Lately my company's factory has been running on all cylinders trying to get machines built and shipped and orders filled, but there's not enough people to do it. So, the English translation team were volunteered to go there and help out. The four of us, and a sixty year old guy who should have retired last month but asked to be kept on in as... I'm not sure, but he's still here, though his desk was moved into the corner. It's kind of an insult, because the work sucks and no-one wants to do it. Just a not-to-subtle reiteration of our standing in the company, I guess. Get the wogs to do it.
It's not too bad for me, because the factory is about ten minutes away by motorbike from my house, so I can leave later and come home earlier. The other guys face 90 minute commutes, trains, buses, the whole deal. Kind of sucks for them. But every now and then I get shown my place. It's confronting, but it's the reality, and a dose of reality in Planet Japan can be useful.
Looking at my New Year's Resolutions, I need a bit of a reality check.
My fitness is fine. I'm eating less of everything, working hard, lifting more. I didn't do Insane Abs last night because I was tired. I have Shoulders & Arms tonight, and I'll do Ab Ripper X afterwards. That should mess me up good. I want to improve my cardio vascular fitness over the Summer. I will look into free-climbing during Golden Week next week, which is like Easter, but without the fairy tales. I have to sort out these headaches I'm getting too. I'll go to the doctor's, and also spent Golden Week off the chocolate and canned coffee. Look at making some fresh coffee, and maybe a juicer? I had some great juice in Hawaii, and it reminded me how good it is, and how little I drink of it.
My Japanese study is in serious trouble. I'm keeping up with the kanji study, though I'm not doing any reading or serious study. The lessons have stopped, though I should try again, maybe a lower level. Hopefully the teacher won't chatter the whole time. But if they do, maybe look at paying someone for lessons? Passing level 2 was very encouraging, and lucky, so I have to take advantage of that.
My writing is non-existent. Can't get into it. Just this blog, and a diary I keep for Will and Jo that I can give them when I'm older or if I die or something. Meh.
Job. Got my eye open if something pops up. During Golden Week I will contact an employment agency in Melbourne that specializes in recruitment for Japanese companies. Some proactivity.
Oh yea, I got Tie Fighter going on my computer, but there are no sound effects during missions. Minor hiccup. It was amazing seeing cut scenes that I haven't seen since about 1996. It still looks pretty good. Hey Lucas! What to make a quick couple of million? Put it up on Steam for $5, fully compatible for modern computers. Although I swore never to give you another cent of my money after that steaming pile of shit you and Spielberg called an Indiana Jones movie a couple of years ago, I'll make an exception for this. Consider it a belated payment for the copy of the game a guy I worked with at Coles gave me back in '95. Actually, no. Fuck you, George Lucas. I'll keep perservering with my pirated copy.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Round 3: Day 33 - Insanity Insane Abs
Another glorious weekend of weather. This really is the best time of year in Japan. Clean air, green trees, people out and about. Will and I hung out on Saturday. It's turning into our day together. We went to the castle and had ice-cream, hung out at the library, rode the bicycle around town. I made us pizza for lunch too.
I'm reading Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanly Robinson, and really enjoying it. I did my honours thesis on KSR's Mars Trilogy. Did you kow that? Do you even care? I called it "The Ecologics of KSR's Mars Trilogy", and it was an exploration of a lot of things, mainly how Mars has always been a literary landscape for competing environmental theories. I know, I can't believe no-one would hire me after I graduated either.
Workouts going well. Getting stuck into month 2 of round 3: With A Vengeance. Insanity on Saturday, which wore me out, and Chest & Back yesterday. Insane Abs tonight. Good times. Fitness Ninja had a good point. It might be about time I tried to reduce the number of pushups and pullups I do by adding weight.
Anyway, a little busy at work today, for a change. Must get back to it.
Where was I? Oh yes.
"Click [OK], then [Next]."
*sigh*
I'm reading Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanly Robinson, and really enjoying it. I did my honours thesis on KSR's Mars Trilogy. Did you kow that? Do you even care? I called it "The Ecologics of KSR's Mars Trilogy", and it was an exploration of a lot of things, mainly how Mars has always been a literary landscape for competing environmental theories. I know, I can't believe no-one would hire me after I graduated either.
Workouts going well. Getting stuck into month 2 of round 3: With A Vengeance. Insanity on Saturday, which wore me out, and Chest & Back yesterday. Insane Abs tonight. Good times. Fitness Ninja had a good point. It might be about time I tried to reduce the number of pushups and pullups I do by adding weight.
