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Hello TL community, 2012 is nearly over (for some it already is) it's a great time to make resolutions and really focus on some areas of our lives that we may otherwise have been putting off. For me I have three main goals in 2013 that I really slacked off in 2012 and want to change. All 3 of these have a bit of overlap but are three things I really want to focus on.
- Cooking
Something I've always really wanted to get better at is cooking. I don't mean just not burning shit in the oven but really cooking well. I have a friend that lives near me who I've already been getting some great tips from and is offering to help me out. Knowing how to cook well allows you so much more control over your overall nutrition and I feel will really help my health in general which is a major focus for me in 2013. Cooking really isn't that hard but unless you actually put the time in to learn and then put the time in every week to actually do it, it's something that is easy to skip or avoid doing. It's not something that you have to spend THAT much time on either, my friend said she cooks on Sunday for the week which saves so much time. I have a bunch of basic recipes that I'll start with and hopefully be at least a low masters league chef by years end. (I'm probably mid Gold now at best)
- Staying in touch with people better
This is a pretty general goal but another thing I'm going to really work on this year is staying in touch with old friends better. I'm really terrible at staying in touch with people sometimes. I'm probably not alone with this as it feels so easy to do but I often fall out of touch with good friends often due to me getting so wrapped up in my own stuff. Too often I suddenly find myself going 3, 6 months or even longer without talking to some friend I used to speak with daily during college or from some activity in my past. I'm sure it's normal for people to just drift away over time as they go separate ways in life but some of these people I've lost touch with were really good friends or people I knew very well. when I've reached out to some of these "old friends" in the past they've always been so happy to hear from me...So for 2013 I'm really going to focus on making sure I try to rebuild a few old relationships, even going out of my way to make small things happen like meeting up for a lunch or sending a quick "Hey how's it going" email can help with this so much.
- Running
Probably my biggest 2013 goals are related to getting back into top physical running shape. In 2007 I was actually really fast (by my standards) I ran a sub 6 minute mile which I was very happy with. I was 19 then and could eat whatever I wanted and not gain a pound. Times have changed since then, I'm 24 now and over the past year and a half actually gained about 30 pounds of fat. I'm not really aiming to lose much weight over the next year, more focused on turning the fat into muscle which is pretty difficult for my body type (tall+lean) but I don't think it's impossible, it just takes me so much more work than some of my friends who go to the gym for a month and suddenly are super ripped.
I'm planning on running in the Marine Corps Marathon in DC in late October. I'm already running about 16 miles a week over the past month, starting next week I'm going to up this milage to 20 and hopefully get this up to 25-30 by the Spring/Summer. It's a big time commitment though as it might not sound like much but running 30 miles a week is 4-5 hours of running (assuming I'm running 8 minute miles, hopefully my times improve much better than that). Factor in all the workout time I also plan on spending with weight training and this is going to easily turn into a 10+ hours a week thing very fast. I'm also planning on running in a semi-half marathon in late March which I'm focusing primarily on right now. Getting back to running sub 6 minute miles again shouldn't be that hard for me, I already pretty much know what it's going to take to get myself there and actually ran a 7 minute mile just last week and felt like I left plenty on the table. The marathon is going to be uncharted territory for me though and I've already started reaching out to some friends who have run them in the past, (and some guys on TL have been helping me out a bunch, shoutouts to L_Master and the running thread and YPang for the advice so far!)
This is going to be the biggest challenge of my 2013 by far and requires big changes in diet and alot of commitment but I think 2013 is a great year for me to go for this as I'm still very free in life to go after a goal like this. I'm not getting any younger so I figure it's best to go for it now.
So these are going to be three main things I've decided to focus on in 2013. Some people have asked me where gaming fits into this and honestly there probably won't be much room for gaming in 2013. All of these goals I've outlined I sort of dropped for most of 2011 and part of 2012 in favor of other lazy activities like playing starcraft, or screwing around with other games or god knows what other unproductive activities I was wasting time on. I still plan on organizing DC LAN events and staying active in the TL community but I find my interest in actually playing the game really diminished hardcore. I've sort of replaced my competitive outlet from sc2 into running for the time being which has been very rewarding. As of now I have no plans to start playing sc2 at all anymore. I've actually TOTALLY quit because even if I play just a few games here and there I'll lose them and then get mad and start playing 30+ hours a week again.
