Treat yourself RIGHT.

Me, Robb Wolf, & Ramman

On Saturday, I went to the CrossFit Nutrition Certification which is put on by Robb Wolf. It was even more entertaining and informational than I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, I knew going in that I would learn a TON from this guy, but I figured I knew the basics enough to understand all of what he would go into. Let me tell ya- this guy is SMART. And extremely funny. I suppose he has to be, how else would 70 people sit through 8 hours of him talking about the biochemistry of food interaction with your cells. His main point, the point that he is trying to convince people all over the world of is: Gluten is THE reason people get sick. He proposes that gluten is at the root of all incommunicable, auto-immune diseases- and when you get down to the scientific facts of the properties of gluten and how the lectin essentially puts little holes in out intestinal lining (no matter who you are), it makes sense that disease would occur. (If anyone sciency is reading this, please don't rip me apart for summarizing VERY poorly, I have the notes from the lecture if you want to discuss.) Robb also believes that ALL people are intolerant to gluten on some level, whether they have apparent symptoms or not! I have thought this for some time, before I even read his work. What it boils down to for me is that I am now completely convinced and empowered to rid MY diet of this toxin for good. I'm not saying that I will never ingest it again, likely I will, but VERY few and far between. As many people who know me know, I struggle with a myriad of digestive symptoms (as does/did Robb Wolf), and I am ready and willing to pull the stuff out of my diet completely for one month to see how things change. I already avoid it at a level that others might think is extreme, but now I am kicking it all the way out. Stay tuned for updates on how my gluten-free, Paleolithic eating habits are treating me:)

I would like to convince everyone that I care about to go completely gluten-free for one month. I know that some people are hard to convince (like I was) that it's worth it to take it out of your diet. All you skeptics need to do is read some of Robb Wolf's work and then go visit a retirement facility, like the one where Ramman's Grandpa lives. Seriously. Go visit your Grandma or great Uncle, and if you don't know anyone who lives in one of those places (lucky you), go volunteer at one for a few hours. See what poor lifestyles lead you to. If you are not convinced to take care of yourself after seeing someone who needs to take 24 DIFFERENT pills a day who couldn't walk a mile in faster than 40 minutes (if they could even walk that far at all) and can't stop their hands from shaking, who eventually will need someone to wipe their ass for them, well then you're an imbecile. I am DETERMINED to NEVER, EVER, EVER end up in a place like that. When I die, I am just going to die (this is what Robb Wolf says of CrossFitters:)).. there will be no long, painful, drugful, drawn out process. Nope, not me.. I am going to live, live, live, and then just die. And I will be very, very old.

When we got home from the certification, Ramman received news that a friend of his had died. Keith Goodman, only 53 years old, was an influential teacher in the Portland dance community and Ramman had known him from his Capoeira group. The past few summers Keith has invited Ramman to teach at his dance camps and they had actually just wrapped one up the day before he died. Keith often taught and performed contemporary dance in which he would dramatically collapse to the ground. This is the way he ended his final performance. He was dancing with some of his students during a performance and at the end of the piece he "lowered himself gracefully to the ground", as his partner, Bill Flood, recalls. A very sad and premature, yet fitting ending to a beautiful life.

That kind of story reminds me how temporal life is. It also makes me wonder what could have been done to prevent his death at 53. IS it all diet related? Keith was a giving, loving, gentle, happy person. He was passionate about dance and teaching dance. He had a family. He was seemingly fulfilled with is life. Was what he had been eating his entire life the cause? Is diet the only factor? These are questions that need to be addressed and experimented with.

We are complex creatures and so many of the things we expose ourselves to, things we think are good for us, could be the very things that kill us. Avoid misery and sickness. Eat foods that come in their natural form. Use your body. Use your mind and heart. Treat yourself right.

Fight the Power.