Anyway, a little busy at work today, for a change. Must get back to it.
Where was I? Oh yes.
"Click [OK], then [Next]."
*sigh*
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Round 3: Day 29 - Renewal
I did Insanity Insane Abs Monday night. Most of it, anyway. Will did some with me and then got tired and shirty and we took him to bed and I never got to do the end of it. I didn't finish it because I spent an hour trying to get Star Wars: Tie Fighter, my second favourite game ever after Half Life, to work on my computer, but I couldn't. I guess it's like trying to play a vinyl record on a CD player. So I went to bed.
We are weaning Jo off the breast milk. Junko came down with some kind of rash on Monday. We have no idea what from. We ran through a list of things she ate on the weekend, but it was a loooong list. My wife likes to eat. So she went to the doctors and he said it was stress (which means he doesn't know what caused it either) and gave her a shot of something with steroids in it. An anti-inflammatory or something. So, she couldn't breast feed Jo Jo for a day. So while we were at it, we decided to stop it completely. Probably about time, but when he woke up at 1 on Sunday night and cried for 2 hours, I just wanted her to give him the breast so we could all get some sleep. Well, me, more specifically. But he seems to be doing okay, though he does look extremely sad most of the time now.
I took the day off work yesterday because I had to renew my driver's license and renew my foreigner registration card. Renewing my license involved a two-hour lecture and video presentation. It wasn't that bad, actually. There were about twenty of us renewers in there, and the guy chatted about how dangerous it is driving, especially in my prefecture, Aichi. Did you know that in the mid 70's, around 16,00 people were being killed each year on the roads in Japan? It's down to 5,000 now. Still a lot. It makes me think of that hypothetical situation: Aliens come to Earth and offer us a transport system that would get us from A to B in a fraction of the time it takes us now. But they also say that due to uncontrollable variables, tens of thousands of people worldwide would be killed using it each year. Would we accept it? Probably not. But that's exactly the situation we have now. So I got my new license, and then went to City Hall to renew my foreigner's card. No dramas there. Then I went to Matsuya for lunch. A bowl of beef on rice, bowl of miso soup, salad, and tea, all for the amazing price of 350 yen (less than $4). And they say deflation is a bad thing!
Then I went home and did Back & Biceps while I watched Jamie's Food Revolution. It's kind of a nothing show, but I can tune in and out and not miss much. I couldn't watch Lost or Breaking Bad (it's back!) and do a workout. No chance.
It's raining again today! Yesterday was perfect - I could even ride around on my motorbike with just a T-shirt on! - but today is crap. It has rained so much the last couple of months. With the rainy season coming up in another month or so, it looks like we're only going to get a month of nice weather at most! That's bullshit.
Tonight I've got Patience Yoga, and then a rest day tomorrow, and then onto the second month of this round. I feel like taking more time to do the resistance workouts is the way to go, because my numbers have gone up considerably, and I'm feeling much stronger. They take a bit longer, but that's okay. I'm eating a little better, not so much chocolate or chips, and I'm eating smaller meals, too. I should start using my bread machine to make other stuff, like homemade pasta or cakes or biscuits or something. I feel like doing some more cooking.
We are weaning Jo off the breast milk. Junko came down with some kind of rash on Monday. We have no idea what from. We ran through a list of things she ate on the weekend, but it was a loooong list. My wife likes to eat. So she went to the doctors and he said it was stress (which means he doesn't know what caused it either) and gave her a shot of something with steroids in it. An anti-inflammatory or something. So, she couldn't breast feed Jo Jo for a day. So while we were at it, we decided to stop it completely. Probably about time, but when he woke up at 1 on Sunday night and cried for 2 hours, I just wanted her to give him the breast so we could all get some sleep. Well, me, more specifically. But he seems to be doing okay, though he does look extremely sad most of the time now.
I took the day off work yesterday because I had to renew my driver's license and renew my foreigner registration card. Renewing my license involved a two-hour lecture and video presentation. It wasn't that bad, actually. There were about twenty of us renewers in there, and the guy chatted about how dangerous it is driving, especially in my prefecture, Aichi. Did you know that in the mid 70's, around 16,00 people were being killed each year on the roads in Japan? It's down to 5,000 now. Still a lot. It makes me think of that hypothetical situation: Aliens come to Earth and offer us a transport system that would get us from A to B in a fraction of the time it takes us now. But they also say that due to uncontrollable variables, tens of thousands of people worldwide would be killed using it each year. Would we accept it? Probably not. But that's exactly the situation we have now. So I got my new license, and then went to City Hall to renew my foreigner's card. No dramas there. Then I went to Matsuya for lunch. A bowl of beef on rice, bowl of miso soup, salad, and tea, all for the amazing price of 350 yen (less than $4). And they say deflation is a bad thing!
