December 2011
1 post
Septoplasty post-surgery
Hey everyone,
So, as you may have seen, I had a septoplasty on Wednesday, hence that weird picture of a white mustache under my nose. The surgery itself was successful! The days since have been interesting… here’s a take on what happens after the surgery, if anybody I know ever considers doing the same in the future.
WARNING: If you find blood and mucus gross subjects, STOP READING!...
July 2011
1 post
Catch 22
Today I expressed my frustration with some friends about how I feel like either I always have to invite people to do anything with them, or I only really get invited if they see me physically in person, or if the invitation is strictly to the same group that that person knows (so, I would not get invited by a given person if there were people that I did not know). In the latter case, it makes me...
May 2011
10 posts
Septoplasty
Yelp
Looks like I may need to get a septoplasty. For the curious, that’s an operation to realign the septum of my nose.
For the longest time I can remember, I’ve been a mouth breather. I think I now know why — my septum is deviated so far left that there is barely an opening from which to breathe in or out of my left nostril.
Granted, I may also just have a severe case of...
Battlestar Galactica Finale
Finally finished watching Battlestar Galactica. Well, I stopped the very last episode about 15 minutes in, since I swear to god I thought they had met Avatar people at the end.
And seriously, for the second last episode to end on its own note and then 5 minutes into the last one Galen Tyrol does that and it’s all like “Oh, now everything’s okay!”. I originally jumped past...
Taiwan Finale - The last day and final thoughts
Our last day was noticeably more laid back than any of the other days in Taipei. I think we were just exhausted by all of the travelling we had done in 4 days, and wanted to be somewhat rested for the plane ride back (that’s 8-9 forms of transportation in 6 days) to the west (even though the plane would be heading east, ironically though sensibly).
We had agreed that for the last day we...
Taiwan Part 7 - Kiaoshung, Beer, and The Road Home
The ferry ride back to Taidong was notably the smoothest ride of all three boat rides. We acquired a very nice group seating area with a table for us to use as both an eating platform as well as a card playing area. Miniature garbage bags were far more conveniently locatable, as they were hung from above for each row of the boat (feel free to very easily guess what purpose these served).
It was...
Taiwan Part 6 - The Case of the Lost Ticket. And...
Oh no, the weekend is ending!
So, we got to the ferry on Orchid Island to head over to Green Island, and I realized that I don’t have any of my ferry tickets. Furthermore, we couldn’t find the receipt for the tickets to prove that we had bought 6, so as to claim that I was the 6th passenger. I felt I should have noted my skin colour (meaning the chances that I live on the island are...
Taiwan Part 5 - Saturday and most of Sunday! With...
We all get up mostly on time, and head to… 7-11. We did so to prepare ourselves for what sounded like the most treacherous boat ride of our lives, and therefore equipped ourselves with salty foods, carbonated beverages, water, and a delicious hot dog. I should have got money at this point, but I didn’t. I will suffer in a future paragraph (explicit foreshadowing).
We head to the...
Taiwan Part 4 -- FRIDAY, Taidong and The Day the...
You know you gotta get down on Friday.
So, after our exquisite stay at The Silks, we get a personal cab, provided again by our generous hotel hosts, to drive us about an hour to 1.5 hours to Hualien for 1000NT (30 bucks for a 1+ hour trip — seriously, way cheaper than NA).
While we waited for the train to arrive, we got some snacks and drinks at a 7-11. Now, I should inform you that 7-11...
Taiwan Part 3 -- Taroko Gorge Thursday
I wonder which seat I should be in…
Anyway, we continue with the fantastical trip to the Taroko Gorge. Jeff and I saw some really amazing pictures of this place in some tour guides (of course they’d be amazing if they were in tour guides, those advertising jerks), and had decided we had to go to this gorge.
So, early Thursday morning, we venture off to Taipei Main Station on the...
Taiwan Part 2 -- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Onward!
Taiwan Part 2 will be shorter than Part 1, in that I will talk about the sights we visited and things we did with less rigor and elaboration than the previous post.
The weekdays of the trip comprised of just Jeff and I mostly, with Evan being around when class / other errands didn’t intervene / had already seen what we were going to go see. As a result, I got to practice my very...
Taiwan Part 1 -- Departure, Arrival, and Sunday
Hi everyone,
Figured it was time for an update, and a rather big one at that!
