Say “Yes!” to Life

“Everybody dies but not everybody lives” - Drake (from Moment 4 Life by Nicki Minaj) If

Not giving up

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet…however difficult life may s

Happy Birthday to ME!

It’s my birthday today and things are going GREAT! I’ve got great friends, a good job, a

 

Say “Yes!” to Life

January 27, 2012 in Life

“Everybody dies but not everybody lives”

- Drake (from Moment 4 Life by Nicki Minaj)

If you’ve ever seen the movie “Yes Man” with Jim Carrey, you’ll come to appreciate this quote. Don’t get me wrong, the movie was sub-par, but the message was inspiring. Say ‘YES’ to life. You could be missing up on opportunities by closing yourself off to the world. See more, do more.

I was carded today at the local 7-Eleven by a Korean guy for buying a $5 scratch ticket…Do you know how old you need to be to buy one of those in Massachusetts?! 18. Who would have known that a benefit of weight loss was looking much younger! AND bonus points for the guy being Asian…I wouldn’t have been as astonished if he were non-Asian, since we all look younger in general, but damn.

Life is definitely on the upswing. Still getting frustrated with the same things: certain work people not doing their job, desktop and gaming laptop failing me in various unimaginable ways, not having my new car yet, etc, but none of it outweighs the [more] positive outlook I have on life now. It takes a little bit of effort at a time, but just aim for small improvements. They’re more manageable and over a long period of time, you’ll look back and see how those small improvements have accumulated into something big.

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Not giving up

January 19, 2012 in Life

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet…however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”

- Stephen Hawking

For someone who has and had every reason to give up, this quote is very inspiring (taken from an article from The Telegraph). I’ve learned to take small strides to reach my goals. Set-backs are inevitable, but as long as you keep your eye on the target and roll with the punches, you can get anywhere you want. Having the right attitude can get you a long way. Set your mind right and then proceed to reach your goals.

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Happy Birthday to ME!

January 5, 2012 in Life

It’s my birthday today and things are going GREAT! I’ve got great friends, a good job, a nice house, a sporty car on the way, and family to count on.

I think it all started with soccer. Playing soccer last season in the Rt9 soccer league and winning the championship really drove me to want to continue getting better and training post-season. I continued going to the gym doing the elliptical for 20 minutes at first, then slowly increasing the time/resistance as time went on. I’m also working lifting back into my routine. I decided to change my eating habbits with the help of technology and tracked my weight loss progress seeing small improvements which summed up to noticeable improvements.

I feel great, look great, and it’s only going to get better

Loseit says I’ve lost a total of 25.2 lbs since my heaviest. Man. NEVER am I going to let myself get back like that again. I’ve gotten compliments all over without having to ask “do I look like I lost weight?” Even my mom says I’m way skinnier (still not where I should be yet, but getting there -_- mom is the most critical)

For my birthday party, I want it to be even better than last year. Last year I had a pick-your-nose theme where there were cups with various noses on them and people got to choose their own.

I secretly want to have a 6-pack party

At this 6-pack party, you either have to bring a 6-pack of beer/soda or have 6-pack abs. Lol. Dunno if I’ll be able to get one by then, but I like the idea. Also to get in you’ll need to email a photo of yourself doing something silly to housemd@kodakpulse.com. That way there’ll be a ton of pictures to look at during the party.

Back to work for now…but more updates later!

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WoW

January 3, 2012 in Gaming, World of Warcraft

After years of resistance, I’ve given in to the World of Warcraft (WoW). Pictured above is my Human Warrior (dstylian). Unlike the games I’ve been playing (Starcraft 2, Heroes of Newerth, DotA 2), WoW is a game where you don’t start over each time you play. You have a character that you level up (starting from level 1 and maxing out at 85) and find/purchase items for. You level up by completing quests and there’s a whole economy in the game where there is trading, buying and selling of weapons, armor, consumables, containers, abilities, etc regulated by trading districts (chat channels) and an auction house. It really is an entire immutable world where one could spend weeks to explore. The potential for customization is endless making this game appeal to me.

