I went to the chiropractors today. Man, that guy ripped shit out of my neck. Frightening. But just like last time I walked out of there feeling a million bucks, and just destroyed Back & Biceps.
Yesterday's Insanity was good too. I nearly did it! Just fell away there at the end, but even though I was trying to keep a lid on the intensity the whole time, Shaun T just didn't let up with the pushing, so I kept finding myself going at it too hard, and have to ease up. Listen to him in a month when you can do these workouts, I kept telling myself. For now, just go at a pace that gets you through them alive.
I thought, in the spirit of my friend Stevie's blog, I would put some music up that I like every now and then. Get me thinking and talking about it. My first choice is N.E.R.D. I think Pharrell Williams is great. I love the stuff he has done with Justin Timberlake and Snoop Doggy Dogg. I wish he was around when I was kid because I feel like a kid listening to his stuff. He sings about kid's stuff. His confidence is contagious. "In Search Of..." is probably my favourite album of the 2000's, and this is my favourite song off it.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
R3 Day 8 - Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
So the other day I couldn't get Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs done due to technical difficulties. I was going to do Cardio Abs inside with the kids but I saw that there was a lot of jumping involved and scrapped that idea. So that day was a write off. I couldn't get up yesterday morning to do Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, so I did half of it with Will in the evening, and the other half when he went to bed. Got to break it up like that or I won't have time to watch Lost. I've nearly finished the first season. I've forgotten how bloody dense this show is (not stupid dense, but dense as in full). When I half remember all the stuff that happens in the next few seasons, does it ever get silly? I wonder. Is there a point where you think, aw, c'mon, that's a little bit too crazy. I can't remember one.
I bought a charger for my iPod that i can plug into the mains the other day. On my way back from the shop, it occurred to me that I may not be able to use my iPod while it's charging, like I can't use it while it's charging on a computer. I can use it through iTunes, but not through the actual iPod itself. So I thought, that would completely negate it's usefulness. So I tried it, and I can use it while it's charging. Strange. Maybe the engineers at Apple foresaw this. I doubt it. Just lucky.
So here I am back at work and back to a five-day week. Problem is, there's no work to do. I got some stuff I could do, sure, but I've done the stuff that needs to get done, and can't bring myself to do the stuff that doesn't have to be done for another week yet, and would only take twenty minutes to do anyway. Instead I'm going to do some studying, write a little of my novel, and think of some ideas for a gym that I want to set up in the garage, for Will and Jo Jo more than for me. Lot's of climbing ropes and stuff. I told Junko of my plans to put a climbing rope in the garage for Will and before I had even finished talking she said "you can't." There's always a Japanese person around to tell you you can't do something. So like a Japanese person I said, oh, okay, with every intention of doing it anyway.
A lot of people ask me what I do here. I work in a reasonably large robotics company (not one anyone's heard of, though I'm sure our robots put together some of the boards in the appliances you use on... an everyday ba... sis... now I'm bored.) I translate reports, manuals, and other different kinds of reports. Whenever I tell people this back home a surprising number of them say, "gee, you mean someone translates those things? I can never understand them!" Well, that's a little insensitive, but yea, I might have. No, the machines my company makes are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the manuals are huge. Basically, my company is a small Japanese company that around five years ago somehow happened to build a machine that became the industry standard and made millions and millions of dollars, and now it is trying to catch up with it's success. It is a typical, conservative Japanese company, with morning stretches and pep talks, office ladies, and signs everywhere telling us how important greetings are. Last year we had a uniform change, the first in ten years. Instead of khaki pants, we now wear navy blue pants. It's fair to say that there will never be a crazy hat day where I work.
I'm one of five Westerners here. Four translators and one guy in Sales. There are some Chinese translators here too, and about 600 Japanese. I was lucky to get this job because I was teaching English for six years which was becoming more and more difficult to stomach. Here I have security and routine, and a challenging, if not demanding job. There's no rush. I didn't have any interest in Japan when I came here, I just came here for something to do, and to get away from Australia where I was languishing. I'd like to go back there one day, but only if I can get a good job there, something I've not been able to do in the past. I don't mind living in Japan, though I worry about losing touch with the real world where real things are happening. Nothing can touch this place. I don't really have much contact with Japanese people. My wife's family and friends, Nori, a couple of people at work, and that's about it. The language is the biggest issue of course. Speaking another language is done with a totally different part of the brain than reading or writing or understanding. It's weird. I was watching a Japanese comedian on Youtube last night and understood just about all of what he was saying, but that doesn't mean I can speak it. Some people can. It's hard for me. Maybe I should start buttoning up the top button of my shirt as a sign that I find it hard to do things with my brain. I read an article that doing that is code for "retard" in the movies.
Nori told me that when he was in America he was called a "fucking Jap" all the time. My wife was in Australia for six months and was called a monkey twice. I have been here ten years, and not once have I been racially abused. I am treated differently because of my race, but it's not mean. I'm not saying Japanese aren't racist. Race is what defines them. Even if I get citizenship, I wouldn't be Japanese. Even though my sons were born here, they will be called foreigners all their lives. They are not Japanese. If I was Korean or Chinese I'm guessing my experiences would be a lot different. The Japanese consider themselves the superior "coloured" race, above blacks, other Asians, and South Americans, but below whites. They see white people as beautiful, lucky, and lazy. They will not sit next to me on a train because they feel inferior to me. It's called "foreigner complex" and it's their problem, not mine, so it's not racist in their eyes. Most Japanese people never meet a foreigner in their lives. Isn't that a wild thing to consider? Everyone you ever meet looks the same as you, talks the same as you, had the same experiences as you. The one thing they dread more than death itself is being ostracized from the group. Being different is death. I once read that if you get some colourful paint and paint a streak of it onto a zebra, it will be dead within a week. The lion's eye is attracted, and they become a target. I'd like to try that if I ever go to Africa. Just fuck a zebra's day up with a spraycan of wild pink. Pffffft! "What the fuck are you doing, man! Oh, shit! you asshole!" and off he'd run. Nowhere to hide, zebra! Ahahaha!
I think it's like that here. It's all the fault of rice. Growing rice is so labour intensive that it took the whole village to do it, and if the village rejected you, you died of starvation. So you try not to rock the boat, you do what you are told, and you don't stand out. Most rice-growing cultures are like this. Western culture is more the lone farmer growing his own stuff, and selling the excess. More of a "don't touch my shit our I'll kill you" culture. Not judging, just saying.
There. Just summed up the differences between Eastern and Western civilization there for ya. You're welcome.
God, this blog is turning into a joke. Gotta tighten it up!
I bought a charger for my iPod that i can plug into the mains the other day. On my way back from the shop, it occurred to me that I may not be able to use my iPod while it's charging, like I can't use it while it's charging on a computer. I can use it through iTunes, but not through the actual iPod itself. So I thought, that would completely negate it's usefulness. So I tried it, and I can use it while it's charging. Strange. Maybe the engineers at Apple foresaw this. I doubt it. Just lucky.
So here I am back at work and back to a five-day week. Problem is, there's no work to do. I got some stuff I could do, sure, but I've done the stuff that needs to get done, and can't bring myself to do the stuff that doesn't have to be done for another week yet, and would only take twenty minutes to do anyway. Instead I'm going to do some studying, write a little of my novel, and think of some ideas for a gym that I want to set up in the garage, for Will and Jo Jo more than for me. Lot's of climbing ropes and stuff. I told Junko of my plans to put a climbing rope in the garage for Will and before I had even finished talking she said "you can't." There's always a Japanese person around to tell you you can't do something. So like a Japanese person I said, oh, okay, with every intention of doing it anyway.
