What does Drew listen to most?

Check it out. It’s not 100% accurate. I definitely excluded the music I have to learn to play for churches. Also, while most of my listening is reported to last.fm to track, some of it inevitably slips through the cracks. Also, it’s slightly biased to music I listen to while at work. But the gist is pretty solid. Enjoy. Continue reading →

An Open Question about Google+ and the Personality of Business

Photo via SEO Roundtable

Basically, here’ s the situation.

A client’s company has always been to an extent, “faceless.” No personal accounts of real people have ever been involved with company sites or company social media profiles. It’s always been the company’s policy to not have any faces and names associated. I’m not completely sure why other than the ease of dealing with shifting staff and turnover. Continue reading →

The 2011 Quotes

Well, I’m definitely way behind on posting these, but here they are, in their completely inappropriate glory. Well, some of them, anyway. About half didn’t stand the test of time or public decency. Names have been removed to protect the least innocent.

My sincere apologies to those offended.
Continue reading →

My 2012 Book Shelf

The 2012 Book List

In 2011, I don’t think I finished a single book completely. Maybe one or two. And as a former 5th grade Book-it! Champion, that just won’t do. So my goal this year is 12 books. One a month. Shouldn’t be very hard. So far I’m on schedule. Three books down, and I’m on schedule for April.

So, without much ado, here is my list of books that I intend to read in 2012. Enjoy.

  1. Fire in the Belly

    2. by Sam Keen.
    Finished in January. Amazing book.

  2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

    3. Finished in time to catch the movie premiere! Awesome as well.

  3. The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield.

    4. Finished a few days ago. Life-changing. Thank you Jordan Rippy.

  4. Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger.

    5. About a hundred pages in. Whiny and narcissistic so far.

  5. The Money Answers Book by Dave Ramsey.

  6. Crazy Love by Francis Chan.

  7. Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.

  8. All The King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren.

  9. Subversive Orthodoxy by  Robert Inchausti.

  10. Father Fiction by Donald Miller.

  11. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

  12. Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

    13. This is a re-read for me. Gotta keep the focus on getting out of debt.

How is your progress on your 2012 reading? Get on it! I’ve gotten so much out of sticking to my reading so far this year.

But you don’t have to take MY word for it!

Drew Allen did a Juice Fast.

It’s true.

I, Drew Allen, did not have a bit of solid food in my system from the evening of Jan. 2 (Thank you, Texas Roadhouse), until the evening of February 1st (Thank you, banana).

First of all, it was amazing, and rewarding. I can’t recommend it enough.

I lost 39 lbs. in 30 days, without any drugs, or starving myself, and getting more nutrients than my body has ever regularly had.

People often have a lot of questions about the juice fast and how it went, and what I did, etc.

I’ll address some of those here and now, but for those really interested, I recommend checking out the video blog I made throughout my fast here: youtube.com/drewplaysdrums.

OK, Are there any questions? Yes, you there.

What type of Juicer did you use and/or recommend?

Great Question. I initially purchased a Juiceman Juicer from Target. I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. The Juicer doesn’t seem to be built for daily use. It broke after a couple of weeks, and Target wouldn’t refund, exchange or help in any way at all. I love(d) Target, so I was pretty shocked by their complete lack of customer service. I still shop there sometimes, but I’ve lost that lovin’ feelin.

Then I purchased this juicer from Best Buy, and it worked like a charm the rest of the time. Seems much sturdier. $100 from Best Buy. Of course, if you have the means to get an even nicer one, feel free, but I’d still steer clear of Juiceman as a brand.

What recipes should I use?

I wish I had a better answer here. I don’t think I ever did the exact same thing twice in a row.

The important thing is that it’s more vegetables than fruit. I always went for around a 65/35 split.

Good vegetables that I recommend using are:

  • Kale
  • Spinach
  • Cucumber
  • Celery
  • Carrots
  • Beets (if you can stomach them)
  • Mint leaves
  • Watercress
You may try plum tomatoes too if you like tomatoes. I can’t handle tomato juice without heartburn so I avoided them.
Good fruits that I recommend using are:
  • Apples
  • Oranges
  • Grapes
  • Kiwi
  • Strawberries

I tried blueberries for a while, but it took so much volume and in the end, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. Never gets old.