Then I went home and did Back & Biceps while I watched Jamie's Food Revolution. It's kind of a nothing show, but I can tune in and out and not miss much. I couldn't watch Lost or Breaking Bad (it's back!) and do a workout. No chance.
It's raining again today! Yesterday was perfect - I could even ride around on my motorbike with just a T-shirt on! - but today is crap. It has rained so much the last couple of months. With the rainy season coming up in another month or so, it looks like we're only going to get a month of nice weather at most! That's bullshit.
Tonight I've got Patience Yoga, and then a rest day tomorrow, and then onto the second month of this round. I feel like taking more time to do the resistance workouts is the way to go, because my numbers have gone up considerably, and I'm feeling much stronger. They take a bit longer, but that's okay. I'm eating a little better, not so much chocolate or chips, and I'm eating smaller meals, too. I should start using my bread machine to make other stuff, like homemade pasta or cakes or biscuits or something. I feel like doing some more cooking.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Round 3: Day 26 - Insane Abs
I took a rest on Thursday. and I did Legs & Back (edit) Friday night. Remember, the shortened version I told you about last time? Still a beast though. Then on Saturday I did Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance, and yesterday I did Chest, Shoulders & Triceps. In the very first pull up exercise in Legs & Back, I felt the pain in my head again. Fuck! I stopped immediately, and sat for a while, and it never got really bad. After a minute I was okay, when previously I had to abandon the workouts. I feel like I went to the edge, but pulled back just in time. I am no longer going to see how many consecutive pull ups I can do, when I would strain to do just one more. I'm going to do as many as I can until I don't feel comfortable, then hop off the bar for a few seconds, then repeat, then repeat, until I feel as though I have done as many as I can. There's no head splitting straining to get the last one in, but it's close. And it also means I can do a lot more pull ups. Last time I did Legs & Back I did 76. On Friday night I did 100. So while I'm never truly reaching failure, I'm doing much more, and I'm not getting these bloody headaches.
I did Chest, Shoulders & Triceps while watching Sydney vs North yesterday. The first half was shite, but we shook them off in the third by playing really well, and it was nice to see us have another good win. We're playing pretty well, though apart from St Kilda, who beat us, we haven't played any real quality. I loved it how in the first quarter the commentators were talking about how playing Richmond and beating them by ten goals or whatever may have adversely affected our game. Man, Richmond must really suck if that's what happened. It's like they "infect" other teams. Like a parasite that latches onto a host and then immediately dies, and it takes the host a week to overcome a vague feeling of "unwell-ness" as it eradicates the dead parasite's residual remains from its system. That's Richmond. Richmond and North Melbourne should merge, and become the Abbotsford Leaches.
I hate North more than any other club, I think. I'm always extra happy when we beat them. It's not that I hate them so much, it's just that I think they are illegitimate. If there is one team that feels like they shouldn't be in the AFL, it's probably the Freemantle Dockors, but then they are relatively new, and at least they have a massive fan base. North have been around forever, but still feel like they shouldn't be there.
On Saturday I had a great day with William. First, we went to Mr Donuts for a milkshake and donut, then we came home and we had lunch with Joey Jo Jo while Junko went out with some friends, then we did Insanity together, then we went to the bath house, where we had dinner and ice-cream afterwards, then we came home and did our reading lesson, and then bed. At the bath house some hobbyists had telescopes set up out the front, and Will got to see the moon up close, and I saw Saturn and her rings, which was pretty cool. First time I've ever seen that. These telescopes were pretty amazing, because you couldn't see Saturn with the naked eye. I really wanted to see Mars, but the guy couldn't seem to find it with his telescope. I actually had more fun on Saturday with Will that I did the whole week in Hawaii.
Very quiet recently at work. Not much to do. I spent the last hour of work Friday wondering how I can move all my money out of Australia when the crash comes. Can I have some kind of alarm or warning to alert me? It's going to be chaos when it happens. I wanna be like Go! Go! Go! and fax the application to the bank to transfer my money over here the moment before the banks go bust and people start stabbing each other and trapping dogs and using their pelts for warmth. Might not get that bad, but it's gonna be nasty. What do I know about economics? Nothing. But I can feel it in me water! I read an article about how after ten years of unprecedented growth, applications for home loans have dropped 25% this year. But sales are still booming. Whose buying all the homes? Nobody knows! Must be foreigners, they say. But no-one really keeps track, so they can't be sure. Hello! Trouble brewing.