A lot of people ask me what I do here. I work in a reasonably large robotics company (not one anyone's heard of, though I'm sure our robots put together some of the boards in the appliances you use on... an everyday ba... sis... now I'm bored.) I translate reports, manuals, and other different kinds of reports. Whenever I tell people this back home a surprising number of them say, "gee, you mean someone translates those things? I can never understand them!" Well, that's a little insensitive, but yea, I might have. No, the machines my company makes are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the manuals are huge. Basically, my company is a small Japanese company that around five years ago somehow happened to build a machine that became the industry standard and made millions and millions of dollars, and now it is trying to catch up with it's success. It is a typical, conservative Japanese company, with morning stretches and pep talks, office ladies, and signs everywhere telling us how important greetings are. Last year we had a uniform change, the first in ten years. Instead of khaki pants, we now wear navy blue pants. It's fair to say that there will never be a crazy hat day where I work.
I'm one of five Westerners here. Four translators and one guy in Sales. There are some Chinese translators here too, and about 600 Japanese. I was lucky to get this job because I was teaching English for six years which was becoming more and more difficult to stomach. Here I have security and routine, and a challenging, if not demanding job. There's no rush. I didn't have any interest in Japan when I came here, I just came here for something to do, and to get away from Australia where I was languishing. I'd like to go back there one day, but only if I can get a good job there, something I've not been able to do in the past. I don't mind living in Japan, though I worry about losing touch with the real world where real things are happening. Nothing can touch this place. I don't really have much contact with Japanese people. My wife's family and friends, Nori, a couple of people at work, and that's about it. The language is the biggest issue of course. Speaking another language is done with a totally different part of the brain than reading or writing or understanding. It's weird. I was watching a Japanese comedian on Youtube last night and understood just about all of what he was saying, but that doesn't mean I can speak it. Some people can. It's hard for me. Maybe I should start buttoning up the top button of my shirt as a sign that I find it hard to do things with my brain. I read an article that doing that is code for "retard" in the movies.
Nori told me that when he was in America he was called a "fucking Jap" all the time. My wife was in Australia for six months and was called a monkey twice. I have been here ten years, and not once have I been racially abused. I am treated differently because of my race, but it's not mean. I'm not saying Japanese aren't racist. Race is what defines them. Even if I get citizenship, I wouldn't be Japanese. Even though my sons were born here, they will be called foreigners all their lives. They are not Japanese. If I was Korean or Chinese I'm guessing my experiences would be a lot different. The Japanese consider themselves the superior "coloured" race, above blacks, other Asians, and South Americans, but below whites. They see white people as beautiful, lucky, and lazy. They will not sit next to me on a train because they feel inferior to me. It's called "foreigner complex" and it's their problem, not mine, so it's not racist in their eyes. Most Japanese people never meet a foreigner in their lives. Isn't that a wild thing to consider? Everyone you ever meet looks the same as you, talks the same as you, had the same experiences as you. The one thing they dread more than death itself is being ostracized from the group. Being different is death. I once read that if you get some colourful paint and paint a streak of it onto a zebra, it will be dead within a week. The lion's eye is attracted, and they become a target. I'd like to try that if I ever go to Africa. Just fuck a zebra's day up with a spraycan of wild pink. Pffffft! "What the fuck are you doing, man! Oh, shit! you asshole!" and off he'd run. Nowhere to hide, zebra! Ahahaha!
I think it's like that here. It's all the fault of rice. Growing rice is so labour intensive that it took the whole village to do it, and if the village rejected you, you died of starvation. So you try not to rock the boat, you do what you are told, and you don't stand out. Most rice-growing cultures are like this. Western culture is more the lone farmer growing his own stuff, and selling the excess. More of a "don't touch my shit our I'll kill you" culture. Not judging, just saying.
There. Just summed up the differences between Eastern and Western civilization there for ya. You're welcome.
God, this blog is turning into a joke. Gotta tighten it up!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
R3 Day 7 - Insanity Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs
I got up this morning at 5:20 and went downstairs to do Insanity Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs. I got half way through it when the battery on my iPod ran out. Bummer. I have all the workouts on my iPod, and I plug my iPod into the small TV I bought and that's how I roll. Occasionally this presents problems, like when I forget to charge my iPod. At full strength, it can play about an hour and a half of video through the telly, but this morning it only played about 20 minutes. Weird. Maybe it's getting on a bit. I use my iPod for these workouts, to listen to stuff on the way to and from work, and as a hard disk for stuff to watch at work. I bought it in 2006 and I love it. The day it busts is the day I go out and buy another one. I was reading an article somewhere about technology and the reader asked if we will feel the same nostalgia for our gadgets as older people feel for theirs, stuff like old wood-panelled radios and TVs they had when they were young. It was his contention that with this constant changeover of gadgets, always getting the next model and discarding the previous one, that we are missing out on having the relationship with gadgets that our parents and grandparents had. I can't help but think he is lumping everyone into the "I line up for two days so I can buy the new iThing" group. Or more precisely, the "I line up for two days so I can buy the new iThing and be the first person to say it sucks!" group.
Most people buy something and keep it and use it for years until it breaks or they lose it. Same as always.
I can't remember my parents shedding a tear when the rotary phone was ditched in favour of the push button phone. Remember when it sucked if someone had heaps of "0"s in their phone number? It would take ages to dial their number. Makes you wonder why the emergency number in Australia is "000". Use you fingers and imagine dialing 000 on a rotary phone. Finger in the hole, turn it all the way around, then let it turn all the back, and repeat two more times. It takes about 7 or 8 seconds just to dial. A long time if there's a murderer in the house chasing you. Also, I still have my Atari 2600, but I wouldn't waste my time playing it now because I know it would suck. Same with most old gadgets. If it's a matter of design, then the reader has a point. Even though big flat-screen TVs are awesome, there's no real design to them, is there. They are all screen. No buttons, dials, equalizer, speakers, nothing. It will be hard to remember the flat screen TVs we had when we get old and reminisce. I can get that. But when my iPod dies, I won't throw it out. Actually, I might. It's the leather pouch I keep it in that I won't throw out. I rarely see the actual iPod that's in it, to be honest. That's interesting. What's that Phillip K. Dick book in which everything regresses to a previous form of itself, kind of like the decomposition of technology? Ubik? Another thing: why are all the cars in movies set in the future these days Audis?
I may be rambling, and not making much sense.
So anyway, my workout died halfway through this morning. Nothing I could do. I'll have to buy a charger that plugs into the wall and run the iPod off that. The only charging I can do at the moment is through a USB cable, and the TV I bought doesn't have one.
I'm really enjoying Insanity. It's much more intense than P90X. Shaun T doesn't try to be an entertainer, he just tells you what to do and to keep going. I can't really hear much of what he says over the sound of my footsteps or my breathing anyway. Plus, I'm busy concentrating on Tania's chest, the Asian chick. She is a machine, and her breasts are great.
The women in Insanity bring it way harder than the men do. One guy today was in trouble one minute into the first round! But these women seem to be working stuff out through mad cardio. So I'll scrap Pure Cardio and do Cardio Abs tonight, after popping in to an electronics store and buying yet another accessory for the gadget which I really have no emotional connection to but is so much a part of my life.
Will is back on a Thomas kick. I thought I was done with Thomas, or at least until Jo Jo starts getting into it. You could do a pretty good Marxist reading of Thomas and his desperate need to be a Really Useful Engine. Also, Workcare need to have a good look at the Sodor Railway. The amount of accidents they have is alarming. One every five minutes, by my reckoning. The new Thomas movies are all CG, and they look shithouse. I downloaded one and had a look at it, and erased it. Half the joy of watching Thomas is marvelling at the models and environments, and picturing owlish middle-aged Englishman drinking tea and making these multi-million dollar franchise DVDs. I'm hoping he graduates to Thunderbirds soon because the theme song is better. He's had a look at it, and likes it, but there's a lot of Lady Penelope stories that drag on a little. No rockets, no explosions. Just Lady Penelope and Max driving really fast.
Yesterday was Yoga and Ab Ripper X, but I only did Ab Ripper X because I wanted to go to bed a bit earlier. So this first week has had it's stops and starts, but all in all it's good to be back.
Most people buy something and keep it and use it for years until it breaks or they lose it. Same as always.
