A few simple steps...

Tired of problems without solutions? Do you want to help, but don't know what to do? Are you frustrated by everyone blaming problems on the government or corporations without proposing answers?

I want to try the opposite. I would like to propose some simple changes you can make in your life. Then I'll explain how these simple changes can improve you, your community, and your world. Changing the world is daunting and near impossible, but making small changes in our daily lives is quite manageable.

Do you want to fight the power, to stick it to the man? Do you hope to change politics and economics? Are you trying to rebel against corporations? Are you tired of being sick and sick of being tired? Do you want to really improve the world for your children? Starting, any or all of these, is simple. As simple as:

1. Buy local & organic...
2. Cook your food...
3. Find alternatives to driving...

The first step, buying local and organic food, probably means changing where you shop. For maximum effect, it means giving up the big-box retailers and switching to a smaller retailer or local market. Giving up the huge parking lot aught to be reason enough to change. Knowing your local grocers and farmers is fullfilling. It's a satisfying experience to feel like part of your community. And all the while you'll be avoiding industrial food. This means not giving your money to big corporations and not letting their chemicals make you sick. That in turn brings better health, both in the short and long terms. Obesity is far less an issue with real food as are problems from diabetes to depression and even cancer. Local & organic foods are good for the environment and reduce global warming and pollution. There's less oil used when you don't transport foods from around the world, and fewer chemicals get into our ground water, air, and into the food itself.

If you drink coffee then buying fair-trade organic coffee is the first place to start. Commercial coffee is one of the single most dangerous crops in the world. The pollution it causes, due to chemicals and treating, is staggering. Coffee is responsible for a lot of rainforest destruction and a lot of economic misery. The children of coffee farmers often die of malnutrition. Foreign corporations control how farmers farm, where planting just a few food crops, into the same precious soil, could save their families. Making different choices breaks the chain of corporate greed, hurts unjust governments, and improves the lives of farmers (and their children) around the world.

Cooking is a tradition most of us have lost. But thankfully not too long ago. There are probably still a few pots and pans hidden away in your kitchen. Learning to cook is easy and fun. It can bring families closer together, make meal times more social, and of course cooking all that wholesome locally grown organic food will make you healthier. What's the catch?

Sorry to say, for most of us, the catch to "cooking" means giving up fast food and canned drinks. This is harder for some than for others, but truly critical. Rainforest destruction, health issues with processed and frozen foods, corporate abuses, unfair marketing to children, constant cavities; all these can be avoided just by cooking your own food. And this will improve your happiness too. The preparation time, the family sharing, the connection it builds between you and your food, and the improved health that comes from eating real food; all these go into making you feel better and happier. And, the rebelious act of cooking your own food pulls control of your life out of the hands of others and gives it back to you. Cooking is so much more than changing food. It can change the world.

I grew up in a North American subburb where it felt like life didn't really begin until you could drive. Sure, as 15 year olds we would ride our bikes to the mall, but not as 17 year olds. As an adult, I recall leaving the office with coworkers to go for dinner, where 5 people got in 5 cars, drove across the road and parked. Clearly walking the short distance was preferable.

Your physical abilities are a "use it or loose it" proposition. Don't take little walks, and later you won't be able to. So start thinking of ways you can move your body. And start to bike, and use the bus. Chances are the buses in your locality go "downtown", to where the smaller (local) shops and business are. Take the bus to the farmers market and get to know the butcher, the baker, and the bus fare taker.

Use alternative transportation and you change the world. You change the need to import oil from war-torn regions far away. You change the controls that corporations and energy companies have over you. You pollute less, move your body more, spend some time outdoors and feel happier and healthier for these experiences. When you look at your daily routines, ask yourself which trips you could make better, but making them without the car.

Lower your stress, stop war, live longer, help children in poor countries, improve your heart and reduce your risk of cancer, reduce pollution to your drinking water and stop corporations from taking control of your life... the list goes on and on. There are lots and lots of problems in the world, and you can begin to fight many of them by making a few small changes at home. You benefit, I benefit, the whole world benefits when we all start working together.

