Update: Traveling

I'm currently traveling to Vancouver and then Las Vegas, so updates may be sparse in the next few days.

As a quick catch-up on the check-ins: did a lot of writing this weekend, everything is groovy.

Google Discovery: Math

This is a small, silly discovery I made recently: type a math equation into a search in Google. For example, try googling, "7 * 3 + 2".

Not that this compares to searching for "tilt" or "breakout" or similar search terms, of course. Try them out too if you haven't.

Weather or Not to Show These Images

I have a conundrum. On the one hand, I want to let everyone know that I'm really enjoying my stay in Victoria. On the other hand, many of the people reading this are in central Alberta, and I know how infuriating it can be to hear about the weather in Victoria when you're currently enduring Alberta's idea of a fun February.

So here's the compromise: I'm going to show off how nice the weather is here, but I'm only going to do so once. Anyone prone to perennial envy should look away now.

The following images are symbolic of the weather here.

Check-In: 2015-02-18 (Wednesday)

Body: TOTAL WIN! (swimming, pilates, walking, diet, sleep)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (reading, swimming, pilates)
Spirit: WIN! (swimming, walking in nature, dog)
Social: WIN! (visiting with friends, corresponding with family, swimming, pilates)

It's hard to tell from just looking at the scores, but yesterday was heavily focused on physical activity, with 1 hour of pilates and 2 hours of swimming, so most of the other categories were in rest-mode--though going to swimming and pilates did result in some bonus socializing, and swimming is just so fun an activity that I count it as a spiritual victory.

Hm. All the skill practice at swimming and pilates kicks up the mind score as well, and it seems unreasonable to give multiple hours of skill training less than a total win. So maybe there wasn't a whole lot of rest in those other categories after all. The only thing I really rested, then, was my writing.

Though it's probably wise to rest the writing briefly. This weekend is my second deadline, so there will be plenty of writing work ahead in the next few days.

2015-02-17 (Tuesday)

Body: WIN! (dance, walking, diet)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (writing, eye exam)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (writing, dance, walking in nature, dog)
Social: WIN! (visiting with friends, corresponding with family, dance)

Yesterday had writing and dancing in it, so it's hard to go wrong. I'm starting to feel optimistic about my next writing deadline on the 22nd. I don't think it'll be good writing yet, but it's still a big upgrade on what I delivered last time. It's not a question of if the story gets good but when.

Ticking off passes or better in all the categories for nearly two straight months is really starting to have an effect. My mood is not without down-swings, but the return up-swings come quickly and easily, and the down-swings are increasingly rare. The "writing police" arrangement is also a huge benefit. Apparently my writing is quite important to me--something to keep in mind as I consider what to do with my future.

Check-In: 2015-02-16 (Monday)

Body: TOTAL WIN! (swimming, walking, diet, sleep)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (writing)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (writing, swimming walking in nature, dog)
Social: WIN! (visiting with friends, corresponding with family, swimming)

Monday had writing and swimming in it, so it's hard to go wrong. Mark and I didn't do the waterfit this time around, but our regular swim class was more work this time because we're getting better at our front crawl technique.

Today, Wednesday, is another swim class plus a pilates class, so I won't be surprised if we skip the waterfit today as well. As fun as it is, balance must be maintained.

"My Ninja Has a First Name, It's...

...Per-se-ver-ance-... uh ... -R!"

Okay, it doesn't quite fit the scheme of "O-S-C-A-R".

But I realized today that my ninja has a second name. I've increasingly found that the trick to perseverance is to enjoy the task. Easiest way to make sure you brush your teeth every night: enjoy the feeling of a clean mouth. Easiest way to drink water instead of cola and coffee: enjoy the refreshing feeling of water. Easiest way to exercise: enjoy the feeling of your muscles flexing and the grace of the movement.

So the second name for this week's ninja is Enjoyment, so that the full name is Perseverance/Enjoyment. These things are a duality, and refer to the same thing. You will persevere at something if you enjoy it. If you enjoy something you will persevere at it, unless you force yourself not to.