I can't remember my parents shedding a tear when the rotary phone was ditched in favour of the push button phone. Remember when it sucked if someone had heaps of "0"s in their phone number? It would take ages to dial their number. Makes you wonder why the emergency number in Australia is "000". Use you fingers and imagine dialing 000 on a rotary phone. Finger in the hole, turn it all the way around, then let it turn all the back, and repeat two more times. It takes about 7 or 8 seconds just to dial. A long time if there's a murderer in the house chasing you. Also, I still have my Atari 2600, but I wouldn't waste my time playing it now because I know it would suck. Same with most old gadgets. If it's a matter of design, then the reader has a point. Even though big flat-screen TVs are awesome, there's no real design to them, is there. They are all screen. No buttons, dials, equalizer, speakers, nothing. It will be hard to remember the flat screen TVs we had when we get old and reminisce. I can get that. But when my iPod dies, I won't throw it out. Actually, I might. It's the leather pouch I keep it in that I won't throw out. I rarely see the actual iPod that's in it, to be honest. That's interesting. What's that Phillip K. Dick book in which everything regresses to a previous form of itself, kind of like the decomposition of technology? Ubik? Another thing: why are all the cars in movies set in the future these days Audis?
I may be rambling, and not making much sense.
So anyway, my workout died halfway through this morning. Nothing I could do. I'll have to buy a charger that plugs into the wall and run the iPod off that. The only charging I can do at the moment is through a USB cable, and the TV I bought doesn't have one.
I'm really enjoying Insanity. It's much more intense than P90X. Shaun T doesn't try to be an entertainer, he just tells you what to do and to keep going. I can't really hear much of what he says over the sound of my footsteps or my breathing anyway. Plus, I'm busy concentrating on Tania's chest, the Asian chick. She is a machine, and her breasts are great.
Tania (photo from Fitbomb)
The women in Insanity bring it way harder than the men do. One guy today was in trouble one minute into the first round! But these women seem to be working stuff out through mad cardio. So I'll scrap Pure Cardio and do Cardio Abs tonight, after popping in to an electronics store and buying yet another accessory for the gadget which I really have no emotional connection to but is so much a part of my life.
Will is back on a Thomas kick. I thought I was done with Thomas, or at least until Jo Jo starts getting into it. You could do a pretty good Marxist reading of Thomas and his desperate need to be a Really Useful Engine. Also, Workcare need to have a good look at the Sodor Railway. The amount of accidents they have is alarming. One every five minutes, by my reckoning. The new Thomas movies are all CG, and they look shithouse. I downloaded one and had a look at it, and erased it. Half the joy of watching Thomas is marvelling at the models and environments, and picturing owlish middle-aged Englishman drinking tea and making these multi-million dollar franchise DVDs. I'm hoping he graduates to Thunderbirds soon because the theme song is better. He's had a look at it, and likes it, but there's a lot of Lady Penelope stories that drag on a little. No rockets, no explosions. Just Lady Penelope and Max driving really fast.
Yesterday was Yoga and Ab Ripper X, but I only did Ab Ripper X because I wanted to go to bed a bit earlier. So this first week has had it's stops and starts, but all in all it's good to be back.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
R3 Day 5 - Legs & Back
Did you know that Tiger Woods was on Eric Harris' hate list? Probably a little redundant when you consider that "Mankind" was on it too. Not the wrestler, but everyone living. Guy was a hater, that's for sure.
Today is Australia Day, the one day of the year when we Aussies tell each other how wonderful Australia is and, just between you and me, how great we Australians are. And also how wonderful it is that we don't need to keep saying it every day of the year like the Americans do, but just this one day. Because too much is just unsavoury, and you really only need to say it once. See how restrained we are? Isn't that wonderful too?
One experience I had a couple of years ago shocked me, and crystallized the feeling I get when I come home to Australia. Late at night, driving home, I fancied a Big M. I stopped at a petrol station, lights are on, it's open. I park the car and go to walk through the doors, but they don't open and I walk into them. So I'm standing there waiting for the doors to open when I here a voice. "What do you want?" It's the attendant, a middle eastern guy talking though a little hatch in the glass/plastic wall over where the counter is. "Are you open?" I ask. "Yes, but you can't come in." "Why not?" "Security." I was speechless. "What do you want?" the guy asked again. "I just want a Big M," I said. "What kind?" he asked. "Um, a small Strawberry." "Ok. Wait there." So they guy closes the little hatch and goes to get my Big M. He comes back with a large chocolate. "I said a small strawberry." "I know, but there weren't any. That's $4.20." Holy shit! $4.20? "$4.20?" I ask, stunned at how much Big Ms are now. The guy shrugs, and sticks his hand out of the hatch, palm up. "Sorry, mate," I said, and got back in my car.
I feel like a criminal when I'm in Melbourne. I feel like the moment I stop behaving, I will be photographed and fined. This is the billboard that greeted me as I drove from the airport the last time I was home that basically said as much.
I dunno. Maybe I get a little paranoid being around so many sloppy white people, any one of whom could be a criminal just like me. Australia is a nasty little place a lot of the time. After a couple of weeks of seeing my friends and buying some stuff I get pretty keen to leave it. I probably just miss Junko and the kids.
Legs & Back was great last night, surprisingly. I let the video run from start to finish without stopping it to do more pull ups. I did as many as I could consecutively, and that was it. Therefore, numbers are way down, but I didn't want to overdo it. 70 altogether.
Today is Australia Day, the one day of the year when we Aussies tell each other how wonderful Australia is and, just between you and me, how great we Australians are. And also how wonderful it is that we don't need to keep saying it every day of the year like the Americans do, but just this one day. Because too much is just unsavoury, and you really only need to say it once. See how restrained we are? Isn't that wonderful too?
One experience I had a couple of years ago shocked me, and crystallized the feeling I get when I come home to Australia. Late at night, driving home, I fancied a Big M. I stopped at a petrol station, lights are on, it's open. I park the car and go to walk through the doors, but they don't open and I walk into them. So I'm standing there waiting for the doors to open when I here a voice. "What do you want?" It's the attendant, a middle eastern guy talking though a little hatch in the glass/plastic wall over where the counter is. "Are you open?" I ask. "Yes, but you can't come in." "Why not?" "Security." I was speechless. "What do you want?" the guy asked again. "I just want a Big M," I said. "What kind?" he asked. "Um, a small Strawberry." "Ok. Wait there." So they guy closes the little hatch and goes to get my Big M. He comes back with a large chocolate. "I said a small strawberry." "I know, but there weren't any. That's $4.20." Holy shit! $4.20? "$4.20?" I ask, stunned at how much Big Ms are now. The guy shrugs, and sticks his hand out of the hatch, palm up. "Sorry, mate," I said, and got back in my car.
I feel like a criminal when I'm in Melbourne. I feel like the moment I stop behaving, I will be photographed and fined. This is the billboard that greeted me as I drove from the airport the last time I was home that basically said as much.
But I'm not doing anything wrong!
I dunno. Maybe I get a little paranoid being around so many sloppy white people, any one of whom could be a criminal just like me. Australia is a nasty little place a lot of the time. After a couple of weeks of seeing my friends and buying some stuff I get pretty keen to leave it. I probably just miss Junko and the kids.
Legs & Back was great last night, surprisingly. I let the video run from start to finish without stopping it to do more pull ups. I did as many as I could consecutively, and that was it. Therefore, numbers are way down, but I didn't want to overdo it. 70 altogether.
Monday, January 25, 2010
R3 Day 4 - Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance, ARX
Back at work after four days off. The last four day weekend for a while, I'm guessing. Back to five-day weeks like everyone else. Until the next time America shits itself, anyway.
