It wasn't all that long ago that my own self esteem was fairly low, thanks to a combination of the weight that I carry and the overly superficial leanings of the subculture of which I belong to. In my world, unless you have pecs the size of small rodents and a six pack you could do your washing on, you're seen as totally flawed (note: this is the view of the writer and perhaps not the view of the community). At the end of my 28th year, I discovered the book 'The Fat Stripping Diet' by Shane Bilsborough after being recommended it by a random encounter with a woman at my gym, and thus began my fascination with diet.
During my 29th year, I did a 'Fat stripping course' at my local gym. It's interesting to see that Tracey, who ran my course, is now working with Shane at his fitness company. It was, undoubtably, the best $550 I could've spent last year. For eight weeks, I paid someone to put my through physical torture and, as a result, managed to get my weight down to 72kg from 85kg. I have little doubt that the all night dancing that occured every weekend during this period also had something to do with it, but i'm not going to look a disco-horse in the mirrorballs.
I started taking interest in a multitude of diets and exercise regimes, although never seriously enough to see any fantastic results happening. But enough to maintain a respectable level of weight and to bring my self esteem to a level where I actually began to think I wasn't a half bad kinda guy. It was also at this point that I realised the importance of 'being' instead of 'trying to be', and that enormous realisation of how much superficial expectation people place on each other. But hey, this is a whole other topic in itself and not really where I want this blog to go.
It is amazing how change works. Without wanting to harp on about comparisons between my life now and two months ago, I can't help but feel it more than just in financial or career terms. For some reason, the selection of food around West Melbourne where my previous office exists was far more inducive towards a healthier existence than what I have on offer now. In West Melbourne, there was 'Hungry Boys' just around the corner who, for all their faults, could through together a healthy salad sandwich on sour dough bread better than most. A few minutes additional work landed me down on Errol St, where there was a multitude of small cafes, asian takeaways and bakeries, and even they had a diet range. Towards the city was what we referred to as 'the laneway'. There was Blue Bag down there, a reasonably healthy boutique deli that charged outrageous prices for a few pieces of chicken in a lubed up bun. But there was also a place that sold rather scrumptious california rolls, which I tend to be rather taken by... hmm... tuna california rolls...
Additionally, I would often take my lunch into the office... and although I would never be sure if I wanted to eat that lunch on that day (depending on what I felt like at lunch time), there was a kitchen I could go to with a microwave ready to heat up my Lean Cuisine.
Two months down the track... a different company... a different location... and how I notice the difference. There seems to be a distinct lack of healthy eating in this area. Infact, i'm not even convinced that this area know how to make a half decent sandwich. The bakery across the road have these tiny sour dough rolls, and when you asked for salad, you tend to feel like you're visiting a third world country with how much they give. They do specialise in donuts... but we'll get back to them soon. The milkbar next door would give you the impression that the only way to actually cook something is to coat it in fat or deep fry it, except, strangely, their 'fried rice', which seems to be steamed with frozen vegetable 'blocks' thrown in. Yummy. Then there is the supermarket a few doors down that, strangely, do serve lunch, but again only seem to specialise in items of high fat content... they're great with donuts... again... but again, i'll get back to that.
There is a health food place a few doors up - 'The Green Grocer'. Sadly, their price range tends to be a little unrealistic and I feel like I need to take out a personal loan just to pay for a chicken and salad sandwich. Certainly, after trying a slice of their orange and poppyseed cake, I couldn't work out if the cake or the price tag was richer...
I don't bring lunch in, for a few reasons. Firstly, the fridge is very small. Secondly, what there is of a 'kitchen' is directly behind me - a bench with a coffee machine, sandwich presser and microwave, which is open to the entire room that houses myself and about 20 other individuals. There is no privacy, and therefore I don't feel as inclined to heat up my lean cuisine (filling the room with an aroma some might object to) and eating it in front of them... and additionally, just out of necessity for space, I feel obliged to go for a walk out of the office to savour some time to myself.
What this all adds up to, however, is the feeling that my diet is increasingly going down hill.
Add to this that I feel like i'm suddenly working for Springfield Power Plant... and you can understand my increased concern. The amount of donuts this place goes through are astounding. Simon to my left loves his pink ones. JP to my right isn't as fussed about what colour. If you leave the donuts next to the coffee machine too long, they're gone within minutes. I've suggested cutting each donut up into eight pieces, mostly to annoy people but also cause I think it would be mildly amusing. I spend my day cruising new websites, chatting with people here, discussing U2 and different makes of guitars, internet piracy laws, and all things latest technology. If there was a Carl and Lenny here, I would be slowly but surely confirming my place as the new age Homer Simpson.
So... what to do to combat this... i'm not entirely sure... I guess the answer is that I should definitely start bringing in lunch more... an assortment of sandwiches should be a realistic venture, but it is making me have a new found appreciation for those bored secretaries out there who find it all too easy to pig out on unhealthy food out of sheer boredom. Mind you, it is difficult to resist those sweet sweet rings of baked iced love when they're floating around the office so readily and being consumed so lovingly infront of me. The icing... those small pieces of coloured candy... that light and flakey dough... hmmm.... donuts... aren't they truly proof that a God does exist? Even the shape; circular and round; symbolizing the beginning and the end... the alpha and the beta... the trinity of donuts; the chocolate, the strawberry and the holy cinnamon ghost... another realisation for today - I need to get out more.
Retro Toys Part 1...: How to build a Commodore 64 on your PC.
1. Download an emulator. I recommend winVICE 2. Unzip, and run your emulator. See... it's pretty and looks just like that Commodore 64 you used to have in high school that made you nearly fail some subjects cause you were busy playing Tetris instead of doing your homework...
3. Download some classic C64 games... and how cute - the games are only about 50kb each!
4. Remember, to load a game is: LOAD "*",8,1 - but also remember that the C64 keyboard configuration is different too!
5. Enjoy! ...retro-dorks (I can't talk... I love Ghost 'n' Goblins, Ghostbusters and Impossible Mission)
