The State is Great in 2008

In an attempt to be as substantive as possible I have deliberately held back from making my New Year blog. I have no resolutions, nothing I want to quit. Instead I look to continue; changes in my lifestyle that (affect my health), continue trying to be a supportive dad involved and informed, and try to enjoy my life more. That's about it. So in this vain I shall take stock of the blog in my first " State of the Blog" here on PinF.

I'm happy to report the State of this Blog is quite good. Readership is at an all time high, a fact that saw the PinF blog reach it's diamond plateau of 25,000 readers as I now chug on to 30,000. At times I thought to leave it and just when I think I might something pops up worth writing/sharing about.

New Years Eve was spent chilling with my favorite girl--my daughter. We cooked her favorite dinner, drank from long stemmed wine glasses, and fired lots of fireworks during commercial breaks of the NY's Eve shows. Quiet for sure--though I was really never much of a NY's Eve person anyway, figuring it's much more important to spend the night with people who really figure to play a role in the coming new year as opposed to random unknown drunks.

Another reason the State of the Blog is healthy because PinF is healthy. Having faced a particularly precarious health scare in July, PinF has turned it ALL around. Ever so slowly, and yet very steadily I have maintained lifestyle changes, Incorporated 7 day a week exercise coupled with prescribed medication and I am happy to report I have reversed most all of my scare from 6 months ago. Have trimmed my cholesterol from 270 to a healthy 185, lowered my blood pressure, brought my triglycerides to a healthy acceptable level -- PinF is now a changed man.

Add to this, weight loss, muscle gain, and quitting smoking. I have a completely different diet, devoid of the many evils that had brought me to the brink of cardiac crisis. Now the changes aren't even missed, as I made the changes slowly and steadily as opposed to trying to do it all over night. I recently met a special forces Marine, home from his 4th tour of combat. He's a warrant officer, 41 years old with the body of a 28 yr old. He saw me working out one day and volunteered some advice. Not something I particularly care for in a gym, with an Ipod on, but I had noticed his chiseled physique so I accepted. He saw me benching about 170 lbs. and told me I would do my body a lot better good to lower that weight to about 70 lbs and do 9 sets of twenty, as opposed to 3 sets of 15 at 170 lbs.

He explained that though he had a rock hard physique, it had nothing to do with lifting heavy weights, as in his line of work it was all about endurance. So we trained together for an hour, and though some exercises I was only lifting 30 lbs., it was far tougher than my old work out. You would lift maybe 30 lbs, 100 times in 5 sets of 20. As opposed to 100 lbs in two sets of 12. So this too has been a big change for PinF, as my workouts are becoming more effective and increasing endurance---not sure for what I'll be enduring--but at least I'll be ready.

So, that's what's up in 2008. Welcome to PinF in 2008, where the state of the blog is just great.