Insanity is hard! I've been pacing myself, more interested in getting through it than really going for it. I haven't been able to, but I got close today. It's good because it reminds me of the first time I did Plyo and all I wanted to do was to get to a level of fitness where I was able to do it without having to take a break, and maybe even one day smash it. I'm at that level now, but then Insanity comes along and presents another challenge. I have been a little wheezy this week, which doesn't help, but it is tough. I do think that I'll be able to get through them in a couple of weeks, and then I can work on the intensity. I've got Legs & Back tomorrow, which I'm not looking forward to. But I do have an appointment with the chiropractor on Saturday, which I am looking forward to.
I'm reading Columbine, by Dave Cullen at the moment. Can you remember when this happened? I can't, really. I remember seeing that guy climbing out the window on TV, but that's about it. It seems to blend into every other school shooting that happened before and has happened since, and there have been a lot of them. The thing with Columbine, Eric (the REALLY evil one, if you had to choose) built a bomb and placed it in the cafeteria with the aim of bringing the roof down on eight hundred kids as they ate their lunch. It wasn't really meant to be a shooting at all. It was meant to be the biggest terrorist bombing in America's history, eclipsing Oklahoma. They planted the bomb in the cafeteria, then took positions outside so they could pick off survivors as they staggered outside. They wanted to kill a thousand students. Only when they realised the bomb hadn't gone off did they go inside and start shooting. And by that time, most of the kids had eaten lunch and where hanging out outside or off campus. Do you remember how deserted the school buildings were at lunchtime? Just a few kids here and there, reading or catching up on homework or something. Eric wanted to kill, and Dylan wanted to die. I guess they accommodated each other. Such a strange thing for two kids to do, and the way they did it, joking around, stupid gung-ho one-liners as they picked people off, like "Do you believe in God?", "Who wants to die next?", or "Peekaboo!". Incredible that they actually went ahead and did it. How could you actually go ahead and do it? They both decided they were going to commit suicide, but before that would try and kill as many people as possible, and live out this fantasy. That movie Elephant captures it perfectly , when the Eric character says to Dylan just before they get started, "And remember, have some fun out there, okay?" I'm sure a lot of kids have fantasies about shooting their school up, maybe they even plan it so they feel like they have some power over their situation, but to actually do it? Holy shit. A really good book. Eric and Dylan left a lot of stuff behind, like diaries and videos and stuff, alot of which the police won't release. The Basement Tapes, they're called. You can't help but think that if they were doing it these days, they'd have a million subscribers to their Youtube channel.
Insanity is hard! I've been pacing myself, more interested in getting through it than really going for it. I haven't been able to, but I got close today. It's good because it reminds me of the first time I did Plyo and all I wanted to do was to get to a level of fitness where I was able to do it without having to take a break, and maybe even one day smash it. I'm at that level now, but then Insanity comes along and presents another challenge. I have been a little wheezy this week, which doesn't help, but it is tough. I do think that I'll be able to get through them in a couple of weeks, and then I can work on the intensity. I've got Legs & Back tomorrow, which I'm not looking forward to. But I do have an appointment with the chiropractor on Saturday, which I am looking forward to.
I'm reading Columbine, by Dave Cullen at the moment. Can you remember when this happened? I can't, really. I remember seeing that guy climbing out the window on TV, but that's about it. It seems to blend into every other school shooting that happened before and has happened since, and there have been a lot of them. The thing with Columbine, Eric (the REALLY evil one, if you had to choose) built a bomb and placed it in the cafeteria with the aim of bringing the roof down on eight hundred kids as they ate their lunch. It wasn't really meant to be a shooting at all. It was meant to be the biggest terrorist bombing in America's history, eclipsing Oklahoma. They planted the bomb in the cafeteria, then took positions outside so they could pick off survivors as they staggered outside. They wanted to kill a thousand students. Only when they realised the bomb hadn't gone off did they go inside and start shooting. And by that time, most of the kids had eaten lunch and where hanging out outside or off campus. Do you remember how deserted the school buildings were at lunchtime? Just a few kids here and there, reading or catching up on homework or something. Eric wanted to kill, and Dylan wanted to die. I guess they accommodated each other. Such a strange thing for two kids to do, and the way they did it, joking around, stupid gung-ho one-liners as they picked people off, like "Do you believe in God?", "Who wants to die next?", or "Peekaboo!". Incredible that they actually went ahead and did it. How could you actually go ahead and do it? They both decided they were going to commit suicide, but before that would try and kill as many people as possible, and live out this fantasy. That movie Elephant captures it perfectly , when the Eric character says to Dylan just before they get started, "And remember, have some fun out there, okay?" I'm sure a lot of kids have fantasies about shooting their school up, maybe they even plan it so they feel like they have some power over their situation, but to actually do it? Holy shit. A really good book. Eric and Dylan left a lot of stuff behind, like diaries and videos and stuff, alot of which the police won't release. The Basement Tapes, they're called. You can't help but think that if they were doing it these days, they'd have a million subscribers to their Youtube channel.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
R3 Day 1 - Chest & Back
Chest & Back is done. Day 1. I started at 6:30 this morning, and finished at 12. What? Well, I thought I would do this morning's workout without comparing it to last Chest & Back numbers from last round, to kind of leave any expectations at the door. I would just do as many reps as I could, without really pushing myself too hard.
Which, of course, is exactly what I ended up doing. So after the first round of exercises, I was toast. I thought I was going to be sick. I sat down for a while, and I thought, nup. Can't continue. And now, comparing the numbers from last round, I know why. I did more reps today in the first round for most of the exercises than I did in the last Chest & Back of last round. Which is crazy.
Also, exercising in the morning on an empty stomach may take some getting used to. So I went in and had breakfast, and began to feel better. My wife is busy doing stuff for Will's kinder, so I'm babysitting Jo Jo today. So when he had his morning nap I went down and did the second round, and did even better than the morning round without feeling sick. So a kind of strange workout today.
I have started watching Lost from the start. Long way to go, and I might not get there, but I will be ready for this last season coming up, even if I have to watch those catch-up episodes they do.
Which, of course, is exactly what I ended up doing. So after the first round of exercises, I was toast. I thought I was going to be sick. I sat down for a while, and I thought, nup. Can't continue. And now, comparing the numbers from last round, I know why. I did more reps today in the first round for most of the exercises than I did in the last Chest & Back of last round. Which is crazy.
Also, exercising in the morning on an empty stomach may take some getting used to. So I went in and had breakfast, and began to feel better. My wife is busy doing stuff for Will's kinder, so I'm babysitting Jo Jo today. So when he had his morning nap I went down and did the second round, and did even better than the morning round without feeling sick. So a kind of strange workout today.
I have started watching Lost from the start. Long way to go, and I might not get there, but I will be ready for this last season coming up, even if I have to watch those catch-up episodes they do.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Round 3 starts tomorrow!
So it all starts again tomorrow. I have to say that I am a little anxious to get started, and to get over the pain of the first week. I don't know how far I've dropped in terms of reps and fitness in the two weeks or so since I finished round 2, but I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I do Chest & Back. Last night I was playing with Will before bed time, and Junko said that if I was doing exercise I would have been upset that Will wasn't going to bed instead of being relaxed and having a great time playing with my son. She was absolutely right. I have been having fun in the evenings because I haven't had it in the back of my mind that I had to do a workout before bed, or before I got to watch a little TV before bed, to be exact. Just one more reason to get up in the mornings and do it. It is getting a little milder recently, though we are probably in for another cold snap or two before Spring finally arrives, but doing the workouts in the morning is the only way to go. I just have to make sure that I get enough sleep, and I'm not up watching people fall over on Youtube when I should be in bed.
I read an article about Brett Kirk, the captain of the Swans this morning. Exactly what I needed to read to get me revved up about this third round. I should start printing out shit that motivates me and put them up on the garage wall or something.
People are saying that Tiger is in a sex addiction clinic "near Hattiesburg". Gotta love modern journalism. This is from The Age, which just cut and paste it from another source. Apparently I should know where Hattiesburg is. No, not Germany. America. In fact, Mississippi. Anyway, a few days ago (this rumour is a week old, BTW) I read an article by a journalist who actually went there, and could not find one person who had seen him, or anything that might suggest he was there. No convey of black SUVs, no private jets had landed at the airport, nothing. Just a few rumours. God knows where he is. His caddie, Stevie Williams, knows where he is, but isn't saying. I doubt he's at a sex clinic though. He'd be out of the country for sure. The big rumour is that he's in South Africa at a friend's estate, which would be much more likely.
