I'm a bad blogger...

So yeah... I'm a bad blogger.  I'm also bad at my resolutions this year.

Let's review:

• [Fail] - I resolve to (schedule permitting) run a 5k this spring with my friend Di.
• [Fail] - I resolve to get to 185 lbs and maintain it.
• [Completed] - I resolve to finally upgrade my entertainment center with a 55” HD TV [Hey aren’t all resolutions self-serving to some degree :) ]
• [Not Done] - I resolve to take the GMAT and apply for my MBA.
• [Ongoing] - I resolve to take time to visit friends I don’t see often enough.
• [Fail] - I resolve to post more often to my blog.

So I think the one completed item may have contributed to some of the failures. :)  The TV is gorgeous though.  I'm very happy with the purchase.

The running I've tried to get back into but I've had some foot injuries and I found out that as of a week ago I still have a stress fracture of my left foot (third metatarsal for those curious).  Once I get clearance from the doctor I am going to try to make time to run again.

For the weight, I have officially gained every pound I lost last summer.  It's been a combination of not being able to run, not doing kickboxing anymore (I'll explain that in a bit), and just not making time to work out.  I'm trying to figure out a routine that allows me to use the winter, with it's multiple layers of bulky clothing, to try for a sort of caterpillar-like transformation, so when spring comes and the layers are pealed back, I'll be in good shape.

While I haven't yet taken the GMAT, it's still on the plan.  I've just been a bit overstressed with some changes at the office (I'll explain that in another post) that have ramped up the use of my time and stress at the office.  It's made me much less motivated to do anything but relax once I do get home.  Yes, it's a bit of a cop-out, but I'm gonna go with it. :)

I have made an attempt to visit friends.  The hard part is coordinating both sides of that equation.  I was able to find some time to spend with Max before he moved to San Diego and now I need to find a time to visit him, now that he's found a job and is out there for real now.  I tried to make time to hang out with Ron before he moved to South Korea to teach English for a year.  With everything he had to do to prep, it didn't end up happening.  I was able to spend two weeks in London with Delory and several WPI students.  I was able to make time with Dani after she moved about 20 minutes away, but then she moved to Nashua and I haven't been able to visit yet.  I'll be going up a week from Sunday to see her, Anthony and little Zoe.  I am also working on plans to go to LA to visit Colin and Kristin.  Also I saw Judd for the first time in over a year the other day.  Overall I'd say this item is both ongoing and relatively successful.  It could be better, but the effort is there.

As for the blog, I'm going to try to make this be the start of more posts.


PS - I updated my template for the season.

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A year in review

Is this thing on?  Is anyone still reading?

 

Yes, I’m very bad about writing on this thing.  I tend to post a bit more often to my twitter feed (see the right column).  I just tend not to have the time or the motivation to post longer posts, because when I actually do post, I want it to be quality and of some degree of substance.  Twitter allows me to just do a quick thought upload, whereas my blog requires more thought.

 

An early new years resolution is to at least be consistently posting once a month.  I figure that’s a reasonable and achievable goal.  On to the meat of the post. 

 

2010, what a year; what a decade.  It feels like I’ve just been going non-stop this year.

 

It started off with a trip to L.A. to visit with Colin and Kristin.  I had a fantastic, almost two weeks out there.  It’s always a great time visiting them and I’m already looking forward to October 2011 when I next visit them.

 

In March I had the pleasure of being the officiant for the marriage of two good friends of mine.  It was a lovely trip to Florida for the wedding and I thank my good friend Paul for keeping watch over me as I slowly succumbed to the fun of a major chest/head cold.  The show must go on so I had a bottle of Robitussin on hand the entire weekend and managed to keep going strong until about the start of the reception when I finally felt the brunt of being sick and got very tired and eventually left slightly early.  Flying home while sick is not a fun experience.

 

In April, I had to say good-bye to my dear Grammy.  She was an incredible woman, who was always quick with a smile and had a strength of personality that just couldn’t be denied.  She will be missed.

 

Also in April

• I had a joint birthday party with my friend Dani – my 31st and her 32nd.  It was a theme party: Greek Gods.  I went as Dionysus and she and her husband went as Persephone and Hades.  It was a great time.
• I went to see Matt Doyle in concert and it was an incredible time with my friend KK.  This is a song from the actual concert I went to:
  
  
• My fraternity had it’s 45th anniversary.

