I have been steadily training on my wonderful christmas gift, the wii fit, well almost steadily! My goal was to follow a bit of the program at least everyday with a few more intense days. In 2 weeks I've managed to go for 60 mins only twice, the rest of the days I pulled 34-38 minutes of yoga, strength and some aerobics. I've also failed to train for 4 days. :(

There was one day after my second 60 minute workout that I had to take the next day off because my calves were very sore and hard as rock. As I said before my legs build up muscle very easily and even though I refrain from lunges and such exercises that focus on them there are still a number of yoga and strength moves that will tone those areas. Which is fine, as long as I don't ever use weights or resistance.

Graph time? Have I lost any actual weight? This is the burning question isn't it? ^_^

This is my chart for my body mass index or BMI's progress over the last 2 weeks. As you can see my goal in one month was to get to 23.07 which translates as 135 lbs for me. With two weeks to go this goal which seemed totally realistic now doesn't look so good. I have managed to gain 3 pounds, from 137lbs to 140lbs.

For someone that just does not exercise and certainly never strength train, I think this is a very positive turn. I have been building up muscle tone and let me tell you it does actually show. I have noticed my lower arms, ankles, calves, thighs and hips looking more sleek and toned, I fit better in my pants and even my shirts seem to hang a tad better. It is not a dramatic effect but in so short a time it's a little bit exciting.

Wii fit's main feature is not to actually lose weight or build significant muscle mass but it is to train your balance and posture. And they remind you like every five freaking seconds too! And yes in fact I have noticed that my posture has been a bit better, I am more aware of standing on both feet or even sitting on both my buns equally. I feel stronger and more steady and I don't tend to trip or smack into low tables as much. That may sound funny but I am a naturally clumsy person, tripping and running into solid objects is nothing new.. ^^:; I've only counted one black bruise on a thigh this week, yay!

So now I have another 2 weeks to go before the end of my first goal. I'm sure my Wii Fit will love to lecture me when I fail to get to it, but that's ok. I find that they have some nice tips for people to keep in mind. A lot of them seem like common sense but when you think about it, how often do we actually act on this common sense?

Well that's it for now, laters.

Hello MMORPGers! I am re-posting this from my GAX blog to see how the mmorpg blogs fare , I've been on the fence on whether I should start posting here or not so I guess this is a bit of an experiment. Hope you like this piece nonetless.

I had meant to create this post before the holidays as a way to kick off a series of blogs about Aion but I procrastinated and here we are. I was listening to Massively last night and Shawn mentioned Aion's lore and it reminded me what I had planned... ;) Now the following is my opinion based on the lore found on the official site and may not be exactly accurate, feel free to give me your thoughts.

The World of Atreia by NCsoft

At the beginning of time the world of Atreia was created by the god Aion. It was a hollow world supported by a core called the Tower of Eternity which is also Aion's domain. The tower supported all life within and shined it's light on all it's creatures, it was a time of peace where humans were one people and lived in harmony with each other.

But Aion seeing as gods do, that the world may need protection and rule created a race of very powerful beings called the draken. But the draken became very quickly enamored of their power and sought to decimate other intelligent beings and control the world by force. Humans fled before their devastating might and hid within enclaves while other species were wiped out. After having subjugated the warlike races of the Mau and the Krall the draken experienced an evolution, what they call their awakening. They became even stronger and much more intelligent, their physical appearance changed so much that when the humans saw them again they mistook them for a new race, and indeed they were no longer draken but dragons. Five Dragon Lords arose and took power organizing the forces into military ranks and giving their people a new name: the Balaur.

In their ever consuming greed and hunger for power the Balaur soon turned their attention to their creator Aion and the Tower of Eternity. They demanded that they be blessed with godhood, and when Aion refused they attacked the tower itself.

The remaining humans fought bravely to protect the tower and in a desperate attempt at salvation Aion created twelve Empyrean Lords, god like creatures formed in the image of humanity. These divine beings were to be the new guardians of Atreia, to act against the Balaur and restore order and peace to the world. Aion also created a substance called Aether to enable the Empyrean Lords to take flight and receive divine powers in order to fight against the Balaur. A shield made of this same aether was raised around the Tower of Eternity to protect the tower and those taking refuge within and around.

The battle between the Empyrean Lords and the Dragon Lords raged on for a thousand years and is referred to as the Millennium War. Within that time humans now exposed to the new substance aether became affected in an unforeseen way. Some of their number became attuned to aether and could use it's power similarly to the Empyrean Lords. These humans became known as Daeva and were recruited in the Empyrean forces. Daeva born as humans only developed their powers later on in life at differing times, some who were recruited had to leave friends, family and lovers behind. Another adverse effect of becoming a Daeva is that they cannot die by conventional means and age no longer has a hold of them. A distinct advantage in battle but also a fact that separates them from the people they once knew and loved.

Even with the advent of the Daeva, the war still did not relent and foreseeing a never ending battle that would eventually steal their humanity the leader of the Empyrean Lords, Israphel, announced that they should try to seek peace with the Balaur. At the announcement the Empyreans became divided, Lady Ariel approved of the plan and pleaded Israphel's case to one named Lady Siel, whom with Lord Israphel had authority over the twelve. Siel agreed with the proposal for peace and though many disapproved vehemently, the aetheric shied was lowered and the Balaur were invited to the tower.

Now it is not clear as to whether the Balaur attacked of their own will having never even considered peace, or if the Lord Asphel precipitated the attack by killing Lord Vitra of the Balaur. But what is certain is that all out war broke out within the tower. There was no time to raise the aetheric shield back up, so the Empyreans and Daevas went into two camps, one in the south and one in the north to drive out the Balaur and fend off more of their numbers. Alas before long shards were falling all around, the light of the tower extinguished and despite Lady Ariel's efforts in keeping the tower intact, it finally buckled and broke. As it shattered and tore in two, the entire world shuddered along with it and was also broken into two halves. Millions died, Lord Israphel and Lady Siel were also lost in bleeding themselves of all their aether in an attempt to save others. This event is known as the Epic Cataclysm.

In the aftermath, the remaining Empyrean Lords and Daeva found themselves separated and plunged
into two worlds. One of of perpetual darkness and cold and the other of perpetual light and warmth. If you look at the map you can see those who were defending the north side became the Asmodians and those of the south became the Elyos. There is also a sun outside that circles Atreia but it probably circles horizontally so only the south side is ever lighted. I may be slightly off mark there though.

I hope you enjoyed this summary and I urge you to read the official lore as it is told through the eyes of an Elyos and an Asmodian Daeva and is really interesting to see the difference in opinion and why they blame each other for Aion's downfall.