I walked into the gym when they unlocked the doors on Sunday, January 31, 2023 at 7am. I was hyped to see so few people there, which was also not surprising since it was the last day of the year, Sunday and very cold. I’m not usually there on a Sundays so I didn’t know for sure what the crowd would be. Normally Monday through Saturday there’s a small group of people (of which I am a part) who stand outside the door no matter the weather, eagerly awaiting the unlocking of our beloved gym’s door. But on this day, there was no group. In fact, there was only about 1/4 of the number of people I’m used to at that time.

I was glad because I was starting my new workout program and I’d need to hog one of the power racks for a bit. I’m doing my usual Monday workout on Sunday so I could take Monday off and I like to start my week by hitting legs. The day’s workout would consist of barbell back squats, barbell deadlifts, some walking lunges, some bosu-ball crunches and slow-and-low cardio.

What I was not prepared for, however, was how the people in the gym (few in number though they may have been) seemed to be there to hit legs! This surprised me at first since hitting legs is something your typical gym bro usually conveniently skips in favor of another chest day or hitting arms for the 10th time in a week. I recognized everyone, though, and knew that they were all there for the same reason I was there — to get in a good leg day session on one of the awesome power racks before the New Year, New Me crowd mosh pits up in there on Monday.

I saw a thing recently that asked how January 1 was going to be “Next month, next year and next Monday” all at the same time. It’s basically the resolution-setter’s wet dream. Well, I’m neither a start January 1 person nor a start Monday person. These things are just going indefinitely forevermore. But as you know, I’m always keeping track, so here’s the year-end track-keeping as well as a few plot points for the new year:

Goals I Accomplished in 2023:

Dad Bod 2.0, Evil Las Vegas, The Spirit Returns & Tithemi

I designed and completed four full workout programs this year, all with the goal of staying lean and retaining as much muscle mass as I could. My workouts were great and I think The Spirit Returns was the only one I was starting to get tired of. As of this week, I finished the eighth and final week of Tithemi so I’m in the perfect position to start the new program – more info on that below.

Read 10 Books … No, Make It 12 … No, Make It 15

I started this year with a goal of reading 10 books – a goal I reached by August. I then set my goal to 12 and I hit that later the same month. I then made my goal 15 and I hit that goal in November. Ultimately, I read 16 books in 2023, my favorites notated with an asterisk:

• The Greatest: My Own Story by Muhammad Ali*
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl*
• Smash! Green Day, the Offspring, Bad Religion, NOFX, and the ‘90s Punk Explosion by Ian Winwood*
• The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury* 
• Miles by Miles Davis
• The Vanishing Hitchhiker by Jan Harold Brunvand
• Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance by Christopher McDougall
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M. Pirsig* (Now one of my favorite books of all time)
• Coach to Coach: An Empowering Story About How to Be a Great Leader by Martin Rooney
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu 
• Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone by Marky Ramone
• The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
• The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy
• Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt*

225 By 39

 I’m giving myself this one. This was a goal that shifted as the year went on and I ultimately landed on a goal of being as close to 225 pounds as possible by age 39. It’s no excuse, but trying to stay on track during the time of year where my birthday falls is difficult. I did a great job, though, and am very happy that on my 39th birthday, I woke up at 226.5lbs.

List on the Other Page

The planner I used this year broke my year up into three-month intervals which was great for setting timely goals and doing regular check-ins. One of the things I did with my planner this year was write out a list of household chores that I needed to handle. These lists were usually on the opposite page of my three-month check-in, therefore called the List on the Other Page. Some of those completed items this year include:

• Installing a new faucet on Katie’s sink
• Building and installing a new shower rack
• Replacing the water valve under Katie’s sink
• Replacing the rotten boards on back deck
• Installing lattice across front porch
• Building and seasoning two new grills
• Hauling off old barrel-style grill
• Building structure to hold new bistro lighting on back deck
• Hanging those bistro lights
• Installing new handle and lock on front door
• Replacing camera on the driveway
• Installing new ceiling fan in the bedroom

Green Day: Nimrod

This was the only guitar project that I saw through completion this year. Green Day’s album “Nimrod” has 18 songs and I learned how to play all 18 on guitar and vocals (to be fair, I already knew all the words). 