 

In May I finally got into high gear with my weight loss goals.  I started eating better, I started kickboxing and consistently ran.  By July 1 I had lost almost 25 pounds.  Since then I kept up with the kickboxing, but now have switched to doing some martial arts, specifically Wing Chun.  I really enjoy it, but it’s not quite the cardio work out so I have to get back to the running again.

 

At the end of the month I took a fun trip to Vermont with Dani and her family for the Memorial Day weekend.  It was a lot of fun.

 

In June, not much happened.  In July, I had my 3rd of July party and went down to NYC again to see Matt Doyle in concert again. Amazing.  He has a CD coming out in the very near future.  You must get it.

 

In August it was a lot of prep work for the start of the school year as well as the start of Guys and Dolls.  This year I was back on the stage as Nathan Detroit and I had a blast! 

 

September was all Guys and Dolls all the time. The other big thing at this time was that my friend Dani announced she was having a baby :)  She’s gonna have such a cute daughter and be a great mom.

 

October I went to NYC for Missa Gaia. I also had the incredible opportunity to see A Little Night Music with Bernadette Peters and Eileen Stritch from the second row.  It was breathtaking and a moment I can always say, I was there to see it.

 

In November I spent another weekend in NYC with my friend Pace for the second year of what has become an annual tradition of heading to NYC to see a couple of shows.  The way it works is that we choose at least one show that we must see, and then we grab a matinee of something else playing at the time.  This year we saw Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake which was spellbinding and moving.  If you ever have the chance to see it, do so.

 

In December I participated in the annual Alpha Psi Omega Show in 24 hours.  For those unfamiliar with the concept we cast, write, build, learn and perform 4-5 shows in a 24 hour period of time.  For me this year, it was quite a challenge.  I played 4 characters.  With four different voices/accents.  With 13 pages of lines.  That I had to learn in 11 hours. And two of the characters were puppets.   Thank you Kelly for your help learning lines!

 

I then had my tree trimming.  It was a fun time with some good friends.

 

Christmas was a great time seeing all the family.

 

Finally, I will end the new year tonight with my 10th annual New Year’s Eve party.  This year I decided to go all out and I’m catering it and it’s a Black Tie event.  I’m really looking forward to it.  So many of my friends are pumped about dressing up that I can’t wait to see everyone get here and what they are wearing.

 

Overall it’s been a great year, and I’m looking forward to 2011.

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Where am I?

Where am I? Where have I been? Well it's been a bit busy towards the end of the year. If you want to get a more in the moment view of what's going on I've joined the Twitter craze and you can find me at http://www.twitter.com/ShadeTC. Lata!

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What's going on...

Well it's been a while since I've made a proper post. So much has gone on lately. After the flurry of activity while I was in CA I guess I just got a bit burnt out. :)

Let's see....

Things are progressing along quite nicely for the Three Penny Opera. We had our initial rehearsal and I think its going to be a fantastic show. For those that don't know the show is about Macheath a.k.a. Mack the Knife (yes, like the song). It will be September 19, and 20. More details to follow later.

For those keeping score at home, in February I became the Chairman of the Board for Fremont Lofts. That's going well. It seems like we are finally getting things under control.

In April I was in a play called "The Punisher" about a literary super hero that does his best to rid the world of bad puns. I played exposition. I had had 4 monologues and each monologue had a separate costume. I think I win for line to costume ration of 1:1. The costumes were Toga, Professor, Bard and finally a one piece, grey and orange spandex superhero costume with cape. The show went well and New Voices 26 as a whole went fantastically.

At the end of April I took off to Florida for a work conference with a colleague. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. It was also fun to be able to go swimming in the large in-ground pool and relax in the jacuzzi every night.

The second weekend of May I went to NYC from Friday to Monday for Judd's graduation celebration. I'll post more about that later since it deserves its own post. I'll just drop a few key words to give you an idea of what it entailed: drinks, karaoke, ninjas, rent, Nintendo.

Most recently, I've been cast as "Count Rugen" in an outdoor garden production of "The Princess Bride". We will be performing June 12, 13 and 14 at Higgins Gardens. The start time will be announced later as it will be based on sunset.

Well that's all for now. More later.

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