Archive for category lifehack

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Hi, My Name is Amy and I'm a Fatty I am sure I wasn't always like this. It's weird because now that I look back, I don't really know when I let myself go. It was probably back in middle school or the beginning of high school. I didn't really care about what I ate or what I drank.......
Celebrating The Good Things In Life Life is always full of it's ups and downs. It's just the way it is. Some days you are living large and feeling like no one else in the world can be as happy as you are right now...and then in an instant your world can crash and you wonder if......
Personal Finance Review - 88 Cent Edition At least in Northern California, Rite Aid is having a sale on Speed Stick deodorant, Colgate toothpaste, Soft Soap, and Irish Spring bar soap (3-pack). I went to stock up today and the shelves had been picked clean. However, I got rain check for 5 of everything. Since they don't......

challenge, change, Diet, vicious cycle

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PB & J, All the Way

Posted by enrique s in lifehack on March 28th, 2011

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve gotten my act together, and dropped some weight. Like Flitcraft in The Maltese Falcon, I’d fallen back into a familiar groove of eating too much of, well, everything. The obvious result was the eclipse of my feet by my fat gut. After having trouble catching my breath after climbing a flight of stairs, I vowed to take swift, drastic action. This action took the form of my latest diet scheme.

My scheme would probably be discredited by any legitimate nutritionist, and it’s not for the faint of heart. There are no studies to back up its validity, save for my rapid weight loss, which sits at 21 pounds in 31 days. My secret? I only eat one meal a day. And it’s not much of a meal, at that. Peanut butter and jelly on two slices of whole grain bread is probably on a par nutrion-wise as the old bread-and-water prison diet. I’m sure what I’m doing is very unhealthy, but the ends will justify the means. I’m not winded anymore when climbing the stairs, and I can see my feet again. Looks like it’s time for a shoe shine.

But don’t worry about me. A few more pounds, and I’ll start a more reasonable eating plan, which was developed by an honest-to-goodness doctor. It’s right up my alley, as it includes steak. And a cheat day.

I can’t wait.

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My Goals for 2010 The odds of hitting your target go up dramatically when you aim at it. - advice from a fortune cookie A Disclaimer I don't believe in luck, curses, the Evil Eye, four-leaf clovers, rubbing a rabbit's foot, crossing my fingers, knocking on wood, or the power of wishing wells. ......
Regression Analysis Photo by kevindooley No, not that kind of regression analysis, with standard deviations and charts. I'm talking about why we personally regress back to our bad habits. Why, after a diet struggle and weight loss, that we gorge ourselves on junk food? Why, after pinching pennies for months, or even......
Goal Status: January in Review Spurred on by a fortune cookie, I wrote about my modest goals for the year in this post: My Goals for 2010 So, now that we're a month into the new year, I'll give you my status. Here goes: 1. Drop 50 pounds I lost 14 pounds in January, primarily......

Flitcraft, Metabolic Diet, The Maltese Falcon

#1 Weight Loss Tip - The Journal A nationwide study of over 1500 people, who were overweight and obese, consisted of a half year of 30 minutes of exercise a day, a low-fat diet that had plenty of fruits and veggies. It was also recommended that they write in a journal how much they ate and how......
Former Fat Guy Rob Cooper On Mental Mindset This is the final part of a three part interview with Rob Cooper of FormerFatGuy.com. The past two interviews focused on his fitness and nutrition, this time we will focus on his mental mindset. How important is the mental aspect to your training and nutritional program? How you think, and......
7 Free Ways to Lose Weight How many of us want to be healthy and fit? I know I do. My husband and I make our health and weight one of the most important things in our lives. We want to live a full life and enjoy our retirement; not spend it in and out......

Regression Analysis

Posted by enrique s in Debt, Frugality, Productivity, Rants, lifehack on March 23rd, 2011

Actual is not normal (a tribute to Edward Tufte)
Photo by kevindooley

No, not that kind of regression analysis, with standard deviations and charts. I’m talking about why we personally regress back to our bad habits. Why, after a diet struggle and weight loss, that we gorge ourselves on junk food? Why, after pinching pennies for months, or even years, do we jump into a financing offer that we couldn’t refuse? Why do we mindlessly waste our late-night hours surfing the internet, when we could be getting a good night’s sleep, and be ready to attack the new day? Well, how the hell should I know? I’ve been guilty of all three scenarios.

There’s just something about that first barbecue of the Spring. It’s like the pilot has turned off the No Eating and Drinking sign. When I smell those hot dogs on the grill, the reptile part of my brain takes over, and I attack those bratwurst like a hungry Komodo dragon. I know that the food is bad for me, especially in the quantities consumed. The Sam Adams that washes it down will never be mistaken for a whey shake. There goes the waistline. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?