Anyway, Insane Abs tonight. I've never done this before. Should be insane.
I did Chest, Shoulders & Triceps while watching Sydney vs North yesterday. The first half was shite, but we shook them off in the third by playing really well, and it was nice to see us have another good win. We're playing pretty well, though apart from St Kilda, who beat us, we haven't played any real quality. I loved it how in the first quarter the commentators were talking about how playing Richmond and beating them by ten goals or whatever may have adversely affected our game. Man, Richmond must really suck if that's what happened. It's like they "infect" other teams. Like a parasite that latches onto a host and then immediately dies, and it takes the host a week to overcome a vague feeling of "unwell-ness" as it eradicates the dead parasite's residual remains from its system. That's Richmond. Richmond and North Melbourne should merge, and become the Abbotsford Leaches.
I hate North more than any other club, I think. I'm always extra happy when we beat them. It's not that I hate them so much, it's just that I think they are illegitimate. If there is one team that feels like they shouldn't be in the AFL, it's probably the Freemantle Dockors, but then they are relatively new, and at least they have a massive fan base. North have been around forever, but still feel like they shouldn't be there.
On Saturday I had a great day with William. First, we went to Mr Donuts for a milkshake and donut, then we came home and we had lunch with Joey Jo Jo while Junko went out with some friends, then we did Insanity together, then we went to the bath house, where we had dinner and ice-cream afterwards, then we came home and did our reading lesson, and then bed. At the bath house some hobbyists had telescopes set up out the front, and Will got to see the moon up close, and I saw Saturn and her rings, which was pretty cool. First time I've ever seen that. These telescopes were pretty amazing, because you couldn't see Saturn with the naked eye. I really wanted to see Mars, but the guy couldn't seem to find it with his telescope. I actually had more fun on Saturday with Will that I did the whole week in Hawaii.
Very quiet recently at work. Not much to do. I spent the last hour of work Friday wondering how I can move all my money out of Australia when the crash comes. Can I have some kind of alarm or warning to alert me? It's going to be chaos when it happens. I wanna be like Go! Go! Go! and fax the application to the bank to transfer my money over here the moment before the banks go bust and people start stabbing each other and trapping dogs and using their pelts for warmth. Might not get that bad, but it's gonna be nasty. What do I know about economics? Nothing. But I can feel it in me water! I read an article about how after ten years of unprecedented growth, applications for home loans have dropped 25% this year. But sales are still booming. Whose buying all the homes? Nobody knows! Must be foreigners, they say. But no-one really keeps track, so they can't be sure. Hello! Trouble brewing.
Anyway, Insane Abs tonight. I've never done this before. Should be insane.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Round 3: Day 20 - P90M Cardio Intervals
Done it! I have finally gotten up to date with Lost. Now I have to wait a whole week for each new episode like every other sucker in the world. I like the new season a lot, but I'm a bit sad that John Locke is... not the same. He does seem much happier in the other dimension, but apparently Desmond is going to show him it's not where he's supposed to be, or something like that. Hugo has really come into his own this season. I loved it in the other week's episode with Richardo when Richardo was under the tree screaming "Does the offer still stand? Does the offer still stand?" Basically offering to give his soul to the diablo after more than a hundred years working against him. A real heavy moment. Then Hugo appears from the jungle. "What offer, dude?" Is there anything else he could possibly have said? No. Great stuff.
Last night I did P90 Master Cardio Intervals. This is one of my favourite workouts, which is why I included it in this round to take the place of an Insanity workout. It's longer than an Insanity workout, and I would say just as hard. A few more chances to catch my breathe, that's probably the main difference. Tony is in a good mood, but Dreya's there too. How many workouts is she in? More Pam, less Dreya, please. I really like the P90 Master series. I'm not sure why more people don't use it. It's a little less intense that a P90X workout, but that's a good thing sometimes. But this Cardio Intervals workout craps all over Kenpo X or Cardio X, and is very similar to Core Synergistics with a bit of Plyo thrown in there. Perfect.
