Brainpower - Day 15

An irony... my life has never seemed so structured and disciplined... yet, two weeks have gone by, and I haven't taken the time to blog.

The above statement is actually fairly representative of how my life is going right now. There are two or three areas that are more disciplined than they have been in the past, yet, several other areas of my life seem to have fallen off the radar. 

Work, eating and exercise (to some degree) have certainly gotten more ritualized in the past week than is the norm. Here's a quick synopsis of each of those three to set the context:

1. Work: Due to some valid administrative reasons, I no longer can work as an employee AND a contractor for MindWare. What that means for me regarding workload is that in the short term, work that I may have taken on as a contractor, I need to now fit into my work schedule. I first anticipated that meaning 60 hour work weeks, but last week turned out to be right around 50... manageable.  The great news is, I have been given the go-ahead to hire a new employee who would start May 1st. That means only a month and a half at these hours... and maybe another week or two in training the new person. But, once they are in the swing of things, I could get back to normal with my work hours.

2. Eating: The BrainPower book threw a curve ball at me. I was fairly disciplined the first week with each meal. I would follow it to the T, and spend each evening preparing my meals. However, when the first week ran out, I still had many of the original ingredients left over, and didn't want to toss them out and start week two with a new grocery list. Therefore, I repeated some of the meals, and tried to stretch the ingredients out as long as I could. This was good economically, but it got me further and further off of the regimented eating schedule that I was on. The good news here is that I continued to eat in the 'spirit' of the book, but I strayed from my original purpose, which was to follow the book, all four weeks, to the letter. Either way, I was able to start up again this past Saturday, on track with the 'official' beginning of week 2 (whereas in reality, I'm in my third week of this). In addition to getting back on track, I prepared ALL my week's meals on Saturday (over 7 hours in the kitchen). Therefore, I was able to assess the leftover ingredients, and allocate them to meals for Laura and Addie.

3. Exercise: I have been 'mostly' good about this one. I've let a couple days go here and there, and a few of the exercises the book has me doing, I simply feel like I cannot do. Tonight for example, one of the exercises is essentially hopscotch for five minutes! (um, no). I could hop for about 7 seconds, and then I'm spent. I'm willing to work up to 15 seconds, but that's where I draw the line. All in all though, I've been fairly consistent, and have spent a good deal of time on the treadmill. If weight loss is any indication, I've lost about five to six pounds since the 'official' day one (and about ten pounds since a month ago).

So, those are the successes... or more accurately... the 'continually regimented activities'. I hesitate to call them successes, because in context of my every day, it's hard to call one element a success, when it has a negative affect on other elements. The name of this particular game is: 'balance.' I'm struggling a bit with finding a good balance. Where I'm regimented in eating, I've actually found myself enjoying life less, because I've practically lost my enjoyment for eating. That's probably rooted in a deeper pshycological issue having to do with control, but the reality is, I miss the spontaneous nature of saying... "hey,... I'm in the mood for... (fill in the blank)". (I've actually really been in the mood for a hamburger, but that's beside the point, I suppose).

So, as I continue on this "4-week" (...or 5, or 6 week...) 'study,' I am going to try and put more effort into balance. I will continue to try and follow the book, but not at the cost of time with my family, or even my sanity. I trust the regiment of the book, but maybe I don't trust my own capability to throw myself into this sort of regimen. 

All this to say, at this stage in the game, I need to figure out what the key to sustaining something like this is. At this point, I just about 'hate' it (and I don't often use that word). I feel somewhat enslaved by it, rather than liberated by it. So, wish me luck as I continue on the course, but look deeply into how I could 'own' this sort of lifestyle and make it my own. That's really the trick, isn't it? 

Brainpower - Day 2 (Deep Thoughts by Adam Turner)

I've recently been challenged/inquired upon as to the focus of this present 4-week challenge. And, rightly so. I read recently that 55% of communication is conveyed by the body language we use (eye contact, gestures and facial expressions), 38% is conveyed in the voice, and only 7% is conveyed in the words we use. With that said, these words that I have chosen in my blogs apparently only convey 7% of what I have to say in this arena... leaving lots of room for interpretation and speculation.

