Pregame

Good morning everyone.  If I had my choice of content today, I would currently be typing my Wild Card Weekend playoff predictions in this spot - I know that it is my blog and that I can pretty much do whatever I want here, but I have been releasing my picks on Fridays, and it doesn't make sense to do them too early.  Between now and Friday things could change - players could get injured in practice, or other unexpected things of that nature could happen.  I could almost equate this to the race for the Republican presidential nomination.  Earlier this morning Michele Bachmann dropped out of the race.  It wasn't too long ago that Herman Cain withdrew his name from consideration.  It almost makes me glad that I haven't been following the pregame too closely to this point.  The Iowa Caucus took place yesterday, so now it's time to really start paying attention to what is happening regarding that nomination.  Since I am not going to be making my football picks until Friday, and there is really no other single topic that I feel motivated to write about today, I will spend a little time discussing my own pregame, as it relates to 2012.  In a recent post I stated that my resolution for the new year is to trust my reads, and that still holds true.  Look at a situation, make a decision, go with it, and have no regrets - 'trust my reads'.  One of the decisions waiting to be made for a while here is when and if I will move back to Las Vegas.  If you haven't figured it out by now, that is one of the reasons that I have been making the sports predictions here.  This blog provides me with a permanent record of my performance predicting the outcome of sporting events.  If I were to forecast the outcome of 100 football games, and my record was 1-99, there obviously wouldn't be much of a reason for leaving San Marcos, America.  I also like the social aspect of Las Vegas - people, people, everywhere...  The biggest roadblock to making the move back to the valley right now is the economy.  A few days ago I spoke with someone who lives just outside of Las Vegas, and when I casually brought up the subject of the economy, he rolled his eyes and said, "yeah, it's bad."  Moving back to the desert without a job or a sufficient bankroll would not be the wisest move to make.  Getting into the shape that I want to be in is another area where I am in a personal 'pregame'.  I have lost weight before, so the ability to achieve this goal is without question in my mind.  Getting into the right mindset to accomplish this is where I am at right now.  As you may know, losing weight requires a combination of changing your eating habits and exercising more - it basically boils down to self-discipline.  For me personally, pasta and bread are inevitably the habits that have to be changed...  :)  It's funny today, because one drawback of being out of shape is that I am more inclined to just stay around my apartment.  The DOMINANCE of absolutely boring television programming right now is making me want to get out and do something...  San Marcos, America is in its own state of pregame at the moment, being the college town that it is.  The dorms will reopen for the Spring Semester in about a week, with the first day of classes taking place in about two weeks.  San Marcos, America is just a completely different place with the population infusion that occurs when school is in session.  If you ask any longtime local resident, this surge of humanity that occurs takes its own sort of mental preparation to get used to.  Of course this little blog is in a CONSTANT state of pregame if you have been following along.  In the near future you will be seeing a slew of NFL playoff predictions, NCAA basketball tournament predictions, Major League Baseball regular season predictions, NBA playoff predictions, etc...  I will also be skimming the headlines and watching the news in search of interesting topics to write about for the blog.  If you didn't read my entry on Monday, I am now going to be making entries here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in 2012.  This will give me a few extra hours each week for 'marketing' the blog, and I will still sometimes make the random Tuesday or Thursday entry here for special projects.  I hope that all of your plans for 2012 are successfully coming together, and I will see you here on Friday for the first round of this season's NFL playoff predictions.  Have a good one!