Drunk

Eating lunch with a friend today felt a little weird. I think maybe it was the absence of alcohol. Does anyone else realize that the majority of times we see other people nowadays are when we're drunk, or about to be?

"Push"

Being a PT is a lot more involved of a job than I originally imagined it to be. There's no quick getting in and out.. at least not if you want to be a good one.

I quickly found that in addition to playing the trainer role, I also have to fill the roles of: conscience, teacher, nutritionist, psychologist, organizer/planner and motivator.

From my perspective, the teacher role is the most important and truly effective. "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, but teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime." If you can teach someone to exercise and diet effectively and correctly, then they'll be able to make changes in their lives independently. They'll be able to build on their progress indefinitely. I think that's the #1 problem with the fad diets and workouts (you'd be surprised at some of the newfangled workouts people are pushing nowadays); there's no teaching element to illustrate why they are working. The process is more like "Dang, this workout 360XYZ was working great last month, and now I'm getting nothing out of it!" If they had learned about it, then they would know exactly why it was becoming less effective and how to modify it to work again. But then again, that may or may not be on purpose.

From the client perspective, I think the motivator role is the most important... probably because it is the most salient. I can imagine that having someone watching you the whole time, paying for PT and not wanting to let someone down are pretty powerful motivators.

There are verbal motivators that work differently for everyone, but one that I've found that's pretty universal is "Push yourself!" Without fail, I can say that and they will suddenly give a renewed 110% effort at whatever they're doing. A few more reps, 10 more seconds, 6 more jabs. The reaction is almost as if I just challenged their very identity - their sense of determination, discipline and all those related traits. I don't think anyone thinks themselves below average in those areas, so there we go: A key to good motivation is challenging something that people identify with so they aren't only motivated to prove it to you, but to themselves as well.

Stories

"Everyone's got their own tales."

You know that stereotype that old people like to drone on about their younger days without end? Sometimes they've actually got interesting stuff to say. I've been a lot more accepting of it as a result of my recent optometrist visit in San Diego. Turns out there is an optometrist's office right inside that glasses store next to Chipotle.

I was greeted by a lively old optometrist with huge eyebrows and we made the requisite small-talk as I looked through those huge lens-changers. He noticed that I was in good shape and asked me if I worked out. So we talked about that for a while, and it turns out that he did some amateur bodybuilding competitions in the 50's, had a powerlifting background and used to train with this man: Sergio Oliva, who was Arnold's immediate predecessor at the top of bodybuilding. He even whipped out a picture of the two of them together from the 60's posing in trunks. He told me about some of the ways they used to train, which are probably only interesting to me and Richard.

Next, when I told him I was Chinese, he asked if I knew the name Tang Lan Hwa. His pronounciation was pretty bad, but it was a familiar name. Tang Lang Hwa is a famous Chinese singer/actress along the lines of Teresa Teng and Faye Wong, definitely a name that your parents will recognize. Turns out that he saw her quite frequently because his wife, also Chinese, was one of her best friends. They met while Tang Lan Hwa was on tour and staying at a hotel. His wife was determined to meet her, so she went to the hotel, asked for her as if she was her friend and just went up to her room. Voila, BFFs.

Then he told me about living in Chicago, how San Diego was in earlier years, the crazy patients he had as an optometrist and his visits to China. I remarked that it sounded like he had had a pretty amazing and interesting life, but he replied with something that I thought was kind of profound, "Nah... Everyone's got their own tales."

We rarely realize the moments of greatest magnitude in our lives as they are happening, so I wonder... What will end up being my tales?

EDIT: One more thing 'Ol Jack said that really stayed with me... "To get what you want in this life, you gotta have balls."

Cars

I say this in the least creepy and voyeuristic way possible: I like to watch people in their cars. Mostly at stoplights. Not only does it help pass the time, it alleviates my road rage because I can just laugh at the dickhead that just cut me off. Most people seem to neglect that all the windows in their cars, not only the front and back windshields, are... well, clear.

Let's break down the most common...
-Zoning out and staring straight ahead into space
-Looking at self in rearview mirror (mostly women)
-Singing and bobbing head to music
-Talking on the phone without a headset while looking around for cops
-Picking nose covertly.. or some not so covertly
-Spilling water on face from water bottle (just one old lady, her face was priceless)

Scars

The lack of sunlight during fall/winter accentuates my natural paleness, which correspondingly accentuate my stretch marks. They're located mostly on my arms, back and chest as a result of weight lifting, so while they are a little unsightly, I wear them with some degree of pride. They got me thinking about two notable scars I have.

1. Bald spot on the back of my head. I was at McDonald's when I was 3 and had just gotten a happy meal. My parents didn't often take me out to McDonald's, much less buy me toys, so it was quite a day for me. I dropped my toy on the ground and was swooping down to pick it up when I slipped off the chair and went head-first into the bolt that was holding the table in place. I vaguely remember seeing a french fry on the ground and thinking, "Isn't anyone going to eat that?" After that point, I just remember a lot of bleeding and crying... and amidst it all, I never got that stupid toy back. (Why do all kids simply love McDonald's? I remember wanting it for three meals a day back then. Are there some addictive properties of eating chicken nuggets that aren't made of chicken? Is it that creepy pedophile Ronald? The hashbrowns are awesome, though.)

2. Scar on the bottom of my left pec. Don't run with scissors.

Lassie

So what if Timmy fell down the old well?


Dog drags injured friend off of highway

Quotes

Some quotes from the past week...

Duct tape and WD40 can fix 99% of problems in life. If it is supposed to move and it does not - WD40. If it moves and should not - Duct tape.

Whether you believe you can or can't, you are right.
- Henry Ford

Your best bet is to act like a duck, looking calm and composed on the surface but pedaling furiously under the water.
- Steven Gilbert (Does he know how funny of a visual he created? It just makes me think of a duck quack-groaning under the strain)

From one of my clients who is a lawyer: A month before law school starts is the point at which your life ceases for the next 14 months. Just accept it.

From the same guy: Yeah, I think maybe we'll have a kid sometime. As long as he doesn't get in the way.

And not a quote yet kind of quoteworthy, today I got asked if I was married.