Ongoing Goals From 2023:

Get Blood Pressure in Order

To be honest, I haven’t checked my blood pressure in several weeks. I’m still maintaining my workouts, though, and following a diet that is low in saturated fat and high in whole grains. This has proven to lower my blood pressure and my cholesterol. I plan to maintain this. I’m also changing primary care physicians and intend to start seeing a new guy who specializes in working with people with shitty hearts. I’m hoping to get a referral from him to a good cardiologist as well just so I can keep a closer eye on this ticker.

Regular Blogging

This was one of the best years I’ve had in the blog in quite some time. I published 33 blog posts! I can’t count the post you’re reading (technically) but I published 11 monthly check-ins, wrote in-depth reviews of 11 different records that changed my taste in music, did my annual 5-5-5 post trilogy outlining my favorite music of the year, had a pity party about not being a trainer anymore, expressed my frustration over losing respect for a musician I have loved over half of my life, wrote 22 things I’ve changed my mind about, wrote my annual birthday post, described my bacon-making process, wrote a new Paps essay, celebrated a local high school’s senior prank, and added another post to my Conversations series. That’s all in addition to the other writing I’m doing that I haven’t even shared yet! I like it. I’m hoping to hit 40 posts next year.

Continue Learning Italian

I’m loving learning Italian. At the time of this writing, my streak is at 57 days. Our Italy trip is just a few months away and while I don’t see myself having a fluent, friendly conversation with anyone in Italian, I’ll at least be able to let someone know the bee is in the sugar.

Clean Eating

Already touched on this a bit but my nutrition has been pretty on point this year and I plan to keep it going in the new year. In fact, I’m shifting more toward a bodybuilding-style nutrition plan that involves macro ratios and carb timing. Our nutrition is getting more and more “clean” as our garden grows, of course, and this coming year is going to be our best garden year yet.

Daily Music

Every day that I haven’t been on vacation, I have played either guitar or drums for at least a few minutes. Katie got me a banjo for Christmas so I’ve been doing exercises daily as I try to learn how to use the finger picks and hold the new instrument. Lately, thanks to Duolingo, I’ve been able to take my music playing on the road as I proceed through their music course, which is teaching me both how to read music and how to play it on piano, yet another instrument I’ve been wanting to learn!

Saturday Night Grindhouse Project

At the time of this writing, my manuscript has cleared its second pass with my editor so it’s almost go time! My next step is figure out the necessary formatting requirements for print and for e-readers, then work with a cover designer while I finish the formatting. At that point, it will be time to publish, print and promote! I can’t believe we’re at this point!

Goals I Gave Up in 2023:

30 Pounds Lost

I had a goal at the first of the year to be down to about 200 pounds. It didn’t take long, however, before I realized that was a stupid goal, so I dropped it. I have taught people for YEARS that your bodyweight is not your metric of success and is definitely not an accurate representation of how well you’re doing on your program. In fact, it can be quite misleading. So I decided that I didn’t care if I lost 30 pounds. As long as my body weight felt like it was under control and my body composition was changing, my weight could happily be whatever it decided to be.

Warning

“Warning” was Green Day’s followup to “Nimrod,” so it only made sense that after I finished the “Nimrod” project that I would take on “Warning.” So I did, but I floundered after learning six of the album’s 12 songs. It’s a great record, I just got distracted and decided to pursue other projects. Regardless, Blood, Sex and Booze, Church on Sunday, Fashion Victim and Misery are all on my regular rotation while I’m playing my favorite Green Day tunes.

New Goals for 2024

Dreams

I’ve mentioned before how I feel like I’ve gotten so caught up in maintaining homeostasis that I’ve lost the ability to dream. I think a lot of this has grown out of my weird identity crisis I’ve suffered this year and just generally not knowing what to do moving forward. There are some other things I’m hoping to get some professional help with this year and I’m hoping that the process will allow me to relearn how to have life dreams again.

Four Dinner Parties

Our dinner parties this year were all big hits! As we finished our Christmas dinner with Pops and the local family, we sat in the living room, exhausted, and discussing what a raging success it was. Katie and I love entertaining together and seeing how everyone reacts to our food and the home we’re so proud of. I’m going to be a barbecue fiend in 2024 so I’m hoping to have several informal cookouts and dinners but also a few specialized, themed dinner parties. I already have two that I’m planning that have been goals of mine for years so brace yourself for an invite.

Folk Punk, Photography and Other Art

Late in the year I got back into Folk Punk and even wrote a song of my own. I’m still feeling particularly inspired by this genre and now that I’ve added a banjo to my arsenal, I’m looking forward to writing more songs about family, the government and showing my middle finger to “high society.” I’m also planning to take my DSLR to Italy and will be looking for all the inspiration I need to revive my photography hobby.