The past two weeks Ramman and I have been getting up much earlier than usual on Tuesdays and Thursdays to run our "Ninja Boot Camp" at the Duniway track. When the alarm goes off at 5:45am it's pretty brutal, but once we get out there, breathe some fresh morning air and start moving around, it feels amazing. I know that our ninjas in training feel the same way too. We all show up a little groggy and fuzzy eyed, then we center ourselves with a 5 minute meditation, do some joint warmups, move into a more dynamic warm up with rolls, balancing on railings, jogging.. and then the wod.. Today I got to participate in the wod because it was a partner workout and we had an odd number of proteges. It wasn't too grueling of a workout but it was a perfect example of why one should do CrossFit style training: because I was ready. The time of day didn't matter. Whether I had or hadn't eaten didn't matter (actually, not having eaten probably helped). What the workout was didn't matter. I had to do it, so I just did. And it felt great to have already put in some training by the time 7:30am rolled around.

Latest thoughts on traveling: I figure if we each need to save $5000-$6000 to do the teaching English thing, why not just save that much and travel, sans teaching English, for 6 months. How awesome would/will it be to go to 6 different countries in 6 months?!?! I want pick 6 countries (that are cheap to live/eat in) that have something culturally that I am interested in learning. For example: Mexico: Spanish or Thailand: Muay Thai or Belize: Scuba Diving.. To spend a month in a country and choosing something specific to intensively learn, oh man, that would be amazing.

I've seen so many videos posted online about Neda, the young woman who was shot dead during protests in Iran. I've avoided watching the video of her being killed in order to selfishly spare myself from the emotions that would come along with watching it. I haven't had the courage to press play, for fear that what I would see would upset me an incredibly deep level. I didn't watch it BECAUSE I HAD THE CHOICE. I sit here in my comfortable apartment in peaceful Portland, Oregon, on my nice computer listening to reggae, choosing not to let disturbing images permeate my walls. Until today. I finally watched it. I decided that I can no longer protect myself from the gruesome details of our chaotic and corrupt world leaders and governments if I am going to refer to myself as anything even resembling a freedom fighter. Yes, seeing these images of innocent people's lives being stripped away at the whim of a sniper with a rifle and an order are extremely upsetting, but without witnessing the brutality and knowing what exactly is going on, how can I expect to be a part of the fight against it? And what about the people who HAVE NO CHOICE. It's in their cities, it's in their schools, it's in their homes, right in front of their faces. People, family members and friends, are being killed and brutally beaten right next to them and yet THEY KEEP FIGHTING. It's getting to the point that those of us who have the choice to live in a safe bubble, who have the choice as to what we expose ourselves to must FORCE ourselves to SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING. Because before we know it, it will be right in front of our faces and we won't know what to do.

Despite my liberal education and my alternative upbringing, I am politically ignorant. I am making the choice NOW to change my level of involvement in the fight for the greater good. I have always been on that level in my mind, but the fact that I choose not to read about or watch or listen to disturbing stories and images means that I am not fully dedicated to fighting back. I watch documentaries. I live as simply as I can. I try to make ethical choices when purchasing products and food. I do not support mainstream media. I do things on the surface that up until now make me feel as though I am doing my part. But now it's time to do more. Even if it is just reading, watching, listening.. It is KNOWING. And with knowledge you are armed.

So now I reach out to you who are reading my humble note. With all of the bullshit in American media, what are the best, unbiased, resources for learning what is happening world-wide? I'm assuming the BBC offers legitimate information.. What else?

Fighting the power..

Random thoughts from this week:

Belize.

I know I keep posting these pics of tropical places, but they are my

motivation to stay focused and make it happen!

(On Thursday)

What is with these allergies??? I've never had it this bad. It's taken me 4 days to realize that it's not a cold, it's just stinkin' allergies.. which feel the same, really. I'm tired, I can't sleep at night, my head hurts, my nose is runny, and my throat is scratchy.. pretty much the same as a cold- except it's not going away! I had/have certain goals for June that I wanted to accomplish as far as training goes, and this week has messed it up a bit. But today I am going to do something, maybe if I train it will help move this crap through and OUT of my system, and maybe I'll be able to to fall asleep tonight. Another reason why I would like to experience a different climate!

