GameDevMike

Some time between now and the New Year, I’m going to upgrade the blog software here and install a new theme. I doubt I’ll do any programming between now and then, so I don’t expect the post frequency to pick up too much until then either. I’m so pumped on exercise and staying out of the house right now that I don’t feel comfortable at all sitting at the computer for more than an hour or two in a day. Some days, I don’t even power up. It wasn’t so long ago that I couldn’t stand being away from the keyboard for more than a couple of hours.

A huge part of the motivation is that all of the exercise is paying off. I’m not strictly dieting yet, but in the past two months I’ve lost 8 kilograms (a little less than 18 pounds). My diet over the past few years hasn’t been too bad, really. Much better than it would have been if I were back home in the States. The biggest problem has been the sedentary lifestyle. My obsession with game development and all of the peripheral internet activities has really had an adverse impact on my health. When I quit smoking over three years ago, that was a step in the right direction but it wasn’t enough.

In early November, I resumed my regular visits to a local gym several times a week — something I had started in September before slacking off in October. I also started hiking twice a week at a couple of mountains outside of Seoul. I had to stop the hiking trips recently because I took on some new English classes (something else I was reluctant to before, for fear of losing too much time away from the computer), but the combination of the gym workouts plus the hikes caused me to lose 6kg in November.

Now that the hiking trips aren’t doable, I’ve taken to walking long distances to get to my classes rather than take public transportation. I usually take a bus to some point a few kilometers from my destination and take off on foot at a brisk pace. Doing this five days a week is no substitute for the workout I was getting on those mountains, but it’s better than nothing. I’ve also increased the number of days I go to the gym each week. Where before I was going 3 or 4 days, I now go 5 or 6.

In addition to the weight loss, I’m sleeping better than I have in years. I can run up several flights of stairs without being winded. I’m also saving money on taxi fare for relatively short trips to get some take out or hit a supermarket. There are a few negatives, too. My wedding ring is too big for my finger now. My shirts are starting to sag, my belt is two notches too big and my pants are all falling down. This all means I’ll have to get my ring resized and drop some cash on some new clothes, but it’s well worth it.

The biggest positive is my attitude. I feel ten years younger. I had become a bit of a recluse over the past few years while all of my friends gradually left Korea to head back to their home countries. Once upon a time, I was a very social, very outgoing person. I guess I’ve never really lost the outgoing bit, as you need to be outgoing to be an effective English instructor in Korea. But I just haven’t hung out with people because I saw it as counterproductive. Now, I’m out and about, meeting people again and loving every minute of it.

So, I’m really in no hurry to get back to my computer or my game development. But the desire to make games is still there. It’s just going to have to wait a while.