I’m also a avid fan of meetups.  Especially ones that revolve around web applications. The team I manage here at Metromix organized the first Foursquare “Earn Your Badge” night earlier this year–and after that failed, tried again at the DC Twestival and more than succeeded with 65 check-ins.  It’s exciting to see people gather together not just for a charity or 1/2 price appetizers, but for an app that changes the way they live and communicate with each other.

When Evernote announced their first Global Meetup Day, I was more than thrilled to not only participate, but to organize the event here in Washington, DC.  And only a few hours into it, I see our market has the most attendees than any other in the world.  Granted it’s only 10, but hey–cut me some slack, it’s the first day.  The participants requested we meet at Fado Irish Pub downtown, and with some advice from Lisa (@DCEventJunkie), looks like a promising venue and a few tweets later, we’re in.

So, what will we cover at this meetup?  I hope to hear some real life stories from other Evernoters that will benefit everyone, find more creative uses for the app, and to really put the features to the test–like taking photos of badges or business cards then having them convert to text and create notes automatically.  Plus if we get more than 20 participants, we’ll receive stickers and other awesome Evernote stuff.

Download Evernote for Windows, Mac, iPhone / iPod Touch, Android, iPad, Blackberry, Palm Pre / Palm Pixi, Windows Mobile

Do you use Evernote? How do you work it into your daily life?

Evernote Meetup, Washington DC:
Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 8:00pm to 10:00pm

Fado Irish Pub
808 7th Street
Washington, DC 20001
202-789-0066
@fadodc on Twitter
Easy access to Metro: Exit Chinatown/Gallery Place, walk 1 block north at 7th and H. Map.

Changes that are working/habits that are forming:

• Counting every calorie. Total calories must be no more than 1,750 a day. That means 1,750 with no exercise, or 2000 calories with 250 calories burned in exercise. Whatever the case, the eaten and burned calories is no more than 1,750.
• Running to the gym! How crazy is that? By walking to and riding on the Metro, it takes 40 minutes to get to the gym. By running, it takes 45 minutes. I burn more than 700 calories on the run, and then I have my 40-minute personal training session. Makes for a ton of burned calories each day.
• Ratio of food: 40% protein, 35% carbs, 25% fat. It’s been consistent everyday.
• Bonus: I jot down the foods I was tempted by but did not eat (office food, going out, snacks from others, etc), and I keep a running tab to see how many extra calories I could have eaten. So far, I’ve avoided eating over 2,500 calories this week alone.

And on top of the weight loss, my allergies are down, I’m less congested, I have less headaches and more energy.

Are there any habits you were determined to get rid of, and has it been a long-term success?

Related links:
Counting Calories: ShapeUpClub.com site and iPhone app
Personal Training: Balance Gym, Thomas Circle location
Evernote: Helping me keep a tab of my temptations
Updates via Twitter or FourSquare

Trick #1:
My personal trainer Ben at Balance Gym suggests that in order to help control the portions in meals, the food should fit in a small container.  You only eat what you can put inside. That’s it!  Oh, and no cheating, like packing it down.  This is a Ziplock Twist n Loc container that holds 2 cups/16 oz and is a great microwave-safe container (buy on Amazon).

Trick #2:
Another trick is to make or input your meals the day before and track all the calories in your program (I use the ShapeUpClub.com’s iPhone app) the night before, so there’s no surprise the next day when you suddenly eat that extra helping.  Having meals all laid out and inputted into the program before you eat is a big plus!  If you’ve made the investment in adding that stuff early, then you feel obligated to follow up and make the right decisions.

And there will always be temptations, no matter what.  In fact, today I’m in a news manager’s meeting, and free Papa John’s pizza is provided as an incentive to attend, yet I’m not going to touch it because I already had my meal planned out last night.

This plan is working. I’ve lost 5 pounds since Sunday morning.

Here’s my version…poor YouTube bachelor guy never gets a break, does he?

More about the Release the Kraken Meme and some other hilarious examples and more examples.

So if you want this, you’re in luck! If you know how to add wallpaper, here’s the Earth on Fire iPhone wallpaper image.

