30 Days Without Mobile Data

I attempted to spend all of October without using data on my phone. I have recently found my eyesight getting worse, I figured constantly reading off that small screen was not good for it. Also, I have recently started to think about how many of the gaps in my day are not filled with some sort of distraction.

Check out this video for a very insightful look at this crisis of attention. Highly recommended:

Ha! Yeah right! This lasted for all of 5 days. Guess I'll have to try again.

30 Days Without Sugar

Still not dead. Still not posting as often as I should.

In the same vein as my last 30 days challenge, I decided to spend the month of September avoiding sugar.

Some points:

• I didn't go overboard with reading food labels. If something was supposed to taste sweet, I avoided it. Otherwise, it was OK.
• Fruit was OK, because I figured this was mostly a processed sugar thing. Fruit juice was off the menu though.
• I actually cheated a bit. I did a Tough Mudder in September, and on the course, they gave us an energy gel pack. It was basically a tablespoon of simple syrup. I let this one slide because I also burned about 3500 calories in 4 hours that day.

Some observations:

• Unlike when I went veggo, I didn't have serious issues with this challenge. I do not drink much soda or each much candy, and the dessert line at the cafe was easier to avoid than I anticipated.
• Also unlike my previous challenge, I didn't substitute the sugar I ate with any other kind of bad-for-me food. I just mostly went about my regular eating habits.
• However, the last day of the challenge, I did go overboard with a bunch of candy bars and sugary drinks.
• I lost about 5 pounds and about 1.5-2 percent of body fat. I'm not sure how much of this was the sugar and how much was the fact I was pretty good about going to the gym in September.

Like my vegetarian challenge, I found that after ward, it did make me more conscious about my eating habits.

30 Days as a Vegetarian

So I'm not dead. But this post is probably not the start of a stream of new posts updating you all on my (mis)adventures in the land down under.


Why, you ask? It's probably because I don't love you anymore. Also, I'm working alot these days. I mean, a lot. Which is how you're supposed to spell it. Occasionally I'll find something interesting enough to want to share, and fearful that you do not all check G+ as religiously as I do, this medium remains an option.


Anyway, the point. I could have sworn I had one. Do you guys know who Matt Cutts is? How about TED talks? Well, Matt Cutts + TED talk = inspiration.

Or more accurately, experimentation. I decided to try and be a vegetarian for a month. Just to see what would happen. Some rules:

• Vegetarian, not vegan, so I ate things that cast a shadow. But definitely nothing that had feelings. Also, pescatarians? Pick a side!
• I didn't go crazy about it, so I would not go asking if something was made from chicken stock or vegetable stock.
• I did have to compromise when there was a dearth of other options, having to pick the chicken out of some Cesar Salads and one time the bits of shrimp from a nasi goreng (this was annoying).
• The challenge was supposed to last the entire month of June, but we promptly forgot and I found myself with a bite full of shu mai on day 3, so in fact the challenge went from June 4th to July 4th.

Some findings:

• I got fatter. In the beginning, I was pretty diligent in collecting data by weighing myself at the same time every day, but then realized the scale I had was pretty shitty and it showed little to no changes in my day-to-day weight. But I did start to feel slightly more doughy around the middle. Probably some of this had to do with my lack of motivation to gym it up regularly, but also because...
• I found myself substituting meat with more carbs and desserts. Some of it could not be helped. Many restaurants only offer one or two vegetarian options, usually pasta or some variation of pumpkin + whatever probably does not contain meat.
• One place where this was not true was my benevolent, all-powerful employer. Luckily, Google makes being a vegetarian (or vegan even) very delicious and nutritious. However, at some point you run out of ways to combine lentils, chickpeas, and almonds.
• I was hungrier, sooner. My 4:30PM snack turned into a 3PM life-or-death scavenge for sustenance. Again, usually involved fried potato carbohydrates or sugar. Hence the softness around the midsection.
• One obvious advantage was the fact all my restaurant choices were made extremely simple. Would I prefer this vegetarian dish, or the other? What used to take minutes now took fewer minutes!
• This is not to say that some cultures have not figured it out. Chinese, Indian, Thai all put deliciousness in my mouth and during those meals; I rarely missed meat.

So, what did I learn from all this? I don't need a lot of meat. And there is no reason to eat meat just to have protein. Sometimes, I used to think of a meal as protein + whatever else. That just isn't the case.
Also, I learned I'm a lardass who needs to cut back on the desserts.

Oblivious

Apparently I broke my finger 6 weeks ago. I did not notice, thinking I had just jammed it. When the swelling didn't go down, I finally saw a doctor. Now there's nothing that can be done.

I hope it doesn't end up looking like this.

Things I Have Learned from OctSober

I have been doing a dry October, or OctSober. I looked it up, but I totally came up with the name by myself. Here are some things I have learned so far:

- I thought the hardest part would be out with people who were drinking. Actually, this hasn't been the case. The most difficult times have been at home and all I want is a beer. And I have beer in the fridge. This has been exceptionally difficult. At the bar, I can usually get by with club soda.

