Thesis defended....and I Ho Chuan

So I successfully defended!
It was stressful but in the end everyone was happy with my work so there wasn't any major changes needed. It's awesome to be done with it finally but already other things are coming into focus that have to get done.

I signed up for the I Ho Chuan this year so I'm starting to get geared up for that. One of the big things I want to change this year is my diet. I've had a love/hate relationship with fast food so that is one of my requirements...365 days with no fast food. To facilitate this I've started cooking and I also am going to start blogging about my eating habits. Hopefully a good public shaming will encourage me to give up the burger and fries thing.

Today I ate a peice of pumpkin pie, a bannana, an orange, some leftover meatloaf for lunch and some leftover chicken catatorie for supper...good start I'd say. Lets see if I can keep it up.

Days without fast food: 1 (I had MacDonalds yesterday.....)


I'm also kind of nervous about all of the physical requirements. In addition to the 50,000 push ups and situps, I also will do 50,000 kicks. My body has been in rough shape for the past year and a half....surgeries, chemo, childbirth, radiation, infections and a thousand different medications with bad side-effects....so I don't feel particularly fit. I think I'm finally done with the infection thing though, thank goodness, although the wound on my back still hasn't healed...bah!
I can't tell you how frustrating it has been. I feel like my body has had a mind of it's own and has been working against me for a long time. It's hard not to be constantly frustrated and jealous of others. I think it's easier in some respects to look at others and envy their health and circumstances rather than face your own circumstances and truly accept them. I think this past year has jaded me in some respects, I no longer have the same empathy for others regarding injuries that I used to have. But I think it's also helped me to grow. I realized how many things I had taken for granted and I had to toughen up a bit. I think I'm mentally stronger in some respects now than I was. And probably a little less naive.
This last class, Master Brinker said that our health is the most important thing and I totally agree! Poor health affects every aspect of your life and the lives of those around you. Even when you get better it's hard not to worry about getting sick again.

The I Ho Chuan starting has got me thinking about all of this again. I want my body to be strong again. I think this is going to be difficult, but worth it. So instead of waiting, I started my requirements today.
It is satisfying in a way to be making my body do things that I want to do (like push-ups) again. It makes me feel in control of my own body. I think this will be a good year.