Pasta Sauce at Bryan's House

I have been trying to learn a great pasta sauce recipe for a little while now. Last week I forgot to buy the required ingredients so this week I went to the Real Canadian Whole Sale and picked up enough spaghetti supplies to feed a large family.

First thing I did was to cut some garlic and put it in the pot with some oil. Then the meat went in. Seasoning salt, pepper, and sugar were the next ingredients. The sugar was to compliment the salt and give the dish some complexity. Then tomato sauce, onions, and spice to taste. Voila!

It was fun and I learnt a few things along the way. Such as how to cook spaghetti sauce, why adding sugar to a sauce can help the taste, and that Bryan's mom is awesome.

Note: While I was cooking spaghetti sauce, Bryan was cooking wings, which is what he is holding in his picture.

Get in the Mood

Let the sun shine in;

face it with a grin.

Smilers never lose

and frowners never win....

My mother used to sing me that song when I was a child. To this day it gives me a great deal of joy when I hear it. Everyone has a song, routine, person, or something else that makes them feel good. I know tons of people that dance to music before they get into a club, because it pumps them up.

I was told once by a very wise man that your friends will put up with your sadness for a bit, but no body likes to be around negative energy. On the otherhand, positive energy is addictive and highly contagious. Not to mention it just feels good.

Do you want makes you happy. Smile.

Easier said than done right? So what makes people happy? Being nice to someone, smiling, laughing, dancing to music, being around someone special, succeeding in a goal, learning something new...

Tomorrow I am learning to make Spaghetti!

Tao of Zahir

A good friend of mine told me she was going to live poor as long as she was happy. This got me thinking; i don't want to live poor, but I don't hate happiness?

I was brought up to believe in two extremes. One honorable life of living humbly. Saving for the future, and buying things that will accumulate wealth instead of decreasing it. The other is the ugly idea of working shorter hours. Traveling and buying things irresponsibly at a whim. However, rarely is life so black and white.

My peers and I have been told time again and again that "you should find what you are passionate about and the rest will follow." Wealth, happiness, and the rest. This should be the goal in life. The problem with this is that I doubt that the gentlemen cleaning the bathroom is passionate about it. Hard work is needed to succeed in any field and it is not always enjoyable. I don't believe that physics would be amazing even if all you do is think about time travel and worm holes.

So what are we left with? If your job lower paying job that you loved at first sucks now and you can't afford to change it or much else; what to you do next? That is the idea I have been wrestling with.

My answer hit me today. I don't want to worry about buying my next meal; I want to save for the future; and I like buying something that I fancy. And I like the idea of working hard to achieve something; seeing the fruits of my labour come to fruition.

So in my mind the key is to find a reasonable job that has the characteristics that you enjoy. For me that the ability to work in new countries, learn new things, and to be social To see that I am making a deference in the work is optional but something that would be great as well.

Maybe a diplomat. Diplomatic immunity would be soooooo amazing. Now that I have an idea of what I want to do, I just have to get the job :)

30 Day Challenges

In the spirit of New Year's Resolutions I am going to do a series of 30 day challenges starting next month. I have terrible will power for things that aren't necessary in my life. I hope these challenges will change that.

Let's see how this turns out.

If you have a suggestion for a 30 day challenge comment.

I want to include:

-No computer except for work.

This means no facebook, movies, or email

-Take a picture daily

Of interesting things

-Yoga once a week

-Learn something practical once a week.

-Cook myself dinner every day. (I will have to work up to this one)

-Go to the Gym daily

-Do a Sudoku daily

-Bike to work or school

-Keep my room clean/dishes

-Read a book

-Swim weekly

-Learn an amazing magic trick

-Learn a Language

-Try the guitar

- Mediate daily

Fitness Class with the Old People

I am still jet legged. After being in the city more than a week. Sue me. So since Edmonton is not the most popping city on a Tuesday at 4am I have been meditating at the mosque. It feels great and it has helped me quite a bit.

