Stick a needle in it...

Acupuncture...

What do you know about it?

An old Chinaman will stick needles into strategic points of your body, and miraculously you'll be cured, right? Painless..something herbal..what do you know about it?

I found out just a bit more this past Saturday. I visited a building just down the street from my apartment, a building that is dedicated perhaps solely to the medical services. A pharmacy on the first floor, men sitting in wheelchairs with IV bags tied on outside the entrance on the street, a dental clinic on the third floor, and general clinic on the fourth, and what appears to be resting rooms for the convalescent on the fifth and sixth. (I apologize on behalf of my memory for what exists on the second...I hadn't looked that closely and I didn't believe it affected me). I visited the fourth, as I'd been led to believe I could recieve acupuncture treatment. It was the lunch hour, and after waiting for a time, a far too busy nurse approached the front desk and informed me that no, indeed it was not possible there. She motioned for two other locations, I largely ignored her and headed out towards a Korean clinic I knew of.

Across the 10 lanes of traffic and up to the second floor. They were also on lunch hour, and quite! amused at the fact that a Korean speaking foreigner was inquiring into their services. I had 25 minutes to burn and they recommended taking a lunch. I agreed and departed the clinic. Although the lunch was to be missed. I had noticed a children's book shop down the hallways and stopped in. A private lesson was taking place behind a stack of books and the seller was initially leery of helping me, but after several well-timed questions by myself, he took a genuine interest and I was able to mine him for some valuable info. about youth series and other assorted items. Afterwards I had more time to kill and found myself passing a painting, photo, and frame boutique. As my puzzle has been simply idleing under my blankets for a time...I took the chance the proprieter of this shop might have some solution to the riddle of hanging a 192 x 138 cm fine art puzzle onto concrete walls. Sound the alarm..he did! Museum quality hooks that hang from the ceiling, NOT the concrete walls, and a single-sided adhesive cardboard that may only cost me 10-20,000 won total. In other words, for us 50,000 won I might have this sucker hung yet. A successful non-lunch in my account ledger...

On to the needles. A quick web cam photo for their records and into the far too young-looking doctor's office. "What seems to be the problem" he says (in Korean of course) I explain the shooting pain I experience in my lower-left back while performing flat-back streches during the P90X program and the yoga DVD's...he seems to get the drift and we clarify the area and times when I experience pain. I demonstrate what hurts the most and how I awkwardly accomodate for it. He has my lie down on a thickly padded table in his corner office with giant windows and remove my slippers and socks. (Damn the time for so much new sock fluff on my feet...pretty embarrassing) We stumble of his next question...3 minutes spent of him asking me if I prefer a hot or cool feeling...I ask for cool. He grabs a sealed pack of four needles from an aluminum cup on his desk... These needles are not as thin as you'd think...he assures me, "this will hurt". Great, I said.."let's go.." The first needle he will insert into the cuticle of my index finger on my right hand...about 2 cm. deep...yes, I feel that! I don't grimace or make a sound..and he compliments me. He does the hardest one first. Second is into the pinky toe of my right foot...the pain is in the left-side of my lower back..all four needles are inserted into my right side. Left brain-right brain?? I honestly couldn't say... Third is into the fleshy top of my right knee...finally one into the underside of my right knee. As he sticks the fourth needle in, my right foot flexes involuntarily. He obviously found something. I feel no cool, nor heat...and after a mere 2 minutes..he removes the needles. He wipes at my little toe...blood perhaps? I can see a bit of red puffiness at my finger...no blood. I don't even check my knee...it's just fat anyhow...

He has me stand and perform the offending motion...I do and the first time I feel no pain. Pretty impressive! I skeptically try a second time and find a very faint, distant shock in the same location that before had forced me to abort all attempts to bend over with a flat back. Not completely convinced..but, much better, especially as I'd had no warm-up. He asks if I want medicine to try..and I'm sure I'll pay for it..but yeah..I do want to at least try it. So he hollers out at a nurse who brings a giant laminated index card...think not 4x6 but 10x12. On it are Chinese characters listed top to bottom..he reads them...he could have been reading baseball stats for all I know..but I see the characters and portion amounts and figure he must not be totally scamming me. So I agree and he asks the nurse to 'fill the subscription'.