Barbecue

I have a wishlist of things I hope to throw down on the grill this year:

• 3-2-1 Ribs with a Fruit-Based BBQ Sauce
• Kailua-Style Pulled Pork
• Smoked Brisket
• Three Types of Bacon
• Burnt Ends
• Venison Sausage
• Lamb Chops
• Smoked Meatloaf
• Duck
• Tomahawk Ribeyes (again)

Write My Second Book

With the Grindhouse project nearing completion, I’m going to start focusing my time on my second book: a collection of essays I’ve written over the years and will continue to write as book exclusives. After that, I’m flirting with the idea of getting back into horror fiction but we’ll see. One project at a time!

Read 15 Books

With 16 books under my belt this year, I figure 15 is a good place to start for the new year, fully expecting to surpass it. I’ve added a great number of books to my list for the year thanks to the many generous Christmas gifts from my family so there’s no shortage of books in the house!

13% BF by 40

Remember when I said goal weights were stupid? Well, goal body compositions aren’t. At the time of this writing, I have survived Halloween, Thanksgiving, Katie’s birthday, my birthday and not one, not two but THREE family Christmas dinners … and I’m sitting at 18.1% body fat. My goal for December 9, 2024 is to be 13% body fat.

Write & Record 5 Songs

I’ve not exactly been a songwriting tour de force but the fact that I have written two songs since I’ve been with Katie is a testament to where I am creatively. I was afraid I had lost that for a while and it feels so good to have it back! I’ve already written and recorded Fish Tacos (music video and all) and I hope to record Not Strong soon. Not counting these two songs, I want to write and record at least five new songs this year. I already have a “well enough” setup in my studio to do this but I’m considering investing in a four-track recorder to make some demos. And by demos I mean finals in punk rock terms.

Rad Things From December:

In December I gave Katie a super-fun Birthday Week with a variety of goofball gifts then celebrated her birthday proper with dinner and friends at Brazieros, a Brazilian steakhouse that happens to be one of our favorite places in town. Before dinner we discovered a fun little wine bar in Farragut called Sparrow and proceeded to tour the next door cheese store with a slight wine buzz. On my birthday (the next day), we had monstrous chicken biscuits paired with mimosas served in Mason jars at Maple Street Biscuit Company, walked the festive streets of Downtown Gatlinburg and had a slice of pizza the size of my head for dinner at Slice Pizza Bakery. We baked Christmas cookies (chocolate-covered cherry, chai snickerdoodle and white chocolate pistachio) then celebrated Christmas together a full 11 days early. Katie got me a banjo (among other things) and I have played it every day we’ve been home. We spent a couple of days in Kingsport to do holiday festivities with my family, which included eating the worst potato salad on the planet at Macado’s (though the fish sandwich was one of the best I’ve had in a while), eating smoked bologna with my breakfast at Pratt’s, present opening at the house, mom’s chicken wings and potato skins for dinner then introducing Katie to Pal’s Cheddar Rounds the next morning. A couple of days later, we traveled to Charleston where we enjoyed a variety of my MIL’s dynamite homemade treats including venison stew, cheesecake shooters, grilled NY Strips, crème brûlée, crème brûlée fudge, sausage-egg-and-cheese breakfast casserole, mom’s famous ham-and-cheese crepes with egg gravy and hashbrown casserole. We did a fun spirits tasting at Firefly distillery and while I don’t remember the names of all the restaurants we visited, I had dynamite seared scallops, fresh oysters on the half shell, baked Alaska, a buttery shrimp roll and an oatmeal cookie ice cream sandwich. I enjoyed a rad rum cocktail called “The Greatest” at the Burgundy Lounge in the Starlight Motor Inn, a spot that was once frequented by the likes of Little Richard and Muhammad Ali. We also had awesome sour ales at a microbrewery called the Frothy Beard (yes, I took a picture with the sign). Katie and I tag-teamed an apple cake for a Christmas get-together where both the fare and the family were delightfully Greek, then made some homemade deep-fried chicken and all the fixins for Christmas dinner with Pops and the local family. I also decided to make my own individually portioned Baked Alaskas because of course I did. Finally, we wrapped up the year by going on a 3.5-mile hike. Honestly, I think that’s enough. 

As the new year begins, I have my sights set on making it a year full of “Welp, I never thought I’d ever do THAT!” and I can’t wait to share all those things with you.

Ever onward,

-JS