for now.  I highly recommend the con for any fellow gamer dork who can make it to the Ohio area in October.

Now, to announce this entry on Twitter.  I never said I wasn't somewhat of a hypocrite.

Due to health issues and a whole cavalcade of stuff going on in my Free Time lately, I haven't been able to update my LJ as often as I'd like.  That said, here's a new one.

First off, The Sick, as I like to call it.  A couple weeks ago a felt crappy, was coughing, sneezing, and all that fun stuff.  I figured it was just a cold, but when my health started turning for the worse (over the counter stuff not touching my symptoms, etc), I hit up Ye Olde Urgent Care that Saturday.  A lot of waiting and different stories from different people later (a right clusterfuck of poor communication, that place), I walked out with two scripts, an info sheet, and a diagnosis of bronchitis.  It's been about two weeks now, and I feel better, but I'm still coughing like crazy.  Ah well... time wounds all heels.  Wait.  Reverse that.

Aside from my health, I've also been getting a bunch of my old dust collectors, aka gaming books, together and selling them on eBay.  I'm not above shamelessly plugging my stuff, so if you're interested, you can hit me up at http://myworld.ebay.com/dustdevil_75 .

Gaming-wise, after a couple years away from regularly GMing, I decided to rustle up some players and get a Shadowrun campaign going.  I'm using 4th edition rules, which I'm new to, but the Shadowrun universe is like an old friend to me.  It's good to be back in familiar territory.  Now there's just the issue of writing this darn thing...

On the horizon: Con on the Cob in a few weeks.  Woot!

Last week I did well diet wise, although the teeter totter effect continues.  I was down 5 pounds from the previous week, which is good.  Now to continue that trend for this coming week.

Not much to add besides that.. Pretty much doing the same, and getting good results.  The heat wave let up and is giving way to some cooler weather, so I'm looking forward to good, long walks.

So, didn't do so great this week.  I'm up three pounds, but it's not a big surprise to me.  I've been more sedentary this week due to the heat, and not taking my daily walks as regularly as I had been.  Also, I ate more.  I tend to give myself more liberty on the weekends, which is usually either Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday.  Well, this week it was from Thursday to Sunday.

Oops!

Just the same, I'm not letting it get me down.  I know what I did wrong, and I'm going to pick up where I left off, and try harder for the next weigh-in.  So far (that is, starting Monday) I've been doing well, so it's just the weekend I need to be careful of.

This is a follow up to last night's entry about my dog having a seizure.  I may rant a bit, I may whine a bit, so this is going behind the cut.

I decided to make this entry public, as I think it's important that more people are aware of what seizures are like and what to do if someone or some animal has one.  I wrote a brief entry about this last night that was Friends Only, as I was on the panicky side.  I wanted to spare the interwebs my unfocused, stressed out ramblings.  

In any case, on with the entry.  If you learn something from it, mission accomplished.  Also, if you have any questions about epilepsy, feel free to ask me and/or visit The Epilepsy Foundation website (linked on my journal's main page).

( Read more... )

So, next week I'm having the initial meet up for my upcoming newbie campaign for Shadowrun.  For those that are averse to the geekier side of things, I'm putting this behind the cut.  Although, I must wonder... how did you find my blog if you're not geeky, and why are you reading it?

( But I digress... )

So, this week I ended up maintaining.  That is, I didn't lose any weight, but I didn't put any on either.  Considering the dramatic loss I showed for the couple weeks, I'm ok with that.

I decided that I'm not going to try a more aggressive approach.  I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing, and not beat myself up over not losing weight more rapidly.  I'm not competing with anyone, so this is purely for personal gain (well, loss, really).  

On a positive note, I'm cutting back on eating the comfort foods and starting to actually cook more.  This is a big step in the right direction for me.  I've been living on canned spaghetti rings and other convenience foodstuffs for the past several months, and now I'm actually putting time & thought in to what I eat.  So, if anyone has recipe ideas for complete idiots, feel free to shoot them my way.  :)

So, here I am three weeks since the start of my diet.  The first week showed the most dramatic loss, and I've been kind of hovering back & forth at the same weight since then... I think.  The problem is that, for the first week and a half, I was using a scale that was inaccurate.  Luckily, I have a second scale in the house, and was able to verify that.  So, I'm on a new scale now, and I believe I'm about where I was a week ago.

I'm not sure how to proceed.  Now that I'm not shedding pounds like water, I'm feeling a little unfulfilled.  I'm debating whether I should choose a more aggressive approach (ie - set a higher/quicker goal), or go with the status quo and be happy that I'm not putting weight on (ie - slow and steady wins the race).

I'll give it a week and see how I feel then.  Part of the problem is that I'm weighing myself daily, and it fluctuates based on what I ate the day before.  It was supposed to encourage me, but it's having the opposite effect.  So, status quo and switch to a weekly weighing schedule.  That works.

So, this marks the beginning of week two of my official dieting process.  The first week was a success!  Having done this whole process before, I know the weight loss is generally pretty high in the first couple weeks.  That said, I've lost 10 pounds for week 1.

My goal is to lose a pound a week after this.  If I lose at a quicker rate, great!  If not, I won't let it discourage me.  For now, I'm happy that I was able to stick to my guns for the past 7 days, and intend to stay on track.

