PERU

Going to Peru next month with my dad

ICELAND 2013

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE...

I AM TRAINING FOR A 250KM ULTRAMARATHON 6DAY STAGE RACE IN ICELAND, AUGUST 2013...

ICE COLD BEER

Have you ever had a beer thats cold?? Im not talking about a chilled beverage. Im talking about a fucking cold beer! Hurts your hand cold, makes your tongue cold! A frosty ass mug. Sometimes, what you need in your hand is a cold beer. You too ladies. Dont hate. Put down the apple-tini for one night and dig deep into the ice chest and grab the coldest beer your hand can hold.

Im no beer vocab expert and I certainly dont care about those descriptive words. So thats why I included the actual descriptions from the breweries own websites. But I do like cold beer and over the years Ive tried many. And I like at times to try a beer I havnt even heard of. Strengthen the arsenal ya know. I have a collection of 27 different Samuel Adams beer bottles lined up in my parents garage. Thats the only collection that I have and I am proud of it.  The collection has been growing for the past 4-5 years. I enjoy the chase of the collection. The fact that you cant just go out all at once and get each bottle. I like that certain times of the year specific bottles are out. I pride myself that I have two bottles that were never sold but I got from a Sam Adams distributor guy who I met at a liquor store once.  He gave me a few "Sample" bottles they were trying out for the upcoming season. 

Anyways, nothing beats a couple cold ones.

Some favs:

PACIFICO

At the moment, I would have to say that Pacifico is my go to beer. When at the store and unsure of what 6pack to get, I always choose Pacifico. Its more then the beer, its the feeling I get when Im having a few.  Just straight relaxing.

Now, my love for Pacifico has recently grown since moving to Maui. This is a Mexican brew but I see it all over. I have been to Mexico before but I never had it there. I was below the drinking age, even the Mexican drinking age...if there is one??  Something about Mexican beer just makes you feel like youre at the beach.

Pacifico with a lime and youre doing alright.

Grupo Modelos description:
"Pacífico is a beer with a long tradition in Mexico and is Grupo Modelo's leading brand in northeastern Mexico. It is a pilsner, clear beer with a refreshing, smooth taste. Pacífico was first brewed in Mazatlán, Mexico and Grupo Modelo began exporting it to the western and southern US in 1985, with great results. Pacífico is currently the fifteenth most popular imported brand in the US.

Pacífico is the best choice for people who like to share with their friends, enjoying what has come to be known as the "Pacífico lifestyle".

Pacífico was born in the early 20th Century and it is brewed mainly in the Cervecería del Pacífico plant, in the city of Mazatlán, in the state of Sinaloa."



GREAT LAKES - CHRISTMAS ALE

Switching seasons to Winter...or Christmas Season.  Ive only had Christmas Ale in 2011 and it was delicious. Like I said prior, Im no expert when it comes to describing beers. But this is a good fucking beer. Another seasonal.  I was in Columbus, Ohio when I first tried this.  I went to a bar with my two cousins and this was on tap.  We all got the big 20oz glasses and enjoyed.      If its winter time where you are at, and you have access to some Great Lakes Christmas Ale, get yourseld some.

Great Lakes description (short and sweet, my kind of description):

A holiday ale brewed with honey and spiced with fresh ginger and cinnamon.

BELLS BREWERY - PALE ALE

Add caption

I am not sure what to say about this one. Its good and I can remember it out of alot of different ones that I have tried. I had it a few times in Mason, Ohio when I was having probably the best hamburger Ive ever had.  The burger is a whole story in itself.  Maybe that will be my next post. I also have a picture of that burger.
So BELLS is a good one, goes great with fancy burgers. I would put it as a GO TO beer when in need of a thirst quencher.

Bells description:
"Pale Ale stands apart from the model of completely hop-dominated pale ales, offering a noticeable degree of malt body to counter the hop bitterness. A blend of floral & herbal hop notes provide the aromatic & flavor highlights, alongside the distinctive contribution of our house ale yeast. A crisp bitterness finishes the experience without being harsh."



RED HORSE

I found this beer in the Philippines. Ive gotten drunk on it more times then I havnt. So that should be an indicator what kind of night it will be if you have more than 1 of these lethal bottles.  Every time I have seen them they have only been on 500mL or 1000mL bottles. I mean how can you not get juiced up??? So you get a couple 500mL and get going.  Once it hits your lips right??


I have not been able to find a true description of Red Horse on San Miguels website. But its Malt Liquor.... MALT LIQUOR

Wadadli Lager

Now this delicious little 11.2oz brew was a delight while living in Antigua.  Sucking down a few of these made me forget the frustration that is ANTIGUA. Anyway, this was brewed right on Antigua and one best beer in the Caribbean. Im not sure if that was the exact award but it was some award in that zone.  It was good and pretty cheap.

Antigua Brewers description:
"A barley brewed Lager light golden color a mix aof barley corn and some malt gives it that crisp spicy sweetness."

Samuel Adams - Oktoberfest

You know why.

Sams description:
Octoberfest has a rich, deep reddish amber hue which itself is reflective of the season. Samuel Adams Octoberfest masterfully blends together five roasts of malt to create a delicious harmony of sweet flavors including caramel and toffee. The malt is complimented by the elegant bitterness imparted by the Bavarian Noble hops. Samuel Adams Octoberfest provides a wonderful transition from the lighter beers of summer to the heartier brews of winter.

Octoberfest pays homage to the Bavarian tradition by using generous portions of five varieties of malted barley to create a rich, toffee sweetness that is the signature flavor of this popular style.