How to add it to your iPhone:

1. This blog is formatted for the iPhone, so visit this blog post at obrienmedia.com/2475 then thumb down back to these instructions via your iPhone.
2. OK, you should be viewing this on your iPhone now. Tap on this link:  Earth on Fire iPhone wallpaper image.
3. Hold your thumb on the image, then select Save Image. The image is now stored in your photo album.
4. Go back to your desktop and tap Settings.
5. Tap Wallpaper.
6. Tap Camera Roll.
7. Tap on the last image, which should be your soon to be Earth on Fire wallpaper.
8. Tap Set.

How to add it to your iPod Touch:

1. This blog is formatted for the iPod Touch, so visit this blog post at obrienmedia.com/2475 then thumb down back to these instructions via your iPod Touch.
2. OK, you should be viewing this on your iPod Touch now. Tap on this link:  Earth on Fire iPhone wallpaper image.
3. Hold your thumb on the image, then select Save Image. The image is now stored in your photo album.
4. Go back to your desktop and tap Photos.
5. Tap Saved Photos.
6. Tap on the last image, which should be your soon to be Earth on Fire wallpaper.
7. Tap the icon on the lower left side of the screen, then tap Use as Wallpaper.
8. Tap Set Wallpaper.

Hope you like it! Let me know if you use it by commenting below.

My personal trainer Ben is right on. The complimentary session at Balance Gym in downtown DC went better than I expected–meaning I hurt more than I thought I would. Ben definitely knows what it’s gonna take to get me in shape. On paper, it was a simple  workout–just rowing, squatting, pushups and stretching. Yeah that 40-minute hell beat me up pretty good. Then he topped it off with planks to work the core. I was out of breath most of the workout, and I’m glad he let me catch my breath every now and then. But he never let up. If I did a half pushup, tough. I still had to complete a full one.

After the workout, I was immediately convinced this was the place. It felt like home from the get-go. People there were really focused on getting in shape and maintaining it. I didn’t feel like the fat kid there. It was like I was in my own bubble. The trainers are super friendly, cool and confident. I really like knowing part of my training will be to flip tractor tires.  Then Ben said when the time is right, they even strap a cable around me and I get to pull a car down the alley.

I signed up for a membership and 23 more personal training sessions. So not only it is right to get back in shape, but now it’s costing me! That pressure on top of eating right, working out and getting plenty of sleep will give me the discipline I need to shed the pounds.

Finally, a glimpse of hope that this obesity will be just a faded memory.

And as I was leaving the gym tonight, Ben asked what I was drinking in my gallon jug. I told him sugar-free Koolaid, and he gave me an odd smirk that you never want to see from your trainer. I said, “Next time water, huh?” and he just nodded. I still have a lot to learn.

• DIVORCE: Lost 80 pounds between June 2001 and April 2002.
• PERSONAL TRAINER: Lost 40 pounds between February 2006 and August 2006.

Well, divorce ain’t something I’m going to plan on (obviously), so it’s time to get a personal trainer.  I did a lot of online research to know my options.  I know what I’m looking for. At the gym I’m at now, I wouldn’t go with those trainers even if it was free.  And if you’re thinking about Sport & Health as an option for personal training, good luck with that.  I’ve seen them in action–or lack of it. The only times they really show interest in a client are the ones that are already fit, and it’s more of a social thing.  Sorry, that’s not why I go to a gym.  Convenient? Yes! Right across the street from work? Yes!…but what’s the point when you’re not getting the right help.  But I do have to say the TNT trainers that come into Sport & Health and train groups of 2-4 look awesome, but still not my style.

I looked for trainers near my apartment in the Rockville and Gaithersburg area, but I wasn’t impressed, and I’m not sure I want to go even further out from where I live now in order to train.

So, my search results kept leading me to Balance Gym. You’d think the fact they’re on Twitter, FourSquare and Facebook would be enough to impress me, but the biggest reason was that they consider themselves a real personal training gym.  They don’t have rows and rows of ellipticals and weight machines.  A lot of their equipment are free weights, ropes and kettle balls, but it’s common to also find parachutes, sand bags and tractor tires.  That’s awesome.

