alllrexxx

Archiving the awesomeness of living in the now since 2013

[alllrexxx]

Getting involved

I love cycling. Ever since I learned to ride a bike 8 years ago, my love for this mode of transportation has not stopped growing. I ride to work, ride to events, ride to get groceries and even go on long trips on my bike. For the past few months, I looked for ways to channel my passion for cycling into new ways to break down barriers people have about cycling as a viable alternative to the automobile. Luckily I found just the place...

Cyclehack

Just over a week ago, I found out about this event called CycleHack, http://www.cyclehack.com. The premise: 48 hours to meet with kindred spirits  of all backgrounds to discuss and invent ways to promote cycling. CycleHack happens simultaneously in over 30 cities around the world and has been growing since 2014. As a friend put it, there's nothing that sounds more Alrex than this. I had reservations about going but my wife convinced me that I should, if for no other reasons than to “stop moping around the house trying to find a way I can change the world”. 

Friday

The evening started off with some networking over some delicious salads, snacks and beers, generously provided by various sponsors of the event. It was highlighted by presentations from multiple Vancouver cycling advocates and enthusiasts, including HUB’s Laura Jane, City of Vancouver’s Paul Krueger and Spokesmama’s Lisa Corriveau. Following the presentations, “barrier cards” that were submitted by everyday people, describing challenges that prevent them from riding their bikes were posted up. These had been collected by CycleHack and posted for all to read and get inspired from. I was surprised at just how many of those barriers were things that I run into daily, or have run through in the past few years. So many of them had to do with stigmas around cycling being a culture, or friction between cyclists and users of the infrastructure. It felt good to re-affirm that these problems affected others.

MotivateYourLanes

Saturday morning, everyone came in with some ideas they had been putting together overnight. From ways to improve communication between drivers and cyclists, to ways of giving the city better feedback on new cycling infrastructure, I was pumped. My original suggestion was to provide some sort of scavenger hunt-like experience to people in the city, to discover new bike lanes they may not know existed. Another idea was suggested around providing a way to make cycling a sensory and relaxing experience. More and more ideas were tossed around and our project started looking like an ambitious let’s add public art, and geo-caches, and make an app, and go all around the city and involve businesses was slowly getting out of hands. But someone eventually said, alright, what can we do in a short period of time to test this out. The idea we settled on, was to take existing free bike maps, add points of interests to send people on a fun ride to visit public art, experience gardens and eat delicious treats, and share the experience with their friends. We wanted to provide the framework to sharing similar experiences, to allow people to discover things to see and do along bike routes, and encourage local businesses. This is where http://motivateyourlanes.com came from. After making a few of these maps, we tested the ride ourselves.

Learnings

The first thing we learned on the ride was that cycling does have challenges even for experienced cyclists. Before we had even started the ride, a punctured tube caused us to find a bike shop to address the issue. We decided the split up and use the hashtag #molanes on instagram to find each other on the ride, this lead us to the second thing we learned, that we could turn this into a fun game or a way finding system. The third bit we learned, was something all cyclist run into at some point if they forget their locks, that it’s really hard to find a place where you can hang outside with your bike and enjoy a beer in Vancouver. All in all, it was a great learning experience.

It’s really energizing to meet people trying to change the world. On that note I want to thank everyone that was at the event, but particularly Rachelle, Michelle, Meghan, Misha and Ed for being such a great team to work with.  It’s also amazing what a few people from different backgrounds with a shared passion can accomplish in a really short period of time and am really glad to see organizations like CycleHack bring this kind of event to life. Without them, I wouldn't have jumped in and tried this out.

