Keeping an active blog is a lot harder than I thought it would be. That said, I’ve got a buttload of stuff to discuss so I think I may break it in to several posts. We’ll do a general life post and a gaming post to get us started.

So the first part is related to the baby. We found out (as many of you know) that it’ll be a she. Elizabeth Diane Miller will be born in August, as our daughter. I am incredibly excited by this, and I can’t really explain why. I had thought I wanted a boy first, to carry on the name, etc… but the prospect of a daughter has me very happy. I know I’ll be completely bound by this girl, she’ll have me wrapped around her finger (which is a very odd phrase, isn’t it?), but that’s okay. That’s what dad’s are supposed to do for their daughters. We found out this awesome news the week before Diana’s spring break, which is another reason I’ve not been around is for Spring Break we had a bunch of people come out to visit…

This means that I had to spend a lot of time preparing the condo for guests. Last week we had 6 of our best friends come in to town to spend some time with Diana, myself, Devon, and Rena. This pretty much ruled, and as always reminds me how much I miss my friends and how glad I am that we live IN THE WORLD OF TOMORROW and that I can keep in touch with them, game with them, and they can come out to visit me without battling winter snows and dysentery and roaming tribes of Indians. People arrived in three groups, with Scott and Carrie arriving last Saturday, Mikey on Sunday, and Leah, Bill, and Beak on Tuesday. We had a lot of fun, ate a lot of delicious foods, played a lot of Magic: The Gathering (Old School Baby. See gaming post.) and generally just had a good time. Events like this however, are always exhausting for me. Perhaps it’s just ego on my part, but I like to make sure everything is proceeding according to plan when we have large social groups. Keeping 8-10 people moving in the same direction, all happy and content, and all enjoying themselves is a task. Perhaps it’s not really needed, and perhaps if I didn’t do it, someone else would but I always seem to appoint myself the director. I make sure when people start to get hungry we begin moving to a meal, when people want to see something we see it, when people want to play a game, we play it, etc. I don’t mind doing it, but like I mentioned – it can take it out of you!

All in all, I think people enjoyed their trip. We had a few moments of chaos, like when we lost the car key to the beetle or my shower broke. But we were fluid, we adapted. My dad was cool enough to go the week without a car, so we could have two cars to keep people mobile. The shower broke, but Diana being the awesome money-whiz she is, figured out how to pay to have a plumber come fix it without depleting all of our fun money for the week. 

In the end, it was fun. I am glad people came out, and I am glad Diana got to have a good spring break. I really can’t say how having a baby is going to change our social lives, other than I suspect it will. It was good to get everyone out here, perhaps the last big gathering before we’re parents. I am really glad I had that, and I am glad people could come out to spend it with me.

But, as with any week that is filled with food, drink, and friends I put on some pounds. Pounds I’ve been letting slip back on for several months now. This is really not who I want to be, nor is it who I want my daughter’s father to be. So, to that end I’ve recommitted to losing some weight. I’ve done this so many times now, it’s hard not to feel like I am ‘crying wolf’ or something, but I got to keep plugging. The last time I say it, will be the time I do it. I’m going back to the method I’ve had the most success with, which is strict caloric control and monitoring, combined with regular exercise. In my heart of hearts, I like science and math. I like reason and logic. The human body is a machine, that requires X amount of fuel every Y hours to maintain proper function. I’ve been giving it Z amount of fuel, and the natural way my body deals with that is to store Z-X calories as fat. So I need to reduce my intake, monitor my caloric useage, and simply stick with it. When it’s a science experiment for me, I can stick with it better. It gives me things to do.

We’ll see how it goes. I hope I can do it this time. I’ve set a goal for my 31st birthday, and then another goal beyond that for August 10th, Ellie’s due date. I can do this, I am stronger than I realize, and if I am to be a true renaissance man, a greek ideal, then I must perfect mind, spirit, -and- body. Wish me luck!