One thing I’ve always been meaning to try and never really had the balls to do was to travel. I’ve always been worried that it’s not exactly “responsible” (in my head, not necessarily fact), that I should be focusing on my career and life success, and that travelling was too large of an...
April 2011
1 post
Updates
Hey again everybody,
Well, I guess since I have a bit more time, or feel like I do, I’ll update you all on my life.
Today I feel pretty good, at least right now. I don’t feel like the end of the world is nigh. I know my job situation worsens as the days continue, but I do feel a bit more uplifted and like I can actually accomplish some things today — I feel like I have regained...
March 2011
1 post
Current going-ons
Hey all,
I was talking to my friend Adam and mentioned that a lot of stuff had been happening, and told him to just read my blog. I also promised I’d have posted it by yesterday, and I clearly didn’t, so I make up for it by doing it today!
So, yes, let’s chat my fellows. What’s been happening? Well…
I hate to say it, but life’s been mostly on a downslope, or...
July 2010
1 post
June 2010
3 posts
Social connections
First, I do want to point out that I am indeed posting immediately after the one below. I figured I’d give a double duty of posting tonight. I wanted to isolate topics, and I didn’t feel this post belonged with my personal news update.
This post is going to be about some general thoughts I have about my existing social life, my thoughts about its expansions (or lack thereof), and...
"So what else is new?"
Hi again everyone
I finished my last post talking about my mom. First, I’d like to thank everybody that commented on that. It was firstly very nice to see that people actually read my blog when I do post (even after months of abandonment). Secondly, it was nice to feel I may have made other people’s days simply through writing. Perhaps more people did read that post, and to them I...
Reminiscing about Jeannette, aka Mom.
Well, I guess I should start by saying that I realize I haven’t been updating this blog much. Admittedly, a lot of stuff has changed in the past little while that hasn’t left me much in the mood for writing anything, let alone sharing it. I feel as though I can share it now though.
The biggest change in my life is that my mom died at the end of February after a second bout with...
January 2010
1 post
Return?
Hey folks,
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here. I’m not guaranteeing that I’ll come back and post more regularly, but I felt I needed a medium to share a thought and figured this was my best medium.
Lately life has had a lot of ups and downs. The home front (in Ottawa) has seen a major down but with a major up twist to it… though, I am not entirely...
June 2009
4 posts
Questions, looking for Answers
Howdy folks of Internetland!
Well, today I decided to clean the apartment thoroughly. Though it’s nice outside, I based this decision on two things:
a) I’m partially sick
b) It needs cleaning
Anyway, figured I’d take a short interlude from the cleaning (I’ve got two things left to do — Vacuum, and cleaning the fridge).
Today’s post is going to be a tad on...
Where am I sore? Everywhere.
Okay, first, I don’t care anymore about whether people want to hear me talk about Crossfit. I like it. So I am going to blog about it, among other things.
Now that that’s settled, onward!
I am ridiculously sore. My arms feel like they’re being crushed by boulders.
Here are two reasons why. First, yesterday, I went to the advanced class, where we did the following workout:
...
SMBC is awesome →
Europe
Hi there Internetland,
So I am very likely heading to Europe beginning next month for about a week.
I am actually, surprisingly, slightly nervous about going to Europe. I have a few reasons:
a) Visa related concerns — I better be able to get back into the country!
b) I will have to talk in French (we’re headed to Paris and Barcelona)
Now most of you must be thinking “But...
May 2009
11 posts
Hooverball
Today, instead of a workout, the gym went out to the volleyball courts with a 6 pound medicine ball to play Hooverball.
Boy, what a weird game.
It’s basically a ridiculous game of catch. With a medicine ball. You serve from the back line, just like volleyball. Of course, you don’t volley or bump that (that would hurt like crazy). Instead, you catch and throw it.
The only major...
Camping and Grace
So first I will talk about the camping trip this past weekend.
All I can really say is that it was fun. I wouldn’t say anything particularly eventful happened at this camping trip that is worthy of specific mention. The sleeping was a little tight. That’s pretty much the only noteworthy aspect of it. Everything else that happened was what you’d expect from a camping trip.
...
Pandora update is evil (but I love Pandora...
New Pandora update has made a change to non-subscribers.
