I’m so terrible at this commitment thing. I have the hardest time making myself do something on a daily basis, even something as enjoyable as blogging. But I’ve found a way to make it work.

I’m going to write a blog post of 100 words, each and every single day. Exactly 100 words; no less, no more. I will occasionally post something longer and more interesting, but I’m focusing on one thing at a time.

Go me.

I started watching The Guild last week. If you’re not familiar the name, it’s a web series about a group of online gamers. It’s pretty funny, and Felicia Day is hot. Those damn red heads get me every single time.

So here’s the thing – this awesome show has me wanting to play MMO’s again. Particularly, World of Warcraft. This is bad. I removed myself from the MMO community because I couldn’t balance real life with fantasy life. This was several years ago, and I’ve changed a lot, but it’s still a dangerous thought.

I poured hours and hours of my time into that game. I started right at launch with my best friend. I was always the hardcore type when it came to MMO’s, so I easily made it to 60 within a couple of weeks, right alongside several of the major closed beta guilds. Ropetown, one of those guilds, recruited me at this point and I ended up raiding like a maniac for the next 1.5 years. When we weren’t raiding, I was PVP’ing. I was basically addicted.

Looking back on it though, it’s funny. The gameplay isn’t really what I enjoy about MMO’s. It’s all about a) the community and b) the world. Making friends online is so ridiculously easy and in some ways much more rewarding than making friends in real life. And there’s something so freeing about exploring a very large fantasy world in an avatar that kicks ass with nothing more than a few button clicks. As nerdy as it sounds, breaking into a new dungeon with a group of friends, not sure what the hell to expect, is one of the best feelings ever.

I honestly can’t believe I’m even considering online gaming again. I don’t think I’ll give in, but I figured it would make a good rant. These damn solo console games just aren’t doing it for me. I need an online community to game with that’s capable of at least some intelligent thought.

There is more to my life than exercise. I swear.

I play lots of video games. So far this summer I’ve played through Fallout 3, Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Borderlands. And I’m currently enjoying destroying little kids (in the absolute most non-sexual way possible) on BF Bad Company 2.

I used to be a major online gaming nerd. I played Starcraft, Warcraft and Diablo.  Oh yeah, and Everquest, Everquest 2, Shadowbane and World of Warcraft. I threw hours upon hours of my life at those games. But you know what, I don’t regret it. I met some awesome people (a few of which I still talk to), killed a good many hours that I honestly had nothing to do with anyway and had an overall good time screwing around in an online world.

I watch movies and TV shows incessantly. Since June, I’ve finished almost 6 seasons of 24, 3 seasons of Heroes and 2 seasons of Friday Night Lights. I just finished season 2 of the Guild (as I type this), which I’m totally digging. I don’t even want to think about how many movies I’ve watched…recently, Reign of Fire, I’m Reed Fish, Spy Game, 100 Girls and The Green Zone. I’m about to start season 3 of The Guild and Firefly, and I think I’ll hit up Hastings tomorrow for The Losers.

Moving away from the electronics to the books..honestly, I’ve been slacking on my reading lately. I just finished Assholeology, very funny read. I’m slowly working my way through Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, Lord of the Rose by Douglas Niles and Lone Survivor by Marcus Lutrell. Three very different books from three very different genres. I’m mainly a huge fantasy nut, I have boxes full of fantasy novels I’ve read over the years. My most recent read was The Hunter’s Blades Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore, one of my favorite authors.

As for blog reading, I’m lazy. I don’t know why. I definitely need more blogs to follow. The only blogs I read on a regular basis are FWJ, The Nate Green Experience and Eric Cressey’s. It’s a work in progress.

I’m a closet nerd and I love it.

Today, I can’t figure myself out. And by today, I mean the entire summer.

I’m a pretty social guy. I wouldn’t go so far as to call me a social butterfly, but I’m far from a wallflower. I like to meet new people and see new places, and I’m totally a social drinker. But recently, I seem to be embracing my alone time.

And by embracing my alone time, I mean that’s just about all I do. I wake up in the morning, shower, and cook my usual three eggs on whole wheat bread. I watch an episode of something-or-other on Netflix. If it’s not an off day, I ready my exercise gear and head out the door for a few hours of roasting under the hot Texas sun. When I’m done, I watch some more something-or-other on Netflix. I’ll probably play a video game at some point, you know, if I’m in the mood to slay some newbs and whatnot. Come evening, I’ll fix myself some dinner, watch a movie, and pass out around midnight.

The only human contact I have throughout the day is with my roommate, who’s only here at night. Sure, I text and talk on the phone off and on, but that’s about it. If I’m invited to do something, I usually turn it down. If I don’t immediately say no, I think about it for a few hours and say no. Rarely, I’ll actually agree to some hang-out time. This is the exact opposite of how I was six months ago, and I can’t figure out why.

Normally, I wouldn’t give any numbers of shits. But my friends are starting to make me feel bad about it, and that’s starting to get me thinking. Is this just another phase, or what?

On my blogging of course, not my exercise. Never my exercise.

I’ve gotten a new bike since my last post:

I’m really liking it. I haven’t taken it out for any super long ride (34 miles is the most I’ve done), but it performs great on the trails. It’s amazing how different the riding experience is from my mom’s bike.

As far as my adventures go, it’s been dry lately. I haven’t done anything interesting since my ride to Bedias a month ago (I can’t believe it’s already been that long). That doesn’t mean I haven’t been riding and running though. I’ve been averaging between 10 and 20 miles running and 60 to 100 miles biking per week. I’ve started to use brick sessions on both the road and trail and I’m really focusing on speed over distance now.

Unfortunately, the heat is eating away at my soul, slowly but surely. I haven’t been able to run anything longer than 7 miles this summer. I don’t seem to have a problem biking in the heat, but running is another matter. I look forward to rainy days because those are the only days that I know I’ll get a decent run in.

With that negativity outta the way, I will say that I’m ridiculously excited to head up to White River Resort in north Arkansas in just over a week. I’m looking forward to some mountain biking, trail running, hiking, fishing and relaxing. I haven’t been up there in almost 5 years, but I doubt much has changed.