My goals for training included really working hard on my handstands, backbends, and muscle ups (by sticking to the schedule I devised back in May), and doing a lot of metcons and running to prepare me for Potlatch in 2 weeks and the beach tourney in 3 weeks. I want to feel strong running-wise for these tournaments so that I can play well (since I'm playing on really good teams) and so that I'm not COMPLETELY wrecked for 3 days after they're over. Doing that much running (Potlatch= 3 days, Beach= 2 days IN SAND) after not really running that much is just asking for some sort of injury or incredible soreness. So today I am back on the running/metcon horse, despite my runny nose and clogged sinuses. It's not a cold, so I'm pushing through this crap.

(On Saturday)

Thursday I did a great metcon that worked me but was also focused on my strengths:

4 Rounds for time of-

Run 400m (the Rip City 400- we don't actually know how long it is, but I think it is more than 400)

20 KB Swings

10 Pullups

I completed it in just under 20 minutes which was my goal (my exact time is in my wod book which is not with me at the moment).

Then on Friday I decided to do a metcon that would challenge some of my weaknesses:

From crossfit.com- "J.T."

21-15-9 reps of:

Handstand Pushups

Ring Dips

Pushups

This one was officially a painstorm for me at 29:25.. A far cry from Annie doing it in 9:49 here.. It was pretty brutal.. All pushing. Even though pushups are a strength of mine, after doing HS pushups and ring dips, the regular pushups felt like I had 100 pounds on my back. Good, hard workout. And humbling.

I am still feeling the effects of this allergy/cold thing. But besides a clogged head and a slight cough, I feel great. I am the perfect amount of sore:)

Last night we spent some time hanging out with friends and being social, going off the diet (the true meaning of diet: habitual nourishment) a bit, which was good for us. We find that we are most likely to "cheat" when we are out socializing at parties, etc. We usually "go off" of our clean eating once or twice a week and it seems to work well for both of us. It's amazing, though, how different I feel when I do go off. After spending so much time and energy creating a clean and smoothly running system, when I have a couple drinks and sweets, I really feel the difference the next day. A slight headache and a little more groggy than normal- but not bad. I'm just glad that I am sensitive to it now.. Two years ago I wouldn't have noticed- in fact I didn't!

I'm still planning on teaching English and travelling next year. I found a good program in Phuket, Thailand that is a bit cheaper than the other one I mentioned a couple posts ago. I can make it happen with about $3,000.. that's including airfare, food, a place to stay, the course, and some extra cash for emergencies. And that's considering airfare from Mexico or Belize, which is where I want to go first for like a month. Add on another $2,000 for after Thailand while getting a job and setting up living space in Japan or where ever I/we get jobs. So, I'm looking at saving between $5,000-$6,000 by next February... hmmmm... need to scheme up some more ways to make money and save it! I have never saved this much money, not even close, but I know I can make it happen! I want it badly enough..

Liberation!

Last Thursday evening I got in my car to drive out to Beaverton where Ramman was already at the adult gymnastics class we like to go to. I was going to be late so he got a ride with someone and I was going to get there just in time to do a few handstands and flips into the pit and then go home. But the car didn't want to go. It tried, bless it's heart, it tried. I had to turn around, say a prayer that it wouldn't crap out on HW-26 and that I would get home safely. I did. The next day I take 'er in. A few hours later they call to give me the news... the Honda is real sick. And old. 21 years old to be exact. 152k. And it was running on 3 out of 4 cylinders. Now, I don't really know what the hell a cylinder is or does. But now I know that it is a part of the engine.. and the engine needs all 4 of them.. and anything having to do with fixing an engine is ridiculously expensive. Like more than what my little '89 Honda Civic is worth. Like at least a GRAND. And that's not including the other shit that was wrong with it. So, it's time to say farewell to my cute little car, it has served me well.. and GOOD RIDDANCE. Ever since I started driving, I have had car issues after car issues. So instead of being stressed 'Oh no! What will I do without a car?' or upset 'I'm screwed without a car!' -I am free. Free from paying for car insurance. Free from paying for gas. Free from worrying if it will make where I am going. Free from expensive repairs. FREE FROM CAR STRESS. I have a TriMet pass. I have a bike. Portland is small. I signed up for ZipCar. And we can rent a car or take the train for trips to Seattle or the coast. No problem. I might even be able to get some cash for the old Civic- lots of good parts in there!