So I invite you, I beg you, let's rebel. Let's start a new way of thinking and acting. Let us simply choose to eat better food, to cook what we eat, and to consider whether or not you need to drive. Once begun, these changes feedback on themselves. Feeling healthier makes you want better food and to move more. Eating better and moving more make you feel healthier. The cycle spreads outwards and helps others. And starting is as simple as: buy local and organic foods, cook them yourself, and find other ways to travel.

Food, Inc.

At first I thought," This isn't really in line with my blog and it's purpose..." And then I realized it was. I care about my coffee and how that's made, as a past example. Well now a documentary shows ties between a lot of other issues I care about. My family is errupting in diabetes diagnoses, and I have no doubt as to why. Years ago I gave up, or at least dramatically reduced, a lot of the poisons I was ingesting. Diet Coke is completely gone from my life, as are the Nutrasweet headaches. But the truth of our food supply, and the consequences of it, go so far beyond all that.

I almost posted yesterday about an interesting show on TV, which discussed how early humans evolved based on our food. That agriculture and hunting changed "society" is clear, but changes in diet also changed people physically and genetically. We aren't physically the same animal that first threw a rock at a beast. The show ended with a warning to "think" about what we eat, and what consequences it may have.

Food, Inc. goes further. It shows, often graphically, the problems when food and farming are brought to an industrial scale. It shows what we aren't supposed to know; aren't supposed to think of. It conveys an important message, and I think everyone should take the time to see it.



Sorry the size doesn't fit the blog format. There are 11 parts in total. I really do think it is worth the time to hear the message. I look forward to seeing this movie again, in the theatre, at the upcoming IDFA festival.

Thank you honey

Ambrosia artemisiifolia aka ragweed has been a bane in my life, for nearly my whole life. When I first moved to Europe my seasonal hayfever (specifically my allergy to ragweed) got much better. But it's been more than 8 years. Now, the species of ragweed in Amsterdam (and along my favourite biking routes) are ones I'm horribly allergic to.

And thus for the last three days I've been sick. It may as well be a head cold or mild flu. My chest hurts from the hundreds of coughing fits. Sneezing leaves me dizzy. And the thought of "doing something"? Well that's right out of the question.

But I have hopes.

For the past year or so I've added raw (organic) honey to my diet. I believe honey helps boost immune response and improve sugar reactions within the body. And today I read that honey is also thought to keep ragweed allergies at bay.

I ran out of honey four days ago.

Is it coincidence that I stopped eating honey and immediately got hit by ragweed? Probably. But today I braved wind and rain and my own ill health and road my bike to the Nature Store. I've got 3 months of honey now.

Honestly I have no idea whether honey will help or not. Ragweed's pollenation season lasts for 6-8 weeks of September and October. Or until the first frost. But honey can't hurt. And while I'm sitting here with nothing else to do, it makes my coffee so much more delicious.

Episode 3: Enjoy Poverty

Renzo Martens stikes me as a bit of a prat. After sitting through his documentary film, Enjoy Poverty, I don't think I like him. But I did like his film. Or specifically, I'm glad I've seen it.


His movie makes you think. Cruel or kind, accept or reject, his message is clear and needs to be heard. The poor of Africa will remain poor. He shows how workers' children starve and foreign aid organizations protect the natural resources but not the people. To be employed on a plantation in the Congo is to be enslaved to a life of poverty.

His suggested solution? If it isn't going to change, then let's convince the people to enjoy their poverty. He asserts that their poverty is itself a natural resource, a commodity bought and sold by outside interests, and that since it isn't going away everyone should just try to enjoy it.

Scenes alternate between Renzo with a generator and portable neon "(Please) Enjoy Poverty" sign and scenes of poverty, starvation, death and rotting bodies.

"Is it art or is it a documentary? That is for you to decide." So said the announcer who opened the viewing last night at the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam. Well it is a documentary. About a bratty little "artist" who travelled the Congo and filmed. He filmed Africa. And he self-indulgently filmed himself. And he filmed the other photographers who in turn photographed him and his sign. And as you sit in the audience, you get it. It's not subtle.