Now, instead of having an hour break for a given station after you’ve used 6 skips, it appears that you can only use 6 skips throughout the day across all stations.
This makes me extremely sad. And considering an upgrade. Damn.
Edit: Apparently it’s 12 per day ON TOP OF the old system (6 an hour for a station).
Pandora One,...
I take snoring to the next level
On Saturday night, I stayed over at Charles’ place as it was convenient. Anyway, I fell asleep on Charles’ couch. Here’s where the usual person might snore.
I was *grunting* in my sleep. The kind of grunt you’d do if you were lifting heavy weights, or at a baseball game as a barbarous cheer.
What’s funnier about this is that I was so unused to doing this during my...
What to do for the long weekend?
So it seems that none of the outlandish hopes I had for a wicked long weekend will be answered.
Some ideas that were generated:
- Hawaii
- Vegas
- Europe
- Yosemite
(the above 4 were trips to these places, of course)
A few other trip ideas are still possible — California and Vancouver. Not sure though with whom I am going anymore, nor what I would do at these venues.
There is a...
Oakville has disappeared
Random thought: where the hell are all of my friends that come from Oakville? I’ve been trying to get a hold of a number of them. One of them I can’t seem to reach, while the others are completely unresponsive (and thus, I guess, I am unable to reach any of them).
What the hell’s going on?
Apparently my chest hair post made Julie laugh
Anyway, I fucked up squats today and now my back is sore.
The weekend — fabulous. Watched Star Trek, went to a barbeque, had pizza (OH MY GOD I WENT AGAINST THE ZONE — I actually have been doing this more than I’d like to lately and want to stop), and GOT STUFFS DONE!
Tiring week.
This week should be better though.
Going for a drink on Friday with CF peeps! Weehee!! And then...
Coffee
Today, I have had so far one tall coffee.
I’m having another one right now.
IT RETURNS. *SHAKES UNCONTROLLABLY*
(It seems my tendency is that whenever I am frustrated with something at work, coffee seems to alleviate some of it — today I am utterly frustrated. This is not a good thing)
And one of my callouses ripped on the other side of the knuckle of one finger, which by the way...
Squat!
Back squat happened today. We also did presses but I skipped it so I wouldn’t be late for my meeting.
How’d I do? Well…
116kg 3 sets of 5 — passed all of them!
So that’s 255 lbs that I’m squatting, for anybody that doesn’t want to do the conversion. Another 20 kilos to go before I hit 300 — at this rate, that should take about 5 weeks —...
Angie, and then some
Workout:
400m run
100 pull-ups
100 pushups
400m run
100 situps
100 squats
400m run
Time: 33:05
Feeling: Awesome
Needs work: Chaining pull-ups. I saw a few Angie times and, well, I think I need to really reduce the time spent hanging from the bar and chain these better. Pushups could use some work too but I think I’m already working on getting those better already.
Longer version of Fran is GO
Today we did an extended version of Fran. It was:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Thrusters 43 kg (95 lbs)
Pull-ups
I did it in 11:44. This is only 1 minute and 20 seconds away from my last Fran time — I believe this means my next Fran time will be considerably better! Well, I hope.
What’s awesome about my performance is that I not once dropped the barbell during the thrusters (except...
April 2009
11 posts
It's not that I forgot about my blog -- I just...
This morning I had another one on one session. It was actually remarkably useful despite the events that transpired!
Today I was trying a 114kg 5x3 back squat. And for the first time in a very long time, I bailed! And it was right at the very end — I had two reps left. TWO.
Anyway, right after I bailed I did the last 2 I had to do. My technique is a tad off in that I let myself lean...
You may not want to read this post as it pertains...
Alright, so the warning has been provided. If you wish to continue reading, well, I warned you.
Yesterday, I trimmed it completely off. Note the word “trimmed” — I did not shave it completely because I have been told that causes severe itching later, and I’d rather not deal with that cumbersome consequence.
I haven’t seen my skin this easily since I was a young...
Crystal Castles
Hi there people who like music
Band you might like if you like MSTRKRFT (though these guys have a totally different sound — it’s more eerie and creepy than MSTRKRFT but upbeat, somehow)
They’re called Crystal Castles. They also somehow remind me of old age Nintendo music, and who doesn’t love Megaman 2 music? (Am I right Trevor?)