Next steps

I must’ve jotted down at least a half a dozen ideas from the original Friday sessions and discussions, and another half a dozen over the rest of the weekend. I really look forward to spending more time implementing small testable prototypes that I can share with real people, and less time fantasizing about the perfect solution to ALL the problems at once. I’d like to see if I can get a few people to test out our prototype, gather more feedback, and iterate. You can find more details about our hack here: http://www.cyclehack.com/catalogue/motivate-your-lane/ or the landing page here: http://motivateyourlanes.com

One more quick note, I just want to give a shoutout to Mauricio Lozano of Faculty brewing, http://www.facultybrewing.com. His presentation on how he persevered and creatively overcame obstacles to provide as cycle friendly of a place as possible was awesome. I’m definitely stopping by the brewery when it opens!

[alllrexxx]

Crossfit Open 2016

Another ‪#‎crossfitopen‬ season ends. This year, much like the last 2, I got stuck in a couple of ‪#‎wod‬’s looking up at the clock, facing anxiety and self-loathing at not being able to complete all the movements. To be honest, as dumb as it sounds, it really bummed me out; after 8 years of ‪#‎crossfitting‬, I still couldn’t perform all the movements. Then I took a step back. When I stopped feeling sorry for myself, and making excuses, I decided it was time to make a change. I didn’t train hard enough in the past year to do better than I have. I could have spent more time working on ‪#‎doubleunders‬ and handstand pushups but I didn’t, and that’s ok. Accepting ‪#‎responsibility‬ and taking action will allow me to do better next time. Time to hang the jersey until next season and go back to training.

[alllrexxx]

Lessons From The Open

It’s three weeks into my third CrossFit Open, and I’m feeling like a veteran. Even though the workouts have not been particularly kind to my abilities, I’ve managed to get through them with a smile on my face. With that in mind, I thought I’d share some previously learned lessons that are helping get me through this year’s Open:

Relax

The other day I was at the gym, watching one of my peers get psyched out while attempting to do a set of two bench presses. On his first two tries, I noticed he was pausing and thinking, in between the first and second rep. This caused him to fail each time. I reminded him of a tip I always try to keep in mind whenever I get nervous about lifting weight:

“Hey don’t think about it too much, it’s just weight, you can do it.”

He took another shot at it, and BAM! Both reps done without any problems.

Plan your workout

Take a few minutes to break down the workout. Use previously recorded data to put together a game plan that will pace the WOD in a way that works for you. Proper pacing will provide timely breaks, and allow your heart rate to come back down.

Eat well

It is easy to forget that the body, like any other system, functions best with a good source of energy. But with all the marketing, fads and pseudo-science out there, it can be overwhelming to know what constitutes a healthy diet.

I won’t try to convince anyone that eating paleo is the ONLY WAY TO GO, but I will say that it’s critical to take the time to figure out what works best for you. Pay close attention to how your body reacts to different foods, and remember the next time you think “I’m just having a bad day” or “my stomach always feels off” – the less energy your body takes to process foods, the more it has to provide for everything else.

Have fun

This may seem ludicrous, but remember that the Crossfit Open is supposed to be enjoyable. The movements and repetitions are hard, yes; but the overall process, and the community aspect of the Open, is what makes it special. Take time to chat with people at your gym, or in your online community. Share your experience, and encourage others whether they are attempting double-unders for the first time or are veterans deadlifting 315 lbs.

Good luck to all the participants!!

[alllrexxx]

Why Paleo and Why Crossfit

A while ago I was sitting with some co-workers at a pub in Tahoe and found myself in a challenging position, as it usually does, when it came to ordering food that I am allowing myself to eat. There was the usual pub fare and variety of cheese or bread covered deliciousness available, all of which of course I did not want to order. As it usually does, it started a conversation down the path of nutrition, dieting and eating habits. This eventually led to talking about fitness and eventually Crossfit. For me, they go hand-in-hand as I probably would have never been so interested in the paleo diet had I not joined a Crossfit gym many years ago.