Strolling through Best Buy or PC Richard, I’ll spy the new big-screen, 60″, LCD HDTV. Holy crap, 0% financing for 12 months! I’ll take two! But I know what will happen after the year is up, and the interest rate jumps to 18%. But that Giants-Redskins game sure is gonna look nice. Throw in the Blu-ray player, and we have a deal. Who cares about the kid’s college fund? Again, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?

No matter how we try, it’s hard to resist temptation, to differentiate between wants and needs. Here are the steps that I took:

The Bobby Sands-inspired Diet - For the last month, I’ve followed an eating plan that would make an IRA hunger-striker proud. I’ve only eaten one meal a day. This usually takes the form of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner. I’ve been taking in around 500 calories a day, if I have an apple for a snack. It’s not the heathiest diet nutrition-wise, but I’ve dropped 16 pounds in the last 3 1/2 weeks. It’s a drastic plan, and not for everyone. Find what works for you. After I’ve taken off about 20 pounds, I’ll start a sane eating plan. Like the Metabolic Diet. And I’ll start exercising again.

Do You Still Take Cash? - I remember when I got my American Express card after I graduated college. I laid that baby on the table when I went out to dinner with my friends, and felt like a Big Shot. When the bill came in the next month, I felt like a Big Douchebag. Another lesson learned the hard way. To resist temptation, I’ve handed over all of my credit cards to my wife for safekeeping. I’m a cash-only guy now. Screw the reward points, I don’t miss the monthly bills. It gives me great satisfaction knowing that whatever I’ve paid for will be collecting no interest for Citibank to dole out to its CEO.

Lights Out! - Getting up early makes me tired at night, forcing me to hit the hay at a decent hour. I’m now rarin’ to go when I wake up, ready to start my assault on the world with my tank full. A reverse vicious cycle. I really don’t miss browsing through Baseball Reference or IMDB, or Knifeforums or Equipped to Survive, in lieu of sleep. Another bad habit bites the dust.

I’ve taken the steps to stop the vicious cycle of obesity, debt, and lack of sleep. I’ve got a long way to go. I’m sure that many of you do, too. We’ll always make mistakes, but we can learn from them. Just try not to make the same mistakes over and over again.

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My Goals for 2010 The odds of hitting your target go up dramatically when you aim at it. - advice from a fortune cookie A Disclaimer I don't believe in luck, curses, the Evil Eye, four-leaf clovers, rubbing a rabbit's foot, crossing my fingers, knocking on wood, or the power of wishing wells. ......
Peer Pressure Photo by satanoid In his book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell talks about a study that was done with teen smoking. The study concluded that anti-smoking ads are largely ineffective, as they address adult concerns about smoking. Teens are influenced more by the behavior of their peers, the "cool" kids who......
Barbaric Book Review: Who Moved My Cheese? Most people are resistant to change and prefer to stay in their happy little comfort zone. This is especially true in the workplace. I was able to experience this phenomenon firsthand when my division recently was merged into a different entity. The new entity's procedures and systems were completely alien......

credit card debt, Metabolic Diet

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Review: Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes Good Calories, Bad Calories took the author five years to write, and it contains some groundbreaking information that will undoubtedly be the cause of much controversy. Whether or not you agree with Taubes assertions, the book is certainly well worth the read and it is obvious that he did put......

Go Easy!

Posted by enrique s in Career, lifehack on October 22nd, 2010

On my way to work the other day, I was cut off by another driver. Being from New York, you’d think my first instinct would be to give him the neighborhood salute, better known as the middle finger:

But I took a deep breath, and thought back to some good advice that a mentor gave me when I was just a young whippersnapper: Go Easy.

Back when I was just starting my illustrious career, I had a job where I had three bosses in three years. Not one of my bosses left the job voluntarily, and the environment was a regular hellhole. This was the place where I picked up my coffee addiction. But I digress. One boss-of-the-year was a guy nicknamed The Scooch, and he taught me a valuable lesson about coping.

I was a young hothead, full of piss and vinegar, and I loved a good challenge. I also loved a good argument, and my big, smartass mouth kept me in plenty of those. I was cocky, and had trouble backing down from altercations, especially with people who I thought were not as intelligent as I thought I was. These confrontations “got my Dutch up”, as my mother used to say, and sometimes were my undoing. That’s where the Scooch set me right.