Bench Press
Today I had a 1:1 with a trainer at CF Eastside. Some major strides have been made apparently!
First, we worked on my back squat (which we do pretty often). Today I did 104 kg, 5x3. It felt good! I wonder what my max rep is — I’m aiming for a 300 lb back squat. That’s only another 32 kilos, roughly, and considering that 104 kg 5x3 wasn’t hard, it makes me...
The Key Loop: CF Eastside's way of forcing this...
Today’s workout looks extremely simple.
Key Loop. Rest (2 minutes ish?). Key Loop.
Well, Key Loop refers to the outdoor 1 mile run we perform at CF Eastside. It sucks for longest stretch, though, because it is *slightly* uphill. It’s misleading, and drains you out faster than you want it to. And your brain doesn’t adjust itself despite experience because it still thinks...
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
This is the sound I make for deadlifting.
Today’s workout was:
Every 2 minutes on the minute perform:
6 Dumbbell Push Press (70 lbs overall — 35 each hand)
3 pull-ups
Sprint (about 100m?)
4 deadlifts, 100kg
I got 8 rounds. In fact, everybody did. Because that’s when we stopped.
Also, I tossed frisbee today at lunch. The weather is still aaaaawwwwwesome!
Fantaaaaastiiiiiiic daaaaaay! And it's only 11:30
So I got a ton of sleep last night, and I got up EARLY! REALLY EARLY!
I’m full of energy. I’m overenergized. I’m PUMPED, as some might say.
Got up, got some cleaning done around the apartment, threw my clothes into the dryer (I didn’t realized I had started a wash!), I cooked lunch (and had some of it for a tiny pre-workout snack), made a protein shake for post-workout,...
Facebook ads: If you click on them, your IQ is...
I just saw a facebook ad that claims it yields a method on “How to get six packs without doing sit-ups!” — Basically, no exercise.
Why oh why must people believe that exercise is not the only way to have a healthy body. Yes, you can get liposuction. Yes, you can get a gastric bypass. These will definitely make you thinner. But the obesity epidemic will not go away if people keep...
Youtube Repeat is awesome.
youtuberepeat.com
This is fantastic for songs you found that you want to listen on repeat for the rest of the day.
Yes, there are people who like listening to the exact same song for hours on end. This set of crazy people includes me.
Note to self: Yogurt goes bad
I had some Fage, blueberries, and pumpkin seed butter this morning. Didn’t finish it, so I thought “Woop! Snack for later!”
I left it out on my desk in the container in which I put the yogurt. It is now moldy.
Note to self: Yogurt goes bad. Next time I should immediately put it into the fridge, so that this disaster doesn’t happen again.
Legs... so... sore...
Official: My hamstrings hate me.
March 2009
14 posts
And then he took my steam away...
Told my friend I got 300. He told me his girlfriend has 310.
Burn.
I WILL BEST HER SOON ENOUGH
300!
This morning in my 1 on 1 with the trainer, we worked on deadlift.
And for the first time ever, I deadlifted 300 pounds. It was actually not too bad!
Only another 40 kilos to go.
Discouraging
Today’s workout was rough from a cardiovascular perspective. It was:
Alternating double unders/row: 100-1000m-80-800m-60-600m-40-400m
I did it in 37 minutes. Ouch.
A friend of mine who joined *later than me* beat me by 12 minutes. What the hell? Seriously? This is what is discouraging. I should be kicking his ASS. AT EVERYTHING. But I’m not.
Back to work…
Back Squats make me feel damn good
Bonjour tout le monde!
So today was a lifting day. It was:
Max Weight Back Squat 5-5-5
Max Weight Shoulder Press 5-5-5
(With warm-up sets before, of course of course)
We haven’t done pure strength workouts in a while, so I am very excited we’ve returned to it again finally!
I did 100kgx5x3 today of the back squat, back to where I was before surgery. Was pretty straightforward....
Benchmark day: Fran
Before I get going on the subject, meet Fran:
21-15-9 of:
95 lbs thrusters
pull-ups
(so, 21 thrusters, 21 pull-ups, 15 thrusters, 15… you get it I hope)
Now, this is the first time I’ve ever done it completely as prescribed. The last time I did this I did the full weight, but did jumping ring pull-ups (still easier than actual pull-ups), and this took me I think 20 or 21 minutes...