Oklahoma Go Club, Exercise, and Progress

Oklahoma Go Club

Way back, when I was just getting into Go and climbing my way up the KGS ladder, there was a Go club here in Oklahoma that I made some visits too. Everyone was older than me and attendance was often sparse, but that didn't prevent me from enjoying sage advice and relaxed atmosphere as we sat and played. Unfortunately, I couldn't make this trip often, as it was a pretty long drive, and, my only means of transport was my mum, who was not always available or willing to make the long drive. Eventually the long drive became too much and I stopped attending.

Recently the host of the meetings has moved, and now lives 4 miles from the campus that I live on! He's already e-mailed me with plans to start up regular meetings again, and I have to say I am excited. I never get any chances to play on a real board, which is especially depressing because of the small collection of Go boards I was able to create for myself, with all three standard sizes present, (9x9, 13x13, and 19x19) gathering dust on the desk to my right. I was lucky enough to find some nice (I think) glass Go stones at an out of the way games shop. (Looks like I went on a tangent there.. maybe I should make the next post about my boards?)

In case anyone here live in or around Edmond, Oklahoma, in order to get information on the group and how to join in on the meetings, this yahoo groups page would be the best place to get in touch, as it is the largest (only) collection of Oklahoma Go players I have been able to find.

I will continue working on forming a Go club on campus, though, as I believe if anything, I will be able to spread the game of Go into the minds of others, and enriching their lives by doing so. (Is that a bit pretentious? Go really is a beautiful game, though.)

WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE™ still going

I've finally been able to get a regular exercise schedule into my week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:30 AM, 40-50 minutes of bike machine thingy that I don't know the name of. It's a little awkward, since I have no other clothes to exercise in other than what I usually wear during the day. As soon as money stops being a problem I will get right on that. What is more exciting about this post is that, after only 3 days of exercise (Monday and today), and maintaining a daily calorie count of 10x my weight (this gathered from information found on the internet), I have apparently lost 4 pounds! If this keeps up I will reach my goal in no time at all! Of course, there is also the possibility that this is just a minor variance in weight due to some of the many extraneous variables that can effect ones weight at any given time, but what is the limit of that? That is a question I should find out about.

Fighting the hunger has been a little difficult, though, but if what I've read is true than it is just a matter of time until my body readjusts itself into the lifestyle of not eating 5 times a day or on every impulse of hunger. In reality it isn't at all that bad, and I am surprised at the ease of transitioning into this new lifestyle. The number one destroyer of self improvement, though, is lack of dedication. As long as I stick to my goals and don't give up, I should be ok.

So, until the next time,
-BuddytheRat