The Pub is an amazing place. There has not been a place I know of before this where I have been as comfortable.

Now I know I’m not completely out of my mind.

Now I am so completely confuzzled.

So my main goal in my time off work, besides finding a new job, is to get other aspects of my life back on track. I’ve started the process of cleaning/clearing my room. Cosmetically, it’s a lot better, but I’m also going through and throwing out a lot of old clutter. I’ve already thrown out a good portion of old paperwork and broken toys. The next step is to go through my closet to throw out broken/old stuff, and get rid of old clothing. Hello Goodwill!

The other aspect I’ve been working on is my physical health. I had been aware of how out of shape I had been getting since quitting Babies R’ Us, but I’ve become disgusted with how bad it has been lately. So much of my muscle mass has gone away, and I’ve got a nice ring of fat around the midsection. I’ve almost always been a physically active person, but it’s pathetic how I get winded doing anything out of the ordinary now. Snowboarding I’m fine with, but running and biking take too large a toll on me.

It shouldn’t have taken me this long to be motivated about it, but so it goes. My current plan is to do a 30 minute workout every other night. The main target of this is about 5 sets of ten crunches, ten sit-ups, and 15 push-ups. These are done in fairly quick fashion and then interjected with various body exercises using 15 pound dumbbells; calf raises, lunges, bicep curls, back rows, shoulder lifts and presses, squats, and shoulder shrugs.  Along with a 1.5 mile run three to four times a week I’m hoping that I’ll at least get to the point where thinking about physical activity doesn’t tire me. I’ve also gained a small increase in flexibility from starting to stretch nightly.

I don’t expect this to get me in shape, but hopefully it gets me to the next stage quickly. What is the next stage? An extended version of that workout (hopefully at the gym), and more sports as well as mountain biking. Provided I get a job with a regular schedule none of this should be hard to keep up with either. If anyone is looking for a workout or track partner I’d be down for either. It’s hard to push myself when I’m by myself.

The UEFA Euro Cup 2008 starts on June 21 and should be a fairly interesting tournament. Two years ago Greece shocked everyone by winning, and look to be strong again coming out of the group stages with the most points. Though probably from one of the weakest qualifying groups. England performed horribly and didn’t even qualify, losing out to an impressive Russian side. Despite their recent coaching changes they should’ve been able to advance. Other than that the groups played out much as expected leaving a good draw for the final tournament. Special notice should be given to Scotland, barely losing to France for the last spot. Anyway, here are my predictions for the tournament.

Group A
Portugal and Czech Republic. Both are strong teams compared to the rest of the group and it will be a close race for top of the group, but I’m going with Portugal based on Christiano’s amazing form this season.

Group B
Croatia and Germany. Croatia are tops in this group with Germany coming through based only on their talent. They had a lacklustre run to the tournament.

Group C
Such a tough choice for this tourney’s “Group of Death”. Ideally I’d like Netherlands and France to advance, but Italy is the strongest side (especially having won the World Cup), and have a slightly easier schedule by getting to play Romania first. Romania will be the spoiler here. Holland is still young, and France barely made it through. I’ll have to go with Italy and Holland realistically.

Group D
Spain and Greece. I wanted to say Sweden originally, but they never seem to come good in international play despite having a lot of talent. Greece had a strong run and are looking to prove themselves better than just “lucky” from last time around.

Overall, things will probably play out different depending on first and second within the groups, even if all my picks do advance. We’ll see Germany vs. Portugal and Italy vs. Spain in the semi-finals. This is somewhat wishful thinking on my part as I would love to see Spain or Portugal win. Along with the Netherlands, they play a very attractive brand of football. Overall, somewhat realistic pick is Spain. The team I’m rooting for will be Holland, and the disappointing truth is that Italy might take it all again.

Lastly, there is a free fantasy league on the Euro Cup site. I’ve put in my selection of “Swing FC”. Anchoring the net I have Edwin Van Der Sar. Holding the middle back there is William Gallas and Fabio Cannavaro (I may hate Italy, but they do have some great players.) On their flanks are Per Mertesacker and Phillip Lahm. In the mid-field, Deco and Genaro Gattuso hold the middle with Christiano Ronaldo and Arjen Robben on the wings. Up front I have Fernando Torres paired with Robin Van Persie, and an extra in Marcus Rosenberg. As a fantasy team there is a good holding mid-field and defense, with a ton of attacking power on the wings. The drawbacks are a young front line without much power in the air. The offensive minded wings could leave things open to the counter-attack, but for the league it’s all about minutes and goals!

Back in November I looked at my bank account and had a panic attack. I had taken nearly a year off from working, went on a vacation to Europe, and now was looking at being completely broke. Almost any criteria I had while job hunting was thrown out the window. Surfing Monster.com and clicking “Apply Now!” to anything remotely topical my body was tearing itself apart inside. Read more