Check-In: 2015-02-15 (Sunday)

Body: TOTAL WIN! (climbing a mountain, walking, diet, exercise)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (writing)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (climbing a mountain, writing, walking in nature, dog)
Social: PASS (visiting with friends, corresponding with family)

Yesterday, Mark and I assaulted the summit of Mount Douglas. Okay, it's a little mountain, so we didn't need to helicopter in oxygen tanks halfway up or anything, but it did take us two hours to go up the mountain and back down again, and we were pretty tired by the end of it. Though it had some pretty spectacular views, both because it is high up and also just because there's a lot of nature growing on it.

I also put a fair bit of effort into my writing, and any day I do that is a victory for both mind and spirit. Go me.

Social was pleasant enough, visiting with friends and family and, of course, the dog. Remember that a pass is still a victory, and yesterday I was happy to take it easy socially anyway.

You're Doing Better Than You Think You Are

A few days ago, my parents sent me a link to a site that lists signs you're doing better than you think you are.

It's a good list, and did make me feel good about things.

Thanks.

Check-In: 2015-02-12 (Thursday) to 2015-02-14 (Saturday)

Body: TOTAL WIN! (pilates, walking, rest, diet, sleep)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (NASA, writing)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (walking in nature, dog, writing)
Social: WIN! (visiting with friends, corresponding with family)

I had my first pilates class on Friday--just the first of three classes to see what the whole practice is about. Partly I'm keeping it short because I'll be leaving Victoria in a little over a week, and partly because my schedule is now pretty full of exercise. For the last several days I've been eating and sleeping a lot in order to keep up with the fitness, so I don't think I need to add a whole lot more.

I've continued to poke at my writing, which gives me a sense of progress, and of course there's visiting with the dog and walking in the beautiful landscape around Victoria to boost my spirit.

Valentine's Day was, cheerfully, a non-event for me. I obviously didn't participate, but neither did it perturb me. I was happy to just opt out of the entire construct. How ironic is it that a holiday dedicated to love should be one of the more destructive and painful holidays of the year, beat out only by the other love-based holiday, Christmas. Whereas Halloween, based on a campy mockery of fear, invites everyone to play without excessive expectations, and thus is easily the most fun holiday of the year.

Perseverance and Movement

I have finally decided: last week's ninja (left) is Action. My hunch is that this week's (right) is Perseverance.

My writing will need perseverance if I'm to upgrade it to a saleable quality and then generate enough words to actually create books. My schooling will require perseverance if I'm going to successfully upgrade my qualifications.

On that note, I recently had a thought about what kinds of kinesiology work I might enjoy, were I to study it.

Previously, I was thinking of kinesiology as something that would enhance my kung fu and yoga knowledge, so that I could teach them with more confidence. But recently, I've begun to consider the reverse as well; that by doing scientific investigation into kung fu and yoga, I might be able to help advance kinesiology, allowing a more science-based perspective to include training that is traditionally relegated to more "spiritual" or even hippy practices. Of course, this would only apply to training that proves effective when rigorously examined, but I suspect that a lot of it will.

This may all be fanciful--these studies may already have been done--but it's something to look into.

Check-In: 2015-02-11 (Wednesday)

Body: TOTAL WIN! (swimming, walking, diet, rest)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (swimming, writing)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (swimming, walking in nature, dog, writing)
Social: TOTAL WIN! (visiting with friends, corresponding with family)

I've decided to move social into a separate category again--there were too many things jamming into the spirit category.

Yesterday Mark and I did our proper swim lessons and the advanced deep-water waterfit class back-to-back. And we still hit our step goals (mine still set at 15,000).

I also did some work on revising my outline, plus had some good email correspondence. Just the fact that I'm writing buoys my spirit, both because I'm glad to be making progress again, and because I enjoy it when I'm doing it.