“Go easy!” The Scooch said that to me over and over. At first I was offended. Who the hell did this retread think he was? He’d probably only last a few months, as this business chewed up and spit out managers at an alarming pace. Keep out of my way, old-timer, and don’t bother unpacking those boxes, either. But the Scooch would soon prove me wrong.

One day, we were in a meeting with a director who looked like Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar:

This Little Caesar was one of my favorite combatants. He started to bait me, and I was getting ready to fire back, when the Scooch abruptly stood up. “Let’s go”, he said. “We’re not accomplishing anything here.” Caesar was dumbfounded, and just stood there, slack-jawed. The Scooch had disarmed him without uttering a single barbed insult.

As we awaited the shitstorm that was surely coming, Little Caesar called the Scooch and apologized. “See”, he said, “sometimes you accomplish more by doing less. That’s what I mean by going easy. Go easy and you stay in control. Go apeshit and you relinquish control.”

I took heed of the Scooch’s advice when that bast- uh, other motorist, cut me off. Before the Scooch, not only would I have flipped him the bird, but I would have called him names that would have made my mother’s ears bleed. That would have accomplished nothing, which I did a lot of when I used to let my emotions get the best of me. Instead, I kept my composure, and also kept the situation under my control.

So, the next time you feel you’re about to become unglued, take the Scooch’s advice, and go easy. The hothead act grows tired. Being in control of yourself inspires confidence in others. It shows that you’ve got your shit together, no matter what life throws at you.

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composure

Don’t Ease Me In

Posted by enrique s in Rants, lifehack on July 9th, 2010

Relaxing, by the lake
Photo by antwerpenR

I’ve never been the guy at work who gets in before anyone else. I’m usually the last one to leave at night, but that’s a different story. While I’m rarely late, I do tend to arrive just under the wire. But when I walk through the door, I’m already in 5th gear. I don’t need a ten-minute warmup. Let’s go! But something has been slowing me down lately, and it’s screwing with my instincts.

I worked with an “early guy” once. Clapton liked to get to work early - real early, like 45 minutes before our official start time. He’d unpack, read the paper, and wait for me to come scrambling in before the bell. He’d ease into the day, while I came in with guns blazing. I’d arrive, bags under my blood-shot eyes, strung out from walking our screaming, colic-stricken baby around all night. Early for me in those days was ten minutes late. Where’s my coffee?

I equated myself with one of those rubber-armed relief pitchers, like Mike Stanton, who could be ready at a moments’ notice. Contrast my readiness with Clapton’s, who needed to go through elaborate ritual each morning so that he could get “in the zone”. I could hit the ground running, a skill that I haven’t lost in the years since. Clapton was more like Mike Mussina, who needed all of the stars to align, otherwise, his day would be “ruined”. We’d open the day with the same dialogue:

Clapton: So, how many hours sleep last night?

Me: About two and a half.

Clapton: I don’t know how you do it.

Tell you the truth, I didn’t know how I did it, either. It was probably a combination of too much caffeine, new parent anxiety, and the constant threat of layoffs. Not having a pot to piss in or a corner to throw it in will wake you up pretty quickly. Especially when you throw a baby into the mix. Whatever kept me going back then, I think that I still have it in me to this day (they probably have a pill for it by now). Hence, my newfound irritation.

Something happens when I arrive at work (and it’s not just the stress-induced clenching of my sphincter). I’m able to put the rest of my life out of my mind, and think of only work for the next ten hours. The instant that I swipe my badge at the entrance, I’m on the clock and working. As I climb the stairs to my office, I’ll run through my calendar in my mind. Which is a good thing, given how long it takes for my PC to boot up.

See, that’s the new irritation. My company has installed some God-awful security software that takes forever to load. Yesterday, it took forty minutes to get to my email. This would be perfect for Clapton, who could read the paper while his computer boots. But I’m pulling my hair out, screaming at the goddamn thing to finish loading. So, I have two choices:

Become an “early guy”, like my old buddy Clapton, and read the paper while the evil software loads, or
Leave myself in “logged in” status, and only shut the machine down at the end of the week.

I’m leaning toward Option #2. I know that I’m using electricity, which leads to more energy being wasted. But think of all of my energy being wasted, waiting for my PC to boot up. Forty minutes a day of my time could get pretty expensive for the company.

Or, maybe it’s time for a quaalude.

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quaalude, stress

6 Comments

When Good Hygiene Goes Bad

Posted by enrique s in Career, Rants, lifehack on June 24th, 2010

I was stuck in a series of day-long mandatory training sessions this week. Thankfully, today was only for half the day. Because much of the material was a rehash for me, my mind, and my eyes, tended to wander. And what my eyes saw wasn’t pretty.