Hopefully that helps some. I’ll try to post some more FAQ here soon. And maybe a video highlight or too from the fast.

Also, check out www.jointhereboot.com. Looks to be amazing resource from the guys that brought you the documentary, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead.

Ok, I leave you with this hilarious bit that I guess you’ll have to check with my roommate as to how accurately it describes my juice fast experience:

Movies I watched in 2011.

  1. Black Swan
  2. The King’s Speech
  3. The Mechanic
  4. 127 Hours
  5. Blue Valentine
  6. Unknown
  7. True Grit
  8. Adjustment Bureau (twice)
  9. Battle Los Angeles
  10. Cedar Rapids
  11. Sucker Punch
  12. Source Code (twice)
  13. Hanna (three times)
  14. Your Highness
  15. Fast Five
  16. Bridesmaids
  17. Thor
  18. Hangover 2
  19. X-Men: First Class
  20. Super 8
  21. Green Lantern
  22. Transformers (twice)
  23. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (twice)
  24. Horrible Bosses
  25. Captain America
  26. Cowboys and Aliens
  27. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
  28. 30 Minutes or Less
  29. Drive (twice)
  30. Killer Elite
  31. The Ides of March
  32. 50/50
  33. The Immortals
  34. The Muppets (three times)
  35. Sherlock Holmes 2
  36. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (twice)
  37. We Bought a Zoo

 

So, counting doubles, I went to the movies 49 times, 2 less than last year. I’m surprised at that kind of consistency though. Almost once a week. I did double up more often than last year though. And there’s not actual champion, just a tie between Hanna and The Muppets for the movie I saw most.

I know, this was riveting. What movies did you find worth seeing more than once?

Drew looks back on 2011.

Well, it’s 11:34 pm. 26 minutes left in the year, and for some reason, I’m at home. Not really unhappy about it. I’m pretty particular about how I ring in the New Year, and if I can’t be in the right place with the right people, I’m fine ringing 2012 in with solitude, sobriety and silence.

Of course, I wax reflective and introspective. Not depressingly so, though. Not this year. My bank account is light, but that’s because I stretched it a bit to finish paying off my last credit card debt this week! That’s a 2011 goal reached.

I’m not 50 lbs lighter like I planned to be, but I am in better shape than I’ve been in in years, but also the snowball of getting my health in order is starting to gain momentum. Starting a juice fast in January to really pick up speed there. Nothing to be depressed about.

I wanted to read the book of Proverbs a dozen times this year (about a chapter a day). And guess what? I did. Boom. Goal Reached.

I wanted to not seriously pursue a girl in 2011. And guess what? I didn’t. Had a few close calls, and might have planted a seed here or there. But Boom, goal reached.

I didn’t take a dance or martial arts class (both were 2011 goals). But, first, I realized, for martial arts, I needed to be in better shape beforehand, and for dance, I didn’t take a class, but I did dance more in 2011, than I had in the past few years combined. So that’s progress.

My drumming didn’t take off like I wanted, and that’s something I want to change in 2012. On the other hand, my other career half really hit a stride this year. Marketing Director, Yeah, that happened.

I even started developing more and more community around new friendships that are fantastic. Without losing old, faithful friends in the process. And I even did some work restoring old friendships that had been damaged.

I don’t want to say it was a banner year, but after a couple bad years in a row, 2011 was really a turning point. One of transition. Not idly letting life slip away, unowned in the face.

I got a few years behind on life, I’ll admit. We can talk about the why and how, but I’m not gonna give excuses. I had to make a change. And I did. It may not appear to be a big one yet.

“But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.”

2012 is the year I resurrect Leonidas. The baby steps were fun, but now it’s time to be reckless.

About growth.
About discipline.
About community.
About change.
About character.
About hope.
About love.

“Prepare for glory!” – Leonidas

 

PS First thing I’m doing in 2012? Going to hang out with Matt Green.

Happy New Year!