I just wanted to list out the bands I've seen in concert, before my memory starts to fade with old age. ;)

-Rockapella (1st concert, when I was a kid)
-Transiberian Orchestra
-Green Day (best concert I've been to, ever)
-Jimmy Eat World
-Death Cab for Cutie
-Cobra Starship
-Hey Monday
-Anberlin
-Taking Back Sunday
-Fall Out Boy
-Rise Against
-The Offspring
-Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
-Linkin Park
-Coheed and Cambria
-Tool
-Tweak Bird
-Silversun Pickups
-Unwritten Law

I've also seen several others as openers, but I'm not remembering names. They weren't big bands. Anyway, I just figured I'd jot 'em down! Cheers.

I've decided I want my next two hobbies to be archery and fencing. Those would be really cool, good workouts, and potential useful should a civil war break out or something! ^_^

That is all.

I will for sure have to update you guys about Moab soon! But right now, I wanted to complain.

Yes, that's right, complain! What about? About losing weight. Once more, my weigh-in met or exceeded by epic goal (I did one last night, because I didn't have scales in the morning, but also did one this morning because my weight tends to be lower in the morning, and it's when I normally weigh myself). The one yesterday was 233. The one this morning was 231. The goal, again, was 234.

So we're going to count this as 234 for the sake of next week's goals, and next Saturday I'll be aiming for 231.5 for my weigh-in. But wait -- why is this complaining?

Well, I haven't gotten to that. What I wanted to mention is that I'm genuinely irked by the inconvenience of losing so much weight. I've lost about 75lbs (if we count this morning's weigh-in, that's actually exactly how much I've lost). For a long time, I just wore the clothes I had when I weighed 306, but now -- I just can't. All those size 50 waist pants just won't do. So I've had to buy new pants, and I only have two pairs that fit right.

Of those two pairs, my jeans, which are a size 44 waist and fit just fine when I got them, are now becoming lose. Already. And I bought them only about a month and a half ago. So I can't wear comfortable clothes unless I buy new clothes about every month and a half.

The irritating thing is that I really want to have comfortable clothes, but anything I spend on these clothes is going to be wasted. By the time I've lost the rest of my weight (about another 80lbs), those won't fit at all either. And if I keep buying new shirts and pants, I'll wind up spending hundreds for clothes that I'll just have to give away anywho.

This will go on until I get to my goal weight (at the current rate, that's 42 weeks out -- or about 9 and a half months. Hypothetically, if we're really looking at how much I'm beating my goals by, it may be less -- as little as 33 weeks, or about 7 and a half months). I really don't want to spend the next year wearing baggy clothes, and I really don't want to spend the next year spending, like, $500 on new pants and shirts and belts and stuff.

There isn't a solution, so I really am just whining, but still, it's annoying. I wish I could just skip ahead to my goal weight. I mean, I'm for sure going to get there eventually (I'm 75lbs in, so it's really not a question anymore), but right now, I just want to vent some of the annoyance at the downside of the entire weight-loss thing.

Okay, so I just wanted to let you guys know how the concert was!

Here's my overall review:

The opening band ("Tweak Bird") was decent. Their music had a lot of generic elements, but they had a clarinet as part of it. For metal, a clarinet is awesome. Gotta say.

They went for the first forty minutes or so, and it took about 20 minutes for Tool to hop on stage.

Between each of Tool's songs, they took long only instrumental breaks, so I only got to hear something like 7 Tool songs, and only one that I really love (but it was Schism, so that's uber).

On the up-side, they had an amazing laser light show, and Maynard is just as good in concert as he is on CD (not an easy task, mind!).

On the down side, there was no encore, not a lot of songs, and our seats were way in the back of who-knows-where.

It was a free concert for me, and I got to go with my brother, and now I get to say that I've seen Maynard perform. By all means, it was worth it, and I'm glad I went! BUT -- if I had to buy tickets myself the next time they were in . . . I'd be really skeptical about spending more than $20 per ticket.

Weigh-in: 235. We're going to count it as 236.5lb for the sake of next weeks goals, to make sure I'm compensating for any potential fluctuation, and setting consistently realistic goals. That means next weeks goal is 234.

I would like to entertain myself for a moment, though. If I lost what I lost this week every week (1.5%), I'd be at my ideal weight in 28 weeks. ^_^ Just sayin'.