With that said, I will attempt to be as clear as possible with this 7% that I can be... specifically concerning the heart and motivation behind my 4-week Brainpower experiment, as well as the blogging itself.

Blogging, in my opinion (along with most social media), serves one of two purposes: 1. ego inflating, or 2. helpful informing. With that said, the perception that I may be giving off is that this 4-weeks is all about me... ego inflating. And, there's probably some truth to that. However, it's genesis actually lies in the lives of those close to me, and the blogging of it was a response to a request of a friend.

I am fairly selfish, there's no denying that. I'm actually one of the most selfish people I know. I suppose, if there's an upside to that, it would be that I, at the very least, have identified that in me. With that said, I am able to begin looking outside of myself and identifying need.

For my previous 30-Day experiment, my objective in identifying serving opportunities was that one, if not both, of my family members would be able and inclined to join me. The only food shelf that would allow Addie is 'Feed My Starving Children.' As time would have it though, we ended up going to New York the week that we were signed up. So, as far as serving goes, the Polar Bear Plunge ended up being it. (I'm attending a meeting this Tuesday to serve the local refugee community, but aside from that, I have yet to look into retirement homes, etc.).

All of that to say... when looking at places of need, I didn't need to look any further than my own family. I've been recognizing more lately how personal health affects those who we're closest to. For example, I've taken for granted my mother's health. With respect, I won't mention her age, but I should say, for her age, she's in great health. And I'm grateful for that. Her mother, as well, is doing considerably well for the years she's logged in. Both Laura's parents also have invested time and effort in keeping both physically and mentally healthy.

As I become more educated on the affects of dimentia, memory loss, etc., I have decided that I don't want Laura to have to deal with that in me later in life. She will need everything I am to attend to her. I actually concluded that it would be selfish of me NOT to do this 4-week study, and that it's in the interest of stewardship that I proceed.

So, with all of that said, please continue to challenge me if you feel I lean too heavily on the 'me' aspect of this 4-week challenge. Again, it is very easy for me to dwell on myself, and lose sight of why I was inspired to do this in the first place. Honestly, I intended NOT to blog about this particular journey because of it's ego-centric undertones. However, a friend requested that I share a journey like this so that others can benefit from the lessons learned.

I'd like to address one element that seems to be lacking from these blogs: the spiritual element. Many of you know me as a spiritual person, and may find it odd that I haven't dove into that realm in these blogs. I mentioned earlier that I want to be in good mental and physical health as I age. Well, I certainly want to be in good spiritual health as well. However, in regard to blogging about it, I'm not quite there yet. I want to begin with things that provide common ground with all those I encounter throughout the day... not just those who share my faith with me. That's not to say I won't in the future, but for these four weeks, my focus will be on the physical and the mental.

Regarding future blogs, I think it's fairly safe to say that I'm comfortable with being somewhat transparent, and sharing life's journey with others (in blog form, anyway). My continued goal is to open my own eyes a bit wider, but at the same time to inspire others to explore change and growth along with me. I've completed the initial challenge of taking steps out of my comfort zone. I am now in the midst of a challenge that gives me a taste of what healthy living could look like. Perhaps the next challenge is a new service opportunity twice a week to focus on being more selfless. And there's certainly an opportunity to commit a 30-day experiment to faith... deepening it and challenging it. I'm open to suggestions.

I conclude with reiterating the above: I truly am open for suggestions. Although I have somewhat strict guidelines and boundaries of what this particular blog will be for the next four weeks, I am completely open to ideas/concepts for additional 30-day/4-week 'adventures.' And, I truly don't mind if they are deep, light, spiritual, academic, physical, etc., etc. (I had even considered blogging about trying a different sport every day for 2 weeks straight... if I could survive it). I'm discovering that the more I try, the more people I meet, and am able to 'somewhat' identify with. So, continue with the input, the challenges, the agreements, the condemnations, the encouragements, the ideas and the epiphanies. It's a new road of pushing boundaries for me, and I'm just glad to not be traveling it alone.

Brainpower - Day 1

I'm calling this new four-week challenge "Brainpower." Not to get confused with the original "30-Day Challenge."