As we were chatting, this question came up: “Why do you do it?” This was actually a nice change from the usual questions and remarks: “Oh man I could never do this”, “You must be crazy to do Crossfit”, “Why would anyone ever want to eat like a caveman?” It took me a second or two to remember how important it is to answer the question of why, because at the end of the day, the why is really all that matters. A few years ago I read this amazing book “Starts with Why” by Simon Sinek. Hearing the question reminded me once again of the importance of knowing and believing in why we do anything. At the end of the day, whatever we choose to eat (pizza, red meat, vegetables, …) or do (workout, yoga, watch TV, …) as long as we believe in why we make these decisions, we will be better for it.

1. I eat paleo because it makes my body feel great

I’ve said this over and over again and I believe this to be completely true for me. I’m not saying this will apply to everyone, and am definitely not telling everyone I know that I want them to change their diets to be cool or accepted. I’m not doing it as a fad diet, and there is no time in the near future at which I will be done with paleo. Eating paleo, with a small amount of cheating, allows me to enjoy my body to its full potential. I spend less time feeling irritable, am more energetic and my stomach is generally much happier. It’s the lifestyle I’ve chosen and I’m happy to have gone that route. I think that’s really the most important thing to take into consideration when choosing how we want to eat, believe in why we’re doing it and not having regrets or telling ourselves: “Man I really want to eat that cheesecake but I can’t because I’m eating paleo” or “Jim is eating a pizza but I can’t because I’m paleo, this sucks”. We shouldn’t use our diet as a way to punish ourselves, life’s too short and there are too many good food items to be enjoyed.

2. I Crossfit because I want to be able to outrun the zombies

This reason got a bit of a chuckle out of the guys at the table. I’m not a prepper, but part of me wants to be able to to defend myself against charging sabretooth tigers. I know it sounds kind of silly, but I want to be able to be as fit as possible for simple survival reasons. I think this secretly leads me to reason #3.

3. I eat and exercise how I do because I want to live the longest and keep up with my children someday

This is essentially the reason behind reasons #1 and #2. Some day, I will be a father and when that day comes, I know I will want to spend as much time as possible playing with my kids*. I want to be able to keep up with them and teach them all I can about things and stuff, whatever stuff may be**. The last thing I want is to have my body give up on me because I haven’t taken care of it as well as I could have in my younger years.

This is really the why I’m doing any of this. And the reason why I share my thoughts on paleo eating and crossfitting with friends, family and really anyone that will listen, isn’t because I think this is the coolest thing right now, or because I want to impress anyone. It is because I hope that I can motivate others to look for ways to feel good about themselves for now and for the future.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: there is NOTHING currently happening on the becoming a father front for any family/friends that may read this, I’m strictly speaking of future alrex.

**Obviously I still have a LOT to learn before becoming a father, see the previous note.

[alllrexxx]

T-Rex looking for his valentine

[alllrexxx]

Cakes and Paleo

Now I know a lot of folks who eat paleo frown upon baked goods altogether. Most of the time, I agree with them. But you know, when it’s your dad’s birthday and you want to celebrate with him, it sucks to stand there and tell him happy birthday dad, hope you enjoy your cake because I won’t be. Sharing the joy of eating with people is something I really value and believe is an essential social engagement that helps people bond. I decided that this year, rather than just ditching my diet altogether and eating the delicious tiramisu I bought for my dad, I would try and bake a somewhat-paleo-friendly cake. I found this recipe on Living Healthy with Chocolate for what looks like an amazing chocolate cake with all paleo friendly ingredients.

My family has always believed that eating paleo means that I perform strange rituals when I cook to come up with the most restrictive or complicated set of rules for what I will and won’t eat. I was secretly hoping that baking a chocolate cake would prove that my lifestyle isn’t as complicated as they believe it to be.

The end result was actually a pretty decent cake! It definitely could have been a bit more moist (I think I’ll add some more coconut milk to the recipe next time), but all in all, I was pretty happy with it. Everyone had a piece and although the reviews weren’t overly positive (see previous comment about dryness), I think I proved my point with my family :)

[lizclimo]

Sweater weather is here!