Kona Brewing Co. - Big Wave Golden Ale

Great brew here. My favorite of the beers made in Hawaii. This beer, obviously made in Kona on the Big Island is another delicious one.  What else can I say? It goes down smooth. From the tap or if found at the bottom of the ice chest. Hell, even the bottle looks great.

 

Konas description:

"Big Wave is light golden ale with a subtle fruitiness and delicate hop aroma. A smooth, easy drinking refreshing ale. The lightly roasted honey malt contributes to the golden hue of this beer and also gives a slight sweetness that is balanced out by our special blend of hops."

Untitled

Im back on it

Maui

I've lived in Maui for the past three months now. The weather is always nice, the views are great, people are nice and having fun. The food is always filling and the beer is cold.  Maui has sidewalks and paved roads. It is for sure a step up from Antigua.  If you like outdoor activities, this is the spot to be.  You can run 365 days a year. You can cycle every day.  There is altitude to train at up to 10,000 ft. The ocean is right down the road and the temps are around 70degrees. You can go hiking, cliff jumping, stand up paddle boarding, snorkleing. The list goes on and on.
So what I am trying to say is that it is the perfect training location. It is so easy to get up and go out and be active. Another thing is you always see people doing something, which is a great motivator.

Thats all.

2012

Kinda forgot about my blog....

Still not sure if anyone is even "subscribed" to it.


Oh well,


I live in Maui right now.

Ell Farm



The sign you can see off of Cin-Day road



I stopped at a little store on a farm as I was heading home from the gym. I've driven by this place at least a dozen times and never stopped. But today is very nice and sunny in suburban Cincinnati. And feeling healthy after swimming for 60 minutes in the pool I thought today was the day to see what this store was all about.

As I pulled in I saw closer that the sign said 'Home of the B.O.B.'  Which I found out in a few minutes was the Blended Organic Balance drink/shake/replacement meal. Whatever you wanna call it.

The store if you could call it that was very small but packed with herbs, cinnamon, coconut oil, applewood, devils claw, ginseng root, honeycombs, raw honey and honey in glass jars for effect. Pomegranate juice and this green wheatgrass.  I'm no health freak but it was that kinda spot.  The woman I met said her and her husband have had the store running for the past 40 years or some long amount of time. Her husband grew up on the farm and when I met him I was surprised when he told me that he was 70 years old. No way this guy was 70, he had to be much younger.

Anyway he gave me a quick overview of what they raise, grow, sell and what kinda people come to his farm store. Again being surprised, then when I took a second to think about it it made more sense. He said many cancer patients buy products from the store and always come back. Next he starts firing off terms like lethicin, Carnosine, Carnitine, alfalfa powder and lycopene. I tried to keep up. Many products were high in anti-oxidents and snti-inflammatory properties.

After talking for 5-10 minutes he let me try the B.O.B. He said he drinks it most mornings and is not hungry until 1 or 2 in the afternoon.  It was actually delicious.  The variety of fruit gave it the great flavor.  In the end I just ended up getting some raw honey. I already tried it and its great.

The honey spot

I am sure I'll be going there more often.

The ingredients of The B.O.B:

• Raw Honey
• Flax seed oil
• Nectar D'or ( which is the soils essential nutrients; electrolytes, natural antibiotics and macro and micro minerals
• Hi Pro (protein powder of 3 sources; soy, whey and egg)
• Brewer's Yeast (this ones loaded with B- vitamins and essential amino acids)
• Barley or Alfalfa Powder (this is a grass product with a complete scope of essential nutrition and chlorophyll)
• Fruit

They sell all the products there and for being a family owned shop the products were pretty inexpensive. The honey I bought was $6 which I felt was fair.

All in all it was a good start to the Friday and glad I'm done with school for a couple days.

The woman said I could walk around if I wanted to. So I grabbed my camera and took a few shots. There are a lot of pine trees on the farm and I saw where the bees were at.

This was a very cool spot and this area of Ohio is turning out to be pretty good.



audio

Soooooo what Im into lately is audiobooks. I download them from audible.com and they load right into my iTunes.
I guess Ive probably been listening to them for the last year.  So far I could say that Ive listened to about 10 books. I like when the actual author of the book is the person narrating the audiobook.  I like when they are reading it and recalling on the exact events he/she they had can emphasize the story even better.

But what Im thinking is what is the difference between an audiobook and the written book. One you use your ears and the other you use your eyes. The information is getting into your brain regardless and you can recall the story if someone asks you to tell them what it was all about. An audiobook is not your traditional way of reading but what positives can you get from an audio version?

Either way I like both. Id say audiobooks are awesome on long drives. I also like history books on audio.
Right now im listening to 'Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Baatan Death March'
Just started listening to it but it is a recount of 75,000 American, Filipino and Chinese Filipino soldiers who surrendered to the Japanese army in the Philippines in 1942.
The Death March is they were all forced to walk 61 miles through the philippine jungle. Around 10,000 died or were killed along the way.
So far its a good listen.




The Death March



the rules

Ten Commandments of Endurance

10. Expect a journey and a battle

9. Focus on the present and set intermediate goals

8. Dont dwell on the negative

7. Transcend the physical

6. Accept your fate

5. Have confidence that you will succeed

4. Know that there will be an end

3. Suffering is okay

2. Be kind to yourself

1. Quitting is not an option

I want you

 Mr Cannondale Trail 29er

Lime green with the fat black tires, come on now.