Last night I did P90 Master Cardio Intervals. This is one of my favourite workouts, which is why I included it in this round to take the place of an Insanity workout. It's longer than an Insanity workout, and I would say just as hard. A few more chances to catch my breathe, that's probably the main difference. Tony is in a good mood, but Dreya's there too. How many workouts is she in? More Pam, less Dreya, please. I really like the P90 Master series. I'm not sure why more people don't use it. It's a little less intense that a P90X workout, but that's a good thing sometimes. But this Cardio Intervals workout craps all over Kenpo X or Cardio X, and is very similar to Core Synergistics with a bit of Plyo thrown in there. Perfect.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Round 3: Day 19 - Shoulders & Arms
I really enjoyed this year's Masters, even though it wasn't a final hole finish. The main focus was on how Tiger would handle the pressure, and the answer was: not very well. Mind you, this year's final round of Tiger's wasn't too dissimilar to the last few years, except that instead of just his putting sucking balls, his driving sucked balls too. The most disappointing aspect of Tiger's final day was that he sulked and whined the whole way round. In other words, he behaved the way he always does when he's not playing well. Like a child.
A couple of things this week has made me think that nothing has changed, and nothing will change with Tiger. In his post-round interview on Thursday, a journalist asked him "What did today mean to you?" He pleaded. "What did it mean?" The guy may as well have said "Tiger, this is the part where you get an opportunity to show the public a little bit of yourself that does not involve pissing on pornstars or doing cocktail waitresses two days before your wife gives birth to your second child." Tiger? "It means that I'm two shots off the lead. That's what it means."
Wrong answer, dipshit.
His general attitude sucked the longer the tournament went on. His game deteriorated, though that was too be expected. The interest was whether he was going to throw clubs into the crowd again, like he did in Melbourne the last tournament he played. He didn't, but he did let a few "Jesus Christ!"s go. And an amusing "Tiger Woods, you suck!" Give it a few weeks and he'll return to the form that has made him the moist highly fined player in golf. Little to no change in his course demeanor, which is scary.
So, while most people expected a fresh, humbled, liberated Tiger, we get the same old heavy as before. I did not expect that. On Saturday, Nick Faldo even suggested that maybe, as a show of making changes or a new start, Tiger not wear the red shirts that he wears on Sunday. Nup. Not a chance. Black pants, red shirt, black cap.
I was happy to see Phil Mickelson win the tournament. He played awesome golf, especially on Saturday with those back to back eagles, and the second shot he hit into 13 today was one of the best shots I've ever seen. Phil's a bit of a phony, but last year his wife and mother both had bouts with breast cancer, so it's a great 'story', as the Americans like to say. Plus he probably doesn't try to mount every woman he meets. Anyway, he's always been the crowd favourite over Tiger. A US Open shootout? That would be awesome.
I had a good weekend, though I decided to do a fresh installation of Vista on my home computer, which had a few problems. I eventually got it done, and now I have a nice, clean hard disc, which doesn't tell me it's nearly full all the time any more. What it was full of I have no idea.
I have a new way to do my workouts now. I used to get upset if i started too late in the evening and didn't get a chance to watch TV before bed. Now I do the resistance workouts while watching TV. I have the worksheets to guide me, and they're enough. I don't need to watch or listen to Tony any more. I watched the footy show on Friday night while I did Chest & Back. I skipped yesterday's Shoulders & Arms because I was buggered from staying up late to finish the Vista installation, so I'll do it today. I think I'll watch Jamie Oliver. Doing a workout while watching Lost might be a little difficult. I might miss something.
The family did "Hanami" on Saturday at Okazaki Park, literally "flower watching". The chery blossoms are falling like snow, and everyone gets out and has a barbeque and some beers. Good times.
A couple of things this week has made me think that nothing has changed, and nothing will change with Tiger. In his post-round interview on Thursday, a journalist asked him "What did today mean to you?" He pleaded. "What did it mean?" The guy may as well have said "Tiger, this is the part where you get an opportunity to show the public a little bit of yourself that does not involve pissing on pornstars or doing cocktail waitresses two days before your wife gives birth to your second child." Tiger? "It means that I'm two shots off the lead. That's what it means."
Wrong answer, dipshit.
His general attitude sucked the longer the tournament went on. His game deteriorated, though that was too be expected. The interest was whether he was going to throw clubs into the crowd again, like he did in Melbourne the last tournament he played. He didn't, but he did let a few "Jesus Christ!"s go. And an amusing "Tiger Woods, you suck!" Give it a few weeks and he'll return to the form that has made him the moist highly fined player in golf. Little to no change in his course demeanor, which is scary.
So, while most people expected a fresh, humbled, liberated Tiger, we get the same old heavy as before. I did not expect that. On Saturday, Nick Faldo even suggested that maybe, as a show of making changes or a new start, Tiger not wear the red shirts that he wears on Sunday. Nup. Not a chance. Black pants, red shirt, black cap.
