I can't hold it in anymore!

After some serious thought I have come to the conclusion that I can't hold the crazy in anymore.  The world seriously annoys the crap out of me and I am having a hard time handling it.  Thank God for the first three things in the title of this blog because they all hold the last thing together.  If I didn't have those three things I would just be filled with anger all the time.  The beautiful thing is that blogs exist as an outlet to let it all out.  So, not only will I be sharing my faith, fitness goals and pictures, but I will also be sharing a little bit of my worldview.  Now, it might get a scary at times and there is a very good chance you will not agree with the way I see things.  It's all good though, I scare myself sometimes.

The first issue I want to bring to everyone's attention is the role corporate BS plays in our lives.  Regardless of where you work or live you are up to your eyeballs in corporate BS.  Here is a prime example:  Have you ever gone through a drive through and been asked to pull ahead so they can bring your food to your car even though there is no one behind you?  Well, some big shot at the corporate office read a bunch of customer surveys that brought wait times in the drive through to his attention.  Rather than giving some in depth thought to the causes of this problem such as staffing or workflow processes that allow food to be made more efficiently and faster he decides to give each restaurant in the chain a time limit they absolutely must meet for each drive through visitor.  If you happen to be a manager of one of these restaurants you better meet this goal or you will be looking for a new job.  The manager in turn looks at the problem the same way as the corporate bigshot, why improve processes or increase staffing when you can come up with a way around the new time limit?  The end result is that the customer waits the same amount of time if not longer for their food with the added inconvenience of having to park somewhere else to wait for it.  The worst part of this whole scenario you ask?  Mr. corporate bigshot is hailed for his idea and eventually given a raise.  Mr. restaurant manager is hailed for his ability to meet the objective set in front of him and is promoted.  Mr. customer gets worse service while paying more money all because a bunch of idiots are in management positions without the ability to solve a simple problem.  The sad reality is that nearly all companies are run in this fashion.  Knee jerk reaction after knee jerk reaction that leads to customer frustration.  This is why I hate corporations.  We will end up going a little deeper into this topic in the future.

Luckily I have an escape from the world of corporate BS, I have muscles that need to pay for their crimes.  Working out has been going amazing.  I have dropped a pants size in the last couple of months and all of my shirts fit me better.  I am also becoming much stronger and my ego is being affected in a positive way.  I can sense the awesome of old coming back and it is good.  Crazy eyed Ellen has been working me like a champ.  Once she got to know me and see what I can do she started piling on the weight and kicking my butt like no business.  The whole time I am in the gym I smile like crazy because I know I am finally achieving the goal I have had for so long.  On top of working out, I have been watching what I eat.  Soda and I are no longer friends and only meet on rate occasions.  I have also been much better at bringing my lunch to work.  As the pounds melt away I can't help be feel incredibly good about myself.  There is a small part of me that wants to get out there and help people like me find that motivation to finally stop killing themselves.  It feels so good to care about myself for a change instead of feeling sorry for myself.

I haven't been able to take many pictures lately but I have been playing around with photoshop and am very pleased with the results.  I haven't been doing anything crazy, mostly just slight color changes and touch ups but I have really enjoyed getting into the post production part of photography.  I will leave with some pictures that I really like and hope you like too.

This is one of that walkways through the gardens at the Arizona Center.  I took this picture on my birthday and touched it up in Photoshop.  I really like the color in this photo.

This picture is of the fountain that is in front of the church I attend.  I was just out taking random pictures after service and really liked this shot afterward.

Back To Working Out!

This week I had the pleasure of meeting my new personal trainer.  It has been a little over a month since my last session with my previous trainer and I have been a quite lazy.  That all ended this week.  My first session with Ellen was Thursday night and I am sore as crap today.  However, that didn't stop me from waking up early and hitting the gym this beautiful Saturday morning.  Back to Thursday though, the new trainer has a different philosophy than my old one did.  We used to use lighter weights with longer sets run in circuits.  There was very little rest in between exercises.  The new system is heavier weights with more rest.  After my first session I wasn't sure if I was going to be a believer.  I didn't feel as tired afterward than I was used to.  It wasn't until I got in my car to drive home that I realized what had happened.  It literally hurt to turn the steering wheel of my car.  For the last two days my arms and chest have been ridiculously sore and I love it.  So, this morning I decided to blast my legs.  What a workout!  I don't believe in working out for hours.  I go in with a plan of what I am going to do and I work the plan.  I was in and out in 35 minutes this morning and I can barely walk.  I take so little time because I do not throw any cardio in on days when I am weight training.  I like to do my cardio on my off days.  It feels great to be back in the gym habit!  When I walked out this morning I was grinning from ear to ear.  I have also done very well eating better the last couple of weeks.  I have managed to bring my lunch to work everyday for 2 weeks.  Jessica and I have also been goo about not going out to eat and cooking at home.  This excites me because it was the first change I wanted to make this year and so far it is all going according to plan.  My goal of losing 60 pounds this year is within reach and it will feel amazing when I achieve it!