It’s like Second Life, but with fighting

Each character class has its own unique abilities and on top of that, you get to choose 2 unique professions (I chose the recommended Mining and Blacksmithing for my Warrior). Phillip chose to play a Night Elf Rogue, which he later converted to Human Rogue with Skinning and Leatherworking as his professions. Matt opted for Gnome Mage with Mining and Engineering as his professions. Rogues are known for the assassination abilities, bursting down damage and escaping; Mages are good for crowd control, stunning, slowing, immobilizing targets as well as their ability to create portals for ease of travel; Warriors are known for their constant DPS and survivability.

We still have yet to explore the most popular aspects of the game (Raiding/Dungeons), but we’re taking it slow. It’s been a fun journey learning about all the different nuggets that WoW offers. Exploring the different lands is fun in and of itself and around holiday season, there are pretty decorations all around (I know…they’re digital, but still nice)

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2012 Honda Civic Si Coupe w/ Navi

December 23, 2011 in Auto, Civic Si Coupe, Gadgets, Life

Put down a deposit today for a factory ordered 2012 Honda Civic Si Coupe with Navigation (Taffeta White) and I’M SO EXCITED!!!

2012-honda-civic-si-coupe-taffeta-white

It will have ZERO miles on it when I pick it up. I’ll be getting the “Early Warning” Lo-jack system installed so no one tries to steal this from me -_- With the early warning system, you get a fob that you put on your keychain that disarms the warning system when it’s inside the car, so if someone hot-wires it and takes off without it, Lo-jack will notify police and they can respond immediately. Stats show that the Civic is the 2nd most stolen vehicle in the US (Accord is #1). I’ll also be getting some other accessories to help keep it clean (all season floor mats, trunk tray, and splash guards). I’ve already started to think about other interior accessories (iPhone USB lighter charger, iPhone holster, etc.) – counting my eggs before they hatch. Send ideas my way!

After speaking to many many dealerships and sleazy salesmen (and saleswomen), so far it looks like CarsDirect is the recommended way to go. It’s like having a real estate agent, but for a car. You get a dedicated agent who works with various dealerships and gets you an upfront quote without stupid sales gimmicks. It seems a little too good to be true, so I’m still a little skeptical, but I’ll post an update/review once I’ve finished through the entire process.

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Inspiration

December 13, 2011 in Diet, Fitness, Health

 ”I won’t hit my goal until I’m 25.” It was depressing. Then I thought, ”I’m going to be 25 anyway, might as well be happy with myself.”

- miss_sunshine (/r/loseit)

miss_sunshine

I’m supposedly supposed to hit my goal by February, so I guess I should feel lucky. People like miss_sunshine are a real inspiration and continuing to see success stories like this keeps me re-upping especially when I start to get discouraged. Been off my game the last couple days and somehow managed to gain a whole 1.2 lbs yesterday…yes, I know it’s probably mostly water weight, but still sucks to look at the numbers rollercoaster after it’s been steadily going down for a while. Also, I decided to cheat with ma po tofu (which wasn’t even good) and changing up my lunch from my normal low-cal chicken noodle soup.

I think one major problem is that I’m not varying up the food that I’m eating. Chicken noodle soup and Subway Sweet Onion Chicken Terriyaki can only go so long without getting boring. miss_sunshine suggested this recipe site: http://www.skinnytaste.com/ which I think I’m gonna take a look at later and try. I did say for a while that I’d start cooking, but never actually took it up. I’ve been getting bored a lot lately, staying up late watching stupid movies, and playing dumb games. I need to get back on the horse and fill my time with productive activities. I have been doing yoga twice a week and 30 minutes of elliptical just about every day, but I think my body needs more activity. I’m going to make it a goal of mine to fill my free time over the holiday season with at least 2 hrs of exercise per day. That should get things back on track.

