Chrispian H. Burks

I like to finish stuff. I’m probably not alone in this. I may be on the odd side when it comes to how much it eats at me when I have things looming in the distance that need to be dealt with. No matter the reason they can’t be done now, a long to do list can be crippling.

That comes with the territory as a web developer though. Websites are never done. I’m not saying they should be. They have to be maintained. They need updating and upgrading and constant attention. I’m not talking about a little info site that you never have to update. I’m talking about a real site with moving parts. It’s a good thing, but it almost feels like websites are haunting me.

It’s that way with just about any project though. You may have finished that bit of php code for a client six months ago, but they may need updates or tweaks, or they accidently break something. These are all part of it too. Of course you can turn them away, but I’m not complaining about that. Working with clients is fun, I just don’t do it often since I work full time.

It’s just that this line of work tends to stretch on and on. I can see why some developers change jobs often. It’s not because of pay or co-workers. It’s because their bored and burned out. Not of the work, but of these set of projects. Sometimes, you’d just rather work on anything but what you’ve been doing.

I know not everyone is this way, it’s just something I’ve realized about myself lately. One of the ways I keep myself from going crazy is taking a few days off now and then to recharge. More than anything though, it’s important for me to have a hobby or personal project that I’m passionate about. I love my work and I’m extremely passionate about it. I know it’s not rocket science or saving lives, but it’s meaningful work for me and that’s all I need. But I like to try new things and solve new problems. I need to finish things and move on to something new sometimes.

If you haven’t ever played Disc Golf, I highly recommend it. My friend Chris from work introduced me to it and we’ve gone and played 4 or 5 times now and it’s a blast. There’s a course near where I live on Monte Sano Mountain. The trees get in the way a good bit, but the extra challenge is kinda fun.

It’s also a big course and a pretty rough course. I twisted my knee a little bit. It’s a pretty decent way to get a workout in on such an awesome day. There are some bluffs near one of the holes and it’s just an amazing view. It was very cool today and low humidity, at least it felt that way to me. The sky was perfectly blue with just a few clouds. We sat and enjoyed the view for a few minutes before getting back on the course and we got to see some, what we think are hawks, flying around near is. Erin got some killer shots of the sunset on the way home.

Nothing like some fresh air to recharge the batteries.

A little over 10 years ago, my mom passed away. She was young, but not in great shape. She was pretty heavy and smoked heavily. She had an aneurism while baking a cake for me, on my Birthday. The doctor said her weight and smoking were very likely factors. This was a wake up call for me. And the beginning of some of the darkest years of my life, but that’s another story.

Her passing got me thinking about my health, and the things the doctor said really stuck with me. I didn’t smoke, but I was getting pretty round myself. Largely due to sitting at the computer for 18+ hours a day when I was just getting into this business and from very bad eating habits. I was young and broke and almost everything cheap, fast and easy is also extremely unhealthy. I knew this, but I was young! I could eat whatever I wanted, right?

Well, sitting all day really kills your metabolism. I slowly put on weight. I’m almost 5’10 or maybe a little over and I got up to 240 pounds. I started working out and eating better and lost 50 pounds. I took me several months, but it was great. Then Erin got sick, followed by my step mom and then I got sick too. I got sidelined for almost 4 years. I kept off 40 of the 50 pounds, but struggled endlessly with that 10 while I was going through all that.

Things finally improved a year or so ago, everyone is healthy, but I was just worn out. It took some time to heal from all that. I guess I still am. But the last few months have been great. It’s going to take some time to really get back to my old self in more ways than one but I’m happy with the progress. By my next weigh in, this coming Monday, I’ll have lost 60+ pounds total. That means I have about 20 more to go. My goal is to get down to 160. If that’s good for my body, then I’ll stick there. If not, I may push for another 10. The weight isn’t as important as body fat, which I have no clue how to measure, other than looking in the mirror. When that says I’m done, I’m done. The scale is just my guide.