- Club soda is great. Like, how did I not know this before? Water? OK. Water with ice? Better than OK. Bubbly water with ice? And a freshly cut lime? Most excellent.

- I have gotten several blank looks when asking for a "club soda" of Australian bartenders, followed by "what's in a 'club soda'?" Apparently the drink is called "Soda water on ice. With a lime."

To Mo' or not to Mo'

So for the past couple of years, I have ended up doing one big and/or foolish fundraising event for the benefit of mankind. I figure this will help offset all the things that will be sending me to hell. I often ask you guys for donations, but this year, I might try asking you for advice first.

2009: The Relay
2010: 40-Hour Famine
2011: Movember???

Now, as those of you who have ever gotten within 5 feet (1.52 meters) of me know, I have exactly 177 strands of facial hair, 143 of them on my upper lip. This will make for a shitty mustache. But I have been goaded by some co-workers into doing it. So my question to you: To Mo' or not to Mo'?

For a point of reference, here is an artist's rendition of what I may look like:

How I (Almost) Became TV-Famous

There is a show on Australian TV that I enjoy most enthusiastically.
. It is about the professional lifeguards who patrol Bondi Beach, one of Australia's most famous and popular tourist attractions. Even more appealing to me is the fact I often make my way down to Bondi to surf and whatnot and I can catch a glimpse of the stars of the show.

Every week, it seems the people getting rescued fall into one of two categories:
1.) Silly tourists who are wholly unaware of Bondi's particularly nasty rip currents or are grossly under-prepared for ocean swimming.
2.) Silly Asian tourists who are wholly unaware of Bondi's particularly nasty rip currents or are grossly under-prepared for ocean swimming.

I usually found myself watching the show and mocking those who ended up being rescued, especially given the often ridiculous reasons for how they ended up in the given predicament. A typical example might go something like this:

Lee, a 25-year old student from China was on his first visit to Bondi Beach. Having never before gone swimming his entire life, he just jumped into the water thinking it would be a good way to cool off. Ignoring the warnings about dangerous currents, Lee quickly found himself in a losing battle against Backpacker's Rip.

"I never face water so strong," says Lee, shivering and discombobulated after Harries/Whippet/Corey pulled him from the surf.

So, how did I become a part of this narrative?

As longtime readers of this blog know, I have made futile and increasingly laughable attempts to learn how to surf. Deciding to go 'all-in' on the matter, I decided to purchase a surfboard and wet suit. On that fateful day in June, I was able to get my wet suit, but the board was on special order from the manufacturer. Undaunted, I felt it was appropriate to test the salesperson's claims regarding the wet suit in what looked to be not-so-rough waters.

I jumped straight in the water and immediately made the mistake of swimming parallel to the beach. Being a below-average to crappy swimmer, I quickly tired and stopped to catch my breath. As soon as I popped my head out of the water, something wasn't right. I could no longer touch bottom and waves were now crashing over my head. I distinctly remember this sequence of thoughts going through my head:

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Panic! Panic! Panic!"

"OK, don't panic, Zhi. Swim to shore."

"Fuck, I'm not making any progress swimming to shore. Just try harder!"

"Oh no. The lifeguard is shouting and pointing at me. Better let him know I'm OK. Remember that thing from the one diving lesson you took, the international sign for "I'm OK" is tapping your fingers on the top of your head."

"OK, don't panic. Remember to keep your head. The worst thing to do is panicking and trying to swim to shore. Swim perpendicular to the rip."

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I'm not making any progress, I can't touch bottom, and the waves are getting worse."

"Maybe I can just lie on my back and let the waves bring me in. Fuck, they are not bringing me any closer."

"I'm going to die."

"Maybe they'll put me on Bondi Rescue."

"Oh, sweet. I can touch bottom now, maybe I'm OK."

"Oh shit, I no longer touch bottom. Panic."

"Continue panicking."

"Panic! Panic! Panic!"

"Start waving frantically and screaming for help."

At this point, the lifeguard was on his board and coming out to fetch my dumb ass. The show does not exaggerate their prowess in the water. He paddled out on his rescue board the 50-100 meters in about 20 seconds, which is pretty amazing if you consider the surf. Now, all those episodes I had watched of Bondi Rescue came into play as I immediately knew how to get on the board and be rescued (on stomach, face first, legs over the side so the lifeguard can paddle).

Once I got to the beach, I also remembered the proper way to thank your rescuer from watching the show: stumble around like you're drunk and mumble something that sounds like "Thanks". My savior, "Corey O" was very gracious and understanding as he angrily screamed "NO MORE SWIM!" while making an "X" with his arms.

I proceeded to sit on the beach for the next 30 minutes because I was too weak to pull off the wet suit (did I mention how ridiculous I looked getting pulled out of the surf in a brand new wet suit?) Though, true to the salesperson's word, the wet suit was surprisingly warm. I assume the excess adrenaline coursing through my veins is what gave me that splitting headache. Finally, I was able to gather my wits and drive home.

Luckily, they do not film Bondi Rescue in winter.