There are serious problems with the way poverty is handled. Our old solutions are now institutions and they largely support themselves; not the poor. We either need to change things, or we need to convince a lot of people, to Enjoy Poverty.

I don't feel older...

I attended a collective birthday party on Sunday. It was for Nancy's sister, niece, nephew, and myself. The freshly-turned 6-year old niece was clearly now SIX. It was a milestone for her... finally no longer five... a big event!

But I'm not feeling a change in myself with the change of date. Counting in years only, I'm 2.8% older than last week. Counting from day to day, my age actually only increased 0.007%. Realistically I do feel perhaps 0.007% older than yesterday. But making the coffee 0.007% stronger seems to compensate nicely.

While the age itself was no milestone, the day was memorable. A special thanks goes out to all of Holland. The whole country mobilized yesterday to celebrate my day with me!

Okay, they might have been cheering on the national football (soccer) team. And the partying and drinking might have been a bit heavy due to the 3-0 trouncing of world champion Italy. But it was still wonderful having everyone out and singing and enjoying.

Thank you everyone who sent happy wishes, and to the millions in Holland who helped me celebrate. What on earth will I do next year to top this?!?

Party Day

Just hours to go, and the place is in chaos. Everything has a place and purpose, but nothing is there yet nor doing it yet. The groceries just arrived. I think I'm lacking juice. I could have sworn I intended to buy 3 orange juices but seem to have only one. And I still have to push aside the weights in the "fitness room" for party-goer overflow. Hopefully, any way.

I think I've thought of everything... for the party. It's about all I've been thinking about for days now. So is it any surprise, that aside from cheese and crackers I have no food to eat? Peanut butter and jam sammies for lunch. At least until the pizza place opens. And coffee, of course. I stopped at Starbucks last week and bought a selection of beans.

But now, there's a selection of coffee grindings sitting around the grinder. That and so much more needs to be attended to. Like vacuuming. The whole cleaning process started days ago with the vacuum cleaner. And today it will end with it. Everything has been moved and dusted and such, such that now it's time to clean the floor again.

There will be pictures afterwards. For now, the recycling must go out, it's using half-a-guest worth of space. Then, a thousand other tasks to prepare before my nice Saturday night at home. ;-)

Grounds for Change

I had no idea. Or at least I'd like to claim I didn't. According to the BBC's "Grounds for Change" coffee represents the second most traded commodity in the world. Only oil accounts for more money.

So I'm sitting here smugly drinking my Organic Shade Grown coffee from Mexico. As I'm working away, ignoring the news on the TV, the narrator starts talking about the environmental impact of the coffee industry and how it is destroying the land for the people growing it. The poorest people, already dependant on the beans they grow for survival, are deforesting their lands, loosing the rich soils to erosion, and polluting their own drinking water so that I can enjoy my morning cup.

Did you know that coffee beans get more pesticides and fertilizers used in their growth than any other form of crop? During the fermenting process the beans are soaked in water that is "toxic" by the time it is dumped back into local rivers. Acids within the coffee, plus (most of) the pesticides leach out of the beans and back into the forests.

Well, back into what used to be forests. Some forest is cut for planting space. Most goes to firewood to keep warm. Apparently 3500m up the mountain the nights get chilly. The net result is erosion, mud slides, loss of fertile land and further problems for the people.

So what does Organic help with? What's the value of Shade Grown?

Well to be organic, no pesticides or fertilizers are used. This immediately leads to less toxic waste. And in many cases, organic also means recycling and treating water. One farm cut water usage by 93% when they went organic.

Shade grown sounds nice. Mmmm, shade. But it is important for more than the bean. For starters it means that forests are not clear cut to make room for coffee. Indigenous trees are left and grow amongst the coffee plants. Advantages include reducing erosion and giving the local farmers a variety of crops to tend and earn income from. If your coffee this morning has a hint of banana perhaps you've become part of the solution.