The trend in recent years has been moving toward a more casual dress code. I’ve bleated about this in the past. It’s not like I’m a holdout; on the contrary, I think it’s great that I don’t have to go to the dry cleaners for my suits as often as I used to go. It’s nice not having a noose around my neck in the warm weather. I even wear jeans on the really casual Fridays, though they’re more presentable than the ripped Levi’s that many of my coworkers wear.

I don’t really care how my colleagues dress. But I see a disturbing trend, and it’s the neglect of proper hygiene. I know, ewwwwww! The guy two rows in front of me needed an ear-hair trimming something fierce. His ears looked like a bamboo forest. You’d need a macheté to cut through that growth. Just be sure to check for giant pandas. Another guy in the office reeked of body odor. This was at 9:00 in the morning. I guess he skipped the morning shower. I thought that it couldn’t get any worse, until he took off his shoes! Death, where is thy sting?

Some of the ladies were slacking off, too. One wore a sweater that smelled like mothballs. It could have come from some old maid’s attic. Another popped and snapped her chewing gum. Many wore no makeup, and most of them needed some (a few could have used a bag over their heads). The lady next to me had breath that smelled like a cross between coffe and rotting fish. The mothballed sweater smelled sweet by comparison.

Sitting at the back of the room, I was also treated to a variety of thinning hairlines. Most guys opted for the more natural Telly Savalas-look, but a couple went for the dreaded comb-over. One guy looked like he parted his hair from his shoulder. As my wife would say, that’s not fooling anybody. Time to go with the Kojak, buddy.

So if you’re treated to one of these sights at work, why suffer in silence? Just print out a copy of this post, and leave it on their chair, anonymously. Hopefully, they’ll get the hint, and clean up their act.

Just watch out for the pandas.

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hygiene

The Quiet of Power-washing

Posted by enrique s in lifehack on June 14th, 2010

Spraying Water from Hose on Blue Summer Sky
Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography

Over the past couple of weekends, I’ve discovered an activity that’s great for focusing my mind. It helps me block out all distractions, because it is, in fact, distraction incarnate. I’m talking about power-washing.

Yes, you read that correctly. Power-washing (or pressure-washing. Tomato, tomahto). That ear-splitting, hand-trembling job that shakes your fillings loose and makes neighborhood dogs howl. But look past the surface, friends, and discover the magic in this tedious task. I even dabbled in multitasking, an activity I usually avoid.

There’s a certain quiet that power-washing creates (I’m sure my neighbors would disagree). Power-washing, or any mundane activity, gives your mind a chance to think. I know it sounds weird, but after a few minutes, I was able to ignore the roar of the Honda’s motor. I felt enveloped in my own little noisy world. My mind began to wander, allowing me to dream up some good ideas for posts.

But that’s not all! As I scoured my grimy deck with its laser-like blasts, I was able to, in my mind, re-arrange my tool shed, develop a study strategy for my son’s Intermediate Algebra final, select a restaurant for our wedding anniversary, and flesh out a presentation that I had to give at work. All without slicing off any toes! I definitely did not have all of my attention on the task at hand.

So the next time you’re stuck doing some thankless task, think about what else you can accomplish while you get the drudgery out of the way. As Henry Rollins once said, “If life gives you lemons, say ‘Oh yeah, I like lemons, what else you got?’” Make the best of it.

Even if it does break your back.

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5 Comments

Facebook, Schmacebook

Posted by enrique s in Rants, lifehack on May 28th, 2010

Many of my family and friends are on Facebook. They post pictures of vacations, wish each other Happy Birthday, arrange trips, etc. They also bug me with friend requests, and wonder why I don’t read the latest drivel on their wall. While I might be a little anti-social, my main reason for not posting on Facebook is simple: I don’t need anyone to know my personal business.

Good fences make good neighbors

One of my favorite things in the whole world is my privacy. That’s why you don’t see any pictures of my face on this website (that, and my face frightens small children). Not that I’m a hermit, but I do have large bushes that block my view of my neighbors (I’m from the Robert Frost school of neighborly relations). I’ve always had an unlisted phone number. When a cashier asks for my zip code for promotional reasons, I tell her it’s classified. I may get a funny look, but that’s the great thing about not caring what others think of me.

“Have you seen the slides of our trip to Gstaad?”

And I guess that’s part of the reason why I don’t go on Facebook: I don’t give a crap what you’re doing, either. I’ve got enough of my own shit to worry about, like layoffs and a dwindling 401(k). I don’t need to see your pictures of your Disney trip; they’re the modern equivalent of forcing people to watch a slide show of their vacation to Niagara Falls. Whoa, look at the time…

“How do I know you?”