I need you

Random

So the past two weeks have been a little rediculous.  Drove back to CT in record time. was home for 16 days and worked 13 or 14 of them. Around 130- 140 hours all together. Not even exactly sure. But it was worth it. Definately needed to get some cash flow. Most days I did a double of 16 hours. and if not def a 8 hours shift.

Other than that I hung out a few times with friends and stuff.

The drive back to Ohio was a little rough. Slept in and got some much needed sleep. Left CT around 12 noon. Stopped in Norwalk and got a new BEAR GRYLLS knife. Was lollygagging stopping and not making good time.
Another factor than made me stop is a had to transport a cat from my sister in CT to my mom in OH.
So that does not help. god damn cat.

Couple new albums I had on the iPod was the soundtrack from the movie 'HANNA'
I usually don't like techno-y  kinda music but its by The Chemical Brothers.
Its an awesome CD, similar tot the TRON soundtrack.
Another album I got was Travis Barkers new one called 'Give the Drummer Some'
It features about 30 artists, literally. Ive always liked his drumming style and with all these artists its good road trip music.
Played a few audio books and pod casts. The God Delusion, The Grand Design, Brazilian Beatz.
All good music.

Now starting a new round of classes. Medical Surgical nursing and pharmacology.

UNTIL NEXT TIME BLOG!

I-80



weird



So I just got back to Connecticut from Cincinnati. I would have to say that I made it in record breaking time for myself. 9hr20min. Had an average of 35 highway mpg, average speed was 71mph and an average of 305 miles per tank. The best part was probably that I only had to stop once to get gas. I left with a full tank at 4:30 am and stopped once in Penn. to get gas and rode that all the way to Milford. Hondas are awesome.



Some religious signs along the Highway in Xenia, Ohio


First I must say that along the way I saw some awesome scenery.  When seeing this Sign that says, "HELL IS REAL" I had to pull over and get some shots.  There were only two signs but they had writing on both sides. Obviously so they  could get their word out to people traveling North AND South.  It was a perfect day for driving. Pure sun, no clouds and warm enough to leave the window down and not get cold.
The two signs were probably about a quarter mile between themselves. So it was a good run to get to each. Also it was over some straw field type terrain. So you had to watch each step while running.
The billboards had the 10 commandment the phrae Hell is Real and one that said If you died today where would you spend eternity?

After reading these and thinking about them. I wondered to myself, "If God exhists and wants to tell us his word, why would he choose to tell us via a two billboard on the side of a highway in Southern Ohio?"

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?

So its March 2011. In the OH

Getting sick of reading books and watching movies/documentaries about awesome adventures or expeditions. I need to go somewhere sweet and explore.  I would probably go anywhere but im broke.

I need a job to get some cash flow

This year Ill probably try to visit two new countries. Iceland is a def. posibility at the end of this year. And if my money situation permits, maybe a warmer island. A caribbean one perhaps.
Being in this location of the Southern Midwest. Maybe a 1-2 day road trip to Kentucky or Tennessee. Indiana maybe.

Who knows, who cares, well see.

The end.

CAVES

I just saw the movie Sanctum and it makes me think about a whole new aspect of exploring: CAVES.

Obviously, wanting to be a kick ass explorer/ adventurer Ive know about caves. But not thought much else of them. I guess just always keeping my mind towards whats above ground. Not realizing that there is much, much to explore under the ground. Ahhh my naive mistake.

The movie was fine, bla bla bla.

But this brings me to a new level with traveling and places to go.
Not only is there a club of 7 Summits. The highest peaks on all seven continents but also a club for 7 lowest points on all seven continents.  Which makes you think. What are these caves? Why are they there? How long have they been there? Why are they there rather than not there?

Either way, that is something to think about for future trips.

Krubera Cave in Georgia (country not state),
Deepest on Earth

Cincinnati

What can I say. Back to business in the US. Now living in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was born in Ohio but I've never been to southern OH. I can say though that it is rather nice. Being winter I have got around a lot. Not knowing many people here I have been on my own 'exploring'. And the exploring is much different from Antigua but also in some ways similar. Different, first, because I have transportation to explore.  So I can travel more distance but I feel its not that 'true sense of exploring' how I was in Antigua. Always on foot, the hot Caribbean sun always on you. People speaking something that sounds like english but you cant digest what the hell it is.  Always feeling like you re seeing something new. Having this monopoly money in your pocket. Never knowing if you're getting ripped off or making a deal. This type of domestic exploring doesn't have your heart pumping as much. A lot of flat farm land layered with snow. It keeps snowing. The damn snow wont go away. Oh well. 

It is similar because every sight is new and people here seem to be a little different. As in girls love pick up trucks (well some of them). The weather is somewhat extreme. Going from hot hot to white snow everywhere. 

Sometimes I just gotta get out, drive and see whats beyond the farm.

The thing that is nice is that I am 20 minutes from the Kentucky border. And about the same distance from Indiana. Found out that its around 90 minutes to Indianapolis.  Its not like I've ever really had a desire to go there. But it sounds like a spot to see in your life. So maybe Ill make a trip out there. So living in this area they call it the Tri State. Now it all makes sense. And it has that aspect of exploring that you can do.

The area I live in is a Suburb of Cincinnati called Mason. It is weird though, I live in Mason, Ohio but my home address must be wrote as Cincinnati, Ohio. Weird. It makes shipping things here kinda confusing. It is a nice area.  It seems like farm land mowed over to make stores and restaurants, everywhere. And I mean everywhere.  The main road is Mason-Montgomery and there are dozens and dozens of restaurants lining the road. Wafflehouse to some Mongolian place.  It gives you new places to see. I don't drink coffee but there is a place called Caribou Coffee.
Ill go there if its called Caribou.

