Day 530 Keeping It Upright and No Price On Integrity

Day 530

Keeping It Upright and No Price On Integrity

It was a little harder to do my morning warm-up workout today. I've seriously slacked with this morning ritual of getting up and dropping to the floor, and I could tell this morning. It's no surprise really. If you do something on a regular basis, your body gets accustomed and it gets easier. After the body makes adjustments in a positive direction, and then you stop being consistent with that routine---it makes some more adjustments, the other way.

Breakfast this morning was very simple. I enjoyed two eggs over-easy and a banana. It was 240 calories enjoyed. I thought about adding some oatmeal too, but decided I didn't want to use what I made the other day. I prefer my oatmeal fresh. I grabbed some more fruit and headed out for my morning. We expected snow overnight, but somehow we were spared the brunt of the storm. No complaints here. I'm ready for warmer weather!

Today was going to be stressful. I knew that going in. My stress level lately inspired me to write yesterday's post. And writing that one really helped me get through this day. I remember looking forward to Fridays...you know, when I was a kid---the weekends were the best. I'll get back to that excited Friday feeling someday. We're going to make it, and we're going to do it in fine form and fashion. I'm seriously proud of the breakthroughs I've discovered for myself along this road. And trust me...remaining true to myself and keeping this ship upright even during the nastiest of stressful storms, that's huge.

In reading the post from Day 165, February 26th, 2009, I was reminded of how disgusted I get when I see advertising for “miracle” weight loss products. I'm so happy that I ended those crazy ads on this blog a long time ago. Well, I did...a year ago to be exact. From Day 165:

If you have read the “global” version (same content as the Myspace blog at myspace.com/comedyboy) of this blog in the past, then you might remember seeing Google Ads along the left-hand side of the screen. I originally accepted these advertisers as a way to earn extra income from my blog. But I've learned a lesson in the process. You see, Google would automatically scan my blog and then place ads that somewhat related to my topic. Since my topic is always losing weight and getting healthy, of course they placed ads about a variety of products. The revenue generated was based on per click and per order numbers. It never really added up to too much, but tonight I proudly tell you that I recently told Google to keep that money and go away! My reputation and integrity is worth more than random checks in the mail from Google, no matter the amount. If you ever noticed these, most of them were advertising crazy products with claims like “Lose 18 Pounds in 4 Days!” or “How I Lost 45 Pounds In Three Weeks-order Now,” or “Oprah Approved Product Will Melt Your Fat Away.” For one thing, Oprah doesn't endorse, let alone approve the Acai Berry product---it says that on her website. And neither do I. Nor do I endorse losing 18 pounds in 4 days, or 45 pounds in 3 weeks...or any product that makes such claims. I sincerely hope that none of my readers bought this junk. It feels so good to be free from the spying eyes of Google Ads. I couldn't say what I just typed, had I still been using Google Ads. They would have been upset! It says so in the contract. Any derogatory comments about the products or services advertised is grounds for immediate termination of my Google Ads account. Now that I think about it, I should have tested how closely they monitored my blog by exposing the outright scandalous rip-offs as they popped up. Might have been fun to see how long it would take them to dump me. They're gone, and I no longer have to cringe every time I open the page and see “I Lost 9 pounds in 5 minutes...” OK, I made that one up. I think the claim was in 1 day actually. The people that buy this kind of advertising do it for one reason, to take advantage of people with desperate emotions, who are looking for anything that works and are willing to spend whatever it takes to get it done. I'm ashamed they ever appeared on this blog in the first place. Lesson learned: You can't put a price on your integrity, never, ever, ever!

I stopped posting a mirrored version of this blog on myspace around day 370 something. I very rarely even check the myspace account. I haven't logged in there for a very long time. I do however enjoy facebook. So feel free to look me up: Sean Anderson, on facebook---friend me, and I'll accept! About that excerpt from Day 165: I hope Google doesn't get offended and shut me down! They wouldn't do that, would they? I mean---maybe I shouldn't be so harsh on Google, after all---they're providing me this blog space at no charge, when at this point---I would pay to keep it if I was told I hadn't a choice.

After a short nap, then a workout---I was ready for my evening out with friends. Once again, I was the designated driver. I'm really starting to evaluate how I spend my time and how productive I'm making that time. I honestly could use some adjustments in this area. I have big plans, big dreams, huge goals...and these are things that need more of my attention. I'm not saying I'm going to stop going out with friends, but I may need to seriously cut back. I know what I want—and I know that the commitment needed for those lofty goals requires a new level of diligence.

Thank you for reading. Goodnight and...

Good Choices,
Sean


This before picture is one of my favorites. Snapped at Amber's High School graduation, we were all bigger—I was well over 500 pounds. And shortly after this picture was taken---we hurried home to a party that included a multi level white coconut cake that I assembled with help from Pepperidge Farms. I used like five of those cakes and towered them on top of one another. I wish we had a picture of that giant cake.


One of my favorite “In-Progress” shots. Snapped several months ago with Irene in the kitchen of our old house.


My favorite “current in-progress” picture. With my oldest.



This video was from exactly one year ago today. I can't get over how big my face was—just 120 something pounds ago...wow. After writing about the “brow-bird,” my dad left this humorous comment from his home in Alabama: The uni-brow is a family trait, I am proud of mine. It was passed down from my moms side of the family. Her mom had one, and so on. I think I got my mustache from my grandma too. your dad Veyon. A good sense of humor is also a family trait!