We are now in a hallways and he has some handle and a ballpoint pen and he's asking me if I want some other treatment...he makes a clicking motion with the ballpoint pen and a gripping motion with the handle. I gather it's some deep muscle massage and probably costs money..I've already asked 'how much' enough that I just defer and say, 'next time.' So he leads me to another bed, and has me remove my shoes and jacket and cap. It has a heating pad, a heating lamp, and I lay and begin a indeterminately long heating regimen. A nurse arrive with a burning, smoking (think incense candle) and places it on my stomach. She says that if it gets to hot, I should call. I refuse to..part out of pride, partly because..as always..I think, I'm American, I'm stronger than anyone else...'here watch, I'll show you'..and partly because..when they pull the curtain closed, I can shift the little burning bastard when it DOES get too hot and then they act all apologetic when they come to check on you and I can just say..."oh...THAT?...yes, a little warm..but,...whatever" :)

So...31,000won later, I'm 'cured'. Incredible...in the west..that treatment and med's would have cost me a MINIMUM of $200...I paid $25 with no insurance as a walk-in. When I get my insurance card next week...I'll save about 10 bucks. Sheesh...hurry up Obama with your health care...but seriously..I'm just fine here!

So..acupuncture..what do you know...

now I know just a little bit more...

Where to begin...

I know..you guys may think (largely because of the distance, absence of experience, or equally because of my woeful lack of communication) that I'm living the 'life 'o Reilly' over here. But nay say I...take the prior two weeks as example. So about 12 days ago, I get a phone call on my hand phone (i.e. cell phone) at about 11:30 pm...it's Sunny, a recruiter who I'd e-mailed, met, and interviewed with previously. The job I'd e-mailed her about was a kindergarten teaching gig at a subway station about 20 minutes north of my home. In my McNamara'n efficious way, I thought I could best serve my ends by working 10-12 at a kindy in the wee hours of the morning for 35-40 bucks an hour, running to my elementary school and teaching until 530, racing home and catching my evening classes that very, but average a finish time of 930 or later...little did I realize. So, she called..I could hear the pleading in her voice from the outset...a woman desparate does not protect herself at all..a lesson for you ladies. (Toss nature into the pot..and lord help us if the man 'stirs' at all...

So...she had a foreign teacher who bailed on his/her teaching gig without a trace, literally, turned off the cell phone and disappeared like a fart in the wind...everyone knows it is there..but nobody can track the source. So she's begging me to fill-in, to sub. at the very kindergarten that had snubbed me after a world-class interview. I had the President of the school on the ropes with my Korean...I drew a crowd to watch my 'demo class' (mind you, I had no warning...literally, sitting in the lobby of a kindergarten..meeting across the counter from the President, a hapless charmisa-deficient Canuck to my left, and she and I bookending Cap'n no-charm, she says 'so, you can do a demo class now...only 15 minutes...here's a book...there are 12 five-year-olds...go ahead..." Uh...the Canadian balks..I pounce! No more than 3 minutes later there are 4 or 5 adults standing at the door, the President standing at the opposite end of the table, and me, shamelessly ignoring them all and focusing on just those who I many years ago devoted my being to, the students. I nailed it...one shot, solid, no wavering, nutted it, to the hilt. And yet the Pres. deferred for someone else...as usual, nothing to do with ability, pure illogical crap...(second-guess my description all you want...I live here, I've seen it over and over...) Six days later..they phone me. 'Nuff said.

My first day the Pres's son meets me at the subway station, I ride in a 50,000,000won car (yes, that's worth peanuts due to the exchange rate now..but I invite you to bring enough peanuts to buy one...) wheels me in and sets me off with zero prep. Two hours later, as he drives me back to the station, he says, "Before now I was so stressed and worried...but now, you have made me calm..." Again, something I have devoted my being to...