One thing about having been heavy and then losing the weight is you get people asking how you did it. I love this question. I really do like helping people, but this is one answer nobody really wants to hear. They don’t want to hear that there was no top secret diet that I found. Everyone knows how to lose weight: Eat less than your body needs, eat healthy and exercise.

Some people say losing weight is hard. Getting started is tough, I admit. But losing weight isn’t that hard. Keeping it off is the real killer. Most people who lose weight put it back on. So many studies have been done that show a vast majority can’t keep the weight off. I managed to keep off most of the weight I lost the first round, and other than some stumbling getting started again this time, I’ve been keeping it off again. I won’t be gaining it back either.

I don’t care how heavy or light other people are either. I just care how heavy or light I am. And I plan on being much lighter when my next Birthday rolls around. For my myself, and my Mom. I know she’d be proud. I’m sure Erin won’t mind much either.

Today was just one of those days. Nothing went right. Nothing worked. Every line of code gave me problems. Everyone got on my nerves. It was just a relentless day. Bad from go. The kind of day that makes you want to pack up and just move. I’m already starting over from scratch with my sites. I might as well get a fresh start in life, too. Sadly, that just doesn’t happen.

I already know the one and only thing that’s going to help. Reset. Sleep. This is that kind of thing that takes hold and just doesn’t let go. It did give me a good workout. Sometimes I can sweat my way out of a funk. This one would have none of it.

I even Googled some tips on how to get out of a bad mood. The search results pissed me off. Half cocked content farm articles with someone writing for money on a subject they have absolutely no knowledge of. You know it’s a bad day when you take it out on search results.

I already know there’s nothing for it, save sleep. So I’m going to knock out some work, begrudgingly, and then crash early. See if we can’t start tomorrow off a little better. Although with almost no water pressure, it’s already looking grim.

I remember a time not so long ago that I used to laugh at people who said they didn’t have time. I’ve always viewed having time for something as a choice. Want to read a book? Then don’t want TV. Want to lose weight? Workout instead of reading a book. You get the idea.

But these days there just aren’t enough hours in the day. I have way more to get done than I can possibly do in a day. I try to sleep 7 to 7.5 hours a day. I’d actually like to sleep just a little more, maybe 8 to 8.5 hours. Everyone needs a different amount of sleep and I’m trying to find what’s good for me. I work from 8-4 and skip lunch so I can leave early. So I can work out. I plan to workout almost every day for at least 1.5 hours. 1 hour to work out then cool down and shower. I usually do chores while cooling down. Then I have to get some dinner and I spend that time with my wife Erin.

Then it’s time to work on a few side projects of my own, client work or helping friends etc. I can basically work from 7-11. Though I don’t like to work the entire night I’m going to have to, at least for a few more weeks.

Luckily, this crazy schedule is temporary. Once I get a couple of things off my plate I won’t be taking on anything new and will be able to spend some time on myself. I’ve already cut cable out of my life and have no plans to ever get it again. I’d much rather start reading a book or two a month and getting some quality time in with my camera and maybe even some xbox 360.

I have a plan for the next 2-3 years that will require some hard work. As long as I can make certain things happen, and I think I can, then I should be able to create a better schedule for myself, have a healthier lifestyle (mentally and physically) and make more money. I so want to see what that place will look like but I have to remember to not get in a hurry and to take my time.

Patrick and I were chatting and the subject came up of me starting over, basically from scratch, a blank slate. Back when I had all my sites before I often thought about scrapping them all and starting over, doing things right. Life threw me some curve balls that put me in that exact position.

There are pro’s and cons to both sides. There are advantages to having some sites already up and running with some traffic. That’s an asset when trying to launch more or grow a community. This is slow going enough as it is.

But I am excited about starting over. I’ve learned a great deal since last time and it’ll be nice to set things up better this time around. Though I’m not quite starting from complete scratch. I already have the most important piece of the puzzle: good friends. Starting over with new sites is exciting and brings all sorts of opportunities.

If you suddenly found yourself without any of your sites and you had the chance to start over from scratch, what would you do?