Check-In: 2015-02-10 (Tuesday)

Body: WIN! (walking, dance, diet)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (dance, planning)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (walking in nature, dog, dance, visiting with friends, corresponding with family)

Had a bit of trouble getting to sleep last night, and I think it's related to a lesson in metabolism I learned yesterday.

I wanted to get a lot of planning done, such as figuring out my health insurance situation once I'm no longer employed at the end of the month and planning out my Vancouver trip near the end of the month. So after breakfast I deferred my morning walk to get some proper work done.

It was hard. I couldn't think straight or prioritize, because I felt sluggish and tired. Just "one of those days" where you feel sleepy and can't properly wake up. Eventually, in the late afternoon, I realized that my metabolism was just turned off, because I hadn't given my body a reason to turn it on. So I started with some breathing and gentle exercise and gradually ramped up my activity level until I just had the slightest bit of a sweat, and then I got on with the rest of my day.

It worked like a charm. I was wired all evening and past midnight. My theory is that by waiting so long to get my metabolism started, I then had a lot of energy to burn in order to tucker myself out for bed.

This could be a huge and valuable lesson, as simple as it is: exercise when you get up in the morning. It doesn't have to be aggressive or vigorous. Just do some deep breathing and some gentle exercise. This will tell your body that it is time to wake up. If you ever start feeling cold and/or sleepy later on, and you've been sitting around for a while, stretch and yawn and move around until you warm up again. This keeps your metabolism going at a moderate pace all day, and you should feel nicely ready for sleep come bedtime.

I'll give this a try for the next little while and see how it goes.

Sea World, Baby!

Ninja vs. a One-Armed Bandit

...which is what Howard Wolowitz told his mother when he was going to Vegas, Baby!

I've just booked my flights and hotel for going to Vegas at the end of the month, and then I'll be flying back to Edmonton. It'll cut my time in Victoria short so I'll miss one dance class and a couple of swim classes. On the other hand, it'll be a last huzzah before returning to Real Life back in Edmonton, and my friends Amber and Jason are also going. So it should be fun.

Check-In: 2015-02-09 (Monday)

Body: TOTAL WIN! (rest, walking, diet, sleep)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (feedback/writing, chores, Vegas)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (feedback/writing, walking in nature, dog, friends, family, Vegas)

I was still a bit sleepy yesterday so other than getting my step goal (a moderate 15,000 right now) I physically rested and went to bed early. As a result, I was up at a pleasantly early time today (shortly after 9:00 am), which should help me get a lot done today--and there is a lot to do.

Some of my friends are going to Vegas at the end of the month, so yesterday I booked flights and hotel to join them, which was learning and concentration for some points under the mind category, and also worth emotional and social points in the spirit category. More on that in tomorrow's news post.

I also got feedback on the outline I submitted on Sunday. Reading between the lines of my Writing Police's very diplomatic feedback, there is a lot of work to do. But I knew that would be the case going into this, and I'm excited by the opportunity to burn down Sunday's outline and build it anew. I already have some ideas.

This is a huge emotional victory, actually, this ability to take feedback well and be excited by the new opportunities that it creates. It's really easy for creative types to get negative and defensive about feedback, which is a short path to unhappiness and low quality. Success appears to come from a long process of iteration and feedback. And successfully following such a process means enjoying it.

Okay, I'm only on cycle #1 of this process, but I'm moving onto cycle #2 with good cheer. It's a good sign.

Check-In: 2015-02-08 (Sunday)

Body: WIN! (walking, rest, diet, sleep)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (writing, cleaning)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (writing, cleaning, walking in nature, dog)

Yesterday was of course the day I completed my writing assignment, so it still has a big impact on my mind and spirit scores.

I'm knocking the body category down a notch just because of the short sleep Saturday night. It's important to note that this is not a karmic failure of any sort; it's just a fact that short sleeps will add up to bad moods if they are sustained. No further judgement is implied.

