My New Year’s resolution for this year is (grabbed from Facebook where I first documented it):

I resolve to be better to myself. To treat myself with the respect I deserve (stop beating myself up for every little thing) and do my damnedest to get healthy and be happy.

I have been my own worst enemy for years … beating myself up over the smallest things that I should have just let roll off my back. I bottle my feelings up … and I’m to the point where I feel like I’m gonna burst.

I just can’t do this anymore. I HAVE to make a change. Not “I want to” or “I really should” … I HAVE TO. If I don’t … well, I don’t like the road I’ve been headed down, and I don’t want to go any further on it.

One aspect of treating myself better is to lose weight. I am definitely overweight and have been for the past few years. So, this morning I set my alarm for 5am (and I only hit snooze once), dragged my ass out of bed, and got on my elliptical machine. I only lasted 15 minutes and went 0.86 miles, but it was a start. I need to keep getting up every morning and going for as long as I can. I also have a Walk Away the Pounds dvd set that I’ll eventually get back into. And back when I first bought my Wii, I bought the EA Sports Active game. I’ve never even put it in the machine. I really need to start using that too. And I’m considering getting a Wii Fit. Maybe if I spend the money for that, it’ll keep me motivated. I still have the money from selling my iPod Touch, and that will more than cover the cost of the Wii Fit.

I’m also eating breakfast this morning (vanilla yogurt w/ granola). I usually don’t. But I was up early enough today that I don’t feel ill trying to eat something (if I eat too soon after getting up in the morning, I feel ill).  I decided to hit up Subway for dinner since I don’t have much (that’s healthy) in my apt to take. I’ll be doing some grocery shopping tonite.

I’m also keeping track of things on the Lose It website. It’s actually an iPhone app. I used it on my iPod Touch a while back and really liked it. Unfortunately they don’t have an Android app, but I can enter things into their website. And the whole thing is FREE.

That gets me started on the health/fitness portion of my goal. The emotional health part … that’s gonna take a lot more work.

You know Santa … people keep telling me that you don’t exist. That I’m 35 years old now, and I need to grow up. Well, you know what? They can kiss my ass. If I wanna believe in Santa, then I’m damn well gonna believe in Santa.

So … what’s up with you Santa? How are things up at the ol’ N. Pole? Are the elves behaving, and is Mrs. Claus fattening you up for your yearly journey? It’s already cold down here, so I imagine it’s cold up there too. You’d better dress warmly for your trip.

There … that’s out of the way. Now let’s get down to business.

Actually, before I get into my list for this year, I have one thing that you must do for me. I’m not asking … I’m begging. PLEASE let the weather be decent for Christmas this year. I didn’t make it home for Christmas last year because of the weather. I didn’t make it home for Thanksgiving this year. I would like to spend the holiday with my family. Can you please talk with Mother Nature to see that happens. Thanks.

Now for the nitty gritty. A lot of the stuff I had on my list last year are still valid. I’ll include them and the new stuff so you don’t have to go searching for my list from last year (just helping you out there big guy). Hopefully you can find something on the list that fits the bill. Things are in no particular order. I’ve included links to some items on Amazon so you can get an idea of what each thing is (it’s just for reference).

• Wii games & accessories
  • Endless Ocean
  • Wii Fit Plus (with Balance Board)
  • Wii Sports Resort
  • Wii Game Party/Wii Game Party 2 or similar games
  • Press Your Luck
  • Family Game Night (1, 2, and/or 3)
• DVDs
  • Cars
  • Moonlight – The Complete Series
  • Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse (don’t judge me )
• CDs
  • Pink – Greatest Hits … So Far!!!
  • Jerrod Neiman – Judge Jerrod and the Hung Jury
  • Lifehouse – Smoke & Mirrors
  • David Nail – I’m About To Come Alive
• NASCAR Stuff
  • anything Dale Earnhardt Jr
  • anything Martin Truex Jr
• Electronics
  • Flip camcorder or some other similar brand
• Misc
  • ground espresso
  • white chocolate coffee syrup
  • iTunes gift card
  • gift card for clothes (I need to try ‘em on to know they fit … my favorite store is JCPenney)
  • my “man” candles (The Midsummer’s Night scent by Yankee Candle – they smell like men’s cologne)
  • dark (dark, dark, dark) chocolate
  • pots and pans (a really nice set, not that cheap crap where the coating peels/wears off after a couple months)
  • The Office Space Kit
  • luminglass
  • toys for my desk at work
  • anything else that’s techie/geeky
  • a house (I’m be ok w/ a twin home)
  • health club membership w/ personal trainer
  • chest freeze (a small one)
  • burr coffee grinder (it has to be a burr grinder to grind espresso beans)
  • a cowboy (I’ve been asking for years … come one … isn’t this the year? )

I’ve lived here for 35 years … you’d think I’d be used to it by now. But I’m not. When it comes to winter, I’d be happy if it snowed on Christmas Eve and melted on the 26th. Hell … at least ease us into it. It started snowing on Saturday, but it was just flurries. Give us a few weeks of that before dumping feet on us.