Anyway, The Masters is on in the first week of April, so I don't expect him to surface until about late March, which would be stupid because his preparation would be shot by the attention and hype of his return, but then apparently Tiger is stupid. If he misses the Masters, then that's a whole different thing. If his wife has said "It's golf or me" then that's ridiculous. How about "It's skanks or me", because that's where the problem is. What he needs now is golf.
I've already had the obligatory dream where I sit down with Tiger and we discuss his problems and what to do about them. I must say that in my adult life, two people have consistently appeared in my dreams. One is Tiger, the other is my friend Clint. And no, they are not in any way sexual dreams.
So this is my schedule for the next two weeks.
P90X Chest & Back
Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit, ARX
P90X Shoulders & Arms
Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance, ARX
P90X Legs & Back
Yoga, ARX
Insanity Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs
P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit, ARX
P90X Back & Biceps
Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance, ARX
P90X Core Synergistics
Insanity Cardio Recovery
Insanity Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs
Repeat for 4 more weeks, then a week of stretching and Yoga, and then it gets really tough, with Insanity ramping it up for the last six weeks.
I read an article about Brett Kirk, the captain of the Swans this morning. Exactly what I needed to read to get me revved up about this third round. I should start printing out shit that motivates me and put them up on the garage wall or something.
People are saying that Tiger is in a sex addiction clinic "near Hattiesburg". Gotta love modern journalism. This is from The Age, which just cut and paste it from another source. Apparently I should know where Hattiesburg is. No, not Germany. America. In fact, Mississippi. Anyway, a few days ago (this rumour is a week old, BTW) I read an article by a journalist who actually went there, and could not find one person who had seen him, or anything that might suggest he was there. No convey of black SUVs, no private jets had landed at the airport, nothing. Just a few rumours. God knows where he is. His caddie, Stevie Williams, knows where he is, but isn't saying. I doubt he's at a sex clinic though. He'd be out of the country for sure. The big rumour is that he's in South Africa at a friend's estate, which would be much more likely.
Anyway, The Masters is on in the first week of April, so I don't expect him to surface until about late March, which would be stupid because his preparation would be shot by the attention and hype of his return, but then apparently Tiger is stupid. If he misses the Masters, then that's a whole different thing. If his wife has said "It's golf or me" then that's ridiculous. How about "It's skanks or me", because that's where the problem is. What he needs now is golf.
I've already had the obligatory dream where I sit down with Tiger and we discuss his problems and what to do about them. I must say that in my adult life, two people have consistently appeared in my dreams. One is Tiger, the other is my friend Clint. And no, they are not in any way sexual dreams.
So this is my schedule for the next two weeks.
P90X Chest & Back
Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit, ARX
P90X Shoulders & Arms
Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance, ARX
P90X Legs & Back
Yoga, ARX
Insanity Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs
P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit, ARX
P90X Back & Biceps
Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance, ARX
P90X Core Synergistics
Insanity Cardio Recovery
Insanity Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs
Repeat for 4 more weeks, then a week of stretching and Yoga, and then it gets really tough, with Insanity ramping it up for the last six weeks.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Hey. And ARX.
I did Ab Ripper X last night. Yesterday morning Will and I went to a play room in a community centre in Toyota, and then we all went to sushi for lunch. I ate so much salmon I think I have put myself off it. The sixth piece smelt a little like B.O., and as I chewed it I was thinking, that'll do pig, that'll do. Problem is, there's not much else I want to eat a sushi place. It's all pretty much just cold, raw fish. There's the egg sushi, and fried stuff like fried prawn or fried squid, but even that... I usually like sushi, but yesterday was a struggle. Then we just hung out at an electronics store for a while, and then we went home. Will was the one who brought up the subject of exercise, so I slipped the ol' ARX into the DVD and away we went. I got through it okay. I guess it's only bee four or five days since I last did it, but it feels like so much longer since I did anything strenuous. Last night I watched a DVD of the Swans' 2005 season when we won the premiership that I downloaded. We had such a crappy start to that season, but then we were in such great form at the end. What can you say about Nick Davis? Sydney owes him a flag.
So on Thursday I start my P90X/Insanity hybrid. I'm a little worried that I might have a heart attack doing Insanity. It looks crazy. So if I do have a heart attack, then at least you can say say that I didn't go in to this thing without expectations. I might actually use my heart-rate monitor to keep an eye on things. In the first six weeks the Insanity workouts are only about 40 minutes, which isn't excessive. The last six weeks are longer, so we'll see how I'm feeling about it then.
I have been taking supplements the whole time I've been doing these workouts.
I take protein powder, two scoops with some water and about 200 ml of milk, a banana and some ice. Love it. I put half a scoop of creatine in there, too.
I take a multivitamin, and a capsule of fish oil, and every second day or so I take some zinc. And that's it. Nothing too extreme or expensive. This round I'm going to make it a habit to bring some fruit and vegetables to work everyday, and to cut down on the sweets. I weighed myself at the bath house the other day and I weight 84 kg! That's the heaviest I've ever been. I would expect to lose some weight during this third round, but it just goes to show how underweight I was when I started, because I've put on nearly 8 kg.
So on Thursday I start my P90X/Insanity hybrid. I'm a little worried that I might have a heart attack doing Insanity. It looks crazy. So if I do have a heart attack, then at least you can say say that I didn't go in to this thing without expectations. I might actually use my heart-rate monitor to keep an eye on things. In the first six weeks the Insanity workouts are only about 40 minutes, which isn't excessive. The last six weeks are longer, so we'll see how I'm feeling about it then.
I have been taking supplements the whole time I've been doing these workouts.
I take protein powder, two scoops with some water and about 200 ml of milk, a banana and some ice. Love it. I put half a scoop of creatine in there, too.
I take a multivitamin, and a capsule of fish oil, and every second day or so I take some zinc. And that's it. Nothing too extreme or expensive. This round I'm going to make it a habit to bring some fruit and vegetables to work everyday, and to cut down on the sweets. I weighed myself at the bath house the other day and I weight 84 kg! That's the heaviest I've ever been. I would expect to lose some weight during this third round, but it just goes to show how underweight I was when I started, because I've put on nearly 8 kg.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Taking It Easy
I did X Stretch on Thursday, and that's it. It's been nice to have some free time in the evenings and not have to worry about getting my workout done. But I already feel lazy and sloppy and I'm really looking forward to getting started on my Round 3 P90X/Insanity hybrid. Plus we've got Australia's Biggest Loser coming up soon, which has pumped me up even more. I just watched the preview. They make them run a marathon! Holy shit! I swear, they are going to kill someone one day. Did you see that chick spew into a bucket in the gym? Respect. I can't wait to get stuck into it. These shows are always a refreshing reminder of how much ego gets in the way of achievement. I'll write down my schedule in the next couple of days. I start again on Thursday.
I'm going to to do them in the morning when I can. Working out in the evening is just too hard. The only hard thing about working out in the morning is getting up.
Will and I went to a driving range today. First time for Will. I bought him a little golf club and he went at it.
A nice shot capturing his form at impact. Weirdly he has his right toes off the ground.
I'm going to to do them in the morning when I can. Working out in the evening is just too hard. The only hard thing about working out in the morning is getting up.
Will and I went to a driving range today. First time for Will. I bought him a little golf club and he went at it.
A nice shot capturing his form at impact. Weirdly he has his right toes off the ground.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Road, ARX
My company is going back to five days weeks next month, which is a real bummer. I've gotten used to three and four day weeks, and I've seen that this is the way to go. Five days a week is one too many. I would gladly forfeit some salary for that one day back. Now that the Great Slowdown has begun, surely this is the future of work. Why come in five days a week when there is only three days a week of work to do? As you can probably tell, I'm not very ambitious professionally. Probably why I ended up here in Japan.
