Kyle Johnson Where I talk about anything

Back to School

After a few years out of school, I will finally be going back. My current goal is to only spend one semester at Ivy Tech, and then transferring to either IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis, or Butler University, which is also in downtown Indianapolis. While being out of school I have done nothing but work full time and have come to the realization that without some college education, there’s not much that I am qualified to do career wise. Every employer would rather have an applicant with a college degree than someone who has only a high school diploma and absolutely no experience in the field. So, it is my job to make sure that I am the applicant they want to hire.

For the spring 2010 semester I am going to take two classes, Math 050 and Introduction to Psychology. Both will be online classes so I can still attend a police academy if I get to that point with a department. I wanted to ensure that I’m not forced to have to choose one or the either, and that both can be achieved.

I was originally scheduled to take three courses this semester, with the other being English Composition 111 but opted to drop from that course because it wasn’t available online, and evening courses won’t work with the potential for a police academy. The good thing though is I will be able to take it another semester as it wasn’t required for this one. The only required course was Math 050 and that was because it won’t be offered at Ivy Tech after this semester and I needed to take it to advance to a higher math course.

Only thing left to do is actually pay for the courses and course materials and be able to get myself to do the necessary work without having to go into any class rooms. Payment is due tomorrow and then I can buy the books as well tomorrow, but courses don’t start until March for these two. They’re only two months long so a lot of material crammed into such a short time period.

All I can say, is I can do it! I will do it!

And We’re Off!

Alright so 2010 has started and it’s time for New Year resolutions to be set, and hopefully not broken. Like many Americans I am setting the resolution to lose weight. I was successful last year in losing weight, but unfortunately I don’t know exactly how much I lost through the year, and even more unfortunate was the fact that the last quarter of the year I actually put a lot of the weight back on. So I’m going to go a different route this year, and the website is going to be a big part of it. Not only will you be able to follow my progress, but I will have a way of easily keeping track of my progress.

The last time I was at the gym and used the life center to test my BMI, body fat percent, weight, and blood pressure was December 29th, 2009. Since I haven't been since then, I'm going to use those stats for my starting point of the year. Below are those stats:

Blood Pressure:
Systolic:     114
Diastolic:     79

Body Mass Index:
32.4

Body Fat Percent:
27.1%

Weight:
242 lbs

One of the things I am going to start doing tomorrow is a running/walking workout. It's a nine week process that is three times a week. Each week I will post what the workout entails for that particular week and indicate how the previous weeks went. For those who are wanting to lose weight this year as well, please feel free to follow these steps and post comments as to your progress!

"Week one begins with a brisk five minute warmup walk. After the walk, jog for 60 seconds and then walk for 90 seconds. Alternate the jogging and walking for a total of 20 minutes."

Good luck to everyone on their New Year resolutions! Hope everyone is able to succeed with their goals, and I'm hoping that I can success in mine as well.

Let it Begin!

One of the most common goals for people is the goal to lose weight. January 1st, millions of people will declare "lose weight" as their new years resolution, but sadly I would say roughly 70-80% of them will fail with their goal because they will lose motivation. Wouldn't it be nice if the majority of those who fail with their goal, actually succeeded with their goal? Just think of how society would look after a few years of constant weight loss by those who are overweight.

On January 1st, 2009, my resolution was to lose weight. Unfortunately, I was one of those who did not succeed with their resolution. Over the last two or three years, I have substantially lost weight. I used to be roughly 270 lbs, and earlier this year I was down to 203 lbs. But like many things I start to succeed at, I start to lose motivation and my results disappear, and quickly. I am now roughly 236 lbs.

What really got me was I could no longer afford to pay for personal training sessions at the gym. And I know myself, I don't have enough motivation to go to the gym on my own and work out, and when I get home I get side tracked by the computer or video games that causes me to not go run in my own neighborhood. So I know what is setting me back, and I am continuously working at getting passed them. It hasn't been easy, I didn't expect it to be, but in the end it will be worth it. I just need to keep reminding myself of that.

Starting Monday December 28, 2009, my goal is to go to the gym every day and run on the treadmill at least three miles. If for some reason I do not do the three miles, then my goal will to do a fast walk for roughly 45 minutes to an hour. Either way I must continue to push myself past what I think my limits are. That'll be the only way I can accomplish my goals of getting in shape, living a healthier life, and passing the psychical agility tests for the police departments that I apply too.

So like the article title says, let it begin!

Please Remember

I'm not going to go into too much detail with this post. Details aren't the important thing, the message is. Please make sure you take time out of your day to let your loved ones know how you feel, because at any moment it can all be taken away. No matter how young or old we are, or how much we feel nothing can knock us down, nobody out there is immune to the inevitable. We will all go one day, we just don't know when that day will be. So again, make sure to tell those who you love that you do love them, because it could very well be the last thing you ever say to them.