But no … we have to get a foot or more of snow in the first storm of the season. What the hell? At least it was light and fluffy and easy to drive through. Especially since my car was surrounded by the crap by the time I left work. It sure was fun to brush all that snow off … standing in drifts damn near up to my knees. </sarcasm> But I made it home safe and sound. My car did good for its first outing in winter conditions (since I bought it).

It wouldn’t be so bad if there wasn’t another storm headed our way later this week … just in time for Thanksgiving. They’re saying that driving conditions are going to be pretty sketchy. Just great. I didn’t make it home for Christmas last year, and now I won’t make it home for Thanksgiving this year.

I was looking forward to turkey and ham (and leftovers). I was even gonna attempt to make my own stuffing this year. I’ve been wanting to the past couple years but just haven’t done it. Now it looks like I’m gonna be stuck here in Fargo.

I did buy a turkey tonite. I already had the ingredients for the stuffing and a pumpkin pie (and Cool Whip) in the freezer and spuds in the pantry/closet and apple cider in the fridge. I bought the ingredients for scalloped corn tonite and some lefse. I’ve got some summer sausage and cheese and crackers for munching too. At least I won’t go hungry … assuming I don’t kill the turkey.

I did mention to Robin that if she’s stuck in town too, maybe we could get together and have our own Thanksgiving. It would be nice to not be alone for the holiday. It all depends on the weather and travel conditions in the direction that she’s planning on heading.

I’m hoping that by Thanksgiving of next year, I’ll be having Thanksgiving in my own house. It just depends on how long it takes me to find a house in my budget. I plan to start looking in the spring.

I woke up this morning to hear Froggy talking about CableOne telling people that they need to give them money to cover equipment lost in the fire. Are you fucking kidding me?

Back story: If you live in the Fargo/Moorhead area, you know the fire I’m talking about. For those of you who don’t: there was a massive fire at the Galleria on 42nd apartments on Monday nite. It started at ground level (they believe by someone grilling but I don’t know if they’ve confirmed that yet or not) and traveled up the building to the roof. It’s a U-shaped complex w/ about 62 units (I think that was the number I heard). There were 150 or more people (and pets) living in the buildings.

Now CableOne is telling those people who lived in the complex who already lost everything (or almost everything) that they need to pay for the equipment they had from them. Apparently CableOne doesn’t care about the cable boxes or cable modems, but the dvrs … those are worth $500 and they want their money. Forget that those people LOST EVERYTHING, CableOne wants money for their precious dvr boxes.

Freakin’ incredible.

I live in an apartment myself. I have since I moved to Fargo in 1999. My current apartment has me on the 3rd floor. If a fire like the Galleria apt fire happened in my building, I’d lose everything. If the fire moved up to the roof … that’s where I am. I can guarantee you that I wouldn’t give a flying fuck about CableOne’s precious dvr box. If I lost my clothes and tv and computer and pictures and everything else, CableOne would be the LAST thing on my mind.

I do have cable and internet through CableOne, but that’s really only because there are no other options. I don’t want a satellite, and I prefer getting my cable and internet through the same company. Midco has moved into Moorhead and West Fargo. I can guarantee you that if they moved into Fargo, I would switch. And this was how I felt before the most recent events.

One of the articles I read had CableOne saying people needed to submit a claim to their renter’s insurance if they had it. Most in Galleria didn’t (from what I read). I do have renter’s insurance, but there’s no way in hell I’d submit a claim for a fucking dvr owned by CableOne. Shouldn’t CableOne have their own insurance for cases like this?

It really is an outrage. CableOne has a monopoly in Fargo, and now they’re telling people who lost everything that they need to cough up more money to cover the equipment that was damaged by a fire that wasn’t their faults. CableOne really does want to end up belly up in this town, don’t they? With how they treat customers, they will once any sort of competition moves into town.

In no particular order …

• see a NASCAR race in person
• meet Dale Earnhardt Jr
• meet Martin Truex Jr
• own my own house
• get married
• have kids
• visit Australia
• go to Houston, TX to meet the people I follow on Twitter who live there
• dip my toes in the ocean
• create some sort of web application that catches on all over the world
• fit into a pair of size 14 jeans again
• visit Nashville, TN
• go to a Lady Antebellum concert
• go to a Chris Daughtry concert
• go to a 3 Doors Down concert

Added Oct. 10, 2010 @ 8:37am

• see a tornado with my own eyes (not on tv or in pictures)
• go on a storm chaser vacation (whether I get to see a tornado or not)