In Hibernation...

...be back soon

AMERICANO

I am back in America. Home of the loud, lazy, fat American. And boy can I say that I am happy about it, for now. Although it is cold as hell. I never was the kinda person who hated the cold but it sure is cold right now.

Got home Thursday morning at 3AM. Went straight to 7-11 down the street from my parents house and got some American stuff.

Today (Friday) I went for a 4 mile run and I will say that just getting ready for the run was kinda tough. I didn't know what to wear. In Antigua the less was better. Here I had to figure it out and I found myself stumbling at what to put on. But it went well. The run felt good and the strong Caribbean sun was not there to put me down.

Now, time to figure out what the hell I am going to do here.

As stupid as it sounds, I just want to go to the mall and get stuff. Living away from such easy access to everything was hard and you can really tell what you take for granted. But one problem with that now, I don't have a car. So this will be interesting.

TOP 5 COUNTRIES

One thing that I am big on: TRAVEL. For me travelling comes in phases. At least international travelling. I guess you could say this started when I visited my first country. AUSTRALIA. Looking back at it now, this was a pretty big trip. Hell, it seems big now. It was the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of high school. I was 16 years old and signed up to go to Australia & New Zealand for 3 weeks that July. The odd part was that I knew no one who was going on the trip. I was the only freshman on the trip and therefore the youngest. However, in the end I got to know everyone and became friends with all. It was offered by our history teacher. Anyone could go and of course you had to pay for it. But was a little lower in price because of a large group of people going.

Anyways, travelling to such a far place at a somewhat young age...I caught the travelling bug. The next year I went to Italy, France and Monaco. And Senior year to England.  I got to travel to a good amount of countries in High School but went a little stagnant a few years after. But I believe I have started to pick it up again.
Going to the Philippines in 2009 & 2010. Saint Kitt's and obviously Antigua.
Always thinking of new places to go and see but of course the limiting factor: MONEY.

But here are my top 5 countries I'd like to visit in my lifetime. And I am sure I will.

In no particular order:

• RUSSIA is on the list because I am Russian. And the country is enormous.  I mean its serious. It has something like 9 different time zones and is the largest country in the world. Something I also like about Russia is the climate. Being the largest country in the World it has many different climates. Just the word Russia you think snow, wind, cold and goulags. But a friend of mine was there this past summer and he said it was hot as hell. Russia also has a large forrest called the TAIGA. Basically, it is huge and awesome and I wanna visit.

• ICELAND is another country I have always wanted to go to. I probably started to wonder about Iceland when I watched The Mights Ducks 2.  And of course you can never forget the classic phrase from the movie, "Greenland is filled with ice and Iceland is nice." And just the fact that its called ICELAND. Who wouldn't want to go? It has so many different types of climate. Ice fields, volcanoes, desserts, geysers, fjords, mountains, glaciers and enormous waterfalls. It is such an outdoorsy country and thats what I'm all about.

• CHILE has one of the coolest names for a country. Next to Iceland of course. The distance of Russia that is East to West is similar to Chile but is North to South. Chile seems like an awesome country with The Andes Mountains. Ive seen pictures and the peoples  clothes are very vibrant yet they seem huble and simple. I'd love to visit.

• MONGOLIA I once had a dream that I was part Mongolian and I swore that it was real. For a long time after I think that I really thought I was Mongolian. Sooo yea. Because of my aparent Mongolian nationality I have pursued wanting to travel to this far off country. I like the nomads and how they are the travel masters. I also want to go to Mongolia because I dont think I have ever heard someone say that they want to travel there.

• ANTARCTICA last but not least. I also have to say I may of also never heard someone say that they want to travel to Antarctica. A big thing with me about travel is that it does not have to be your 'typical' vacation. I like the world and how there is a bottomless amount of places to see. I dont want to go to any boring, normal, typical vacation spots. I hate cruises, except ones that go to Alaska. I dont wanna ever get your "all inclusive" deals and sit on the beach and sip stupid drinks. Im all about travel yo and getting into it. The real deal. So back to Antarctica. That is why I wanna see it. The Last Dessart, as it is also called. I wanna get there and get that continent checked off the list.

bla bla bla  the end

PEAK RACES

I like PEAK RACES. They are the ones who developed 'The Death Race'. They also have a bunch of other awesome/crazy endurance to ultra endurance races.
I wanna try to do a few more. For sure the Snowshoe Challenge and a 50 miler run.

But heres their 6 main events:

• MCNAUGHTON 100, 150, 200 & 500 MILE ULTRA RUN
• 10 AND 50 MILE ULTRA RUNS
• THE DEATH RACE
• THE WARMAN ROAD RIDE (CENTURY PLUS)
• THE 30 MILE MOUNTAIN BIKE CHALLENGE
• PEAK SNOWSHOE CHALLENGE

WEEK 11: SLIZZARD

I need a new blog for November...

Well it is 3AM here in Antigua and I am awake. Doing the usual late night activities: Internet, hungry, thinking what I will do when back in America, listening to someone snore. Either roommate or someone on the other side of these thin walls. But its not a bad gig here. I am getting somewhat used to living here. I guess you have to get into a routine. Which at first is hard to do but you have to make yourself do it so insanity doesn't set in.