[pdlcomics]

[tastefullyoffensive]

Best Pet Costumes of Halloween 2013 (Part 3) Previously: Part 2, Part 1, Best Adult Costumes, Best Kid Costumes

[alllrexxx]

The martini is my favorite

[alllrexxx]

What's it like inside my head

The past few weeks I spent a lot of time laying awake at night, rolling around anxiously in my bed until I got myself so restless that I would eventually get up and read for a while. My brain causing me to think of all sorts of topics: from career related pressures (am I doing the right things at work, do I perform up to my standards at work), to relationship questions (am I being a good partner, is there anything minuscule that happened in my interactions with my partner today that makes me feel like I could do better) , to general life questions (what so I want out of life, am I progressing according to 'the plan'), to ultimately self inspection. Every time I wake up at night, I start feeling this anxiety rising in my head, and sadly this isn't something new to me. I remember as a child, running into my sister's room begging her to let me sleep in her room because I was worried about time going by. This may sound silly, but I was literally worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep enough to go to school the next day, then would stare at the clock as it was ticking. My sister may remember better than I, as I would just barge into her room dragging my mattress behind me crying, but I think I was maybe 8 or 9? Many years passed, and I found myself In a similar pattern, where I would deprive myself of sleep, due to an increasing fear of world ending solar flares, or the feeling of emptiness of being a small group of particles in an enormous universe. This kept me awake for weeks, if not months, and made me feel so alone, as though I was the only person I'm the world to know this. Wanting to protect others around me from such sleep depriving anxiety, I would work or watch television until I was exhausted to allow me to finally rest, rather than share this burden. During these times, I also pondered about what happens to us when we die. I kept asking myself: how can the world continue on if I'm not around to see it? It took me a while to accept that these were things I couldn't control, much like time passing by. And again, much time passed. The causes of my anxiety eventually went away and I was able to live normally. Recently, I have gone through enough events in my life, that my mind is once again tricking me into anxiety. After discussing this with my councillor I realized that part of the reason why I feel the way I do, is because a certain portion of me craves this sensation of endless worry. In fact, it craves it so much, that it fabricates stories around me to push me into the land of worry. If you're asking yourself why would anyone ever crave this type of feeling, I can't actually answer that. It certainly is interesting to try and identify what can cause this type of behaviour and really the only thing I've come up with so far,, is learned and observed behaviour. If you surround yourself with people that behave a certain way, or are brought up in an environment where this type of behaviour is everyday occurrence, I feel there's a good chance you will create neuro paths that mimic this behaviour. (Disclaimer I am not in any way a mental health professional and speak only from experience) I was brought up in a family that tends to worry about everything, and when I say everything I mean everything. (I cycle to work most days and you wouldn't believe the number of times I've received phone calls after news report of a cyclist being hit in the city) I believe many of the people around me when I grew up craved this sensation of worry, as though thinking about the worst case scenario would change things that no one can control. It's worth noting that when I say crave here, I don't mean that you will consciously choose to worry about things, but that your brain will do this as a habit, and build on little things to make them into bigger worries than they need to be. My more recent worries have felt much closer to home than my previously slightly more irrational fears. They have been mostly turned towards my own place in the world and have very much made me question everything I do on a daily basis. They push me into very vulnerable places and sadly, the only voice I can never really drown out with a solid door, some ear plugs and a loud sound system blaring some really awesome 90s dance tunes is the one inside my head. To feel as though i've run out of whatever it is that was making me feel confident as a human being, can truly be demoralizing, especially when the only reason I feel this way is myself in the first place. It becomes a vicious circle caused by my own worst enemy, myself. Until a few weeks ago, I had never realized how true and powerful that expression is. The mind plays some really cruel tricks, it is an amazing tool that can produce so much information based on a few facts and a LOT of fabricated or perceived information.. Being able to identify when the anxiety machine kicks in and finding ways to interrupt the flow if information to that craving has been feeling a bit like battling an addiction. It's only been a few days since I've realized what is causing my anxiety and I'm still in the early stages of correcting my behaviour. Positive thinking and early detection have been my only weapons to fight off this craving my brains has for worry, and so far it's worked amazingly well. Kudos to my councillor and to everyone in my support group (serraphinus has been an amazing supporter) for allowing me to really begin my journey towards a happier me. Iif you've ever felt the need to talk to a councillor and thought it would make you feel or look crazy, don't be afraid, it's truly an amazing experience (disclaimer #2: I've only seen one councillor and she has been awesome)) I'm off for a vacation now, it's been a little over 18 months since my last one, I'm really excited and happy to go away for a bit. It's been a while and I feel like going to a new country will give me an opportunity to really decompress. One of the best things I've read recently that has helped me open my mind, is that the world throws enough challenges at us, without having to create our own ones. Don't live in your head too much, I knew I'm planning on not doing it :)

