The Book of Lost Tales: Introduction

It's 4:00 in the afternoon and I have just stumbled out of bed. It's July 5th, 2010; the day after the fourth of July. While I am regaining consciousness and slowly coming back to life, I quickly recall the great fun I had the previous night. Watching fireworks, eating loads of hamburgers and hot dogs, drinking beverages, swimming in the pool at midnight with a whole bunch of close friends and all the laughs exchanged throughout the night. As I fumble around my desk looking for my glasses, I suddenly realize that there is no need to do so. I slept the night with my contacts in again. Darn. I am discouraged that my eyes feel terrible but I play it off as no big deal. While walking around during the morning, I feel particularly different. I can't seem to figure out what it is at first, but something definitely feels different. The difference is noted in a bad way. It's one of those things where you get a bad feeling in the gut of your stomach about. I am suddenly able to discover that I feel very sluggish and bloated. Could it have been all those hot dogs and hamburgers I had while watching fireworks? I am quickly intrigued by my own question and decide to take a walk to my bathroom. As I grab the scale out from behind the door, I wonder when the last time I weighed myself was. It had to be awhile. I just finished my senior year of college where pulling all-nighters was a thing of regularity for me. Energy drinks, wings, beef jerky, soda and other unhealthy beverages were the main points of my daily 'diet'. Suddenly, I am scared to see what my weight has become, but I am prepared for a slight change. I weighed about 155 pounds during my junior year, which was pretty consisent with the weight throughout most of teenage years. I step on the scale and my jaw dropped at the sight of 178 pounds. "Whoa!" I exclaimed. I really let myself go this year. I gained nearly 25 pounds in one year. At this rate, who knows what will happen next? Being in an extremely bad genetic situation with family heart problems, surgeries and high blood pressure can only add more importance to this issue. The weight I have gained is not characteristic of me. Not only am I beginning to feel unhealthy, I am starting to look unhealthy too. Things need to change.