As the days tick by..Korean teachers that initially could not speak to me, relax and find common ground, they start joining in our songs, they stop moping, they stop looking helpless and find some resolve...the teacher with the 4-year-olds...(that means 2!! in US age) stops hanging her head on the table during a 20 minute class, stops looking so dejected and helpless...and stops throwing her arms up in fatalistic futility and realizes, oh, I can teach these kids...I even have them using numbers, letters, and even subject pronouns correctly...yeah, they're 2!

Teachers ask me to stay...say I should not leave. One foreigner comes to interview..during his 'demo class' the recruiter, Sunny, finds me and says...we can't hire anyone like you...adding a derisive, thanks a lot! I tell her simply...'I know.' It's a pleasure having qualified confidence. She really can't find another teacher like me. She can find worse, and yes, she CAN find better..but like me, no, never.

After seven days, a woman arrives, she fits the bill. She young-ish, naive-ish, she is outgoing. Incredibly, with that 'skill-set', she fits the bill. After a few minutes of feeding her the low-down, she asks for some advice for her demo-class...she pulls out a hand puppet from her plastic sack...I say, "if you've got puppets, you don't need my advice." I know I'm done there.

I'm right. The pres. takes her...it comes down to 30 minutes. See...he wants a teacher from 10am-1220pm. I have to leave at exactly 1150am. I should finish my class..run 5 minutes to the bus stop...wait praying for the 107 blue bus to arrive so I can catch the only direct bus to stop near my elementary school. I ride for 20-25 minutes checking the clock on my hand phone every 30 seconds to determine how fast I should run up the hill and if I have time or not to buy a snack at the convenience store. I get off the bus at 1225 and run up the hill to my school before the manager calls my phone asking where I am. So, the Pres. of the kindy can't keep me, even though he wants to.

Now...he had me for 7 days..he's grateful, right? Sure... How grateful...let me show you. Time's up. Time to pay. I fought for and got the recruiter to agree to 35,000won per hour. I begin teaching at 950 and leave at 1150...two hours right? Wrong! The Pres. wanted somebody for 2 hours...to finish at 1220. So..Montezuma's revenge..sort of. I had to leave early...how does he jab me for it. Here's how. Final day..I covered the recruiter's ass and help him out. I'm in the back room filling out my lesson plan for the week and waiting for him to come back and pay me so I can run. He calls the recruiter and I hear what's coming. 2 hours? No! 1 hour and 40 minutes per day. Why, you ask? Well...I had a 5 minute break between classes...so, we couldn't dare count those precious minutes where I was racing to change books and get to the next room as work, could we? Of course not...fools! So...here I stand..watching him whip out 490,000won and removing 70,000 that he will pocket...

Now..I hear you..why dont' you fight for it. Many reasons. First, saving face in Korea. Simply put, you wouldn't understand. Second, saving the face of the recruiter, if I burn her for 70,000 now, she'd never find me another job where I could make 70,000 in one morning. Third, maybe it's not in my DNA...while I could just as easily break this fucker's nose..and the thought did cross my mind, and I did feel the fingers flex...I know how much sweeter the pleasure will be...he'll get his...we all do. And...the recruiter promised me..so before I hung up with her, I knew she would pay me anyhow..so I let him feel big and superior..and I'll get my full 35,000 anyway..but now I know the measure of that man...maybe it'll never pay dividends...then again..maybe it will. Anyhow, I have that investment.

Maybe long-winded, but it isn't even a percentage of all the antics that went into one job this past two weeks. And it was enough to make me take 2 long weeks off of my workout regimen...so that should tell you how serious it was. I was worried about simple starvation and exhaustion...I started working out again tonight....

M

my new car

To aid in my commute, we decided to buy a new car.

you guys know I'm an Acura fan but I decided to test drive an American car.

It had to be a Ford since they seem to have their shit together.

We drove a Mazda and then a Mercury Milan.

No contest!! The Milan wins and actually holds it's own against my TL.

Here are some photos.

Thanks to Cori for talking me out of going "cheap" and buying the Mazda.

i LOVE my Milan!

daddy-o

All Aboard the Fail Train

I did appreciate the white gloves on the men giving the 'friendly' hands...