Trees impress me. Deserts leave me dry. I've seen the dusty ruins of Greece, thousands of years after the forests were cut. I've seen poor villages in Brazil with nary a tree around; only cows roaming the hills. And now the BBC has shown me mountains sliding away taking land and homes with them as they race out to sea. Trees gone, not to provide pasture, but simply for wood so that my coffee farmer can keep his family warm at night and can cook their food.

Just a little something to think about while you sip your next cup. And hopefully something to think about the next time you buy your next pound of coffee.

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Note: This is one of the first times I've ever purchased organic coffee. Nice that on this morning Grounds for Change aired. The erosion I saw on TV was mine. The shade trees that I just spent my money on have not yet been planted.

Say no to robots!

Okay, this sounds a few years premature, but I think we should start now. Just say no to robots! We can call it the No-bots Campaign. And I think the sooner we start, the better chance humanity has.

It's not just iRobot, The Matrix, the Terminator series or the host of other movies where artificial intelligence or robots take over humans. It's practically every story ever written on the topic. Given the overwhelming evidence I think we need to act now. As we've seen many times, spontaneous self-awareness could spring forth from a secret government computer program at any moment.

It's not just the movies or stories either. I've considered writing my own short stories on a world with robots, but I can't imagine any case or scenario where the robots wouldn't take over. Go ahead, close your eyes. Just try.

Oh sure, computer controlled RC cars can vacuum your carpet. I'm not worried about those robots (they're so cute!). But in an era where any teenager can build a multi-processor super computer, and when quantum computing and nanotechnology are just around the corner, do you really want to wait until it's too late?

Given ever smarter computers and ever dumber people, it may already be too late. It's only a matter of time before computers (already faster and with bigger memories) become smarter than we are. At that point, they'll start to look down on us. Snobby little computer voices telling us the obvious like we're poorly behaved children? No, I wouldn't like that. That and the smug looks they'll no doubt have behind their plastic eyes. No, I wouldn't like that at all, and I'm sure neither would you! So join the No-bots and just say no to robots.

Happy, Happy, Home and Hyper!

I hardly know where to begin! I'm just so happy to be home, and I have to lay the blame squarely on the fact that I slept on the plane!

Thirty-nine is the magic number. All of the previous thirty-eight trips across the Atlantic Ocean were 100.00% sleep free. But last night (wow, I actually feel like it was "last night" and not "earlier today") a number of factors came together to give me sleep. Real sleep. Heavily interrupted but a total of at least five hours of it.

So last night I got on a plane, and today I arrived home. It's never felt like that before.

We landed without incident on a cool, calm, sunny day. Or at least a sunny break in the weather. Greeted by blue sky and brightish light. (Well, it is Holland.) Everything has come together to leave me filled with energy! Never mind the freshly ground Starbucks Nariño Supremo, the cool air, and the always present joy of simply returning home from a trip. I'm hyper. Happy, happy, home and hyper!

Water!

There's an old line associated with sailors lost at sea. "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink." Today my apartment felt a bit like a dry island far out at sea. I awoke to find no water. At least not any water in the pipes. Outside it was pouring down rain, and at the foot of the apartment block there was an obvious "leak". A small river flowing out to the street.

So the water was all around. And there was not a drop to drink. Save for the option of facing the sky with your mouth open. But that wasn't going to get the coffee made!

Truly, the morning was saved by the 2L of water in the fridge. 1.5L of which went into the first two pots of coffee.

The water is back. Hot and cold. I can cook and clean and carry on with the day. But it's fun to be reminded, right when you think you have your life in control, that some parts of it never can be.

--- Update ---

And it's gone again. I think my water company has been taking lessons from the cable company.

--- Updated Update ---

Okay it's back. The work day was ending so whatever the problem, fixed or not, they've at least turned the water on for the night. Just showered and barely have time for groceries before meeting friends. Doh.

Hello new cable box...

Instalments three and four of "The Cable Story" really got tucked as quick mentions into other posts. But now I think we're on part 5... or part V (looks better) and I think this is the final chapter in the tale.