Their mission is an knowing muscles work in integration, not in isolation, therefore training should focus on integrated movements, not in isolated movements.   Machines tend to focus on a single muscle without training the muscles around it.  So by integrating all the muscles around it, that helps the overall muscle and is a more natural way to get fit. That means less machines and more lifting tires, running up stairs with sandbags, running in the park with parachutes attached to your waist, and just an overall cardio beating.

They have three locations in Washington, DC:  Balance Gym Kalorama, which is near Dupont Cirle, Balance Gym Thomas Circle, which is further in the city and a few blocks from the White House, and a spa gym called SomaFit.

Earlier this week on my lunch break, I stopped by the Kalorama location.  It was basically a basketball gym and a small room full of various weights and Olympic-style equipment.  This was much different than the gyms I’m used to.  I didn’t get a chance to talk with any of the personal trainers, but Kori was very nice, and it seemed like a real fun group to be a part of.  I left the location feeling a bit disappointed, but after an hour or so, I changed my opinion and realized how perfect a place like that is for me.  I’ve failed at placed with tight corners and tons of equipment.  It’s a bonus to have the basketball court as a large open area for classes,  dragging sandbags across the floor, and for running and cardio activity.  Parking was not fun there though, and a trip on the Metro was about 30 minutes each way, which was longer than I would have expected.

The night before I visited the gym, I filled our their online form, and I received a prompt reply from personal trainer Ben Wiedemer.  He mentioned he was from the Thomas Circle location and would be glad to show me around and talk about what goals I’d like to achieve with personal training. I was impressed right off the bat, since not only is he NASM Certified, but heck the guy was a Rugby player in Ireland and specializes in burning fat and increasing muscle mass. He also teaches Boot Camp classes throughout the week and blogs regularly about diet and exercise.

I met Ben and he showed me the facilities. This gym was much more impressive than Kalorama. It had 4 floors, and a special area just for personal training.  The gym is in two buildings, and the tractor tire flipping is outside in between the two.  They have many cardio machines, some weight machines, a boxing ring, and of all things–pole dancing.  We talked about hours, parking, best times to train, diet, and overall goals.  He seemed to be a perfect fit for me.  He offered a complimentary training session and asked if tomorrow would be ok.  He said, “This won’t ruin any of your happy hour plans, will it?” and I said, “I’d be happy spending that hour here actually.” Was that a good line or what?!  I know, total geek I am.   This guy was right on target with who I was looking for.  We shook hands and set up a 6:30pm time to have our first 40-minute session, which is complimentary.

The gym’s rates seemed pretty reasonable, and they are running a great membership/personal training special, so the timing was right.  The only downside is that it’s a 40-minute Metro ride to the gym each way, but I look at this as an opportunity to get downtown more often. I’m always complaining about never getting downtown for anything, so this is the time to do it.  I’ll probably drive much less now, since I’ll Metro to work, Metro to the gym, then Metro home.  My gas money will go towards Metro money.  Ben also said the gym is trying to work out a deal with the parking garage across the street, so hopefully I could drive later on and it would only cost a couple bucks to park.  But I enjoy taking the Metro…more walking, more exercise, and it gives me time to relax and de-stress a bit.

So here goes.  Day 1 is tomorrow. Time to suffer one last night of the old life.  I’m ready to run, I’m ready to bike, I’m ready to curl, I’m ready to get fit. I’m ready to change for good.

• Experienced the inauguration while living right here in Washington, DC.  (January)
• Started my obsession with Pumpernickel bread. (March)
• Visited my first embassy–the Embassy of Ireland. (April)
• Paid for my family to visit Washington DC for a week-long vacation. (May)
• Sold our house in St. Louis. (May)
• Bought a Saturn Vue, and said goodbye to my Ford Explorer. (August)
• Visited Bardstown, KY (Bourbon capital) during our road trip to St. Louis, and seeing an old friend in Cincinnati on the way back. (August)
• Ran my first half-marathon. (September)
• Got engaged to Lindsey Mastis after 6 years of dating. (October)
• Spending a night out in Philly, while visiting my former boss. (October)
• Found a new social media addiction with FourSquare. (November)
• Bought an iPhone and changed my outlook of the grid overnight. (November)
• Closest encounter with a celebrity: an arms reach from Holly Madison. (December)
• Had the best vacation this year visiting Las Vegas for a half-marathon. (December)