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Goal achieved!

December 1, 2011 in Diet, Fitness, Health, Life

I’m a couple days late, but I don’t care! The first goal I set for myself has been achieved!!! I ordered myself a LoseIt T-shirt to celebrate =)

goal-achieved

loseit-down-11-6-lbs

I’m not quite where I want to be yet, but it’s exciting reaching a goal that I’ve set for myself. I’ll post progress pictures tonight when I get a chance. In the mean time, I’m setting a new goal of reaching 130lbs (target date: Feb 16th). Diet is hard, but if you stick with it, the pounds shed off – it’s science!

*Update* Here are the pictures I promised:

Comparison pic:

before-during

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11/11/11 update

November 11, 2011 in Diet, Fitness, Health

Being disciplined around food is hard. Someone needs to eat all the Halloween candy that’s on my counter and the ice cream cake in my freezer. BUT, as hard as it’s been, the scale seems to show that it’s been paying off.

loseit-down-7-4-lbs

I’m 2.6 lbs away from my first goal and am still projected to reach it before my dad’s birthday on the 29th. Things have slowed down a bit in the past week and I find that when I’m bored, I eat – constantly. I’ve got it under control now, but I think it’s probably best to fill this time with doing something productive to avoid the feeling altogether. What’s currently driving me is the rewarding thought of getting together for my dad’s birthday and for the first time in a long time, my mom not telling me that I need to lose weight. I want to surprise my family and be one of two in-shape Changs. I’m hoping that my success so far will inspire some people to try what I’m trying. I can’t imagine a much more satisfying feeling than looking into a mirror and seeing a whole new you.

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World of Dance

November 6, 2011 in Dance

How could I forget about one of the biggest things in my life? Dance.

I went and saw the World of Dance competition last night and it was amazing. Seeing hip-hop dance always gets me so pumped up. I build up so much dancing energy that I just need to go out clubbing (which I did). I was rockin’ it so hard at Wonderbar that even some of the hottest girls at the club couldn’t keep up with me.

BTW – dance flirt method works:

  1. Make eye contact
  2. Smile (not a creepy smile – genuine “how you doin’” smile)
  3. Dance flirt

Not a single girl turned down the dance flirt, but I did have to walk away from a few girls that had absolutely no rhythm – they are no fun. Haha, three guys came up to me and asked me to teach them how to dance. Two of them asked me for my phone number…LoL.

Now I just gotta take that dancing energy and throw it back into choreographed dance. I’ve been away from it for so long that I’m so rusty. As a part of redefining my lifestyle, I’m gonna make it a habit to go to Friday and Saturday hip-hop classes. If anyone is up for learning with me, join in! I’ll post the info below.

Fridays 6:00pm – 7:30pm @ Mass Motion Dance Studio (one block from my house)
100 Holton St, Allston, MA 02134
Taught by Ricardo

Saturdays 4:00pm – 5:00pm @ Green Street Studios (one block from Central T stop)
185 Green St, Cambridge, MA 02139
Taught by Tarikh Campbell (simply amazing teacher/dancer – highly recommend)

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Halfway point check-in

November 4, 2011 in Diet, Health

So, as you can see from the following graph:

withings-graph-11-04-11

I have hit my halfway point (well a little past halfway) of 144lbs! AND I did it a whole week early. I had to endure through tons of temptation at the dev retreat, especially since the food there was DELICIOUS. I was supposed to check in on November 11th, but here I am one week ahead of schedule. Based on my current trajectory, loseit.com says that I’ll hit my goal weight of 140lbs by November 24th (here’s hoping). I’ll take another look then to see if I want to continue dropping in weight. If not, I’m going to start lifting more and packing on more muscle.

I’ll upload some progress pics when I get home tonight.

Update – here’s a progress pic (me after partying it up at Wonderbar sporting a World of Dance dog tag):

after-wonderbar

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