Well, many of you know that my desktop system crashed last year, and I've been using my laptop ever since. (I couldn't really psych myself up to getting the hard drive replaced on a system that was quite outdated anyway.) Unfortunately, about a week ago my laptop crashed too, so I was totally computerless.

Now, I've been a fan of Gateway computers for a long time, but there's just no way I'm going to buy another Gateway. This si the third time I've had a hard drive crash on me, and it has always been when said drive has been about three years old. Call me silly, but I would like a little more longevity out of my computer systems. So yesterday I called Dell up and ordered their darn-near top-of-the-line desktop system. (I can't believe how cheap they are now!) I'm getting a Pentium 4 with all sorts of whiz-bang bells and whistles, with a three year warranty (which means that this hard drive will last 3.5 years.) I should get it in about a week. I am psyched. Zoom Pow. I will have a system that flies. Hah!

I am getting numerous comments from various people about how much I have transformed by body. I have lost 35 pounds since last September. I wear a size 8 now. I have defined abdominals (at least the upper section--still working on the lower.) I am feeling much more confident of my ability to be ready for this contest. I still have more bodyfat to lose, but I'm basically at the weight I want to be at.

I'm starting to get my music together for my routine. I've tentatively decided to start out with Godsmack's "Awake", then perhaps segue into Disturbed's "Voices" with maybe a little bit of Limp Bizkit's "Rollin'" thrown in there. The routine is 2 minutes long, so I can't have too many music changes, but I also don't want the same stuff playing the whole time. Luckily there's a guy on my team who does music-mixing, who said he would help me get my tape together.

I'm also going to break down and get help from a choreographer for arts of my routine. I can figure out some of it, but I'm not really artistic enough (in that way) to make it all look good, especially since I'm not a real strong dancer and I don't do gymnastics. (I was practicing my cartwheels in the karate room at the gym the other day. It was Amusing.)

I don't expect to win this contest. I've watched the tapes of last year's and I figure that my goal is to look like I belong there. I figure I've already won in that I've trimmed down and toned up and attained the bod that I wanted.

However, next year, I'm going to go for the win. ;-)