Name change

For some reason, I felt it appropriate to change the name of my blog from “Fear and Loathing in Sunnyvale” to “33 Years & Counting” (I’m 33, for the record). I’m thinking this is due to wanting to refocus the overall theme to one that’s less stylistic in its tone and more pensive, conversational and reflects my current state in life. 

Also, “1,046,563,200 Seconds & Counting” just isn’t as snappy.

The proof is in the pudding.

I’m in disbelief. 

After officially being on the Power 90 exercise & food program for a week now, I’ve lost 6.5 lbs. I stepped on my scale this morning and it read “203.5”.  At this rate, I’ll be under 200 lbs. by mid-week. That’s significant for me as I haven’t weighed under that since college. 

Needless to say, I’m a believer in this program. To borrow from the movie Inception, “downward is the only way forwards.”

Power 90?

So, I’ve been mulling over some matter of structured boot-camp style exercise program. I’ve been walking pretty consistently and lowering my caloric intake (read: watching what I eat), but I got a feeling the whole “walking 12 miles” routine will A) get boring, and B) only help burn so many calories. 

That said, I’ve been barraged with commercials & testimonials for P90X, the 90-day workout routine that’s been getting raves. However, considering I may not meet the “fit test” that ensures one can actually do P90X, I’m considering its predecessor, Power 90. I’ve read it’s geared towards fitness beginners and can deliver great results. 

Anyone out there have any experience with it? 

How do I celebrate finishing a project? With a little whiskey, of course.

A solid Monday for music

First, I’m still reeling from, what is arguably, one of the bigger upsets in Grammy history. The Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” (or “The Sub-sub-suburbs”, according to Barbra Streisand) beat out current pop icons Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Lady Antebellum and Eminem for Album of the Year. 

“The Suburbs” was the soundtrack for my move to the Bay Area. With one of its central themes being reluctantly steeping into adulthood, it more than paralleled my state of mind in various ways. It’s great to see a band, whose record has become engrained into my personal narrative, get the accolades it rightfully deserves for such a well-executed record. 

Moving on, I fire up my laptop to check the ol’ email. To my surprise, I see a fellow music lover’s Facebook post: “New Radiohead album!” I thought “there is no way…she’s bluffing!”. I jump on over to their site and, sure enough, they’ve announced a new record, “The King of Limbs”, available for pre-order for release this Saturday.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I’m looking forward to this. Radiohead, in my mind, is up there among my top musical acts. I rank them right alongside Depeche Mode as my personal favorites. Their live acts double as religious experiences. With “In Rainbows” being such a radical departure for them, I’m both curious and ecstatic to see what this new album’s going to bring.  

As far as music goes, can today get much better? 

Blog Titles, Explained

So, the three or so readers of my blog might be wondering how the title of my blog, “Fear and Loathing in Sunnyvale”, came about. Name-checking Hunter S. Thompson’s signature work aside, I felt it was clever since, well, fear and loathing are two things you would practically never experience in Sunnyvale. At all. 

Seriously, jaywalking is about the biggest rush you can get around here.

Some songs remind you of a special time in your life with a special person. This, for me, is one of those songs. 

And here…we…go.

It’s with a line from one of the better films I’ve seen that I kick off my new blog.  It’s been awhile since I’ve had a personal blog, likely due to being out there and, well, living life. Maybe it’s due to the short-format updates we’ve been forced into thanks to Facebook and Twitter that I felt a desire to find a platform that encouraged more than single-sentence updates. 

Now, with so many options out there for blogging, I decided to give Tumblr a shot and start up my own blog, yet again. 

Let’s do this.