Church has been going great as well.  The first few months of the year I have taken a leave from the ministries I volunteer in and so far the break has been amazingly refreshing.  I really needed to step back and work out some things that have been going on in my life and nagging at me.  We have had some amazing messages at our church so far this year.  Jessica and I even made a pledge to start giving offerings above our normal tithe.  We have already been so blessed that last 3 years although everything was not going perfect in our lives.  I trust in God though, he will provide for all of our needs as long as we put our trust in Him.  The tithe is the best way to show that trust to Him.  In the world it is very difficult for people to part with their money.  From an early age we are taught to get as much as we can and hold onto it.  However, The Bible clearly states that money as well as all of our possessions do not belong to us.  With this in mind it is easy to freely give what we have to help others.  God only asks for 10% and if we are faithful in giving he will be faithful in providing more than we need.

My photography has been going very well.  I purchased a tripod as well as Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 so I can touch up my pictures.  I am still in the process of learning Photoshop and quite honestly could manage my time better to practice.  My dad let me borrow one of his vintage Nikon lenses to play with and it has been fun.  The lens is a Micro-Nikkor 1:3.5f 55mm and it is amazing for close up pictures.  Using the old lens has really made me learn to use the manual setting on the camera.  The images I get with it are sharp as a tack.  I have also been playing with long exposures in low light using my tripod.  I love night photography so this has been a lot of fun.

Since it has been a couple of weeks I will post 2 pictures for your viewing pleasure.

The Not So South Beach Diet

You read correctly.  After 3 days of phase 1 I am done.  What you read about deprivation diets is absolutely true.  After 2 days without carbs I was ready to rip open a bag of flour and just eat it straight up.  The good news it this will be a great transition into a normal and balanced diet.  The last few days have been pretty rough on my stomach though.  I wasn't able to make it to the gym do to the constant turning.  Once it settles down I will be back in and ready for punishment.  I do look forward to getting into better shape for riding my bike.  For some reason I have this grand idea of riding around and taking pictures.  I don't know why but the thought is very appealing to me.  There is just something awesome about being outside and seeing all the beauty that surrounds us everyday.  This world is full of so much wonder that we seem to never take the time to look at and enjoy.  I think that is something that has been missing in my life.  I have kept myself so busy that I never took the time to stop and look around me.  Even in my down time I would veg out in front of the TV and block everything out.  Luckily for me since I got the new camera I have been getting up more to go outside and take pictures.  Eventually people will get sick of seeing the sights around my house though so I will need to expand my horizons.  I have a few days off during the week coming up next month and I was thinking about taking some time to go downtown to take pictures.  It really sounds like it would be a fun way to learn and practice. 

This week I am going to get back to the gym and get this year of fitness started.  Although the South Beach Diet didn't go so well I have started eating better and actually feel like I have lost weight this week.  Combining better eating habits and exercise will help me to melt away the extra pounds.  My biggest goal this year is to drop at least 60 pounds.  That would put me at the weight I was when I first started dating my wife Jessica.  How awesome would that be?

I leave you with my favorite photo I took this week.  Enjoy!

An Introduction

My name is Randall aka Rando.  Over the course of the last 3 years I have been on quite a ride.  My lovely wife went through a long period of time without steady employment and also suffered two miscarriages.  I went through a deep depression that found me in therapy and on antidepressants.  I have also quit two jobs during a recession and quit graduate school when I was halfway through my program.  We even ended up filing bankruptcy and losing our house do to some very poor financial decisions early in our marriage.  Throughout all of this I kept my faith in God and continued to give my tithe and time at our church.  My faith is a huge part of my life and they is why I put God first both in my life and in the title of this blog.  The other two topics mentioned, fitness and photography, are new in my life.  Having been out of shape most of my life I made the decision earlier this year to do something about it.  Since June I have been working out with a personal trainer.  However, I have not done much regarding my diet until now.  Photography is actually a new hobby in my life.  After years of wanting a more advanced camera I was lucky enough to receive one as a gift from my mom.  Beginning this year I am going to learn the art of photography and I really look forward to it. 

That is a very brief intro to what I hope this blog becomes.  More and more of my experiences will be shared over the course of time.  I decided to start blogging again after many years because I have come to a crossroads in my life that is very real.  Writing has always been an outlet for me but for some reason over the last several years I have stopped.  The good news is that I have started again.  This is going to be an exciting journey and I hope everyone that reads enjoys the ride.