I'm so glad I've ditched the textbooks. It takes one minute to find an interesting article in this magazine I bought, and translating them is fun. I actually want to get past the words in order to find the information, instead of just trudging through the words to get it done. I'm reading an article about 'Herbivorous Men' which is the latest buzzword here to describe men who aren't really interested in women but more interested in their hobbies, usually banal stuff like figurines and gadgets, and are really passive and weak.
I watched "The Road" last night. I like the moments the man and the boy share, and the end was heartbreaking. I like every movie that Viggo has done, and he is good in this too. He's such an honest actor. It's humbling to think that there are people who are experiencing this situation now, in the shittiest parts of the world. Everyone is out to rob or kill them, the landscape is desolate and barren, and the only hope they have is that their childrens lives might be better than theirs. We lucky people get to sit in a cinema (or in front of a computer) for a couple of hours and think, gee, wouldn't that be terrible. But at the same time, with all these end of the world movies out recently (disaster-porn, they call it), it's obviously something we fantasize about, to have everything gone and to start again. Some critics have put it down to the debt crisis, and the desire to see it all wiped away in an instant. No more mortgage, no more credit card worries, no more stupid job, no more kids whining about getting a Wii or something, just a pure existence, getting food, staying warm. I'd agree with that. There has to be a reason for all these movies. I think it's also a response to the recklessness of Western society that we all recognize but are powerless to stop. The spending, the eating, the waste. "The Road" is probably the first one that shows that the inevitable outcome might actually be pretty shitty, and you might rather want to be dead than alive. Watch "I am Legend" and try not to think, "Wow, being the last human on Earth would be so cool." It's like a 12-year-old boy's fantasy. Maybe that accounts for the feeling I'm getting while watching The Road of "why would you bother?" But then the only thing keeping the man alive is that his son is alive. That would be enough for me, I guess. No, it is enough. If Will was gone, if I had him and then lost him, why would I bother going on? That's why people have children, isn't it. And even if you personally don't have any children, why would you bother if other people didn't either? You wouldn't. Like in the book Children Of Men. No children, no reason to keep everything going. I must admit that when Jo Jo was born I thought, well, he's a backup, isn't he. If something happened to William, I couldn't just throw myself under a bus because he was here. Another reason for living. The question the movie asks is, can this man kill his own son? I think that's what makes it so horrible, because of course he can't. That's what made the end of "The Mist" so weird, too. Not that he killed his own son (and so quickly!), but that we didn't even know that it was on the cards. Sorry if you haven't seen The Mist, but you should have by now. In The Road the man says about his son, "To me he's a God." Isn't that a great line? My son William is my God. He is the only thing I believe in. And Jo Jo's growing on me too.
I'm so glad I've ditched the textbooks. It takes one minute to find an interesting article in this magazine I bought, and translating them is fun. I actually want to get past the words in order to find the information, instead of just trudging through the words to get it done. I'm reading an article about 'Herbivorous Men' which is the latest buzzword here to describe men who aren't really interested in women but more interested in their hobbies, usually banal stuff like figurines and gadgets, and are really passive and weak.
I watched "The Road" last night. I like the moments the man and the boy share, and the end was heartbreaking. I like every movie that Viggo has done, and he is good in this too. He's such an honest actor. It's humbling to think that there are people who are experiencing this situation now, in the shittiest parts of the world. Everyone is out to rob or kill them, the landscape is desolate and barren, and the only hope they have is that their childrens lives might be better than theirs. We lucky people get to sit in a cinema (or in front of a computer) for a couple of hours and think, gee, wouldn't that be terrible. But at the same time, with all these end of the world movies out recently (disaster-porn, they call it), it's obviously something we fantasize about, to have everything gone and to start again. Some critics have put it down to the debt crisis, and the desire to see it all wiped away in an instant. No more mortgage, no more credit card worries, no more stupid job, no more kids whining about getting a Wii or something, just a pure existence, getting food, staying warm. I'd agree with that. There has to be a reason for all these movies. I think it's also a response to the recklessness of Western society that we all recognize but are powerless to stop. The spending, the eating, the waste. "The Road" is probably the first one that shows that the inevitable outcome might actually be pretty shitty, and you might rather want to be dead than alive. Watch "I am Legend" and try not to think, "Wow, being the last human on Earth would be so cool." It's like a 12-year-old boy's fantasy. Maybe that accounts for the feeling I'm getting while watching The Road of "why would you bother?" But then the only thing keeping the man alive is that his son is alive. That would be enough for me, I guess. No, it is enough. If Will was gone, if I had him and then lost him, why would I bother going on? That's why people have children, isn't it. And even if you personally don't have any children, why would you bother if other people didn't either? You wouldn't. Like in the book Children Of Men. No children, no reason to keep everything going. I must admit that when Jo Jo was born I thought, well, he's a backup, isn't he. If something happened to William, I couldn't just throw myself under a bus because he was here. Another reason for living. The question the movie asks is, can this man kill his own son? I think that's what makes it so horrible, because of course he can't. That's what made the end of "The Mist" so weird, too. Not that he killed his own son (and so quickly!), but that we didn't even know that it was on the cards. Sorry if you haven't seen The Mist, but you should have by now. In The Road the man says about his son, "To me he's a God." Isn't that a great line? My son William is my God. He is the only thing I believe in. And Jo Jo's growing on me too.
Monday, January 11, 2010
R2 Day 94 - Rest
I did Yoga and Ab Ripper X yesterday, and took a break today. I think we can call this second round of P90X over. I plan to start the third round of a P90X/Insanity hybrid on Janaury 20th, which gives me a week and half off, but I will probably continue doing light workouts until then, things like stretching and yoga and a cardio workout every few days. I'll do Ab Ripper X every second day, and I'll take a before photo on the 20th too. So in the next week and a bit I want to concentrate on eating well, because not working out is no excuse to pig out, and if I eat a lot of junk then it'll just make the first couple of weeks of round 3 that much tougher.
I've decided that I'm going to climb Mount Fuji in early Summer, around June or July. It's not a really difficult climb, just long, and it's more about how you react to altitude than how fit you are, but it's a goal, and it will mean I have to buy all sorts of cool things like boots and hiking stuff.
I've decided that I'm going to climb Mount Fuji in early Summer, around June or July. It's not a really difficult climb, just long, and it's more about how you react to altitude than how fit you are, but it's a goal, and it will mean I have to buy all sorts of cool things like boots and hiking stuff.
Friday, January 8, 2010
R2 Day 92 - Cardio Intervals
Cardio Intervals tonight, which was awesome. Cardio X last night. Fighting the urge to ditch this last week.
So as part of my New Years Resolution of improving my Japanese and passing level 1 of the proficiency test in December, yesterday I got out a few Japanese textbooks that have been sitting around for ages and trawled through them, looking for something appropriate to get me started. I decided I would start with "Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced". All the vocab, grammar points, and readings seemed to be there, and when I finished it in about six months, I figured I would be about half way to level 1. So in the afternoon at work I closed down all the work I was doing (not much) and began. I skipped chapters 1 - 4 because they looked boring, and started on chapter 5. "Unusual Customs". *sigh* Okay, this is one thing you have to get used to when studying Japanese. Not only do you have to learn the language, but seemingly you have to learn how different and unique Japanese people and culture is too. So it begins with an introduction outlining six rules when using chopsticks, and the Japanese terms for these rules. For example, there's "yosehashi", which is using your chopsticks to push bowls and plates around the table. You can't do that. I skipped this because I would never, ever use these terms.
Next is a reading exercise. A page and a half article about udon, the fat noodle. *sigh* If the article is half as boring as udon itself is, I won't get through it. And I didn't. It was worse than udon.
So ten minutes in and I'm so bored I give up. I look at other chapters. "Japanese Children". "Shopping is Fun!" "Entering a Japanese Company". "Protecting the Environment". "Balancing Body and Mind".