Liberation feels good.

Training is all effed up this week. I can't tell if I am getting sick or if I just have allergies.. But I feel like poo. So I'm taking it easy until I feel ready to go at it again.. Bah! Scratchy throat, I hate you. Just when I am cruising along and feeling good, ready to kick it up a notch, you show up and ruin the fun..

Mexico.Belize.Thailand.Japan.

Phuket, Thailand: I could study here.

Oh my, the possibilities are ENDLESS. As I sit here on a Saturday afternoon at the march wellness fitness floor computer, I am getting more and more excited with every thought, every click of the mouse, every page I read, every idea I have while researching teaching English in another country! Just the thought of being in another country by itself is enough to get my daydreaming, idealistic self all riled up. I am going to make this happen. I am going to travel. If I end up not enjoying teaching English, then I'll just stop.. and do something else. I HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE. So I might as well try anything that I want to try. As long as I am smart about it and I make the appropriate plans and take the necessary precautions, why not just DO IT. Worst (realistic) case scenario (realistic meaning, nothing involving injury, illness, or death of course) is that I end up back home in the good ol' USofA sooner than I anticipated with little to no money and I go back to training and/or go back to school. That's a pretty good 'worst case' if you ask me.

The thought of doing this with Ramman makes it that much better. Ever since we met we've been dreaming about going on adventures together and seeing the world. Now we can give ourselves that opportunity. By doing our research and carefully planning (as carefully as one can plan when deciding to travel the world sort of open-endedly), and setting up an ideal situation for ourselves in someplace like Japan, we could open up all sorts of other opportunities. I truly believe that we can create our ideal lifestyle in a place with white sandy beaches, living simply, with frequent trips to visit family and friends, and minimum stress and maximum creativity. How, I don't exactly know- but if I knew that now, I'd be there already! That is the fun of life, figuring IT out as best you can, and having fun along the way. I refuse to buy into the program that so many people have fallen victim to, without even knowing it. It's the program of a "9-5" and being part of a machine that is only meant to improve the lives of the chosen few who are already at the top and coincidentally (or NOT) aren't the ones who need lifestyle improvements or assistance. This is not to say that I just want to sit on the beach and drink pina coladas for the rest of my life and let my mind and heart wither away with inactivity. No, actually, it's exactly the opposite that I am after. FREE TIME. To do the things that really light the fire. Help people, teach people, make things with my hands, grow things, fix things, build things, contribute to humanity in tangible ways. To be able to do all of these sorts of things without the stress of American life as I have experienced it thus far. I want to be an ex patriot. I want to come back, but I have to leave for a while.

Some of you nay-sayers (not all of you, but there are a lot of them out there) might be asking how the hell I'm planning on achieving this lifestyle by teaching English in another country... Well, I'm not- that is just the beginning. I know that once I do something big like leave home to go live in another country for a year, the lights will come on and the doors will open. ALL. OVER. THE. WORLD. I have an amazing partner, we don't have any kids or property (except Toro, who I will have to place with somebody while I am gone), now is the time to start this adventure.

So far it looks like for the actual teaching job itself Japan will be the best option. Ramman and I have a friend, Jenni, who taught there for two years and can hook us up (if not help us, or one of us, get hired there) with contacts. Japan pays the most and in the smaller cities outside of Tokyo and Osaka, the cost of living modestly is not too high. And even though we bombed the shit out of them in World War II, thanks to the tried-and-true war games executed geniusly by Roosevelt, the Japanese people LOVE them some Americans. It will be so incredible to be in the Japanese culture and living a completely different lifestyle than what I am used to. And even though Japanese isn't the first on my list of languages to learn, hey it's a start. Plus, I LOVE Japanese food. Jenni lived there in 2000 and paid $400 a month for a 1 bedroom with shoji screens and tatami mats that was big enough for two people. And she surely was paid at least $2000-$2400 a month. She taught people of all ages, from babies and moms to business men and doctors. She said she would have stayed had 9/11 not happened.

