Just before leaving for the summer my roommate (well, now ex-roommate) asked me what I wanted to accomplish this summer. At the time I didn't have an answer beyond a flippant, "sleep 12 hours a day and watch a lot of movies." But I'm glad he asked the question, because it got the thought in my head that I should try to accomplish something meaningful this summer, even as I try to decompress from a busy year and prepare for a busier one. So today I decided.

25 pounds.

That's right, by the end of the summer I want to weigh 25 pounds. No no, 25 pounds less, that's it.

It's an ambitious goal, but the last time I had a really strong run in the gym, I lost 21 pounds from Labor Day to Thanksgiving 2003. There's no reason I can't duplicate it.

I haven't lost any pounds so far this summer, but I have been to the gym 8 of the past 9 days, and I know I'm starting to make progress because I noticed today that I'm starting to have biceps again. So that means I've exchanged at least a little bit of fat back into muscle. This is important, especially because the winter semester was bad for me; after the first month, I never made it back to the gym at all.

My final result for 1L year? I broke exactly even; I lost 10 pounds in the first month, and then spent the rest of the school year putting it back on. Considering the availability of buffet-style food all year, that's OK. But now it's time to get back to work...