I was happy to see Phil Mickelson win the tournament. He played awesome golf, especially on Saturday with those back to back eagles, and the second shot he hit into 13 today was one of the best shots I've ever seen. Phil's a bit of a phony, but last year his wife and mother both had bouts with breast cancer, so it's a great 'story', as the Americans like to say. Plus he probably doesn't try to mount every woman he meets. Anyway, he's always been the crowd favourite over Tiger. A US Open shootout? That would be awesome.
I had a good weekend, though I decided to do a fresh installation of Vista on my home computer, which had a few problems. I eventually got it done, and now I have a nice, clean hard disc, which doesn't tell me it's nearly full all the time any more. What it was full of I have no idea.
I have a new way to do my workouts now. I used to get upset if i started too late in the evening and didn't get a chance to watch TV before bed. Now I do the resistance workouts while watching TV. I have the worksheets to guide me, and they're enough. I don't need to watch or listen to Tony any more. I watched the footy show on Friday night while I did Chest & Back. I skipped yesterday's Shoulders & Arms because I was buggered from staying up late to finish the Vista installation, so I'll do it today. I think I'll watch Jamie Oliver. Doing a workout while watching Lost might be a little difficult. I might miss something.
The family did "Hanami" on Saturday at Okazaki Park, literally "flower watching". The chery blossoms are falling like snow, and everyone gets out and has a barbeque and some beers. Good times.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Round 3: Day 15 - Insanity
So the Masters starts in the morning. My tip is Phil Mickelson. He's in okay form, played a lot of golf lately, and has won there twice already. I hope Ernie Els does well, but I fear he's peaked too early this year. If Tiger is in contention on Sunday, that is amazing. If he wins it, I will be stunned. If he misses the cut, I wouldn't be surprised.
It was great to see Tiger in the press conference the other day. It looks like he really missed golf and was extra glad to be back. But there are a couple of things that will continue to bother him until he decides to talk about it openly and honestly, which he hasn't so far. What really happened that night of the accident? "It's all in the police report," is the response. No, it's not. But hey, it's personal, I can let that one go. But the other grey area is not personal. Why did he associate with a doctor since revealed to be supplying performance enhancing drugs to other athletes? He says he has never taken performance enhancing drugs. Then why this doctor, out of the hundreds he could have chosen? The recommendation of other athletes, he said. Which athletes? No one asked the question. This Canadian doctor thing might hang around for a while yet. I doubt he ever took PEDs (that's what everyone's calling them these days), but hey, Tiger's a lying piece of shit, so anything's possible. Can't wait to watch him play golf again though.
I've got Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit tonight, and Chest & Back tomorrow. I'm ready to get back into it after my week off. I have added another ten days on the end of this round to compensate, so this round will last an even 100 days.
EDIT: I'm just about to watch the new Nike ad with Tiger Woods. Can I just say this - if I hear Earl Woods say something like "Before you help others, you've got to help yourself" I'm going to drop Tiger. He's been saying it in interviews and at the press conferences, and if it's in the ad, he's still all about the branding and image, and he and Nike have had meetings about the best approach and probably did focus group testing and all that. I don't like that he's bringing out an ad before he's hit a golf ball in competition, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt; probably not in a great position to argue with any sponsor at the moment. But all of this is a bit too slick for my liking.
...
Well, at least he didn't say that line. Weird ad. Taking the voice of your dead father out of context and applying it to this. I'm sure Earl would have reacted a little different if he were alive. He would have knocked him out.
One more thing about Tiger. Off the course, ever since he started, he's been prone to talk Oprah speak. Everything is about chasing your dreams, growing, learning, all that stuff. His approach to this scandal has been the same. This ad is in that style, too. What are your feelings? What did you learn? I don't think anybody is going to buy it. His brand is irreparably damaged, and I don't think he knows that. I'll still watch him play golf and marvel at his skill, but I don't think I'm going to care if he wins or loses anymore. Which really, really sucks.
Also, just heard that he screwed his 21 year old neighbor. Wonder if he told the wife about that one.
It was great to see Tiger in the press conference the other day. It looks like he really missed golf and was extra glad to be back. But there are a couple of things that will continue to bother him until he decides to talk about it openly and honestly, which he hasn't so far. What really happened that night of the accident? "It's all in the police report," is the response. No, it's not. But hey, it's personal, I can let that one go. But the other grey area is not personal. Why did he associate with a doctor since revealed to be supplying performance enhancing drugs to other athletes? He says he has never taken performance enhancing drugs. Then why this doctor, out of the hundreds he could have chosen? The recommendation of other athletes, he said. Which athletes? No one asked the question. This Canadian doctor thing might hang around for a while yet. I doubt he ever took PEDs (that's what everyone's calling them these days), but hey, Tiger's a lying piece of shit, so anything's possible. Can't wait to watch him play golf again though.