So, next up: find the course to take and register. CELTA is the best course to take as it is the most highly accredited certification. Then there is a TESOL/TEFL course that is almost just as good (I am still a little confused about what course is what and if some of them are the same with multiple names). These courses run anywhere from $1200-$2600 depending on where you take it. Phuket, Thailand offers the course for $1600 including accommodations (a modest room or hotel room) and possibly even some food. The course is 4 weeks long and goes from 9am-6pm every weekday (Fridays you are done at 3pm). In Thailand you can eat for $5 a day. And if we didn't want to stay in the accommodations provided we could find a nicer place for like $300 for one month. There is a course that starts pretty much every month of the year, so you just pick the month you want to go and register for it. The ONLY thing I have a reservation with is registering for the course which costs A LOT of money, online. A little sketch. So hopefully more research and answered questions will shed some light on this matter.

The MOST IDEAL situation for us would be this: save money like our lives depend on it, leave the US around January, go to Mexico and/or Belize for a month, fly to Thailand from there, take the month long CELTA course, apply for jobs in Japan, travel around a bit more, go to Japan and teach English for a year, and then..........

Possibility.

Today I had a revelation of sorts. Once you realize that anything is possible, like REALLY realize.. it can become a little stressful. And once you realize that EVERYTHING is possible, well- it can be even more stressful and overwhelming. And if you're not careful, you could even get depressed by thinking 'Well, if anything and everything's possible, why the hell haven't I done it yet??' It adds to the irony of life I suppose..

So here I am in the midst of realizing the possibilities, like REALLY. People (parents, teachers, mentors, family, friends, spiritual gurus, etc.) have always told me that I can do anything I want to do; that nothing is impossible; the world is mine. But it's something different now that I actually BELIEVE that I can do anything I want to do. And I didn't even realize that I didn't entirely believe this, until now. It's quite empowering.. and quite intimidating.

The next plan: live in Portland until our lease is up in February next year and then go to Mexico (the Yucatan Peninsula) for a month or so. In Mexico we'll learn some Spanish and live simply and just have a good time. Then we will leave from Mexico to where ever we end up getting teaching jobs and stay in that country for the length of whatever teaching contract(s) we get (hopefully 6 month contracts, so we can go on to somewhere else). In the meantime, here in Portland, we will figure out what English teaching certificate to get (if any), start applying for jobs in the countries that pay the most (Japan and Korea happen to be at the top of the pay scale), and network with people who have contacts overseas- who knows, maybe there are some other jobs that we could apply for that have nothing to do with teaching English.

Everything is possible.

"Suicide Stairs"

This is how I felt by the fifth set of stairs today.. But it felt good. There is a crazy set of stairs by my house that is fondly referred to by some as the "Suicide Stairs".. it ascends for probably about 100-150 feet up a ravine and consists of 202 steps (which someone so kindly marked at the top, although I have counted them myself too). It was humid and warm and I was drenched in sweat. By the time I was done I had ascended a total of 1,010 steps and done 100 push ups. It was wonderful:) Although I can't believe that there was a time once (or twice) a couple of years ago that I ran DOUBLE this amount of stairs.. much slower, I'm sure.. yikes.

The Storm

The Northwest is so funny when it comes to weather. So many times have we been caught off guard by "extreme" (for such a mild climate) weather conditions- example: the snow storm this last winter that gave us about a foot and a half of snow. But the funny part isn't when the weather actually happens; the funny part is when there is all of this anticipation for some huge storm and then it doesn't happen. Like today.