By far the biggest struggle in 2009 was trying to lose weight.  Month after month, I never moved the needle. I tried handwritten journals, online tools, changing gyms–even running a couple half-marathons–but nothing really sparked it.  My blog is peppered with failures.  I even blogged last January on how it was all gonna change.  It’s hard to believe that I actually gave up fast food almost 6 years ago, yet I still struggle with it.

The biggest lesson learned from 2009 is to plan ahead, stick to your agenda, and hold yourself accountable for your actions.  Also need to reward yourself for a job well done.

For 2010:

• Stay connected to family and friends through whatever means (Facebook, TXT, phone calls)
• Stick to the financial budget set at the beginning of the year
• Get married and enjoy the moment!
• Spend less time with things that just aren’t important
• Blog a lot more. From writing to developing to marketing–it’s a learning experience every time I do it.

As far as the weight loss goes, again it’s tough to write about. I’m going to get into the habit of hitting the gym regularly and watch what I eat.  Once I lose 10 pounds, I may write more about it.

As August 2009 approached and the anniversary of the DC move had passed, we had no excuses. I started my training in the beginning of August, and stayed disciplined for many weeks.  I blogged after each run, which kept my mind focused.  The Rock n Roll Virginia Beach Half-Marathon was Labor Day Weekend, so I only had 5 weeks to prepare for it–a tight schedule.  I ran that without any problems, and was so impressed with the people who put on the Rock n Roll events, that I was really pumped up about Las Vegas.

Then around Week 12, I was sick for 5 days, followed by a couple weeks of stress at work.  I never got back to my full training schedule after that.  The days were getting shorter, the weather was getting colder, and I was having a hard time getting out of work on time to run. But the plane, hotel and registration were already paid for, so we were going no matter what.  We both were getting pretty stressed out about missing so many runs.  In fact, in November I only ran 5 times–pretty bad considering I was running 4 times a week August through mid-October.  After we admitted that the full marathon was too stressful, it was like a lift off our shoulders, and we knew we would have fun on the trip without stressing from being under trained thus in pain for the entire trip.

After Lindsey and I arrived Friday night at the MGM Grand, we went grabbed great seats at Cirque du Soleil’s KA, then ate at our favorite place–Sherwood Forest Cafe in Excalibur.  After we crashed for the night, we met our friends Steve and Kelly Baron at the Mandalay Bay convention center to pick up race packets, then ate at Raffles Cafe at Mandalay Bay.   I’ve known Steve for a few years through conference calls and emails but never met him in real life.  We cabbed over to the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign before carb loading at the  pasta party at Mandalay Bay, where Lindsey dressed up as a Running Elvi and got pics taken with the other Elvi’s running the marathon.

Sunday morning was marathon day and it was freezing! Temps were in the mid 30s, which is low for Las Vegas’ average this time of year. Many of the 27,000 runners didn’t know what to do with such cold weather, most camping out inside Mandalay Bay’s hallways until the last minute.  The race was very well organized with plenty of porta-potties and signs for bag drop off locations and starting corral points. After the National Anthem followed by some fireworks, the race kicked off with great music and lots of enthusiastic runners.   Evidently I missed the skydivers prior to the race. When passing the starting line, there was a Blues Brothers band performing above the starting line and Vegas showgirls on the sides next to Bengal tigers in cages.

I’m so glad I had my Garmin Forerunner GPS watch to help keep me on track throughout the run.  I noticed my pace after the first mile was 12:23/mile, so I knew I had to pick it up after that. I think I was distracted by the bands, the spectators, and the general slowness from runners coming out of the gate.