Starting Brain Q Quiz score: 89/200 (that's a big 'F')
Problem Solving: 15/15 (100%)
Memory: 12/35 (34%)
Diet: 23/50 (46%)
Exercise: 14/50 (28%)
Memory Fitness, Stress and Socializing: 25/50 (50%)

Starting Weight: 210.5 lbs

Body Fat: approx. 26% (Tape Measurement Method)
Neck: 17"
Height: 72"
Abdomen: 41" (need to work on that one)
According to The American Council on Exercise, 26% and up in men, is considered obese. So, I'm obese. To get to 'Acceptable,' I need to be between 18% and 25%. To get to 'Athletic,' I need to be between 6% and 13%. Well, honestly, I'm not too concerned about what label I possess, although it does seem odd that I'm considered obese. However, I am very concerned about my overall health and my 'brain health.' And, as I attend to those, I imagine my body fat will go down, and I may someday be 'acceptable.'

Generally, I'll blog in the evenings, but today is Saturday, so I have time this afternoon. Also, I won't be blogging every day. One thing I learned from the last round of blogging is that the blogging itself became a prison of sorts... I felt committed to having to blog every day. However, this time, I'll blog maybe once a week, highlight some of the meals, exercises and brain games.

Today, so far, I have made both breakfast and lunch. I went grocery shopping for the first time in a long time... that took about an hour and a half, and about $150. That's just for one person, for one week! (to be fair, I think much of what I bought will last for a long time... spices, etc.)

For the brain game, I was asked to name the colors of words of colors that weren't the color they said they were. Understand? For example, the word 'blue' was actually the color red. There was a list of them, and I needed to say them as quickly as possible.

The second challenge was to take on something new. Sound familiar? They suggested trying something like blogging. I think I have that one well under way.

The third, and final, challenge was a list of several numbers. I was asked to 'repeat' and 'reorganize.' They suggest that when given a whole lot of numbers, one great way to help remember them is to break them down into smaller 'groupings.' Much like a social security number or a phone number.

I took the challenge about two hours ago. Here is my best attempt to repeat the numbers that I memorized:

529
25186
4295014
317492706
1528469537

I'll check the book to see how many I got right...BAM!! Nailed it! I just checked, and it seems these memory techniques actually work.

Will need to start prepping for dinner in a little bit, and I'm going to go change into my workout clothes for the suggested workout. But, before I sign off, here's the lunch I had earlier:

Grilled Veggie and Bean Burrito

One Chapter Closed, Another Open

My 30-Day Adventure has reached fruition. I set out to challenge myself, and I think it's safe to say, "check." Ironically, it wasn't really the outings themselves that proved to be challenging... it was determining what they would be and then blogging about them that ended up pushing me.

All in all, the experiment was well worth it. It accomplished many goals:
1. I have a new appreciation for snow sculptors, speed skaters, puppeteers, painters, skijourners, inuits, the Nepalese, polar bears, ATV riders, horse riders, wolves, crocheters, Martha Stewart and many more.
2. I have embraced that I have many options here in the Twin Cities other than local TV programming.
3. I have inspired Addie to try new things.
4. I have made pizza, and will make it again.

For those who don't want to look through the blogs for the pics of the outings, I have posted many of them recently on Facebook.

So, where does that leave me now?

Well, I'm ready for a rest, but my momentum has pushed me to continue a few new things in the last few days. I played a round of golf on Tuesday, followed by a small game of poker with some old poker buddies in Vegas. On Wednesday, I flew home to Minneapolis from Vegas and read a good chunk of "Brainpower Game Plan" (more on that later). Yesterday, I went back to work, came home and settled in. Today, I am resting (and later on will enjoy another poker game).

However, I do indeed have a new chapter. I am going to attempt to improve my brain power. I'll pause a moment to allow for any laughter that seems necessary.........


... so, back to the brainpower thing. When we left the Martha Stewart Show, we got a bag of goodies that included many puzzles, challenges and the book "Brainpower Game Plan" by Cynthia R. Green, PhD. The book speaks of the epidemic today of loss of memory, dimensia and Alzheimer's. She goes on to explain how eating right, exercise and 'brain games' can increase memory and decrease dimensia and the chances of getting Alzheimer's. I felt this was a worthy pursuit to explore.