Mini depression rant on my 2012 year of starcraft + Show Spoiler + 2012 was a slow progression of events that pretty much led me to quitting sc2 completely after MLG Fall in early November. With how terribly boring hots was for me and the uncertainty of if it'll be WoL/HoTS early next year in major events I felt like practicing WoL was a waste of time and HoTS was such a work in progress it was only fun to just mess around with stuff which got boring pretty quick. my WoL career pretty much tanked in 2012 as well, I didn't really mean to "retire" or quit but it sort of became more and more logical as the year went on. losing to Flo in Columbus was nearly career ending in itself, I did get super motivated after that to prove I wasn't a total waste of life after all and got into really legit shape in April-May but narrowly missed qualifying for WCS USA even though there were like 60+ spots for that and I felt I was so much better than a bunch of people that ended up qualifying. When I missed qualifying for that I pretty much lost most of the drive I ever had. I had so many insanely disappointing and annoying things happen to me in so many qualifiers. I lost 3-4 in a best of 7 in the finals once, and then I lost another finals where I was winning but my pc crashed and the admin ruled I get an auto loss. I was putting so much time in and beating so many good players going so far in events but never getting anything to show for it. Even other smaller things I loved playing in 2011 like TSL qualifiers I couldn't in 2012 because they all happened during the day when I was at work or out of the house so I could only play in like 1 qualifier and had to play beastyqt round 1 (he ended up winning that qualifier to qualify for TSL) It just seemed like too much shit kept happening to me time after time that made me question why I was even wasting time trying to stay good at the game. My team (NrG) also disbanded as well over the summer of 2012 and there was no other team that could replace how epic NrG was.
Anyway wow that was a pretty hateful mini rant that I had to vent, didn't really mean to get negative in an otherwise uplifting and inspiring new years resolution blog, but telling that story I think really helps show where my motivation for sc2 went. I hope everyone has a successful and inspired 2013, thanks for reading.
  
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Sorry about your career ending LF ): I still love you <33
As for cooking (: I love to see the stuff you make, I love cooking!
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Nice blog. I'm pretty sure we'll see you back when HOTS is released! Might have been boring with the warhound and all but I think it's gradually improved recently gameplay-wise. You can take the nerd out of SC but you can't take the SC out of the nerd! 
and BTW bro, I'm finally living up in the NOVA area. I know I've always flaked before on coming to the DC LAN's + Nerd dinners before but now I can 100% come to 'em!  Only 10~15 minutes from Annadale now.
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We'll see what happens with HoTS, and next years MLG schedule. I still love the community too much to completely disappear that's for sure. Just don't really have the drive to put hours in playing anymore.
And yeah I heard you were back in NOVA Theo, come to a dinner or two if you can on a Saturday night, CaucasianAsian is in the area for the next month as well so we'll have to meet up for sure.
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i need to learn how to cook too
maybe you can post about what you learn as you go along since i have no idea where to start!
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Make the full switch to LoL =p
I'm joking actually, you're doing the right thing and its something I realized myself almost 2 years ago. As you get older, your interest and time for gaming really drops. I used to get so worked up and I forgot how to have fun with games which lead to a huge confrontation. Now that I've drastically cut competitive gaming, I can actually enjoy playing games in my spare time again and still have a life with my family.
Good luck Lucky and stay in touch.
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Korea (South)11583 Posts
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good luck on your marathon and keep us updated!
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You have a time goal in mind, or are you running to finish and learn a little about the marathon?
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My running goals are really two fold, one is to get faster but I also am working on running to finish a marathon as well. I'm going to start running a weekly schedule of something like an easy day/sprints/longer run/rest and then repeat, haven't figured out the exact schedule yet, probably won't start on it until after this week though, running in a 5k tomorrow then no events planned till late March so it'll just be pure training till then.
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Sorry that you're quitting SC2, but I've played you in BW, you should enter the T-LS (TSL-LS?) for the funzies!
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My new year's resolution are shockingly similar to yours O_____O
Running with the goal of half marathon finished this year, cooking, and reconnecting with old friends
You sure we aint related?
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Sad to see you quit, but i had the same issues when i broke a few fingers on my left hand shortly before WCS only to fall 2-1 repeatedly to people that win out and qualify. Guess i didnt do to bad with that condition but meh, its the same in the end. I went through that exact same process.
Same thoughts on WoL/HotS atm... I felt like i didnt accomplish anything when I hit rank 2 gm in HOTS. and went back to focus on WoL for the remaining few tournaments and stuff I had left. And then to focus entirely on HOTS seems awkward as every balance patch lately drastically changes stuff.
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On January 01 2013 08:18 Emzeeshady wrote:Show nested quote +On January 01 2013 07:46 MooMooMugi wrote:
My new year's resolution are shockingly similar to yours O_____O
Running with the goal of half marathon finished this year, cooking, and reconnecting with old friends
You sure we aint related? I think those are very general and common goals (except for the cooking I suppose)
Wanting to run a half marathon is a pretty specific goal :p
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Even cooking at a mid-diamond level is great for your self-esteem and nutrition, and helps you to expand your palate. Also, if you're in need of something to impress potential partners with, cooking a reasonably nice-looking meal that tastes great is a good way to do it 
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Well now that you've gotten BW working on your computer again time to get back to practicing so you can qualify for TSL <3
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Good luck! I need to get back in marathon shape again too. Anyone who has gone to college fulltime, worked, and still managed to get 10+ hours of training runs in every week is a complete boss and I'd like a chance to shake their hands. Now I have 8 months of me time before grad school I'll be joining you in that . New Years goals really aren't for me but I'm definitely rooting for you!