Besides, I still got 25,000 steps--my first 25,000 day or even 20,000 day in a while. So I'm still gonna call it a win. And I had a good sleep last night and am mostly recovered today.

The Right Kind of Out of Balance

For the last several weeks, I have been trying to attain balance. Get exercise, eat well, sleep well, drink lots of water. Meditate. Build confidence and willpower.

It's important to maintain balance. But sometimes it's necessary to lose balance in the right way. Walking, for example, is basically a process of falling over and catching yourself repeatedly.

I lost a lot of sleep last night pulling my writing assignment together. According to my Fitbit, I slept 3 hours and 14 minutes. As much as I appreciate the fact that I slept for a Pi amount of time, I'm exhausted. But I got it done.

A sustained diet of 3 hours of sleep per night will do serious harm. A single night of 3 hour sleep is easily recovered from. It also provides practice with restoring balance, which is probably more important than being in balance.

The above photo could be looked at as a metaphor, with me falling over, unbalanced by the dog who represents the lack of sleep--in fact, the photo itself is out of balance in terms of its composition and focus, for a post-modernist touch. The photo could also be looked at as a picture of me playing with Luna, which I posted because I'm really tired and didn't want to look for something that fit the theme better.

I think I'm going to throw a Tau onto that Pi for the number of hours of sleep tonight.

-- 2015-02-08 (Sunday)

Check-In: 2015-02-05 - 2015-02-07 (Thursday - Saturday)

Body: TOTAL WIN! (rest, exercise, diet, sleep)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (writing, NASA TV, scribbles-to-bits)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (writing, walking in nature, dog, talking to friends, corresponding with people)

The most dominant feature of the last few days is that I have been writing. I have Writing Police who are setting deadlines for me to help motivate me to write. The first objective was to write an outline and character synopsis for my novel. Today I handed in the assignment, on-time.

Every time I write I really enjoy it. Yet I often resist writing out of fear--fear that I won't do it perfectly. Well, the writing I accomplished in the last few days isn't perfect, but it exists. Now the process of refining it can begin. Eventually it will need to be turned into prose, one piece at a time. Eventually I will have a book.

Now that I have found willpower, I can make this happen. I just have to remember that I enjoy writing.

This Week's Ninja - And Then I'm Tossed Into the Deep End!

It's the beginning of my fifth week in Victoria, so I've created a new ninja lid. As it is the beginning of the week, I don't yet know what theme is appropriate to it. I suspect there will be something about focus and determination, but it's hard to predict. It'll be fun to see what comes out of it.

And in case anyone was wondering, this is the lid to a water bottle. I originally came up with the idea so I could easily identify which half-empty (or half-full) bottle of water was mine. It wasn't until the third one that I realized I was doing one a week and that it was fun to apply themes to them.

This week certainly started with some adventure in any case. As I mentioned in my check-in for yesterday, I was supposed to start my new swim class, an intro course designed for adults who haven't been swimming in a long time. Unfortunately, we misread the schedule and showed up for the end of the class. For a minute I was afraid we'd have to go home feeling really, really sad, like children who had been offered ice cream and then didn't get any. Fortunately, there was some kind of aqua-fit class that we could join instead, and it was starting right away, so we popped over to try it out without asking too many questions.

What ensued was one hour of gruelling aerobics where we ran, kicked, flailed, and churned at maximum effort. It was the hardest workout that my lungs have had in some time. Normally, such high-intensity work causes my lungs to seize up, but I was able to balance the load perfectly and got one hell of an aerobic workout. We were wearing floatation belts (Mark apparently found he could use his like a seat) which made it harder to drown, but it didn't do all the work. It only helped. And then we were given anti-matter dumbbells, so described because they really want to float, and you are then instructed to swing them around down under the water.

Mark just looked up this aqua-fit class on the schedule, and apparently it was the advanced deep-water aqua-fit--an interesting suggestion for a couple of guys who were late for the "please teach us not to drown" class. Talk about being thrown in the deep end.