I tend to watch a lot of TV. My new Favorite show is 'The Walking Dead' on AMC. I guess you could say it has the same exact plot as every other zombie movie. But its still good. What is it about zombie movies that people like?

I like the word slizzard.

Tomorrow, or later today to be exact, I am going grocery shopping and gonna get meat, chocolate milk, water, vegetables and alotta other awesome things that are only in Antigua

You could say this is a true blog now that I actually feel like I am 'blogging' and the fact that I just used the word 'blog'.

Currently reading 'The Last Great Adventurer' by Edward Maurice.
Its about a dude from England in the 1920's I think, who joins the Hudson Bay Company and is shipped up to Northers Canada. About the most northern you can get. He is only 16 years old and comes of age in the Arctic.

My Top 5 Favorite Books

In no particular order, these are my favorite books that I have read to date. A common theme they all have in common is they are all 'page turners'. Another theme they share, which I just thought of is that characters in each book are hard workers, determined and never give up. Some of them being over 500 pages and I read in a few days. All are non-fiction except Dan Brown's Deception Point. I guess I have an interest in books more about life, geography, travel and adventure. But still love a good story. I never really used to be a book reader. But once you get a good book in your hands it's hard to put down.

• Outliers (2008) by Malcolm Gladwell

  This was the first book I read by Malcolm Gladwell and I can say that it is my favorite book  I've read to date. How he takes little details, almost seemingly so (UN)important details of peoples lives and explains how these certain details will shape that persons life. And possibly generations of that persons family for years and years to come. It is amazing. Things such as what month hockey players are born in, in Canada. How Bill Gates becomes so wealthy. Gladwell, hardly talks about Bill Gates' Microsoft. All he talks about is what Gates did from 8th grade till he dropped out of Harvard. But my favorite portion of the book, I guess some could call it the theme, how Gladwell talks about opportunity. And what people do with a small opportunity and how with plenty of hard work, a little luck, they can literally put themself where they want to be.
Awesome book.

• Guns, Germs and Steel (1997) by Jared Diamond

This book was insane. Insanly awesome that is. If I start to TRY to describe it I will undoubtedly fail. But if you are interested in who mankind evolved over the bast 10,000 years to what we are now, then read this book. It is in no way about creationism v. evolution, I could care less about that topic (evolution). So if you believe in humans and want to know why some countries developed into world dominators and others were stuck defending themselves with sticks this is a great one.

• Deception Point (2001) by Dan Brown

 

I began reading the Dan Brown novels in an odd order. You would think I read his most famous novel, The Da Vinci Code, first. But I did not. I actually wasn't really planning on reading this book because I actually bought it for my dad. I think that I was bored one night and saw the book sitting on the shelf so I decided to flip through the pages. After reading the prologue and seeing that Dan Brown was quotting Bill Clinton I had to read on. The thing that I love about Browns writing is that he keeps the chapters short and your adrenaline pumping. So when I began this book it was hard to put down. It starts off with a man and his dog sled team in the arctic that are approached men with weapons and told to get on a helicopter. Soon the man and his dogs will be dropped from the chopper and the novel begins. The novel races through election season in Washington D.C. This being the only fiction book in my top 5, it covers all my interests: Mystery, Adventure, The Arctic and quick snappy chapters. Can't beat it.

• Mans Search for Meaning (1959) by Viktor Frankl

Hard to put yourself in Viktor Frankls shoes in this book, since he probably did not have any. This is about his experience being in the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp of WWII. This book was an assignment to read in my General Psychology course in college. It is a rather short book. No more than 200 pages. But those 200 pages are moving. If you dont feel anything by the way Frankl describes what goes on in Auschwitz and how the Nazis totally demolish a human mind layer after layer, then there is something wrong with you.

It is a sad book but I am glad my Psychology Professor made us read it.

I am lazy right now so here is the wiki page that describes it all...Man's Search for Meaning

• Born to Run (2009) by Christopher McDougall

This book was the most recent book that I read. And it was great. Starting off searching for some guy named, "Caballo Blanco" in the Mexican desert. What was this going to be even about? I had to read on. Another thing that drew me to the book was the short description on the front, it reads: "A hidden tribe, Super Athletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen." So obviously these also drew me to the book. In short, the book is about an almost unknown tribe of super ultra endurance athletes that live deep in Mexico. They are named "Tarahumara" and they kick ass. They know how to run and run and run. And it is not jus tthat they can run, they are running in the 100 degree heat in the Mexican desert with little water and food. Caballo Blanco makes them seem as they are invisable. Another thing that is great about this book is that its peppered with little chapters about great runners in history and how they got there. Shorts about great endurance athletes across the world that no one seems to know. Even if you are not a runner or an endurance athlete this is a great book with more than one great story inside. ALSO on many occasions after putting this book down I went for a run. And in some way I think this made me a better runner...I think.

Runners up:

• In Search of Captain Zero
• Dawn
• Flawless
• Into Thin Air
• Lake Wobogon: Summer 1956
• Into the Wild

The Rules of Living 10,000 Years Ago

" Tens of thousands of anthropologists, evolutionary biologists, paleontologists, geneticists and others have worked for over 100 years to piece together a fairly detailed picture of all the elements that helped influence our development as a species. Ironically though, when we examine all of the many environmental influences and behaviors that shaped our genome, we arrive at a very simple list of general things our early ancestors did to become what and who they were and which allowed them to pass 99.9% of those genes down to us. In essence, this list is the original “Primal Blueprint” "

The Original blueprint:

1. Eat lots of animals, insects and plants.
2. Move around a lot at a slow pace
3. Lift heavy things
4. Run really fast every once and a while
5. Get lots of sleep
6. Play
7. Get some sunlight everyday
8. Avoid trauma
9. Avoid poisonous things
10. Use your mind

Thats the way to live

LIVING PRIMAL

In the large amount of free time that I have on this island I have found myself getting into some new things. Primarily starting a steady habit of working out and surprisingly, especially to me, eating healthy.