Seeing NrG dissolve was really sad, so much potential just went by the wayside, just wasn't fair, especially after what happened with Sixjax. You should post update blogs, maybe some food porn =D.
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On January 01 2013 10:14 Badfatpanda wrote:Good luck! I need to get back in marathon shape again too. Anyone who has gone to college fulltime, worked, and still managed to get 10+ hours of training runs in every week is a complete boss and I'd like a chance to shake their hands. Now I have 8 months of me time before grad school I'll be joining you in that . New Years goals really aren't for me but I'm definitely rooting for you! Seeing NrG dissolve was really sad, so much potential just went by the wayside, just wasn't fair, especially after what happened with Sixjax. You should post update blogs, maybe some food porn =D.
That's legit. 85+ miles a week is truly starting to approach legit high mileage.
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dood i don't know what id do if i stopped seeing your name on threads.
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you could always just chill with ppl playing sc2bw
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I know you were just joking about becoming low tier masters chef, but you really do underestimate how hard it gets past platinum. Lets imagine its something like this:
Bronze: You can put stuff in the microwave
Silver: You can boil water, use frying pan and the oven.
Gold: You can chop veggies and they are actually of the same size.
Platinum: You are well versed in different food cultures.
Diamond: You can create new delicious foods from any materials including intestines and exotic veggies.
Master: You can make cake castles at competitions.
Grandmaster: You are top200 chef in your continent.
Still feeling like you can become master in less than a year? And i'm talking about minimum requirements here.
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Hahaha I love this ^
By this league scale I would be very happy to be top 8 plat by years end
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I hope you do some writing, analysis in SC2 (:
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I forget a lot what its like to have fun because lings of liberty is so depressing. Playing ff9 last week was most fun I've had playing games in a while D;
Gl running bro
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<3 I hope you'll still be coming to events because mafia just won't be the same without ya!
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Good luck with your running goals Luckyfool! Sounds a bit like myself except that I am getting back into swimming rather than running.
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On January 01 2013 15:38 KawaiiRice wrote:
I forget a lot what its like to have fun because lings of liberty is so depressing. Playing ff9 last week was most fun I've had playing games in a while D;
Gl running bro
Well at least now you know how zergs felt for a lot of wings of liberty when it was hardcore terran/toss favored :D
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Good luck dude! For cooking, if you're ever looking for recipes at night and you can't get to a supermarket, may I suggest http://www.foodily.com/ because then you can look for things you have ingredients of and ignore things you don't have!
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Cooking is a great thing to do, I do it every morning and every night of every day I'm at home.
Learning to cook is much less about gaining new skills or techniques, and more about consuming knowledge and concepts such as how to make a sauce thicken, or pan sear a steak. The rest is all about discipline, you have to pay attention and make sure everything is going according to plan, and if it's not, you have to react instantly or things will most likely turn bad quick :D
If cavemen could cook, then so can you!
I too lost interest in sc2, almost at the exact same time, happened somewhere between day1 and day2 of that MLG. I realized I just wasn't excited to see the matches. I also lost interest in playing, it started with moving into a new place and not having a desk setup so mechanically it wasn't enjoyable, but even after I lost that excuse I just didn't ever find myself playing. I picked up Dota 2, have been playing a lot of that lately, it feels fresh and exciting, where each game is unique to some extent, but all the constants stay the same.
As far as keeping in touch with old friends goes, it was very interesting that you brought this up, the company I'm working for is developing a desktop and mobile website for the purpose of helping people stay in touch via IRL get togethers. Looks like great minds think alike after all :D
I hope one day Starcraft will return to its former glory, but until that day I will continue to spend 45+ minutes alone cooking myself gourmet meals every night :D
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Nice resolutions LuckyFool, wish you all the best in 2013, and good luck in running! Catch ya later, alligator.
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good luck in 2013 Rob :D
My new years resolution was to stop dodging. I'm not even kidding LOL.
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cooking is only as difficult as you make it. there's plenty of delicious things that are really easy to make. it's winter time, so learn to make some real chili or some good stew. super easy, and very easy to modify, so you can easily experiement and learn what flavors certain ingredients add. plus unlike if you were to cook chicken on a sat for the week, chili is awesome (arguably even better) when it soaks up flavor in the fridge!
good resolutions all around.
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Hawk knows some shiet about cooking. Look him up.
They ate well at Quantic with him around.
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Good luck with your future, I hope you play broodwar and you decide to play in the T L S .
Good luck.
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Happy 2013! GL with running, it's a great thing to do. I will try to learn to play the guitar this year! Fun new activities :-) I hate cooking, but hope you have lots of tasty success in that area. Post some blogs about it!
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I've really enjoyed reading your blogs on TL. Hope you stick around and continue putting in you 2 cents on stuff that happen around the scene
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Good luck luckyfool!, sad to see ur not gonna play sc2 much anymore T________________T
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EPT
