Day 2 of 30 Day Challenge - Where I'd like to be in 10 years

This is quite a conundrum.  Usually I stay away from such topics because I never know what the future holds and I either get upset or I struggle to find out what I really want in life.  Most of my goals are things like a 30 day challenge, not a 10 year goal.  I know that when I was 16, I didn't think I would be here.

So, let's work backwards.  Ten years ago, when I was 16, I didn't have much on my plate other than working weekends at a gas station and playing on the JV Basketball team.  I earned $8 an hour and was driving around my parents spare car (96 Mercury Sable if memory serves correct), which was named Blue Bird.  I remember that being a sophomore in high school, I was definitely not into schoolwork.  I zoned out all the time, I listened to a lot of Black Sabbath and other rock-n-roll bands, all while doing my homework.  In fact, the desk I'm sitting at is the same one that I did all of that homework on.  I'd listen to Pink Floyd albums and never get sick of them.  My goals at the time were pretty much to finish my homework, go to basketball practices, and then figure out my social life after that was finished.  I think since I was good at math, I had the idea that I'd want to be accountant.  I do remember, I was very much into cars.  I did have model cars, and at one point, I was so full of teenage angst that I carved/drew into a cork board the words "I WANT TO WORK ON CARS AND THAT"S ALL".  My mom still brings it up when we talk about my future.

Now, at the age of 36.  Here's a quick list of things that I would absolutely want to have or have done:

• done at least one open-mic comedy session
• finish one of the many scripts/screenplays/stories that I've started and put aside
• a very well-paying full time job that I would not regret starting or getting into
• an attractive wife or a steady-girlfriend
• be debt-free for at least one year
• regularly driving a car that is from the 21st century (i still have yet to do this)
• been on an unforgettable vacation (been on 3, but I like vacations)
• I guess I would want a kid at this age, mainly because I'm great with kids and I'd like to someday have kids
• have driven en exotic car, maybe once
• have at least joined an Improv group or some sort of acting group
• still have a consistent Internet presence
• live in a city instead of a suburb
• still be in contact with my college friends
• be a Mr. T (meaning a jack of all trades and a master of 1)
• still have the ability to cook the way I do now
• lived in one other state than Mass.
• Either be my own boss or have a boss that I really like to work for
• not working for Bank of America
• not having a drinking problem
• pretty much in good health
• having my job for me and not the other way around
• be a best-man
• I pretty much want to be a successful comedian

That last one is the real way I feel about my future.  I want to be the guy that you see in the credits of a funny TV show or a funny movie that makes someone else be a comedian or writer.  I'd love to be an SNL writer but I just don't have the background and don't have the gusto to pick up my life and take a giant risk of moving to NYC without any real help.  My mom is a teacher.  My dad is an electrician.  I don't know anyone in show business and knowing that gets me down.  So with this blog post, I will just list my wanted achievements for the next 10 years and strive for what I think I can do.

See you tomorrow!

Losing Weight Just By Showering Properly

When I initially embarked on my weight loss journey (which consisted of finding determination and picking up the 4 Hour Body), I didn't think about how my body actually loses the fat and other bad stuff that I pick up while eating gross, yet delicious food.  I read an article about a NASA scientist who studied Michael Phelps' training and diet and figured out that something was amiss with his claim about consuming 13,000 calories to stay in top shape.  I saw a similar reading in 4HB.  The key to the body losing some extra weight, and cutting the fat, literally, was by taking a cold shower or an ice bath.

Now I know what you're thinking: there's no way in hell I'm coming from home from the gym and getting into a cold shower.  To help boost your confidence about getting into a cold shower, start slow.  Don't immediately jump into a cold shower prompting you to shriek and possibly fall down naked.  Only bad things can happen from there on.  Ease the water toward cold when your already in the shower and you'll build a little more of a tolerance.  Now Ferris recommends a 10 minute cold shower.  I usually stuck with a 5 minute shower only because I don't waste too much time.  The feeling afterwards is so refreshing.  Usually I would feel like I was sweating a little bit after a hot shower.  But with the cold shower: I feel dry, cool, and your body temperature will become elevated since it now thinks you need to regulate it from being in the cold (hence how you lose those extra pounds over time)

The ice bath, which requires a tub, is a little more time consuming and pricier if you need to get bags of ice just to take a bath.  I recommend doing an ice bath as a weekend thing.  Filling extra tupperware with water and freezing it will help with the ice part.  I stayed in my ice baths for about 10-15 minutes or whenever the ice melted.  Don't stick your head in ice cold water!  But try to keep most of your body below the water for the majority of the time.  After you're done, the same feeling of refreshment will overtake your body.

Here is a video of Tim Ferris on the View:

Aside from the ice baths and cold showers, I've found the using less shampoo has actually made my hair better.  I only shampoo my hair maybe once every 4-5 showers and sometimes less.  Now I picked up this technique after reading about how shampoo was used decades ago and how it's used now.  If you think back to the 1960's and 1950's, you can remember a time in a movie or TV show when a girl would refuse to go out with a boy she didn't like because "she had to wash her hair" (womp womp, poor Eddie Haskell).  I think I saw this on TV Land or Nick at Nite, but it got me wondering "where did this excuse come from and where is it now?".  Well lo and behold I did some research and found that people used to only use shampoo when they felt their hair was getting really out of hand and felt grimey.  I know that Loreal, Pert, Herbal Essences and whatever you put in your hair in the morning makes you feel like your hair is doing so much better than everyone else's, but that's what the marketers of these products want you to think.  Cutting back on shampoo has made my hair, thicker, fuller, and healthier.  I can't explain the science behind it, but it works.  Try cutting back on shampoo and I bet you will see healthier hair that won't end up in the drain.

My Squat Schedule (That's really crushing my legs and ass)

This is my Squat schedule.  The days that have check marks on them are the days that I have been done.  I'm officially half way done with this.  I haven't decided what 30 day routine I want to do next, but you can bet it will be either arms or abs.  Maybe a little something in between.  Now, let me tell you I didn't think I would make it past day 7, and now I'm moving to day 16.  I didn't start on the first of the month, but I don't think I would've done it at all if I waited until then.  There is no time like the present and I think it's about time that we all take a page out of this ambition post and get to work on ourselves.  Sure, the "pain" in my legs and ass is a little hard to get through, but you know what, I think it's going to be worth it.  So eat healthy, get on a workout regimen, and figure out your 30 day challenge.

Ma halo.

A Fist Full of Almonds

Almonds.  They are delicious.  They are small.  And they are probably one of the best things you can include in your diet that will help out in the healthy department.  After a workout, I usually make a cup of tea and grab a fist full of almonds, which is surprisingly the amount in a regular serving size (about 26-28 almonds).  They taste great.  In butter form is probably the best form ever.  Almond butter is healthy as hell, full of fiber, low in sugars and has plenty of those little nutrients we all forget about (Monounsaturated Fat and Polyunsaturated Fats).  I buy them in bulk, which saves about 90 cents.  I don't think I'll go back to eating peanut butter, mainly because almond butter is becoming more and more popular and is just better for you.  Peanut butter is high in sugar, bad fat content, and cholesterol.  Almond butter is pretty much the opposite, and when you read the ingredients in almond butter, there's only one.  Almonds.