EATING PRIMAL like we did 10,000 years ago

 I read the intro to this book The Primal Blueprint webpageand it was very catching. And if you have read my previous blogs you might pick up on a theme of my frustration with Antigua. And how I also feel like I am living somewhat of a primal life here. So I had to read on. But I will talk more about this book in a minute.

I'll start with the working out. As a MAN, once you hit that age of around 16 & get your drivers license you seem to want to work out. And why not. You are in high school. One of the most impressionable time in someones life. And how you look, especially to other people is important. Being 25 now I have gone on and off to the gym. Mostly off. For the majority of the time I find it rather boring being at a gym and counting out your reps of 8-10, doing 3 sets and working on 3-5 different machines/routines/techniques. Boring, Boring and Boring. So that has been on and off for years.

HOWEVER, living in Antigua (which is a 2nd world country i've just found out, not a 3rd.) you are not exposed to the probably Billion dollar health craze that America is full of. Here, we hardly have a gym to workout at. At first glance of the 'gym' you see a few machines. Treadmills and a few elipticals. A rack of dumbells, pull up bar and a benchpress machine in the back and thats it. Literally. "What a surprise", I said. But after a while I thought to myself, "this is exactly what I need." I dont need 50 different machines, that is what I was used to in America for years and I was bored with that. I was ready for something new and I sure as hell have the time to figure it out.



@ CFNH working with a kettlebell

A few months before I left I participated in the first 'on-ramp' class for 30 days at Cross Fit New Haven...C.F.N.H. And in that 30 days I sure learned a lot more about body mechanics, pure strength, olympic lifting, proper technique and diet than I ever thought I would. I realized that I/you dont need all this fancy EXPENSIVE equpitment and machines they have at your high priced gym that you never go to. I dont need that to try to make myself feel better about going to the gym. Learning many movements and techniques that are so basic was amazing to me. They teach you a different style of training and thats what I love about Crossfit. AND it is fun. You are with a group of people in this warehouse, literally, working out together. And the coaches are very good at what they do. It has a very fundamental basis of making you learn proper technique so you dont hurt yourself.



 SO what I am really trying to tell you is that living on a island with minimal workout epuiptment I can still get an awesome workout. Actually a better workout that I did in America in my opinion. One thing I hate to hear is other people saying, "hey man, what are you working on?" and they reply, "back and bi's." That may be good for them but not me. I try to workout many parts of the body with minimal equiptment and get a better workout than they do. A great quote i've heard is, "you look at guys who go to the gym for 2 hours and get a 30 minute work out, then you  see others who go for 30 minutes and get a 2 hour workout." Thats what I am aiming for. Not the span of time I am there but what it is I am doing in that time I am there. BOOM BABY. I try to keep the intensity up and not spend too much time in between exercises.

Two great websites where I get my daily routines from is SEALFit and US Crossfit HQ. They are run by US Navy Seals who will beat the shit outta you and make you come back for more.

-SEALFIT

-US CROSSFIT

Everyday I go to these sites for my workout and awesome tips on nutrition and reading material. Great things to get you motivated to get going.
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SECOND
on the topic of nutrition. Nutrition, in my personal opinion is the key factor is weight training, muscleObuilding ,endurance, etc etc etc. Sure anyone can go to the gym and workout, but what really counts is what you do with the rest of your day. I can remember when one of my good friends and I would go to Planet Fitness in Connecticut and after a really hard set of whatever we would get so mad and say, "we gotta get the fuck outta here" Then go directly to taco bell. Now I sure as hell wish there was a Taco Bell on this island. But what I am trying to say, as millions have said is its all about what you eat. And this blog being titled 'LIVING PRIMAL' That is what I will talk about. The book I was talking about earlier, "The Primal Blueprint" is awesome. Although I have only read the first chapter, it is still very good and makes one think. Like WHAT really did our ancestors eat. And what the hell did they do with the rest of their day.  And what I got from the 1st chapter is that all they ate was MEAT< INSECTS AND PLANTS. Now, dont get me wrong, the insects part sounds gross. But what else did they know. Its food, and its all about survival of the fittest. Sure you dont have to eat those moths and you can die or you can shut the hell up and eat them and live. But I have a feeling that 10,000 years ago there were no pre-concieved notions about anything. If it could be ate, it was.

So what am I doing here? Opposite to America, the healthier food here is cheaper. The chicken is cheap, the fish is cheap and vegetables are cheap.And that is, for the most part what I am eating on a daily basis. And all we have in the way of 'Fast Food' is a subway and a KFC. I will say though, in being here for almost 9 weeks I have had the KFC and the chicken is ALOT better here than in America.

So after getting new workout routines down and using many crossfit daily workouts down I am trying my hand at eating healthier. First, what I have added to my diet is more protein. For the majority of thw week I eat a few fried eggs for breakfast on a rice cake. It is very low in carbs, which I am avoiding. When I used to eat eggs I would eat it on two pieces of bread. First off, this felt like way too much bread and hardly anything inbetween. And second alot of carbos in the morning is a bad start to living primal.