I've got Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit tonight, and Chest & Back tomorrow. I'm ready to get back into it after my week off. I have added another ten days on the end of this round to compensate, so this round will last an even 100 days.
EDIT: I'm just about to watch the new Nike ad with Tiger Woods. Can I just say this - if I hear Earl Woods say something like "Before you help others, you've got to help yourself" I'm going to drop Tiger. He's been saying it in interviews and at the press conferences, and if it's in the ad, he's still all about the branding and image, and he and Nike have had meetings about the best approach and probably did focus group testing and all that. I don't like that he's bringing out an ad before he's hit a golf ball in competition, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt; probably not in a great position to argue with any sponsor at the moment. But all of this is a bit too slick for my liking.
...
Well, at least he didn't say that line. Weird ad. Taking the voice of your dead father out of context and applying it to this. I'm sure Earl would have reacted a little different if he were alive. He would have knocked him out.
One more thing about Tiger. Off the course, ever since he started, he's been prone to talk Oprah speak. Everything is about chasing your dreams, growing, learning, all that stuff. His approach to this scandal has been the same. This ad is in that style, too. What are your feelings? What did you learn? I don't think anybody is going to buy it. His brand is irreparably damaged, and I don't think he knows that. I'll still watch him play golf and marvel at his skill, but I don't think I'm going to care if he wins or loses anymore. Which really, really sucks.
Also, just heard that he screwed his 21 year old neighbor. Wonder if he told the wife about that one.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Back From Hawaii
We got back from Hawaii last night. We had a lot of fun, but also a lot of aggravation with William. He was up and down like a yo-yo for most of the trip, and the wife and I had had enough by the end of it. Probably a couple of days before the end of it, actually. He loved the beach, and the trolleys that go up and down the strip, but there were a lot of tantrums, too. The weather wasn't great. It was warm when the sun was out, but it rained a lot, but we had a lot of great food this time though. All in all, not as much fun as last time, but still okay. I would seriously reconsider going anywhere with a four year old ever again.
One funny thing. We thought it would be a good idea to go to the Waikiki zoo twilight tour. We went in, and it's a really nice zoo. Beautiful. So we go to the first animal, the flamingo, and no shit, our tour guide spends fifteen minutes talking about the flamingo. Finally he says, okay, let's move to the next enclosure. So everyone gets moving, and then he says, before we do, I'd like to talk about some of the trees you see around us. Ten minutes. By this stage, kids are getting sulky, adults getting pissed off, and Junko and I are wondering who to ask for a refund. So then we get to the elephants, which are cool, but we spend fifteen minutes at the elephants, and after that, another fifteen minutes at the monkey enclosure. One hour, three animals! We went to see the hippos, which was really good. Nice and close to the hippos, and the kids liked that. By the time we go to the climax of the tour, the tigers, it was too dark to see them, and it had started to rain. "Everybody come to the classroom!" cried the tour guide, and we all ran to a nearby building for some shelter. The classroom? I thought. That doesn't sound good. And sure enough, we got in there, and the guide pulls out some plastic skulls of various animals and starts teaching us about them. The whole tour had an evangelistic feel to it, like we were all poachers or something, and it was their job to teach us about animals and how to love them. We had some biscuits and drink while we waited for the rain to stop, and Will and I started feeding biscuits to the skull of a tiger and munching them with it's jaw until another guide came over to tell us to stop. Then she taught Will about molars and canine teeth. We don't want to learn, we just wanted to see the animals! I'm actually going to write a complaint letter.
Every one in Hawaii needs to lose 5 kilos. At least. Some people need to be detained immediately and made to lose 50 kilos. I saw a lot of fat children. 12 year old kids with guts and double chins. Messed up. Every second add on TV is selling shit food, and every other add is for some pill or ab machine. Crazy times.
I ate pretty well while I was there. I didn't even have any Burger King! I did have a few packs of chips though. A couple of beers, too. I did a workout at the gym next door. At first I felt pretty stupid doing the Chest, Shoulders & Triceps routine in the gym, but then I looked around and saw that the people sitting around on the machines doing their leg presses were flabby fucks. Except for one guy who was huge, singing with his walkman on. Gyms suck, don't they. I saw the P90X infomercial one night, which motivated me to hit back hard when I got going again. I've got a rest scheduled today, then back into it tomorrow, in the morning.