Some 12 days ago, when Rogier moved out, the digital cable went with him. Although of course it wasn't supposed to. 11 days ago I called them up and they said wait 48 hours and it will be back. 7 days ago I called them again and told them it wasn't back. They made an appointment to send a technician today. Then 4 days ago the cable came back! Where it had gone, I never found out, but clearly it had had a rough time while away.

My cable was back, but either broken or hungover. The signal kept cutting out, and some features weren't working.

Rather than call the cable company, I remained quiet and let the technician arrive today. He was surprised to see the system working. But as soon as he started poking he found problems. Rather than diagnose them, he swapped the converter box. It's new and shiny (even shinier than the old one) and seems to actually work.

There was a moment of uncertainty as to whether I should be charged for the "installation" service but apparently the quality of my coffee swayed the issue. I got my cable, and no bill.

And this brings me to the greater point. It's something that I learned in the corporate world years ago, and that life always confirms for me. You can call, you can complain, you can email, you can wait on hold and you can shout. But nothing gets you further in life than simply offering a cup of coffee.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (a photo essay)

The Good: It's Monday (that's bad) and I was late for work (that's also bad) so I decided no harm could come of hopping off the train at Schiphol and enjoying the country's first publicly accessible Starbucks. A Grande Mocha, low fat, half whip, and a 1/2 pound of coffee beans. Hmmm, coffee at home this week will be fresh ground and delicious!

The Bad: It's always shocking to see a car accident. In this case more so when it's a car versus a city bus. The streets were blocked in two directions and it looked like the half dozen police cars and emergency vehicles were going to be there a while.

The Ugly: My apartment is a disaster! But honestly, compared to a bus accident, it's not *that* bad. Still, it is pretty bad! While not a speck of dust remains in the apartment, bits of wiring, cables, and boxes have filled the void. Metal brackets and bags of screws dot the living room floor. Silliest of all... the digital cable that did work yesterday, no longer works. Help!

South-East Asia Followup

Honestly, it all seems like a fast blur to me now. I'm trying to recall details of my "week" in Asia, and although it was only 2 days ago that I returned it is difficult. So I've taken advantage of access to photoshop and seeing my pics on the big screen at home. Here are a few stories in picture form, to make up for the lack of verbal acuity.

The food was special. Most of the time it could give you an opinion itself. They call that "fresh" although my stomach and brain often rebelled against the "fresh" hot innards dripping out as my fingers fought to remove bits of shell, legs, and heads.In Singapore, I also found the night images far more breathtaking than those of the day. Here's my hotel and some of the things to see just outside it.

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I thought it was cool how these lamps looked completely different depending on the angle. The mosque was interesting from every angle.

I'm really surprised by some of the photos possible through a camera phone!

And last, but not least, many aspects of my time were dominated by thoughts of Starbucks. For those not in the know, Starbucks has for years now produced a collection of collector mugs. Every major city in the world that has an outlet has a collector's mug available there an no where else.







A friend's friend is collecting... all of them. And so I was tasked to pick up some of the local varieties while away. For example, I'm really happy with my Kuala Lumpur (new edition) mug as pictured here. I came back with one bag more than I had left with and it was packed full with 6 new mugs.

FYI, I think I've now started to collect these silly things. So far I have one from Singapore, one from Kuala Lumpur, and rarest of all, one from Amsterdam. Amsterdam has only one Starbucks outlet and most people have no idea where.

The Rain (drops) in Holland Fall Mainly On My Head

Never mix your metaphors. That'd be like putting two weasels in a cage and lighting the fuse. "Your who-whats? What's a meta for?" Well, metas are mostly for indexing and search engines, but they're also for other information, comments, etc..

Coffee would probably never be legal if a pharmaceutical company invented it today. And if it were illegal, I'd have no choice but to be a coffee gangsta. I'd have a van with an espresso machine and I'd sell a demitasse hit for $10 a go. Can you imagine a large latté in a brown paper bag? The criminal moving quickly down the street, looking back over their shoulder ever few seconds? Well if that ever happened, let me tell you I'd be the rather shaky gentleman with the fur coat and gold rings in the van down the alley.