WORST SAND STORM IN SAUDI ARABIA

I kept waiting for Brendan Fraiser or some cinematic version of Xerxes (played by the Rock perhaps) to appear... :)

Incredible, right? Hard initially to know if it is actually happening...

Disgustingly Gratuitous

Ok, WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over the top..but I swear, I think it was the sunlight and the angle earlier...but here are three more during my back/legs/ab workout tonight...the one in the mirror is blurry, I snapped about eight shots, but I couldn't keep my arms steady enough (really worked hard tonight) I even wheeled a chair over for a quasi-quadpod..no luck...I was just quivering..so I'm using the clearest one, and a pair of photos using my stack-0-books-and-crap-pod...(note to Randy, probably much cheaper than his equipment...results are debatable...)

Enjoy...

Day 30 Progress Photos (too many-I know, I know)

I know..sorry for taking up so much space with shirtless photos of myself..but...this way I'm fully accountable with full transperency. So far..so, well...I think the camera is hiding some of the results...that's possible, right? I'm happiest with my back, shoulders, and triceps(I need a photos of those...) but I'm not seeing the 'pop' on my chest or abs yet. Seems like most people made the biggest gains day 30-60 or afterwards...I'm assuming the first 30 days was the basic training regimen, trying to clean up my diet, shave off the layers of fat, and get lean before beginning to gain some serious mass. I hope so. What you may not see in the photos, but what I certainly can feel, is the MUCH deeper and increased strength in my core. Once the spring/summer hit, and I lose this 9am-9pm teacher tan, I hope you'd be able to see some of those results. But, if anything..these photos leave me hungrier to work harder, really crack the whip on my diet (no cheating!), and get a better camera!! :)

Enjoy

Day 30 Progress Photos

Day 30 Progress Photos

Day 30 Progress Photos

Day 30 Progress Photos

Da 30 Progress Photos...

These were harder to take..nobody around to help....but I'll post them in pairs...one pre- and one post-workout. I did back and biceps today..was tough. Twenty-four individual exercises for the main DVD, then the Ab-ripper X immediately after. I actually posted my third goose egg for an exercise today...meaning, I couldn't do a single rep. That was on my final pull-up...I couldn't get off the ground by that point. I had a good ab workout today..see if you can spot the difference pre-/post-.

P90X Recovery Drink

Stand back folks...she's about to blow....(that'll be mom when she sees what I willingly put into my post-workout protein shake.)

So I knew I needed to supplement my diet with a heavy dose of protein, it's hard to get enough in the average diet anyhow. I also am learning about how valuable and important that immediate post-workout meal can be. So I went a'digging on the WWW and created a hodgepodge of things I read and saw and came up with my own shake. It's light years beyond my first failed attempt that came out as basically an icicle with strawberry flecks. I pour roughly two cups of milk, I should use fat-free or skim (I don't because I don't eat enough as it is...I can use the 'good stuff') one peeled frozen banana that I cut into parts, several frozen strawberries that I lop the top off of, just toss them in, a good sized portion of crunchy peanut butter for more protein and thick-creaminess, two scoops of protein powder, chocolate flavored, and occasionaly a whole chocolate bar, the new dark chocolate snickers is awesome, today I had a caramel twix, both sticks. Toss them in my new blender on the low setting, then slowly increase to the highest and let it get really well blended. (Interesting note, the volume of the liquid tends to increase the longer I leave it blend, to a point of course, or I'd just leave it running and never buy groceries again...) Afterwards, down the hatch. It's really good! I swear, about three-quarters of the way through the workout, I really craving it. However, I wouldn't recommend drinking it on it's own for a snack. You could..but I gave some to my adult student yesterday...I thought she was going to vomit, she was a trooper and chugged it all (I only poured her a bit) but she didn't have the same appreciation for such cuisine. Perhaps my palate is too sophisticated...