So this morning after I went there was a fitness class; attended by older ladies and gentlemen, the youngest of which was more than double my age. I was wearing a sweater and jeans, each of which is not conducive to working out. It did not help that I had just found some pictures on my phone of my ex, were we were all smiles and happiness.

But since a senior, 30 years my senior challenged me to join I though why the hell not. I was fit once, besides how hard could this be...

After half an hour I got an asthma attack and almost vomited. I had to sit down, but looking at the balding man with white hair in front of me, I decided to grab some water and go back into the breach.

The class was an hour and a half. And I survived with a smile on my face. It felt good to be active again.

My life has been plagued with health issues. As a child I reminded myself that Einstein and Newton were not the fittest men around. Also, I don't believe that India does very well at the Olympics. I could be wrong about this, but most Indian people I know are incredibly lazy; myself included.

However, the times that I have exercised have felt great. It is funny, but when I think back, things were always happiest while I was healthy and doing some sort of exercise. Often I was pushed into it by my girlfriend, but after I realized that I felt great doing it, I continued.

Things recently have been rough for me. Coming back from India and all, but I am going to start going more. I don't know if I am going to run a triathlon, but hear goes nothing...

Week One: Steak and Mash Potatoes

With help from a good friend of mine named Bryan Tran this week I cooked steak and mashed potatoes.

I learned about seasoning the steak and about adding garlic to the mash potatoes. The steak was a little tough, but it was delicious. I should have marinated it or gotten a thinner cut.

New Year's Resolutions

These are some goals I have for the upcoming semester:

I'll post updates on my progress.

1. Take a Self-Defence course

-brazilian jiu jitsu with Adam

There were a few times in my life when I stood in shock and did not stand up for people that I care about. Out of all my faults that is the one thing that I want to change most. I believe that by learning self-defense i will have confidence to not make that mistake again.

2. Learn to Cook

-Learn the basics

-One new recipe a week

This is part of being independent. I relied to heavily on the women in my life and is likely one of the reasons why Krista and I broke up.

3. Be more independent

-Do my own laundry

Rely on myself.

4. Exercise three times a week.

-MWF with Zach. If I miss a day, make it up another time

Part of this is feeling better about myself and my body.

5. Take the time to Enjoy my life and have more fun.

-Go to LA this reading week

-Do at least one fun thing a week.

Long Term Goals: (5 years)

1. Learn a New Language

Maybe German.

2. Travel the World discovering new things and working

Europe, Africa, maybe South America.

3. Learn to play an instrument

Have the commitment to play an instrument. Gaining the determination to fulfill a commitment such as this is the reason I wanted to join the army. More on this later.

Day One:

Today in class I saw a clip of the movie Titanic. Jack was dinning in first class with his future lover and the rest of the first class guests. He had no shame. He boasted proudly that he slept under a bridge the night before as the waiter gave him a helping of caviar. Life for him was an adventure. Where his next meal or next sleep would come from he had no idea. It's a romantic notion that touched me.

I recently, broke up with my long term girlfriend, but that is not why I am writing this blog. The Titanic clip made me realize something. When we first met, I threw caution to the wind and was hungry for experience and adventure. During school, however I was a different person. A hermit that would gladly spend up to 12 hours in front of a computer screen studying and watching movies at the same time. I became a person that would rather keep two dollars in my pocket than have fun at Disneyland. This is a simplification but when I saw that Titanic clip it hit me.

I am writing this blog for myself. I don't want to forget to be hungry for adventure. I am happy to sleep in a comfortable bed, but I don't want to be the stiff with the silver stick up his ass like the gentlemen beside Jack.

When I was in high school my goal was to be remembered. Now I think it is to live, but I still figuring that out. I know that I have a list of things I want like to learn another language go to Africa; and that I am tired of spending countless hours on a desk for a 3.9, when I could be happy with myself with less from school and more from my life...

Here is the video. It's about Karl Marx:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqcMy3cOiW4

The section I was talking about is 2 minutes in.