But we made it. We actually loved it, which is why Mark looked it up on the schedule--we're thinking of going back.

Sometimes the unexpected adventures are the most interesting ones.

Check-In: 2015-02-04 (Wednesday)

Body: TOTAL WIN! (swimming, walking, diet, sleep)
Mind: WIN! (swimming, scribbles to bits, NASA TV)
Spirit: WIN! (swimming, walking in nature, dog)

Yesterday was the first day of my swim class--or was supposed to be. A mix-up in the schedule caused Mark and I to miss it, though we instead got the opportunity to join a deep-water aqua-fit class. It was... intense. But also a whole lot of fun.

The swimming was a big point for the body and spirit categories (hard work and super fun). I'm only counting it as a minor point for the mind category since it wasn't really skill training. But it did involve getting more used to the water, using mental focus to get through the hard work, and other mental training, so it is worth something.

Honestly, I may have to go back to the aqua-fit. I really enjoyed it.

Check-In: 2015-02-03 (Tuesday)

Body: TOTAL WIN! (dancing, walking, yoga, diet, sleep)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (dancing, blogging, meditation)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (dancing, walking in nature, dog, visiting with friends, corresponding with family)

The check-in for yesterday is the first day of the new format for check-ins. Since it was a dancing day, that makes a total-win sweep pretty easy. Tonight will be swimming, which should have a similar effect.

Hope vs. Aphorisms

By the time this posts, it'll be near the end of my fourth week in Victoria. I've been making a new ninja lid at the start of the each week, and been having fun applying themes to them.

The picture above is this week's ninja, and I have yet to settle on a theme, though I'm getting close: it's something along the lines of Hope or Possibility, which I'm starting to think are the same thing. Hope, I figure, is the emotion you experience when you see possibility. I've begun to see the possibilities for my future, whether that's school, work, or hobbies, and it makes me hopeful.

Not that this week-long meditation on hope and possibility has all been wonderful, of course. Sunday night I was actually quite emotionally distraught, because I lost my sense of hope about certain things--namely, I lost faith that a 36-year-old man with little dating experience could ever find a partner amongst the jaded ex-wives and mothers who currently dominate the age-appropriate dating space. Without the ability to see possibilities for positive outcomes, I lost hope.

Examining the possibilities for my future education and career was quite cool, though. There are many exciting options. This is what shook me out of my negative mood, because I could again see the possibilities. And whether that's being a TV writer or a kinesiology student, I realized I would still be a pretty cool guy, doing pretty cool things, hanging out with pretty cool colleagues. The future looks fun again.

Related to ninjas and depictions thereof, I'd like to change my check-ins so they better fit the ninja theme that I started this blog with. The content will be nigh identical, but the arrangement will change. Instead of physical, willpower, emotional, social, I will start breaking things down this way:

• Body
• Exercise
• Diet (and water)
• Sleep/Rest
• Mind
• Learning new facts
• Training new skills
• Concentration (willpower)
• Spirit
• Emotionally uplifting experiences
• Social contact
• Sense of accomplishment (willpower resulting in the completion of a task)

I'll have to just try the new format for a while to see if it works well. If not, it can be reverted. I just think it would be fun to pursue my ninja training as a pursuit of body, mind, and spirit, a trinity that makes a lot of intuitive sense to me.

Check-In: 2015-02-02 (Monday)

Physical: TOTAL WIN! (walking, diet, sleep)
Willpower: WIN! (rest, exploring U Vic, investigating universities online)
Emotional: PASS (walking in nature, dog, exploring educational options)
Social: WIN! (visiting with friends, corresponding with family about education)

My mood restored to cheerful and buoyant. A little bit of rest on the physical and the willpower, plus a little bit of exploring my options for the future, managed to do the trick. Or maybe it's just a matter of time if you keep getting physical, willpower, emotional, and social wins every day.