Additional P90X Equipment Redux

Here are several other necessary items. One the left are my two yoga mats. The top mat is wonderfully cushy, thick and padded. I bought it many months ago to use for basic sit-ups. I love the company name...iwanna. Yes, I do. It's fantastic, but after I had wiped down my faux-wood panelling floors with some discount brand wood cleaner (see: greased lightning wax) I couldn't get it to sit in one position while I bounced around or threw my body around trying to 'sit up'. So along with Jihye's gracious help, I ordered a slew of things pre-P90x, one being a second yoga set. It included the second mat you can see here, essentially, my non-slip pad. Also, it had a yoga block which I desparately need for some of the positions. I never thought I would tumble and fall as much as I do..I really hate yoga so far...although I am noticing improvements on my flexibility and leg strength. The other object in the photo you've probably seen before, basic push-up stands. They're manufactured by Nike (see: 11 year old Malaysian child) and protect my wrists (I'd've thought chronic ononism would have, through the alchemical process, converted mere calcified bone to steel or even titanium by now, but alas...) and offer a deeper push-up with my chest able to press below my hands if I so desire a fit of Sadism during a particular workout.

Additional P90X Equipment

Here are some other tools of the trade...

Resistance bands which I purchased directly through Beachbody, the company that offered the P90X DVD program. I was deeply skeptical, however I did a lot of research about the efficacy and was eventually convinced enough to add them to my original order. It cost $34.95 for the set of three. The green band has a resistance of 40 lbs., red is 30, and purple is 20...or so I'm told. Yes..I thought it too..."Stretching rubber band...what?!? How's that going to increase my muscle mass...it looks too easy!" To get a fair 8-12 reps on each exercise, I tend to start with the purple...at least the first time through a video. If that feels too weak, I make a note on my rep sheet and move up to red the following time. Only on a handful of moves can I even use the green bands, largely just bicep curls. It is impossible for me to stand up straight and extend my arms out directly in front or to the sides with the green. It's a bear with the reds...I actually still use the purple during the videos. No shame in saying it..but these puppies work! (Also, a much cheaper alternative to the cost-prohibitive dumbbells. One 10kg. dumbbell costs nearly 50,000 won here, that's $100 for the pair...)

My spotter/training parner...

As the videos recommended..it's better to work out with a friend...thankfully I've got the very best!

P90X Chin-up Bar

Ok, so here's one piece of equipment that I purchased along with the 12 DVD's. I actually ordered this a few day after the DVD's because I couldn't find a suitable place to hang it in my office-tel (that's Korean for apartment). I only have one doorway, not counting my front door, and I won't be dangling out in my hallway doing pullups. (My front door doesn't have trim anyhow...) The chin-up bar needs some sort of trim to rest on in order to work properly; the way my bathroom was constructed, I only had about 1 1/2 cm.(centimeter...very advanced mathematical system here) of clearance between the trim and the low ceiling. Long story short, I went shopping downtown, saw a few simple (see: CHEAP) chin-up bars that really didn't get me excited about using them. So I came back home and whipped it out..my knife of course...actually a straight blade, a long screwdriver, and a thick kitchen knife. I cut through a seam in my bathroom ceiling and took out a portion of it. I also took out the plastic runner that fit against the wall to keep the ceiling taut. There were some metal (aluminum?) bars running across the top of the panelling to keep it level, so I had to use pliers to bend back one of those as well. Anyhow...I got a space cleared, and viola...now I can use the official, multi-grip P90X chin-up bar, just like the pro's. The company was even gracious enough to waive the shipping fee (a lot!) and the delivery guy on this end didn't charge me the custom tax (also a lot!) Pretty impressive customer service. I'll post some results soon...pull-ups, chin-ups, wide-grip pull-ups, alternating chin-ups/pull-ups, close grip chin-ups, etc...it's harder than you think...

P90X

I think I'd mentioned to mom and dad that I had gotten underway with this program, I'm not sure if April knew. I'll try to post frequently, I hope that will keep me honest and working hard. The most difficult part, just as I'd figured, is the nutrition plan. I did great the first three weeks, this last week has been the recovery week of my Phase 1..I've slipped with two fried chickens and a pizza. Today I'll kick off my Phase 2 (there are 3 in total) and should have Day 30 photos this weekend. Without further ado...here are my day 1 shots:

Sorry for jacking up the sex-o-meter...go take a cold shower ladies. ;)

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!

Let me in!