Here's my mid-summer update of podcasts that I'm listening to.  I haven't done this in a while, mostly due to a brief hiatus that I took from them, but in any case... Here they are.  I'll cut this, as it's a fairly long list.

( Cool stuff here! )

So, after I had a wake up call of sorts earlier today (more on that later), I decided it was time to move on to the next phase.  Yes, the actual dieting.  

I'm looking to lose at least 50 pounds over the next... as long as it takes.  My goal is 50 weeks, but if it ends up being less, great! 

In the past, I used this Fairly Popular Weight Loss Program That Used A Point System.  It worked out really well for me, but I don't have the extra money to enroll right now.  Instead, I'm using an iPhone app that counts calories (which is essentially the same thing as I was doing before).  

Will I stick with it?  I think so.  I have pretty good self control when I put my mind to it, and I'm finally starting to pull myself out of this funk that I've been in. 

All that said, I'm not hoping for good luck.  It's not luck that I need.  It's determination, and the will to stick by goals that I'm setting for myself.  That, I think I have.

This week has went well for me.  I've been sticking by my promise to walk every day, so I consider that a success.  Next step is cutting back on the fast food and/or junk food, and possibly increasing the amount distance/time I walk every day.

I also need to start weighing myself either daily or weekly, probably weekly for now.  While I do feel more energetic overall and my clothes are fitting somewhat better, I need a definite way to quantify my weight loss (since that's my immediate goal).

So, status quo more or less... but what I haven't been doing is breaking promises with myself, which is important.

So, the report from the vet came back last week.  My dobie, Viper, does indeed have hypothyroidism.  She was actually pleased about it, in a sense, in that it's an easy condition to treat.  The regimen?  Two small pills a day (hormone supplements) and a fish oil vitamin once a day.

Sounds easy, right?  The pills are small (half the size of a regular sized ibuprofen or aspirin), and should be relatively easy to disguise.  The fish oil vitamin is in capsule form, and is considerably bigger, but that one only gets administered once so that should outweigh the difficulty. Simple, you'd think.

Not so much.  I originally tried hiding the hormone pills in peanut butter, which worked for about two days... until she figured out there were pills in her treat.  Then she'd lick up all the peanut butter, but somehow leave the pill (she's very talented).  This epic struggle between man and canine lasted for about a day before I decided to just toss the pill down her throat.  It's less frustrating for both me and the dog, believe me.  The fish oil vitamin, a veritable horse pill, is a whole other story.  There was just no tossing that thing in her mouth without potentially choking her. Now I just slice open the capsule and mix it in her food.  

Despite the initial difficulties with medicating Viper, I am pleased overall with her progress.  The flakes in her fur have cleared up, she's more energetic, and her movement has improved drastically.  Good news all around.

My geekery updates have been sorely lacking lately (for me, anyways), so I figured it was time to give one.

( Oddities lie within.... )

So, my daily routine of walking has been working well for me.  I've been doing it for about two weeks now, and I've definitely seen a difference.  My clothes feel looser, physical activity is coming easier to me, and my leg muscles are starting to strengthen again.  It helps warmer out, and I'm exerting myself that much more. 

So, good deal.  As a related note, I should start doing shoulder exercises as well...  I had surgery on my right shoulder a few years ago, and I have to work at it to maintain it's strength.

Thankfully, the trip to the vet went fairly well.  The dogs are healthy, for the most part, have their rabies vaccines, and are all set.  Viper (my doberman), however, may have a hormone imbalance.  She was tested for hypothyroidism, which is a common problem for dobermans.  If she tests positive, she'll have to take relatively cheap meds and a fish oil supplement.  As for the arthritis that she has, the vet recommended to continue treating her with Bufferin as needed.

Waiting in line at the vet, also a concern of mine, went as smoothly.  The vet let me wait in the car and came and got me went it was their turn, so no parades of dogs barking to worry about.

Oh, and my mutt, Robin, is as healthy as a horse. A little goofy, but none the worse for wear.

So, I feel much better.  The dogs are vaccinated, licensed, and doing well.  It's a huge load off of my mind, as I've been concerned about Viper for a while now.

So, thanks to New York State Department of Taking My Money (it's a large department), I have to take my dogs to the vet today for a rabies vaccine.  While, perhaps for many dog owners, this isn't a big deal, for me it's going to be quite a task.

First of all, my doberman likes to bark.  At other dogs.  A lot.  It's not that she's a vicious dog (aside from the bad rep that dobies tend to have), it's that she wants to play.  Other dog owners, however, don't see it this way.  All they see is a ninety pound menace that's causing chaos in her wake.  To be honest, I don't really blame them.  

More importantly, I'm worried about my dobie.  The past seven years or so haven't been kind to her, and she hasn't aged well.  She has arthritis that acts up when it's cold or damp, and has trouble walking when it's bothering her a lot.  I can't imagine I'll get great news from the vet, but I'll hope for the best.  I should be preparing for the worst, but I'm at a loss.

Anyways, that's about 5 hours away. Fingers crossed.


*EDIT* - Post-vet report: dogs healthy, worries begone!  :)