In any case, I checked out the University of Victoria campus and a bunch of programs online. Kinesiology at the U of A is starting to look attractive. My parents seem to be having a ball discovering different ways that kinesiology and video gaming go together, and it looks like there's some very good work being done in stroke rehab with that combination (plus neuroscience and such).

Neat stuff.

Check-In: 2015-02-01 (Sunday)

Physical: PASS (walking, diet)
Willpower: PASS (rest)
Emotional: PASS (walking in nature, dog)
Social: WIN! (visiting with friends, corresponding with family, skype with friends)

Yesterday was definitely a willpower rest day. It's my first in a long while, so I'm happy to call it a pass without any guilt.

Sleep did not go well, so that looses me some points in the physical category, though I did get outside a fair bit and I did eat well, so that's still a pass and a pass is still winning. I didn't lose the sleep for a silly reason, like browsing the internet late at night, so Project Own the Night is still going quite well. That's good.

Less good is the fact that my sleep was lost due to a sudden burst of emotional distress. I will probably follow up on this with a thought for Wednesday's post, but the short version is that I had a temporary collapse of confidence and patience and became upset that my life wasn't instantly and miraculously better in all ways. Not the most mature or sensible of emotions, but emotions do that.

I'm already feeling better and it isn't quite lunch yet, so this doesn't appear to be anything serious. Physical wounds don't heal overnight so it's reasonable that emotional wounds will ache sometimes too. I'm still ticking off passes in all categories, which should help my mood rebound quickly.

I think I could use some yoga today, though, for a good rush of endorphins and some meditation for a mental reset. I'm also headed to the U Vic campus today just to check the place out, so that should be a positive adventure. I've also decided to bring my step goal down so I don't need to spend so much time walking to hit it. That'll help me fit in other positive things like writing and planning.

We'll see how it goes. The critical thing is: don't panic. Emotional turbulence is part of life. It's not something to worry about, but something to be noted, monitored, and moved on from.

The Mountain

Sometimes it is good to look up the mountain and see how far you have to go.

Sometimes it is good to look down the mountain and see how far you have come.

Sometimes it is good to just feel the slope and the steady pace of the steps carrying you up.

Check-In: 2015-01-31 (Saturday)

Physical: TOTAL WIN! (walking, diet, sleep)
Willpower: TOTAL WIN! (walking, cleaning, scribbling, reading)
Emotional: PASS (walking in nature, dog)
Social: PASS (visiting with friends, corresponding with family)

Yesterday was the last day of January, so the Fitbit leaderboards got a little feisty as several people put in some extra effort for the "sprint" to the end of the race--including me. Mark and I got a lot of walking done, especially in the evening, just to make sure nobody came from behind to steal our places. Mark took first in all categories in the Victoria group. I managed to edge into 5th on step count and held 3rd in active minutes, which is good work considering I started a week behind everyone else. There was a brief struggle against other people who were gunning for 5th, but I managed to pull out ahead.

Yesterday I was also still enjoying my new-found willpower, tidying as I go and otherwise trying to be mature and responsible while still enjoying life. I'm feeling a little moody today and I'm not sure why, so I may call this a willpower rest day just so I don't spoil a good thing. And Sunday is a traditional rest day. Tomorrow there will be lots of opportunity to be a Proper Adult, including doing a scan of the UVic campus and programs.

Check-In: 2015-01-30 (Friday)

Physical: WIN! (exercise, diet, rest)
Willpower: TOTAL WIN! (cleaning, reading, scribbles to bits)
Emotional: WIN! (walking in nature, dog, visions for the future)
Social: PASS (visiting with friends, corresponding with family)

I did get a chance to type this up yesterday, and now I've forgotten most of what happened on Friday. The days around here really do blend together sometimes, as they consist mainly of walking in nature, reading, and typing.

If I recall correctly, I felt a bit tired on Friday, either due to low calorie intake or getting to sleep too late. So I've knocked the physical category down a notch for getting to sleep too late. Fortunately, that has been corrected in the last couple of days, so that will recover in coming reports.