Swimming?: Check. 19 laps.

Weight-lifting?: Check. Arms and chest today.

Yoga?: Absolutely. About forty minutes of it.

Hiking?: Yeah, about 10 miles. Maybe a bit more.

Llama Fest?: For sure. Made it there too.

Anything else?: Cooked my own food, as usual. Watered my plants. Cleaned up part of the house. Created a marketing video for one of my websites. A couple other things. Overall, a very productive day!

Okay, so my internet is out at my apartment, so I haven't updated in a bit. But there's how things are going:

• Grades: History, A. Psych, A. Bio, C.
• Schedule? Way too busy.
• Weight? Last weigh-in (Friday) was 239. I'm changing the weigh-in date from Fridays to Saturdays, also, just because that's more convenient for me. Goal for Saturday is 236.5 (Epic Goal).
• Wasted way too much time on Sims 3 since I bought it, but it's good to have a break sometimes.
• I have no romantic interests, but plenty of opportunity for a social life if and when I have the time for it (that last 3 times I was asked to hang out, or come to a party, I had to decline due to my schedule).

Okay, I think that's about it. Just wanted to give a brief blurb, updating you on the life of Rob.

I find I can get immense amounts of things done, so long as they're not the things I'm supposed to be doing at that specific time.

I have Biology Homework that's likely to take me another 4 hours, but I just can't focus (among other things, how the hell am I supposed to use this knowledge in my life? Why on earth does it matter to a writer and small business owner whether a cell is eukariotic or prokariotic?). However, that means that I'm getting lots of work done on my current short story, my work emails, and my business website.

Seriously, Dad, this anxiety sucks. Why'd you give me these genes? ;) Ah, but damn. That's Biology, isn't it? I guess I found a way it's useful.

Anyway, back to that 4 hours of homework!

So, it's Friday, the day I decided to do my weigh-ins.

Last week was 244. This week was 240.5. That means I lost 3.5lbs -- which is more than my epic goal.

Go me! So, anyway, what I'm going to do for the sake of next week's weigh-in is pretend like I just got my epic goal (241.5) for the sake of my goals for next week. That means my goals for next week are 239lbs, even.

All my life, I've been obsessed with stories. I remember at age 7, making up stories that I thought were just lies. Fantastic tales about my past that never happened. And this evolved. By age nine, I had groups sitting around me at recess, as I held up an amulet I found in my family's basement, and told how it granted immortality to an ancient Roman general, who defeated legions, conquering nearly the whole world, until someone finally realized the Amulet was the source, and cut it in two.

I like that idea. I like the idea of the hero's journey. I like the idea of human greatness. People need that. We need to believe -- we need to know -- that our lives can be something more than just this infinite cycle, day after day, repeating the same things.

But I think, even more than the idea, I like the reality of becoming a hero. There are so many who are doing it already. A few heroes I know are my Grandpa Blair -- an amzing man who's life is something I admire with ferocity. He and I almost never agree, but if I could live my life like one person, it would be him.

And my Mom, for her passion and ambition. She's a hero for that. And my Dad. For his genius, his compassion, and his faith. There are others I could mention. Friends I've had. Even the girls I've dated. But many have been heroes to me.

And what I'm doing right now is making myself into a hero. Slowly. Incrementally. Day by day by day. Slowly ascending a corporate ladder. Pursuing my degree. Getting into shape. Helping those around me. Being everything I can be.

I've been swimming. I love swimming, I love being in water, and I love the workout. Tonight, my goal was 10 laps back and forth in the pool here. That's the equivalent of 240 meters, from my calculations.

At 5 laps, I was breathless and ready to quit. At 8, I had swallowed water. At 10, my chest was hurting, and I was gasping for breath.

So I did 15.

Panting for breath as I clutched the wall, my skin went hot, and my body ached. And I was smiling, big. And that's how I'm doing it.

Some things, I do just to prove to myself that I can. Like the 18 credit hours next Semester, or the 9 now in the second block. Or my business website that I'm learning the php coding for. Or getting down to the weight I want to be. Or writing novels. Or learning to play the bass.

I'm obsessed with stories, and I want the story of my life to be inspiring. I want it to be heroic. I want to be able to look at it with pride.