After we passed the Welcome to Las Vegas Sign going south and turned around to head north up the Strip, the view of Vegas was breathtaking. I’ve never seen it from that far away.  After that first mile, I picked up my pace and kept an average 12:00/mile pace for most the run.  The Strip was amazing, and never a dull moment.  I paced with a Running Elvi for the first 5 miles!  It seemed to go by so fast with so many distractions like the awesome view of the hotels, the live TV coverage on the jumbotrons, the Running Elvi occasionally passing by and the bands performing every other mile throughout the run.  I’m tellin ya, Rock n Roll Marathons are the only way to go!  After passing the Stratosphere, the Strip got interesting, since that’s the more rundown part of Vegas.  There were funny marquee signs like “Spend your stimulus here: $10 lap dances” and even the ma and pa bar owners were up early handing out cups of beer midway through the run.

When I turned around to head back south on the Strip towards the finish line,  I wasn’t feeling any pain at all, and my pace was increasing at around 11:53/mile.  I took a risk and started picking up the pace a bit more.  I guess I overtrained for the half, especially since I ran the equivalent of 6 half-marathons leading up to this one.  Towards the end, I went even faster, eventually ending with a 11:47/mile pace and a time of 2:36–my best run ever.  You can see the exact path of the half marathon run here, since my watched captured the points via GPS and embeded them on a Google map.

After a nice cool down, the four of us went back to our hotels, cleaned up and met at the Wynn Hotel for The Buffet. We were starving, and we piled it on.  After that, Steve and Kelly had to catch a flight back to Chicago.

Lindsey and I stayed until the last possible hour Wednesday night.  During that time, we played a few games at several casinos, mostly roulette, slots and blackjack. Other things:

• We ate chicken wings and beer for breakfast at Hooters Casino
• Watched Holly Madison (The Girls Next Door fame) as Bo Peep in Peepshow at Planet Hollywood,
• Sat in on a timeshare presentation at the Westgate Towers for  tickets to the Blue Man Group at The Venetian
• Walked through the brand new $8.5 billion CityCenter
• Shopped in Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops
• Ate like royalty at the Rio’s Carnival Buffet
• Spent holiday time in old Vegas at the Golden Nugget and saw the refurbished Silver Slipper neon sign
• Caught the Freemont Street Experience
• …and ate a lot of great food in between.

We spent our last day at the Welcome to Las Vegas Sign taking tons of day and evening pictures before playing a final round of roulette at the MGM Grand, breaking even, cashing out and getting the hell out of town.

BONUS PICS:
My best friends want to see the ridiculous Las Vegas Sign pictures that didn’t make the cut. So here they are. No matter what, I did get the perfect picture!

Most Memorable: Spending time at the Las Vegas Sign.
Best Quote: “Cowboys on the left, runners on the right.”
Funniest Observation: How Steve keeps wanting to hand feed Kelly after everyone’s finished eating.
Biggest Regret: Spending $45 on Gelato. We were duped at the counter!
Best Deal: $15 seats at Blue Man Group after sitting through some timeshare presentation.
Best Food: Rio’s Carnival Buffet
Biggest Letdown: The old animatronics at Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops.  I think the lasers quit working entirely and the robots’ masks were starting to fall off.
Moment of Zen: Holly Madison and Feather Boas at Peepshow
Wisha Woulda Coulda: Met some Twitter/social media peeps while we were there (like @VegasBill, @VegasKate, @24k or @phVegas)

And the geek in me had a blast playing FourSquare on my iPhone! FourSquare is a program where you check in to local hotspots and gain points and badges for the places you travel.  Looking back, I’m really glad I took the time to mark every spot I was at, because it helps with the memories! I had so much fun, I became the top player in all of Vegas and become the mayor of MGM Grand, Harrah’s,  the Las Vegas Monorail and The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign. (Being the mayor means you’ve been there more than anyone else).

Ok ok, now my best friends in the world want to see the ridiculous pictures that didn’t make the cut…so alright. Fine. Friends always win.  Here they are. Feels good to laugh at myself, because no matter what, I can walk away with the one picture that worked perfectly!  I also added some from Lindsey, too:

So much fun. I’m going to submit my best picture to LasVegasSignPhotos.com. It’s better than most I’ve seen on that web site so far.  And wouldn’t you know it, an Elvis showed up with a Pink Cadillac and got his pics, too. So Vegas.