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day up until about 4:30pm. Then these evil looking dark clouds began to blanket the sky in a seriously threatening manner. It has been very humid the past few days, so I've been waiting for it to rain so that I can stop sweating CONSTANTLY.. so I'm thinking, 'Yes. Finally.' I was at work training a client and the t.v. was on (because it is ALWAYS on unless I turn it off, these people don't know what to do without information overload- ALL THE TIME..) and I noticed that there was some text written across the screen, I read it and it said "Severe thunderstorms for the following counties:" and my county was listed. I looked outside again and the sky was almost BLACK. I thought, 'I wonder if I can get home on my bike before it's too nasty out." But by the time I was done training my client, the Emergency Broadcast System had come on, no, not the test, the actual Emergency Broadcast System. Damn. I don't think I have EVER seen that (of course I don't have a t.v.)- it was as if we were being attacked or we were waiting for a tornado to hit.. in OREGON. I was about to get on my bike and race home, but my boss/friend advised me not to because he thought I would get caught in the worst of it. So, I waited... about 45 minutes later, still nothing had happened except for a 30 second downpour and a couple small flashes of lightening. I looked outside and it looked like it was clearing, so I hopped on my bike and pedaled my heart out so that I could get home before it REALLY hit. Here I am, almost an hour and a half later and still NOTHING has happened.

And I was getting all amped up for a thunderstorm.

Catching Up..

This is Gabe and Maren, two of my dearest friends from Summit..
It was so good to see them:)

I missed logging a couple of workouts from last week:

Thursday 5.28
Ran the waterfront loop, about 3 miles, did not time
Gymnastics at Omega: handstands, trampoline, back tuck drills, one spotted back tuck off of spring board onto 8 inch

Friday 5.29
2 basketball games at Summit, 2 hours

Sat & Sun: Rest

Monday 6.1
Back on schedule with training
1.5 hours

Tuesday 6.2
2 hours

I am going back to keeping track of my training in a notebook. I would like to be able to do both a notebook and my blog, but it just takes too much time. I am trying to do as Tim Ferriss, author of "The 4 Hour Workweek", teaches in his book: simplify things. So my blog now is only going to be for writing. I'll still write about training, of course, because it's such a big part of my life, I just won't be tracking the specifics on here.

I have a focus now. Ramman and I are going to let Rip City Fitness live throughout the summer in the parks outside.. and if it goes for longer than that, great. I am going to keep working and save some money. We are going to finish our lease at our apartment and when it is up, we will be outro. I am doing a lot of research on teaching English abroad: which certifications are the best, which countries offer the highest pay and accommodations, where Ramman and I can both work, and where we want to go. So far it seems that Korea, Japan, and Thailand have the most ideal set up. Teaching English abroad will be a smart way to travel.. start out in a place with good pay and enough hours, and then move on to other countries once the money isn't as much of a factor. And just travel. Not to mention, there are numerous places where we can take the certification course (CELTA is the one I am looking at, it's like the NSCA/ACSM certification of TEFL, although it is also the most expensive and it might be better to do a cheaper one...) like NY, DC, Thailand, Costa Rica, Mexico, etc, etc. Today I am finally going to the post office to turn in my passport application.. It's been in my bag for over a month waiting to be dropped off.. Procrastination at it's best- er worst. And the research continues.....

I've been able to reflect a little bit on my weekend up in Seattle. On Saturday morning I went to see this incredible woman, Ann Reese. She used to be a counselor but she gave up her license because she didn't agree with the lack of ethics in the processes that counselors have to take, specifically taking notes on patients and handing the notes over to the state. So she is now an Existential Phenomenologist. Now, some people might say she's a kook with a title like that, but she is philosophical, intelligent, insightful, and intuitive, and talking with her empowered me. I went to her with an open mind and curious to see what sort of insight on my own life she could offer, and it was an affirming experience. We mostly talked about my relationship with my mother and how I can be more assertive in setting boundaries with her as well as be more inviting. These two things may seem like opposites, but exercised together, hopefully, will lead to more mutual respect and understanding. She reminded me that I am a strong individual and that I am doing well. She could see things about me that I have been confused over or forgotten.. I am doing well.. and nothing is wrong with any aspect of the way that I am living my life. And I am ready to make the changes in my life as I see fit.

I'm ready.