There were plenty of homeless people living in the parks. Much more than last time. Gimme a nice tent, and I would love to live homeless in Hawaii. If I was single and had a good job, hell yea. The only problem would be the other homeless people, who rant and rage around Waikiki, punching bins and swearing and carrying on. Lots of them around. They are so melodramatic, homeless people. Everything's a scene. I had to laugh. I was sitting on the shore near a homeless guy, and this skinny, pale stoner dude walks up to this guy and says "Case dismissed!" and does a little dance. Awesome first sentence.
I couldn't understand anything anyone in the shops said to me. Either they were mumbling and not looking at me so I wasn't even sure they were talking to me or their co-worker, or they were from somewhere else and couldn't really speak English. I went to subway, and at the checkout the guy said "Cabulautyudsu sandwich?" "What?" "Cabulautyudsu sandwich?" "Yes, it's a sandwich" I said, and paid for the sandwich. I dunno. I did say "what?" a lot.
Anyway, I haven't even talked about Tiger's press conference or the Masters yet. Never mind, I will.
One funny thing. We thought it would be a good idea to go to the Waikiki zoo twilight tour. We went in, and it's a really nice zoo. Beautiful. So we go to the first animal, the flamingo, and no shit, our tour guide spends fifteen minutes talking about the flamingo. Finally he says, okay, let's move to the next enclosure. So everyone gets moving, and then he says, before we do, I'd like to talk about some of the trees you see around us. Ten minutes. By this stage, kids are getting sulky, adults getting pissed off, and Junko and I are wondering who to ask for a refund. So then we get to the elephants, which are cool, but we spend fifteen minutes at the elephants, and after that, another fifteen minutes at the monkey enclosure. One hour, three animals! We went to see the hippos, which was really good. Nice and close to the hippos, and the kids liked that. By the time we go to the climax of the tour, the tigers, it was too dark to see them, and it had started to rain. "Everybody come to the classroom!" cried the tour guide, and we all ran to a nearby building for some shelter. The classroom? I thought. That doesn't sound good. And sure enough, we got in there, and the guide pulls out some plastic skulls of various animals and starts teaching us about them. The whole tour had an evangelistic feel to it, like we were all poachers or something, and it was their job to teach us about animals and how to love them. We had some biscuits and drink while we waited for the rain to stop, and Will and I started feeding biscuits to the skull of a tiger and munching them with it's jaw until another guide came over to tell us to stop. Then she taught Will about molars and canine teeth. We don't want to learn, we just wanted to see the animals! I'm actually going to write a complaint letter.
Every one in Hawaii needs to lose 5 kilos. At least. Some people need to be detained immediately and made to lose 50 kilos. I saw a lot of fat children. 12 year old kids with guts and double chins. Messed up. Every second add on TV is selling shit food, and every other add is for some pill or ab machine. Crazy times.
I ate pretty well while I was there. I didn't even have any Burger King! I did have a few packs of chips though. A couple of beers, too. I did a workout at the gym next door. At first I felt pretty stupid doing the Chest, Shoulders & Triceps routine in the gym, but then I looked around and saw that the people sitting around on the machines doing their leg presses were flabby fucks. Except for one guy who was huge, singing with his walkman on. Gyms suck, don't they. I saw the P90X infomercial one night, which motivated me to hit back hard when I got going again. I've got a rest scheduled today, then back into it tomorrow, in the morning.
There were plenty of homeless people living in the parks. Much more than last time. Gimme a nice tent, and I would love to live homeless in Hawaii. If I was single and had a good job, hell yea. The only problem would be the other homeless people, who rant and rage around Waikiki, punching bins and swearing and carrying on. Lots of them around. They are so melodramatic, homeless people. Everything's a scene. I had to laugh. I was sitting on the shore near a homeless guy, and this skinny, pale stoner dude walks up to this guy and says "Case dismissed!" and does a little dance. Awesome first sentence.
I couldn't understand anything anyone in the shops said to me. Either they were mumbling and not looking at me so I wasn't even sure they were talking to me or their co-worker, or they were from somewhere else and couldn't really speak English. I went to subway, and at the checkout the guy said "Cabulautyudsu sandwich?" "What?" "Cabulautyudsu sandwich?" "Yes, it's a sandwich" I said, and paid for the sandwich. I dunno. I did say "what?" a lot.
Anyway, I haven't even talked about Tiger's press conference or the Masters yet. Never mind, I will.
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