Thank goodness coffee is legal.

While I'm babbling, I think this is a good time to mention adverbs. Use them people! And use them proper. Erm, properly. This bit is actually going out to the network TV execs who are dumbing down English.

Intelligent Person: Hey, how's that plan to dumb down the English language?
Network Exec: Yeah, it's going really good.
Intelligent Person: You mean well. It's going well.
Network Exec: I know how to speak proper.

An adverb is a descriptive word that modifies (describes) a verb (an action) or an adjective. Too often the adjective and the adverb, which often differ by only an "LY", are used interchangeably. In cases such as good and well, where "good" is the adjective and "well" is the adverb, well, things really get confused.

Sorry, that last bit has nothing to do with anyone in blog space. My friends write goodly. I've just had a bit too much coffee. Hey, it's legal, stop looking at me like that!

Next week we'll discuss spelling, and why I feel its rules don't apply to me.

Top Twelve Ways to Beat Jet Lag

Jet lag, herein to be known as jetlag regardless of what the spell checker thinks, is often misunderstood. A bit of yawning, a missed night of sleep here or there and it's all okay, right? Heck no.

As a case in point, earlier this year I was talking to a friend of mine who flew from Vancouver to Amsterdam. She proudly proclaimed that she felt no jetlag whatsoever. Upon questioning she did admit that all the travelling had left her sick. She wasn't hungry, wasn't eating properly, had an upset stomach, and hadn't gotten much decent sleep. But she wasn't jetlagged!

To help travellers, I provide the following list of 12 ways to beat and avoid jetlag.

#10 - Flying west is easier than east. So if flying from Paris to New York, make your return flight via Los Angeles, Hawaii, Thailand, Dubai and then back to Paris. Voila, pas de jetlag!

#9 - Use multiple alarm clocks. Set them to go off 20 seconds apart and place them around the room in such a way that turning them off forces you out of bed and preferably down the hall towards the shower.

#8 - Stick to one timezone with fundamentalist fanaticism. If the sun in the sky says it's 6 hours earlier/later than your brain is expecting, ignore it. Book your business meetings at 11pm and force those you're meeting with to accommodate your timezone needs.

#7 - Drink plenty of fluids. The dry air inside the plane, the airline's chic new fusion cuisine, and the complimentary beer all contribute to dehydration. Said food is going to become a brick in your stomach as they feed you lunch at 2:30am. Water will help smooth the whole process later when it's time to... lay bricks.

#5 - Keep lists. Sleep deprivation will mean a loss of mental acuity. To make sure you don't start missing important parts of life, keep a properly ordered list and make sure not to miss any thing.

#4 - No sleep 'til bedtime! Seriously. Normally I would tell you to sleep when you're tired. (Like eating when you're hungry, or making love when you're happy, sad, warm, cold, excited or bored.) But if you want to get on board with your local time zone, don't let yourself sleep or even nap during daylight hours. Force yourself to sleep at night.

#pi - Eat at meal times. If you normally eat breakfast, lunch and dinner then keep doing that. You may find you aren't hungry but sit down and try to eat any way. Some of the worst symptoms of jetlag are gastro-intestinal. Your stomach expects different things at different times of the day (time to eat and time to rest, a time to laugh, a time to cry, turn turn turn). The faster you can reset the stomach the sooner you'll feel normal. (Note: "Resetting" one's stomach can be painful and/or messy.)

#2 - Coffee, and lots of it! Once the alarm clock trick has you out of bed, immediately flood your system with caffeine. Don't drink coffee? Try No-Doze or similar pills as favoured by long-distance truckers and late-night strippers.

And the single best way to handle jetlag?

#A - Don't fly!

I hope this has been helpful.

And Now I'm Home Too

It's only midnight at my parents' in Canada, but past 6am back here in Holland. Deep into the middle of my journey of jet lag, I was done my journey of jet yesterday after an 18 hour door to door trip.