Therefore, I am now setting off on another brief adventure. This time, however, there will only be one focus... to get through this book, and it's four-week plan. Each day has a menu, an exercise and a brain activity. I originally wasn't going to blog about this, but a friend at work asked if I would. She for one thought it would be an interesting experiment to see if these four-weeks could actually improve my brain power. "Doubtful" I'm sure some of you will say.

As it turns out, there is a test at the beginning of the book that will be retaken at the end of the four weeks. Tomorrow, I will post my score, along with my weight, my meals, my exercise and my brain activity. I will weigh in once a week. This isn't meant to be a weight-loss diet, but chances are, that'll be a side affect. I currently take in over 2,000 calories (easily) a day, and I will be living right around 1,500 calories per day for these 4 weeks.

So, smash the champagne on the ship, because here I set sail once again!

Day 30 :: English Horse Riding Lesson

This is it. This is my Omega. Day 30, last of the 'official' blogs (I may continue... just unofficially). And, to be fair, today's is really a part 2 of a two-part activity... "Me and Mira."

Mira is an 11-year old thoroughbread mare. My mother purchased her a few years back to revive her love for horses and the sport/art of horseback riding... specifically, English style.

The first thing I learned yesterday when we began this particular experience, is that probably more so than many other sports, this 'dressage' or whatever the actual term is, is FULL of technical terms. I say this, because honestly, I think I would be corrected if I referred to what I did as dressage. I think dressage is a specific event in the world of English style horseback riding. If you follow the comments below, I'm sure it'll just be a matter of hours before my mom comments on the actual terminology.

So, for the purpose of this blog entry, I will refer the events over these two days as my 'horseriding experience.'

My horseriding experience began with a bit of hesitation... on my mom's part. To be frank, these horses are very expensive... and potentially, very dangerous. Of course, they aren't generally violent or overly-agressive, but they certainly have their moments of 'animal behavior.' My mom was telling me that even her horse, Mira, had a moment not too long ago where she reared up and tore the bridal, and took off out of the stall. There's been other stories of people getting seriously injured, and stories even of death. Mira in particular, was bread to be a race horse, so just her desire to run presents a slew of cautions to embrace before venturing into her saddle. So, needless to say, the outing began with some hesitance.

Yet, we went forward.

We began with the 'lunging.' Lunging is the exercise you see in movies like "Man From Snowy River" where the horse handler stands in the middle with a long rope and urges the horse on in a circular manner. My mom eventually handed me the lead rope and spoke out directions to both me and Mira. "walk, run, trot, halt, Adam, the rope needs to be looser!"

We didn't have a lot of time that day, so we pretty much just lunged Mira and then I took a brief jaunt on her bareback. I felt like I was ten feet off the ground and ready to tumble to my unfortunate death at any given moment. The jaunt was brief. Like two minutes. I was done.

Then today came.

Today, I helped prep Mira by wrapping her ankles, and various other minor tasks. Eventually we made our way to the arena, where Mira's trainer met us to give a lesson to my mom. I have to admit, it was pretty fascinating. Just like the numerous technical terms used in the sport, there are numerous technical commands used to guide the horse. It reminded me a bit of video game controllers. There was the 'move forward' command, the 'move left,' 'move right' and 'reverse' commands. However, also like video game controllers, there was the 'strafe left' and the 'strafe right' commands... and any combination of the above. At one time, my mom had Mira walking forward, but sort of gliding to the left, shooting straight forward in a trot, suddenly switching into a walk for five steps, and then returning to a trot... all without any visible commands. I believe it's due to a combination of subtle reign movements and pressure from the left or right leg. 

Eventually, my mom's lesson came to an end, but she and the trainer agreed on letting me give it a go. I've done Western riding many times, but it really didn't seem to compare. Where Western sort of feels like function over form, this felt like the opposite. My mom would say that this is full of function, but the form is such an integral aspect of English riding, it just seems to rise to the top as the primary component.

Because of my inexperience, I opted to be kept on a lead line, and just stick to the circle riding. I began with a walk, but with the trainer's tutalage, I eventually got to a trot. But, that's where it stopped. Sure, I got the rhythm of how to move in the saddle... sort of, but I still felt completely uneasy, unbalanced, and ill-prepared for a fall from this beast. Again, she's a beautiful animal, but even after taking a spill on the ATV a couple of days ago, I had no desire to fall off this thoroughbread and break my neck... call me over cautious. 

