Someone has to update this damn thing!

Here I go. It's August 25, 2008. A mere six weeks and one year since the last update. Who would think that life can swing changes like my ex-wife swings moods!? I sit here in my same office, on the same Mac (albeit with a couple replacement parts) but with a new outlook on life.

Since my last writing, I had Duodenal Switch bariatric surgery, went through a bout of hair loss, and ultimately dropped 193 pounds since last December. For the numbers books, I am now 299. I have not seen 299 since the first or second year of my marriage. I was a 74 inch waste, and now it's down to 48. I was 5' 11", and now I'm 6 foot. Spine correction, or whatever you want to call it.

I have burned through my clothes, which are all stacked in a pile in my room, ready for donation. I'm starting to get much more open to ideas of having fun and being around others without any feeling of self-intimidation or external (non-existant) pressures to act out to cover my weight.

I can sit in booths at any restaurant, I can sit in an air plane seat in coach. I walked the side of a mountain to get to a Buddhist temple in Mongolia because it seemed like a fun idea -- and it was. I joined a gym and took on a trainer, so that I could get a plan on how to develop balance and core muscles, and hopefully work towards a healthier future.

Since I'm now within 99 pounds of my goal weight, with a year and four months left to go to get there, I think I'm set with what my life is going to be. I promise myself to not say no to opportunities to get out and do things with others, I promise to understand and overcome any triggers which caused my overeating in the past, and I promise to improve my (person)ality so that I can be a better human to those I love and care about.