For lunch I will eat a sandwich of turkey maybe some bacon pickles bannana peppers tomatoes lettuce and pickles. I try to add in the veggies and subtract wheat.
Throughout the day I try to drink about two nalgene bottles of water. Which is around 2 litres. Sometimes more in the hot Caribbean sun. Later on in the day Ill have a snack of nuts sunflower seeds maybe an apple or something in that area. And for dinner it is mostly chicken or fish. Cooked in a variety of ways. Grilled, baked, fried, smoked, broiled, etc etc etc. I try an limit the red meet consumption for its health risks. But dont get me wrong I love steak and I eat maybe one every 7 days. Grilled is my fav. In addition to the chicken and/or fish I almost always sautee' vegetables. It is actually very east and comes out great. A delicious combo is bell peppers and mushrooms sauteed with garlic was well. Fast, easy and simple. A usually try to add more vegetables to subtract for a usual side of pasta or potatoes.
The low carb thing I am working on is a new thing to me because I love bow-tie pasta. And it is hard. When you have your chicken and some veggies and thats it. No pasta, or spaghetti or potatoes to fill you up. But after a few weeks of this so far you seem to get used to it and adjust. That is what it is like here, a lot of adjusting. And something the Primals had to deal with everyday.

So all this shit is new to me. You try new things and adjust. You see what works and what doesnt. You see what you can live with and what you can't. BUT never forget to treat yourself. Youll go insane if you dont have some rewards after a hard day.

And below are a few pics of the delicious looking 'Spicy Chicken and Bacon Poppers' I got from the
 TRIDENT CROSSFIT website.








BEFORE



AFTER











Saturday in search of a Schwarma

Casanova's. The dope spot for schwarmas

I woke up this past Saturday very hungry. That is nothing new, but this day I was in dyer need of a Schwarma from CASANOVA. A schwarma is something that I was introduced to here. But apparently, they are everywhere back home but go by the name of a GYRO. Something I would not eat on principle. Anyways, I was hungry and we were running low on food at our apartment. So what was I to do. I could not call a cab because I had no money on me. And I couldnt get money because I could not call a cab. SOOO what I decided to do was to venture off in search of a schwarma, local style. I had to find my way to the local bus stop.

Now I must say first, if I or a close friend of mine had transportation a lot of this could be avoided.

But that is not whats going on yet sooooooooooooooooo

Factors at play:

1. No money on me
2. HUNGRY
3. No transportation
4. International cell is out of minutes to call a cab, but I had no money anyway that is not a viable option
5. HOT outside. Makes walking to a local bus while hungry much harder.

What ended up happenning was I found $2.50 EC on the ground in our kitchen so I could TRY to find a local bus. The local transportation here is a little different. There are not designated bus stops with large buses like we Americans are used to. These are vans that have a license plate that says BUS on it. Which, the taxis also have vans that say TX on them. This makes it difficult in having to decode the license plate and try to flag him down.

I began to walk to where I thought local buses stop. About a half mile in the burning saturday sun with an empty stomach is tough. But after I began I made progress quick. I found a local woman sellign coconut water and she told me where to wait. Before I could say OK she began yelling at a van to stop and pick me up. I hopped in the van and asked him how much. "$2.25" he said. Perfect. I had the $2.50 on me that I found. He drove us to Saint John's which is where the SCHWARMA shop is located. But the bus does not drop you off where you want to go (hence the cheap rate) so some walking is involved. BUT first, I need some money. I walk to the local Scotia bank, which allows tax free/penalty free withdrawls by BANK OF AMERICA customers. Which is me. So that is a plus here. I take out $40 EC and I am on my way to CASANOVA. THE PLACE TO GRAB A DAMN GOOD SCHWARMA.

The sexy piece of meat. YES.

Finally find Casanovas. Somewhat hard on a busy, hot Saturday in the Capitol. Many one way streets, lots of people and music blasting everywhere. Had to stop to ask a few times to make sure I was headed in the right direction.

FINALLY, I reached the spot and had a delicious meal with an ice cold coca-cola.

Delish.

Afterwards I went to the bus station and asked how much to hop on a bus to Jolly Harbour. I have heard and seen good things about this location in Antigua.

Jolly Harbour Beach

$3 EC she said. Which converts to $1.10 USD. Cant beat that, I thought. So I got on the bus and went to the beach on the south-western part of Antigua. Chilled on the beach with two local beers and called it a day.

Things I hate about Antigua



View from some stupid part of campus



So far living here in Antigua has taking some adjusting to...actually a lot of adjusting to. Before I left Connecticut everyone said how awesome and beautiful Antigua is. Well that may be true if you are here for 5 days. But not if you are living here. I guess living on a Caribbean island isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Some things I hate/frustrating/annoying about it here in no particuliar order:

• NO sidewalks basically everywhere.
• No street lights to go with no sidewalks.
• Left side of road driving.
• Pot holes EVERYWHERE. And I am using pot holes because I do not know what else to call these crater size holes in the street.
• And on the topic of streets, there is not a single street that I have been on so far that is 'acceptable' anywhere. You constantly have to come to a complete stop while driving to take the car inch by inch to go through these holes, literally missing pieces of earth in the street so you dont pop your tire. This makes traveling uncomfortable and long.
• ANTS. Ants are everywhere and seem to multiply as you hose down your room with RAID. They seem to feed off of raid. They love it. The more we spray raid, the more the ants come. Its like some mating pheromone. They just walk around everywhere. By the pool, by our front door, in our apartment and in our rooms. Can not get away from these things. Never before did I really want to kill animals as much as I do now.
• Transportation. Hardly anyone that I have met here has their own transportation. No car, no scooter and no bicycle. Which sounds kinda nice. As in no gas and insurance payments. But that fades away in a few days. If you want to do anything and I mean anything you need to pay to go there. Except for our shitty bus ride to school, which we did end up paying $300 USD for. Example, if you want to go out somewhere you basically have to call a cab. So you call a cab, pay for the cab which the cabbies will charge anywhere from $5EC to $20 EC, one way. Then when you wanna come home you have to do the same. And that adds up. Where we live is not close to anything. Not close to school, not close the beach not close to restaurants. So unless someone buys a car, we have to rely on the cabbies who overcharge us each time.
•  Laundry. It costs about $18 USD to do a load of laundry. The SCHOOL charges us this. Complete bullshit.
• The fact that we have to pay an electrical bill while living 'on campus' and have to pay to get to school.
• American University of Antigua and how everyone that is in charge seems to be mentally challenged.
• Tax. Very high taxes here.
• The heat sometimes. Its hot, it is growing on me. But you find yourself constantly sweating.
• Slow internet all the time

I am not sure what else. But it still is frustrating being hit with everything at once. Especially when there is not that much you can do about it.

I like living in the Caribbean and I am sure that it will be an awesome thing that I will do in my life. But there can be some improvements. So I have to work on it and I will be back to report more.

Goodbye blog



Some dumbass donkey

 

Visit to Saint Kitt's



Atlantic on the left and Caribbean Sea on the right



This past weekend I visited the island of St. Kitt's. Only being here three days and a very short flight of 20 minutes from Antigua, it was surprisingly different in many ways. Something I almost instantly noticed was it's much cleaner! There are also sidewalks, which is a plus. People were very nice to me. I was in a gas station buying a single pack of advil and the cashier started taking my medical history, trying to figure out why I was having a headache. In the end she told me to drink more water. Which I did.



The restaurant where I stayed on the second floor

 After getting off the plane Saturday morning and reaching immigration, I asked the officer what was the cheapest place to stay and he informed me of guest houses. Which are very simple yet exactly what I was looking for. Cheap. A bed, shower and cable TV. I ended up staying above an Indian Restaurant called 'Star of India'. This was just what I needed. $40 a night. Cant really find cheaper than that in my opinion.

The town I stayed in was the capitol , Basseterre. This town is located right before the southeast peninsula of St Kitt's begins. Just like other tropical countries that I have visited so far, it is very colorful and has plenty of taxis. Colors of red green black and yellow are all over. Every building seemed to be two stories high with balconies accompying. Reggae music flows through the streets day and night was interesting to listen to.

All day Saturday was filled with walking through the one way streets and finding food. The basics was what I was looking for. Place to sleep and something to eat. Since finding Star of India rather easily I was looking for what I was going to eat. Another thing that is somewhat surprisingly is that there is a lot of SUBWAYS in the caribbean. Which is something that makes me happy since I am from the town where the Subway World Headquarters is located (Milford, CT).

The weather in Saint Kitt's was very wet. It rained each day I was there. Sometimes for only 25-30 minutes then give may to sunshine. At night, however, it rained constantly. Very rainy and windy. Saint Kitts was also not as hot as Antigua. Which was weird to me. Only 20 minutes by palne but that hot caribbean sun did not seem to touch Saint Kitt's.

Sunday I woke up and knew what my task was going to be. It was to get to the top of Olivees Mountain. About 3,000 feet. Everything seemed alright until I went to Subway, again, to grab some food for my ascent. When I was paying for the Sub I told the cashier what and where I was going. She instantly gave me a look of insanity. Which made me a bit cautious of the trip ahead. She said she had lived on the island all her life and never hiked there. Which made me curious because Saint Kitts is very mountainous. Volcanic in origin, there are hills, inclines and mountains everywhere. Either way I was going up that mountain. On my hike up just to the base of the mountain I was already hot and sweaty.

Paved roads turned into side roads which turned into dirt roads which then turned into trails which finally turned into small, tight dirt trails. Not really knowing the 'exact' way up the mountain, I was simply looking for the easiest way up. Using my monoscope and trying to locate some paths was the way for me. The dirt trails finally came to an end and I had to bushwack through tall bamboo grass or canefield style grass. Not sure which. Either way it was tall and it hurt. Doing that for about 30 minutes hurt and I was out of breath. When I thought I was almost there and to the top...I was not. Not even close. Soaked with rain and sweat I called it quits and started to descend, but through another way. Still somewhat lost and not on any path what so ever I started to climb down into something of a valley full of rocks. Which literally turned into a jungle. With plenty of vines that did come in handy.

After descending for about another 30 minutes I made it to the bottom of the jungle with what looked like no place to go. A 'brick wall' made out of trees, grass and rocks. Until I looked up a little hill to my left and saw a hole with some light in it. I climbed up and saw a sheet of metal on the ground. Looked a little further and saw a little pig farm. FINALLY I knew I was out. I hopped into the pig stable and walked through then jumped the other side.

First month in Antigua

So I have been living in Antigua for about 6 weeks now and I have been filled with mixed emotions. I am here to finish school, hopefully. But so far, this school is making it much harder than you would think.

Besides school, the island is very rustic. There has not been a lot of development other than the capital, St. john's. In many places there is not even sidewalks or street lights. At night this makes it especially hard to walk. And on top of everything cars drive on the opposite side of the road.