So today was the start of my year of the snake! In true Silent River style, I've been doing 1000 pushups and situps and 1000 sidekicks. So far I'm at 652 push ups, 1068 situps and 936 side kicks. Almost done!
This coming I Ho Chuan year should be awesome! I did the UBBT the first year we had student members at Silent River and I remember it being A LOT of work but I also remember it being very worth while. I became much stronger physically and my forms improved.
This year I'm hoping to grade for my third degree. To do so I'll have to fulfill the following requirements:
-50000 pushups
-50000 situps
-1000 reps tai chi long form
-1000 reps tai chi broadsword
-1609km run/walk/bike/rollarblade
-1000 acts of kindness
-mend a relationship
-365 journal entries
-memorize mastery and 20 mineral formulas
-1000 shoulder rolls
-365 days no fast food, pop or chips
-365 days no t.v.
-1000 flying spinning back kicks
-1000 flying side kicks
-365 dog walks
-2920 glasses of water drunk
-100km rollerblading
-5 geology books read
-52 trips to the dog park
-365 stories read to Julia
-be able to do the splits
-1 paper published
-50 church services attended
-50,000 kicks
-1 german book read
-1000 rounds of sparring
On the fast food front: 30 days no fast food! Getting easier and easier to resist.
But I should go...rest time over, time for pushups!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Days without MacDonalds...3!
It's 7AM and I've done 31 pushups, 51 situps, 52 kicks and drank a glass of water.
I tried what Master Brinker suggested and did a set of pushups as soon as I hit the floor this morning. It wasn't a set of 100, but it still managed to waken me up a bit, get the blood flowing and get my focus where it needs to be....on my Kung-Fu.
Last time I did the UBBT (the first year we did it at the school), I would do all of my numbers at night before bed. I used to procrastinate and leave it until the last minute. I would get them done, but sometimes not until late. My sleep suffered.
This time I want to take advantage of the time I have in the morning before Julia wakes up. Having a child has made me more aware of how I use my time, especially time I have to myself. I think it's a good way to start the day too.
Speaking of starting the day....Julia's awake.
Gotta go....
Yesterday I ate: a peice of pumpkin pie, some crackers and cheese, a bowl of cheerios, some coffee, water and two doughnuts.....
I tried what Master Brinker suggested and did a set of pushups as soon as I hit the floor this morning. It wasn't a set of 100, but it still managed to waken me up a bit, get the blood flowing and get my focus where it needs to be....on my Kung-Fu.
Last time I did the UBBT (the first year we did it at the school), I would do all of my numbers at night before bed. I used to procrastinate and leave it until the last minute. I would get them done, but sometimes not until late. My sleep suffered.
This time I want to take advantage of the time I have in the morning before Julia wakes up. Having a child has made me more aware of how I use my time, especially time I have to myself. I think it's a good way to start the day too.
Speaking of starting the day....Julia's awake.
Gotta go....
Yesterday I ate: a peice of pumpkin pie, some crackers and cheese, a bowl of cheerios, some coffee, water and two doughnuts.....
Friday, January 11, 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Thesis handed in!!!!
Sorry I haven't blogged in the last while. It was a big push to get my Thesis finished, but it's finally done! I handed it in and now just the defence part (next week!). I'm pretty nervous about that part. You have to stand in front of a bunch of super-smart people and answer questions about what you did. If they think your work is ok then you pass, if not then you have to fix it. So scary!
But at the same time it will be nice to be done with it! It's taken up a lot of my time lately and it's always in the back of my mind. Hopefully my defence goes well!
My Thesis is titled "Petrographic and microfocus computed tomographic analysis of the Upper Montney Formation, Northeastern B.C., Canada."
Riveting I know:)
For all you geology buffs out there, it's about the Montney Formation (source for natural gas in AB and BC) which was deposited following the largest of all mass-extictions.....the end-Permian mass extinction. It's interesting to study because it shows the struggle for life to come back after environmental detestation and also has some relatively unique mineralogical properties. When it was deposited, Alberta was on the coast (BC did not exist yet) and the ocean underwent long periods of very little oxygen (because of environmental factors like volcanic eruption and poor ocean circulation).
By analyzing minerals like pyrite, we can track the levels of oxygen present during deposition. Too cool!
Anyway, I could go on forever, but I'm sure the vast majority of you would just yawn, so I'll end it here.
Thesis in! Yayayayaya!
Defence.....scary!
But at the same time it will be nice to be done with it! It's taken up a lot of my time lately and it's always in the back of my mind. Hopefully my defence goes well!
My Thesis is titled "Petrographic and microfocus computed tomographic analysis of the Upper Montney Formation, Northeastern B.C., Canada."
Riveting I know:)
For all you geology buffs out there, it's about the Montney Formation (source for natural gas in AB and BC) which was deposited following the largest of all mass-extictions.....the end-Permian mass extinction. It's interesting to study because it shows the struggle for life to come back after environmental detestation and also has some relatively unique mineralogical properties. When it was deposited, Alberta was on the coast (BC did not exist yet) and the ocean underwent long periods of very little oxygen (because of environmental factors like volcanic eruption and poor ocean circulation).
By analyzing minerals like pyrite, we can track the levels of oxygen present during deposition. Too cool!
Anyway, I could go on forever, but I'm sure the vast majority of you would just yawn, so I'll end it here.
Thesis in! Yayayayaya!
Defence.....scary!
Monday, November 12, 2012
Fail!
So I made it all the way until Saturday before I gave in and ate MacDonalds. What is that....10 days? Argh! Fail!
Oh well, back on the horse...2 days fast-food free and counting!
What made me really want MacDonalds was the fact that I had to go for blood tests. Every time I've had to do something nasty (like chemo or tests) I always would treat myself afterwards with MacDonalds. It gave me something to look forward to. So when I had to go on Saturday, afterwards I really got a craving and so I gave in. I don't think it's bad to reward yourself for stuff, but I do think that MacDonalds maybe isn't the healthiest of rewards. I'm going to have to build a new reward system. Food shouldn't be a reward anyway.
On the plus side, I'm finally on the mend again. I've had a really bad infection for the past couple of months in my back. They think it originated from my epidurals during childbirth (an abscess formed and burst...sorry if that grosses you out!). That's what the blood tests are for. Anyway, it's been pretty painful and tiring and I'm hoping to finally be over it in the next month or so. I'm so sick of antibiotics! Actually I'm just sick of being sick. Hopefully this will be the end of it.
Christmas is coming....can't wait!
Oh well, back on the horse...2 days fast-food free and counting!
What made me really want MacDonalds was the fact that I had to go for blood tests. Every time I've had to do something nasty (like chemo or tests) I always would treat myself afterwards with MacDonalds. It gave me something to look forward to. So when I had to go on Saturday, afterwards I really got a craving and so I gave in. I don't think it's bad to reward yourself for stuff, but I do think that MacDonalds maybe isn't the healthiest of rewards. I'm going to have to build a new reward system. Food shouldn't be a reward anyway.
On the plus side, I'm finally on the mend again. I've had a really bad infection for the past couple of months in my back. They think it originated from my epidurals during childbirth (an abscess formed and burst...sorry if that grosses you out!). That's what the blood tests are for. Anyway, it's been pretty painful and tiring and I'm hoping to finally be over it in the next month or so. I'm so sick of antibiotics! Actually I'm just sick of being sick. Hopefully this will be the end of it.
Christmas is coming....can't wait!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)