[alllrexxx]

One of my favorites freebies in this world, is being reunited with the one I love beyond anything... If you feel the same way about someone, make sure they know it

[alllrexxx]

Soooo cute

[alllrexxx]

Very little is needed to have a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.

Marcus Aurelius

[alllrexxx]

This product frustrates me to no end. Based on the image alone, I would assume this is coconut milk or water. Reading the biggest font however, leads me to think this is actually almond milk. Then you read further labels and the madness of coconut/almond confusion continues. I just want a SINGLE LABEL that says ‘Coconut flavored almond milk’ instead of this clusterfuck of labels… Clearly labeled products, is that so much to ask for? Obviously as long as people need 12 kinds of coconut flavored almond milk, there will be a need for 'creative' labeling. Just get me THE coconut flavored almond milk with a single line that tells me what it is, and I will be happy.

[earthlynation-blog]

Have a Drink? by Denis

[alllrexxx]

So little

[alllrexxx]

Rant about life unknowns and uncertainties

It’s kinda funny, the amount of stuff we think we understand. Up until recently, I thought I understood all that I needed to know about my life. Graduated high school, got a job. Didn’t like it, got a college education and started a career. Started a relationship, moved in together. Traveled to a bunch of places, bought a car. Bought the first house, then traveled some more. Few years later, decided it was time to settle down, bought a better house that would be used to start a family and thought there we go, life is as it should.

I realize that this path isn’t different from a lot of other people. It’s always been somewhat engrained in my head (I don’t know if the term brainwashed applies here, but… probably?) that this is what must happen, and more or less that it was a decent plan in life. Having made it this far before turning 30, I feel pretty good about what I accomplished.

Of course, that was the plan, until about 5 months ago, when I realized that this was leading me towards a path of uncertainty. It dawned on me that I spent so much time focussing on the goal, that along the way I lost track of what mattered the most, happiness. I don’t know if there is anything past this current life of mine, so why not live it the way I want to? Why not Aim for happiness in every decision and live out my dreams? I had spent so much time and energy chasing a goal that I don’t even know if I ever set for myself, that I rarely stopped to think about where I was headed.

Now the house is sold and I’m back to renting. The partner I spent 10 years building a relationship with and I have gone our separate ways. My office has recently moved and I’ve joined a new team. Most things that I thought I was certain of a year ago have changed and in all honesty, I actually don’t have any idea of what my “5 year goal" looks like. It’s quite terrifying to wake up one day out of a series of almost dream-like surreal months and realize that you’ve been handed a blank canvas for the rest of your life. Having followed a fairly well laid out plan for the past 13 years, I’ve completely forgotten what living day to day feels like. It’s scary to feel so lost, and yet, I feel like I will eventually find my path again.

For now though, all I can say is that if there is one thing I’ve learned from all these recent experiences, it’s to not let things like ‘someday I will do x’ add up in my mind. I learned so much about myself that I would never have had I not replaced someday with specific dates. The jury is still out on whether that’s a good or a bad thing though.

[thecodinglove]

when I come in the morning and everyone asks me for help

/* by danriwell */