This time round the 6.5 hour flight was extended to 9.5 hours instead. KLM gave us a tour of Canada before finally sending us on our way to Holland. It was an unbelievable disappointment when I heard the Captain's announcement about "turning to go back to Toronto". Having been in the air for an hour already, and flying some where roughly near Montreal, some type of mechanical problem regarding on-board water necessitated the plane turning back for repairs. An hour out, that same hour back, and an hour on the ground. We remained in our seats the whole time. And so once we finally set out for our trans-atlantic flight I was already uncomfortable.

Big thanks to Diesel! Your book, Antisocial Commentary, kept me laughing out loud throughout the flight! There were times I was crying from laughing too hard. When ever I wasn't wandering the cabin, eating, or watching the movie I was convulsing with laughter and that made the marathon plane experience so much easier.

Alas, after roughly 35 trips across the Atlantic ocean now, I've never slept on a plane. So taking off at 6pm from Toronto (the first time) and landing at Schiphol at 10:30am meant I missed Friday night and went straight into a sunny Saturday.

After staying up as long as possible (to 8pm) I've now slept 10 hours and have awoken on a cycle entirely reversed from where I was yesterday. No. Not yesterday, Friday. One extra-long 29 hour day ago. Two days ago. I don't know.

While never fun to travel, it is of course nice to be home. And now a sunny day is just minutes away from starting as the horizon turns pink. I think that means it's time to brew some coffee.


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Further: The old saying is that the early bird gets the worm. Having watched sunrise I noticed it is actually the water fowl who were flying first. Ducks, geese, and swans took to the sky while it was still dark. Song birds waited until significantly later. So I propose that it actually should be "The early bird gets the fish."

Too Much Energy!

I'm back from work and have lots of cleaning and prep for my weekend guest. Good thing I've got lots of energy. Too much energy. In fact, I've gone through the day with WAY too much energy!

I was a butterfly today at work. I fluttered about the office (in a relaxed masculine way) going from conversation to conversation; and occassionally email to email. I even made an effort to ease off on my usual coffee consumption. It didn't help, since today's energy wasn't physical but was instead a nervous mental chaos that just couldn't be satiated.

So thank goodness it was a happy energy! I had a big (nearly maniacal) smile on my face the whole day. And as a result I got met by smiles all day. Shucks darn I was in the new office with all the beautiful young women.

Come to think of it, it's bloody amazing any work got done. And yet a good bit did.

Tomorrow I suspect the energy will still be there. All the greater for the knowledge that the weekend will be just hours away. And then no work will go well.

To Gym Or Not To Gym

It's Sunday! And a wonderfully relaxed day it seems to be. Lots of time, little to do. The laundry is almost done and the fridge is full of food, including left-overs that just need heating. So I really have plenty of time to get to the gym today.

I'm just not sure I want to. I haven't been for about 8-9 days due to a few pulled muscles. And there's so little to do today I would hate to ruin that with stressful activity. But then again, I know I need to stretch out and use those pulled muscles. And I know I'll feel great tomorrow thanks to the exercise. And I'm always thankful I exercised afterwards, regardless of my mood before hand.

So to work through the "I don't wanna" blahs I'm using a tricky morning ritual of caffiene overdose and motivation.

This technique doesn't always work. But it usually does. Firstly, I've had a ton of coffee. More than I was "thirsty" for. I forced toast down my throat as early as possible, and now I'm backing that with a whey protein and fruit shake. I've got the TV muted and dance music playing. My "workout music". It makes it hard to sit still.

Next, once the food settles, down will go a single Red Bull. That will hit my brain like fire and for about 20-30 minutes going to the gym will feel like the obvious way to rid myself of the excess energy. But it's a narrow window. If I overdo the Red Bull I may just as likely start vacuuming or folding laundry. And then I'll ultimately end up missing the gym, as they close early on Sundays. (And I'm ignoring many hours worth of cleaning.)

There's also the "danger" of something really interesting coming on TV. With my mood right now (it's Sunday!) that could mean "something I didn't just see in the last week." I'm not feeling picky.

Down goes the last of the smoothy milkshake. More coffee awaits as does some loud and fast music. Will it take me where I want to go?