2018 July Update

June: final tallies:

Weight Loss Struggle: And it truly is a struggle. I’m living one of the definitions of insanity as I keep doing the same things and getting limited results. Three more months down and once again, could be better, could be worse.

March:17/27 

April: 21/26

May: 17/27

June: 16/26

2018 Overall: 97/157

For the month I held a 62% average. That’s passing at any school and .620 batting average is an All*Star, Hall of Famer, but for me the stomach is still about the same. My strength level doesn’t seem to go up very much either. The alternative is stopping, which I won’t do. That’s the exact same thing I said last month and it still applies. I didn’t manage to do very well in diet or hitting my 100% goal. I won’t recap my “rules” for this venture, but you can look in the previous update to view them. That 62% is deceptive because I used the Stairmaster a lot this month and didn’t lift nearly as often as I should have. I still count it, but for real progress—for me and anyone who is trying to follow along—we have to push harder…and it’s not as if I’m scheduling myself to workout every, single day. 62% is of my workout schedule which includes one set day off a week. I’m proud of myself for trying and not laying out any significant time since I started this thing back in October, but it’s a very long road and the progress—if any—is slow on the go. If I have any young followers, take my advice and don’t get fat in the first place. In the second place, preemptively start exercising and eating healthy now. It gets so hard to lose after age 40…and I don’t think it’ll get any easier.  

RPG Update: So, the Cyberpunk 2020 campaign on Roll 20 is moving right along. The past two weeks we have had issues so I went into recruit mode. I have a couple of prospects already wanting to play. I just hope they show up. As nerds and geeks you probably have a bit of a tough time connecting with people IRL just like me. Playing at a live table and going to RPG gaming events helps me to interact better socially. I have a wife and a kid, and many associates and colleagues, but most of my friends come from gaming. My current Roll 20 crew must go with text chat only. Connections are just too bad. I know that we are multinational. I am living in the UAE, two players are from Indonesia, and one player is from Australia. I had a player from Japan for a little while there. However, I don’t know what any of the guys look like, and in some cases even how old they are. We chat a little bit about our real-lives but not too much. Mostly, it’s all about the game. This past weekend my duo from Indonesia didn’t make it. I later got a message from one of them—our lone girl player—that our friend’s dad had to be rushed to the hospital, and that’s why he didn’t make it. So, I sent him a PM with “thoughts and prayers” which is something I think I should do, and about the only thing that I could do. Up until now, I haven’t heard any more about the situation. I’m not even sure if I should try to run the next session, but I probably will. It’s just seems weird to care about people that you only know in the most abstract of ways. I don’t know what my players really look like, their ages, or their lifestyles, but I’ve been playing with the current crew for nearly a year, and I hope they are alright.

The live table is on hiatus until the next school year. We didn’t get to finish the eight week mini-campaign in spite of the best intentions. Hopefully, we’ll have enough people to play when September rolls around.

Bible Reading Update: Currently in the books of: Ezekiel, 2 Chronicles, Joshua, and 1 Corinthians. Since the last update I’ve made it through: 1 Chronicles, Jerimiah, Lamentations, and Romans. 

So, my books of the Bible reviews? I always preface this by saying every book in the Bible is good. As others have said, it’s all written for us, but not necessarily to us…at least not specifically. A lot of the Old Testament readings have to do with law and sacrifices, which Jesus has now fulfilled. We’re all lucky to be living in the “Church Age” period of grace, that’s for sure—especially if you are an animal lover.  1 Chronicles: This is an easy read as long as you skip the genealogy section. That section is about nine chapters long. The rest of the book tells about the reign of King David and the many wars he fought and ends on the birth and eventual coronation of his son Solomon. This is more of a history book, but there are plenty of life lessons to learn from these men of history. Jerimiah: He’s one of the prophets and a lot of the people of Israel don’t like him. They refuse to believe his prophecies and many of them pay the price. There are many good sections in this book and a lot of what Jerimiah said about Israel’s attitudes can be applied to us today. Lamentations: This is a poetic book written by Jerimiah. There are several writings in which the prophet laments the state of Israel and himself. A lot of people made fun of Jerimiah. He is a type of Christ in that he is also a man of sorrows. The book ends with the prophet asking God to restore Israel. A very easy and quick read. I like the short books, it makes me feel like I’m making progress. Romans: Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. This is one of the most famous and helpful books in the Bible. You may have heard of the “Roman’s Road” as this book and the gospel of John are often used to lead non-believers to salvation. The march through the Bible moves on. I hope I don’t fall behind during summer break.  

 I don’t know how many people read my blogs, but I write them for me just as much as I do so for my few loyal followers. Since I’m in “desk warming” mode at the school I may update a few times over the next couple of weeks. We’re stuck in this mode until July 12^th. Anticipate a review of the great Mutant Crawl Classics RPG and a new feature that I’m going to call—“The Road to Anywhere Else but Here—likely China”