I can't use this book. It sounds like a social studies textbook. And all of my books are like this. Why?
So what I did is ditch the textbooks, and this morning I bought "Spa!", a trashy sleazy tabloid magazine, and I'm going to pick a few articles from it every week and translate them. Remember "Post"? It's like that. Topless girls, outrageous stories about gangsters and sex fiends, and opinionated articles by columnists. Can't wait. I guess this makes sense, but to learn Japanese, I have to ditch the textbooks and go to the real thing. Japanese people writing for Japanese people.
So as part of my New Years Resolution of improving my Japanese and passing level 1 of the proficiency test in December, yesterday I got out a few Japanese textbooks that have been sitting around for ages and trawled through them, looking for something appropriate to get me started. I decided I would start with "Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced". All the vocab, grammar points, and readings seemed to be there, and when I finished it in about six months, I figured I would be about half way to level 1. So in the afternoon at work I closed down all the work I was doing (not much) and began. I skipped chapters 1 - 4 because they looked boring, and started on chapter 5. "Unusual Customs". *sigh* Okay, this is one thing you have to get used to when studying Japanese. Not only do you have to learn the language, but seemingly you have to learn how different and unique Japanese people and culture is too. So it begins with an introduction outlining six rules when using chopsticks, and the Japanese terms for these rules. For example, there's "yosehashi", which is using your chopsticks to push bowls and plates around the table. You can't do that. I skipped this because I would never, ever use these terms.
Next is a reading exercise. A page and a half article about udon, the fat noodle. *sigh* If the article is half as boring as udon itself is, I won't get through it. And I didn't. It was worse than udon.
So ten minutes in and I'm so bored I give up. I look at other chapters. "Japanese Children". "Shopping is Fun!" "Entering a Japanese Company". "Protecting the Environment". "Balancing Body and Mind".
I can't use this book. It sounds like a social studies textbook. And all of my books are like this. Why?
So what I did is ditch the textbooks, and this morning I bought "Spa!", a trashy sleazy tabloid magazine, and I'm going to pick a few articles from it every week and translate them. Remember "Post"? It's like that. Topless girls, outrageous stories about gangsters and sex fiends, and opinionated articles by columnists. Can't wait. I guess this makes sense, but to learn Japanese, I have to ditch the textbooks and go to the real thing. Japanese people writing for Japanese people.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
R2 Day 90 - ARX
So I've reached day 90. I just did Ab Ripper X tonight because I was tired, but I am real conscious of letting the last week slide, and I don't want to do that. I'll do Cardio X in the morning, I think. I've got a week of recovery, and then that's it! Another round of P90X done. This one didn't seem as tough as the first round, I think for a number of reasons. First, it's not as hot as it was when I was doing the first round. The cardio workouts made me sweat, but not like the worrying levels they did during the first round when it was 35 degrees. Second, I was a little more relaxed with the schedule. My rest day was flexible. I think I only missed one Yoga somewhere, and that's it, but some weeks it got a little confusing as to where I was at. But if I couldn't start my workout before 10 at night, I didn't do it, whereas in the first round I did a lot of late night workouts. It's a little easier on the system, but I think that if I did another round with this system of being flexible with the schedule, I would just fall away and not be able to complete it. Third, I'm fitter and stronger. Plyo isn't the bitch it used to be. In fact, I can kind of cruise through Plyo now when I couldn't before. Cardio X is refreshing, Yoga is nice. They used to destroy me. The resistance workouts are tough, only because I'm lifting more weight and doing more reps and pull ups than I did in the first round, and they take longer because I need more time to do the reps (especially pull ups) and I take breaks between the exercises instead of trying to rush through them. Some of the resistance workouts seem really rushed. I don't know why this is, maybe they wanted to keep them all under an hour. But I take an extra five or ten minutes to do a resistance workout that I used to.
What could I have done better? My workouts could sometimes have been more intense, but honestly, I have been very pleased with the consistency of my intensity. When I felt good, I worked harder, and when I felt tired, I just did it, or I didn't and went to bed early. Usually I felt good, and I improved on everything. Weights went up, reps went up, cardio workouts became easier - I felt fresher in the last twenty minutes of the workouts than I did in the first round and I could really push it at the end.
I could have definitely eaten better. This food thing is tough, and it reminds me of smoking, though not as scary. I have had two cans of beer in the last three months, a couple of fast-food meals (Mos Burger, which blurs the boundary of fast-food and downright gourmet cuisine) and a couple of cans of soft drink. Way way down from before. But the chips and coffee are a problem, and chocolate too, which is strange because I never used to eat chocolate. I'll have me 2 fun-size Kitkats after lunch, and that's fine, but if there's any chocolate in the house, I can't help myself and I will eat it all.
When I look in the mirror these days, the thought of loosing the six-pack and all the other muscles I've got now makes me sick. All that hard work could be gone in a couple of months of taking it easy and not paying attention to my health. That's why getting the food thing right is so important now, because if I do stop working out, the chips and coffee and chocolate and junk will just destroy any of the gains I've made in the last year so quickly it will be frightening. But if I eat right, then I might lose some tone and muscle mass, but I won't be battling to keep slim. I've said it so many times, but food is where it is at for me now.
My left shoulder, left knee, and right hip aren't 100%. Probably from all the golf balls I hit growing up. Just wear and tear. They feel so much better than they did two years ago, though. My asthma comes and goes, but again, sooo much better.
So what now? After my recovery week, I might do a week of Yoga and stretching, and then do a hybrid of P90X and Insanity. Like I said before, the cardio workouts in P90X have become a little less challenging than they used to be, enabling me to kind of coast through them. Insanity will fix that, for sure. But I don't want to do just cardio, so I'll keep the P90X resistance workouts. I will do Legs & Back only once in a while, because I was so glad to see the end of it yesterday I can't tell you. I can do either alternating days, or alternating weeks. I think I'll do alternating days like the guy from Fitbomb is doing.
This guy gives the best review of The Phantom Menace I have ever seen.
What could I have done better? My workouts could sometimes have been more intense, but honestly, I have been very pleased with the consistency of my intensity. When I felt good, I worked harder, and when I felt tired, I just did it, or I didn't and went to bed early. Usually I felt good, and I improved on everything. Weights went up, reps went up, cardio workouts became easier - I felt fresher in the last twenty minutes of the workouts than I did in the first round and I could really push it at the end.
I could have definitely eaten better. This food thing is tough, and it reminds me of smoking, though not as scary. I have had two cans of beer in the last three months, a couple of fast-food meals (Mos Burger, which blurs the boundary of fast-food and downright gourmet cuisine) and a couple of cans of soft drink. Way way down from before. But the chips and coffee are a problem, and chocolate too, which is strange because I never used to eat chocolate. I'll have me 2 fun-size Kitkats after lunch, and that's fine, but if there's any chocolate in the house, I can't help myself and I will eat it all.
When I look in the mirror these days, the thought of loosing the six-pack and all the other muscles I've got now makes me sick. All that hard work could be gone in a couple of months of taking it easy and not paying attention to my health. That's why getting the food thing right is so important now, because if I do stop working out, the chips and coffee and chocolate and junk will just destroy any of the gains I've made in the last year so quickly it will be frightening. But if I eat right, then I might lose some tone and muscle mass, but I won't be battling to keep slim. I've said it so many times, but food is where it is at for me now.
My left shoulder, left knee, and right hip aren't 100%. Probably from all the golf balls I hit growing up. Just wear and tear. They feel so much better than they did two years ago, though. My asthma comes and goes, but again, sooo much better.
So what now? After my recovery week, I might do a week of Yoga and stretching, and then do a hybrid of P90X and Insanity. Like I said before, the cardio workouts in P90X have become a little less challenging than they used to be, enabling me to kind of coast through them. Insanity will fix that, for sure. But I don't want to do just cardio, so I'll keep the P90X resistance workouts. I will do Legs & Back only once in a while, because I was so glad to see the end of it yesterday I can't tell you. I can do either alternating days, or alternating weeks. I think I'll do alternating days like the guy from Fitbomb is doing.