The trainer asked me if I wanted to try it on my own, and as the final official spoken words of my 30-Day adventure, I calmy said "no thank you. I think I'm done."

Day 29 :: Crochet a Hat - Adam Style

Today was a busy day, but few of the things that happened today were original in this 30-Day experiment. There was some more ATVing, some more driving, some horseback riding (but not enough to qualify for it's own blog entry), and some resting. However, as the day came to a close, it was my mom who suggested something unique... crocheting. 

Because of the proximity of Simi Valley to my mom's town, Camarillo, I was able to spend some time with her. She picked me up late afternoon and I stayed the night with her and my grandmother. The evening time made some room for this latest activity. I began the crocheting 'adventure' by attempting to follow a series of directions that would ultimately end up with a fairly complicated hat. Well, I only had a few hours to dedicate to this project, so the 'crochet techno babble' was going to have to wait for some other time. Instead, I decided to learn only the 'single loop' technique, and set off to the races to make.... a square.

Well, as time travelled on, I was no longer content with only a square. I concluded that with this one basic technique, I could in fact, make that hat after all. But, it was going to have some 'Adam-ness' to it. I single looped here, snipped some yarn there, added a strand here, braided there.... and, voila! A hat.

I'm not saying it's the highest of technical accomplishments, but it was something new and different. I may take requests in the future, but you'll have to be flexible with your expectations... each hat will be 'individual' and unique.

Bobby tentatively modeling my accomplishment

Day 28 :: ATV Overnighter

I left 30 degree weather in Minnesota two days ago. I slept in 20 degree weather in California last night.


Ah, but it was worth it.

Sean, Bobby, Robb and I left Simi Valley yesterday morning and headed north to Gorman, California. As we headed up Highway 5, through a section called 'The Grapevine,' we began to enter into 'winter zone.' The white stuff had made it's introduction to the area by laying down a light blanket across the landscape of hills and sage brush. Although I am fairly accustomed to a good snow fall from my time in Minnesota, this was quite different. There's something a bit more magical it seems when Old Man Winter lays a blanket of the fluffy stuff across a landscape that generally would be alien to that idea. It was quite a sight. And, a bit disconcerting... after all, this was going to be our recreation spot for the next 24 hours.

As it turned out, we were well prepared. We had all brought the proper attire, and experienced the upside to this weather... hardly any other recreationalists had chosen to brave the elements, allowing us plenty of space and little ATV traffic (not to mention the amazing vistas of dusted snow and snow covered hillsides).

Aside from the ATV action itself, it was fairly standard camping. We set up camp, Bobby and Sean got a roaring fire going, Robb made some great hamburgers, and we sat around and chatted. The few differences were that instead of a tent, we had a heated ATV trailer to sleep in, a movie to watch while we drifted off to sleep, and the highlight... Sean and Bobby's wives made the trek up to our camp for the afternoon, bringing with them a great lunch!

And that leaves the piece de la resistance (sp?)... the ATVs themselves. Actually, we had two ATVs and one dirt bike at our disposal (thanks Bobby). The rhythm of the afternoon would be a cycle of two or three of us going out at a time, coming back and rotating the drivers, allowing for everyone to have a turn or two. Selfishly, in retrospect, I think I ended up getting the lion's share, probably clocking more riding time than some, if not all, of the other three. Sorry guys. I'm selfish. I'm working through it.

With that said, I began on the 250hp ATV, working up to the 450hp ATV, and ultimately ending, this morning, on the 400hp dirt bike.
For such a short period of time, there's actually plenty of stories to be told, mostly involving rookie use of this equipment, but because I've already dragged this blog entry out longer than necessary, I'll focus on one short event:

When I go out on adventures such as this, I tend to set certai goals for myself. I had a soft goal of trying all three vehicles prior to the trip's end, but I was willing to let that one slide in the interest of time. Yet, as it turns out, I was able to complete it. The hard and fast goal, however, was that I wanted to 'accelerate over a jump.' That doesn't necessarily mean I wanted to jump... it just means I wanted to move 'quickly' over said jump. Well, goal attained. But, not without a bit of pain.

On that, I end this entry. Below is video of said experience.