And these friend requests. I’m hearing from people I haven’t talked to since high school. If I haven’t missed you over the last 20 years, chances are I don’t need to hear from you now. It’s the high school reunion migrated to cyberspace, where everyone bullshits about how successful they’ve become. I guess the added benefit is they can photoshop their beer bellies out of the pictures.

Popularity contest

And there’s no easier way to give more ammo to the hackers who would love to steal your identity. If they know every intimate detail of your personal life, you’re handing it to them on a silver platter. And who the hell are these strangers that want to be my friend? Hackers, or just pathetic souls who are collecting “friends” as a way of making themselves feel popular? Either way, I’ll take a pass. Nothing to see here, keep moving…

And stay out!

So rather than join the millions who waste their time posting drivel on Facebook, I’ll do something more constructive.

Like watch the Yankee game.

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Corporate Barbarian Links: Graduation Party Edition bionicteaching We threw a graduation party for my son, two weeks prior to his real graduation. We did it early because we wanted our relatives to attend, and didn't want to interfere with everyone's summer vacation plans. It was great to see family and friends that I usually only......
Burning Bridges Photo by raindog Don't look back A new day is breakin' It's been too long since I felt this way I don't mind where I get taken The road is callin' Today is the day - from Don't Look back by Boston Conventional wisdom tells you never to burn......

Where Would You Put Money Now? Every so often, I like to look at the market pulse and try to determine where I would invest new money. I do this even when I don't have money to invest. I find that it's not only a fun game to play, but I learn a lot in the......
Lifestyle Design And Personal Relationships photo credit: LaserGuided When we think about lifestyle design the common themes are freeing ourselves from a full-time job thanks to freelancing or running an internet business, freeing ourselves of time and energy-draining activities and people, and generally gaining control over our lives so we can live it on......
How I Manage On Twitter As much as I adore Twitter, there are some things hard to convey in 140 characters. As such, I wanted to put up a post intended for my new followers, to explain how I'm managing my Twitter followers/friends now that I'm approaching max occupancy on the latter. So, unlike a......

Facebook, indentity theft, privacy

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The Ghost of Layoffs Past

Posted by enrique s in Career, lifehack on April 21st, 2010

Trick Or Treat.
Photo by peasap

The recent layoffs at my company brought a visit from the Ghost of Layoffs Past. Years ago, at one of my old employers, I crossed paths with a former colleague. He was a manager in the manufacturing area, in his forties, with a couple of kids in college. When we passed each other in the hall, his words stopped me cold.

“I just got my two weeks notice.”

“You’re getting laid off?!” Because he had over 25 years service time, the company gave him the heads-up. Everybody with less time under their belts got ten minutes to clean out their desks.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do.” I knew just what he meant. He started with the company right out of high school. He was bright, and a quick study, which allowed him to move up in the manufacturing organization. He became the go-to guy when you needed something done correctly. I know that I tapped his expertise more than once. A born leader, he could have gone to college on the company’s dime, but marriage, children, and overtime took precedence. Which was why he was now in deep shit.

He was making a good salary as a manager. He was bright, and a hard worker. But his prospects were bleak. It’s hard to get a management job without a college degree, no matter how qualified you might be. I didn’t know what to say to comfort him, and told him to stay positive, that people of his caliber were always in demand. But he already knew the deal. He was screwed.

So today’s lesson, grasshopper, is to take whatever the company offers, be it training or tuition reimbursement. Get that piece of paper. It might not mean anything to anyone except the resumé screener. That’s who wields the power when you’re looking for a job. Don’t put yourself in a position to be excluded because you signed up to coach Little League. Get your degree!

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Another Bet that I Won

Posted by enrique s in lifehack on April 4th, 2010

As I’ve mentioned before, one of my goals for this year is to lose 50 pounds. Back on New Years Day, I made a bet with my son that I could lose 30 pounds by Opening Day of the baseball season. “You’ll never make it, Fat Man”, he hissed in his best Stewie Griffin voice, and wagered $20 that I would fall short. Today, or rather, tonight, the Yankees open the season against the Red Sox. At this morning’s weigh-in, I tipped the scales at 199 pounds. That’s 30 and a half pounds dropped since the start of the year. Before he could utter, “What the deuce?”, I collected my $20 and wished him a Happy Easter. I still have 20 more pounds to go to reach my 2010 goal, but no dieting today - it’s off to the in-laws for a lasagna dinner.

Happy Easter!

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