This guy gives the best review of The Phantom Menace I have ever seen.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
R2 Day 89 - Legs & Back
I took a rest yesterday and did Legs & Back this afternoon. 107 pull ups for the last L & B in this round. I never thought I could do that many. I got Cardio X tomorrow, then straight into Recovery Week, then done. I was thinking of doing some kind of P90X Insanity mix the next time.
I saw Avatar yesterday. Great movie, but a few times throughout the movie I thought, man, if I was the head of an Al Qaeda or whatever, I'd show this movie at the initiation ceremony. Get the troops pumped up. Mind you, Al Qaeda aren't exactly luminous beings in touch with their landscape, but still. I also couldn't help but think that it is a historically disingenuous movie. If it went for another ten minutes, the last scene would be of the Americans nuking their tree of souls, and exterminating every last Na'vi. Ask the American Indians or Australian Aborigines how colonialism works. Saying that, I really enjoyed the character of the Colonel. One tough SOB.
I saw Avatar yesterday. Great movie, but a few times throughout the movie I thought, man, if I was the head of an Al Qaeda or whatever, I'd show this movie at the initiation ceremony. Get the troops pumped up. Mind you, Al Qaeda aren't exactly luminous beings in touch with their landscape, but still. I also couldn't help but think that it is a historically disingenuous movie. If it went for another ten minutes, the last scene would be of the Americans nuking their tree of souls, and exterminating every last Na'vi. Ask the American Indians or Australian Aborigines how colonialism works. Saying that, I really enjoyed the character of the Colonel. One tough SOB.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
R2 Day 87 - Patience Hummingbird, ARX
Yesterday I did Shoulders & Arms, and today I did the latest Yoga workout from the One on One with Tony series, Patience Hummingbird. Just to mix it up a little. I would say that this workout is a little easier than the Fountain of Youth workout I usually do, but it is just as intense. My hips are really tight, and last night I woke up before dawn and my left hip joint was really aching. My hips and knees have been a little iffy since the end of year work party. I don't know why, but the Japanese still insist on having restaurants with no chairs and low tables and everyone has to sit on the floor. Everyone hates it, but they still do it. I don't have anything against floor living. In fact, when I go back to Australia, I often find myself on sitting on the floor and leaning against the couch. It's just that at a restaurant there isn't any room to straighten my legs, and I'm constantly shifting around trying to reduce the stress on my joints. My hips have been popping for a couple of years now, especially when I'm moving them laterally, like when I go to get out of the car or something. Usually it's the right hip that is tight, but now the left hip is playing up a little too. Might have something to do with my back. I'm going to a chiropractor when the holidays are over, for sure.
There are a lot of things I want to write, but I'm conscious of the fact that people I know read this, and I want to present my life in the best light possible, and I don't want them to worry about me, and also my ego prevents me from admitting to making mistakes and showing doubt. I don't feel like I can be honest. Funny, because the only thing really connecting me to anyone I know is my Facebook page, and I'm too chicken shit to delete it even though I want to. I've got one friend that I can talk to here, but we rarely bring up the topic of leaving because we've each had so many good friends leave that it sucks talking about it. Every holiday season I spend in this place, I wonder, how can I get out of here without tearing my life apart, or just as importantly, my sons' lives? I remember when I was applying for the job I have now, and I was talking to my soon-to-be co-worker on the phone about a time for an interview. He said, "So you're married to a Japanese woman and you have a child, is that right?" "Yes," I said. "So basically," he said, "you're rooted, right?" I'm pretty sure he had no idea why I started laughing, maybe only an Australian would get it. "Yep, I'm rooted all right."
So 2010 is about setting myself up to give myself the best shot at getting out of here. That means study, health, and looking for jobs back home. If I somehow wrangle a job to come back to then that would be the best case scenario.
Decide. Commit. Succeed. Right?
There are a lot of things I want to write, but I'm conscious of the fact that people I know read this, and I want to present my life in the best light possible, and I don't want them to worry about me, and also my ego prevents me from admitting to making mistakes and showing doubt. I don't feel like I can be honest. Funny, because the only thing really connecting me to anyone I know is my Facebook page, and I'm too chicken shit to delete it even though I want to. I've got one friend that I can talk to here, but we rarely bring up the topic of leaving because we've each had so many good friends leave that it sucks talking about it. Every holiday season I spend in this place, I wonder, how can I get out of here without tearing my life apart, or just as importantly, my sons' lives? I remember when I was applying for the job I have now, and I was talking to my soon-to-be co-worker on the phone about a time for an interview. He said, "So you're married to a Japanese woman and you have a child, is that right?" "Yes," I said. "So basically," he said, "you're rooted, right?" I'm pretty sure he had no idea why I started laughing, maybe only an Australian would get it. "Yep, I'm rooted all right."
So 2010 is about setting myself up to give myself the best shot at getting out of here. That means study, health, and looking for jobs back home. If I somehow wrangle a job to come back to then that would be the best case scenario.
Decide. Commit. Succeed. Right?
Friday, January 1, 2010
R2 Day 85 - Plyo, ARX
Did Chest & Back yesterday, and Plyo and Ab Ripper X today. Both times Will came down to the garage with me to exercise. I took the weights off the 5 kilo dumbbells and gave him just the bars, and it was so cute. On one hand it's kind of distracting to have him around the heavy weights and running around in the little space (I kicked his hand during military march today and he cried for a minute) but then on the other hand it's distracting, if you know what I mean. Both workout went really quick. Plus of course I want to encourage him to exercise and get some strength in the future. He's only four and a half now, but seeing me exercising and doing weights has to be better that seeing me smoking and lying around watching tv, surely. Today we went out and bought him his own 2 kilo dumb bells.
My New Years Resolutions for this year are
1. To write a first draft of my science fiction novel (man that sounds dumb)
2. To take the Level 1 Japanese test in December with a realistic chance of passing (I'm not going to lock myself in, it's a real hard test)
3. To eat less rubbish. Cut down on the coffee, the sugar, the chocolate, and all the other garbage that I put in my body.
The first two are going to take time out of my day that I can only have if I spend less time in front of the computer reading and writing blogs, watching YouTube and crap movies that I wouldn't rent but only watch because I download them for free, and following the news. Yesterday I watched a man who was shot in the head in Iran die on YouTube, and I just thought, enough. I pity that guy and his family because he's out there protesting a government, but dude, you're in Iran, not France. You get the leaders and governments you deserve, and those leaders don't give back what you've let them take without a fight. You should have gotten serious and shot them in the head first! And even smart, good leaders with families will send other men's sons to die because they are afraid of what will happen if they don't. That is cowardly. Shit is crazy, it always has been crazy. So that's my fourth New Year's Resolution.
4. Stop following the news.
There, I just got back the time I needed to do the first two things.
My New Years Resolutions for this year are
1. To write a first draft of my science fiction novel (man that sounds dumb)
2. To take the Level 1 Japanese test in December with a realistic chance of passing (I'm not going to lock myself in, it's a real hard test)
3. To eat less rubbish. Cut down on the coffee, the sugar, the chocolate, and all the other garbage that I put in my body.
The first two are going to take time out of my day that I can only have if I spend less time in front of the computer reading and writing blogs, watching YouTube and crap movies that I wouldn't rent but only watch because I download them for free, and following the news. Yesterday I watched a man who was shot in the head in Iran die on YouTube, and I just thought, enough. I pity that guy and his family because he's out there protesting a government, but dude, you're in Iran, not France. You get the leaders and governments you deserve, and those leaders don't give back what you've let them take without a fight. You should have gotten serious and shot them in the head first! And even smart, good leaders with families will send other men's sons to die because they are afraid of what will happen if they don't. That is cowardly. Shit is crazy, it always has been crazy. So that's my fourth New Year's Resolution.
4. Stop following the news.
There, I just got back the time I needed to do the first two things.
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