August 26th, 2011 - Day 48 of 60

This will be another of those posts that will barely make it in under the wire.  Today was longer than yesterday and yesterday was too long.  My head is swimming and I am so amped up on Raw Cacao Goji Seed Chunks that I may not sleep for days.  The workload is astronomical in scope.  It will not be done in the time frame I'd like, but it will be close.  The laws of physics apply here as they do everywhere.  If I had a few people working with me that were as...  what are the words I want to use... were as driven to deliver high quality products in as compressed a time frame as I, things would be done.  As it stands I am the orchestra leader for this work.  You have to see many things at once and understand how it all comes together.  Some of that is genetic, some is experience and some is dumb luck.

The layers and layers of complexity that we deal with are staggering.  While it isn't brain surgery, rocket science or even rocket surgery, it is complex and it is exhausting.  These days I think it is every bit as physically demanding as it is mentally demanding.  I came home late yesterday and wondered why my fingers felt stiff.  I realize that I just don't stop once I get to work and I am walking so much and so fast, I am swinging the fluids into my extremities.  Damned law of physics, again!

Things would be better if everyone listened to me.  No, not about everything, just about my little section in my little world.  I've told everyone for over twenty years how best to deal with things, but the layers of complexity and bureaucracy make it almost impossible to get things done well.  Never-ending arguments over "who is going to pay for this" and "which job has priority" and "why do they have this while we only have this" and other nonsense.  I'm sure everyone who works for or with others understands this.

In my head I have a vision for how things work.  The vision is a large-scale plan.  The "big picture", if you will.   Within that big picture is the striking detail into which my thoughts zoom when I have to actually deal with that task at the moment.  The translation from big-picture to details isn't that bad for me.  I am the sort of person who thinks things through exhaustively.  As an introvert, I have likely planned an entire activity before I ever mention it to anyone.  And, once it is mentioned that means it is going to happen.  Why?  Because I do not want to be or even be perceived as one of those people who says something but doesn't deliver or never follows through. Extroverts tend to do that, but not because they are scattered or liars.  They do it because that is how they brain-storm.  They throw it out there and see what people say.  "I think I am going to backpack naked across Nepal!"  They wait to see the reaction.  My dad is classic extrovert. Always going to do something, go somewhere, etc.  You'll know what I am doing when I am doing it.  If I need someone's opinion, I'll ask.  Sadly, in the case of my work, too many people stand between me and my vision.

With your Reboot, you need a vision.  You need to fully understand the concepts, fully understand the implementation of those concepts and fully understand the requirements of implementing those concepts.  You need to understand what a Reboot is.  You need to determine if you really can do it, or if you are just excited and hope you'll "get into it."  You need to realize that making juice takes time, energy and money.  You need to realize that if you have a family, they will probably not be Rebooting with you and that might be awkward or tempting or worse.  You need to realize that you'll be shopping a lot.  You need to see that a good juicer or blender is priceless.  You need to see that clean-up time is longer than you think.  You need to do several "dry runs" (or, as I call them, "wet runs" since you actually make juice.  But I don't call them that out loud for obvious reasons).  You have to visualize the amount of juice you'll need, when you'll be able to make it and from what other activity does that time come.  You need to plan for social engagements and other settings where food or the lack of you eating it could be troublesome.  You need to imagine how your Reboot will apply to your work.  Do you eat out a lot at work?  Is there a cafeteria?  Is there a kitchen or refrigerator where you can store your juice?  Do you, in fact, have anything appropriate into which you can put your juice?  Do you have enough of them?

You get the picture.  This is how my brain works all the time.  Ever sorting, sizing-up, considering, planning and processing.  Yes, it can be exhausting.  I guess that is why I do yoga.  But that is the sort of thinking that helps me in my work.  It also helps me in my Reboot.  I've never been without food or resources for my nutrition.  It has all gone well.

Everyone is different and what works for you may not be something I'd even consider.  As long as you are happy and getting the results you want, I am happy for you.  But I maintain that above all other things (fancy juicers, a nice "Rebooting" web page, eight books of juice recipes and even an autographed photo of Joe Cross on your refrigerator) NOTHING will help you more with your Reboot than the right mental attitude and mindset going in to the game.  If you've not solidified everything in your mind, you are on shaky ground.  Make up your mind, make your plan and make it happen.  That will get your through your Reboot and perhaps a few other things in life.

Right now, I have made up my mind to go to bed.  I have a feeling that task is a bit easier than making "Turnip Pistachio Horseradish Energy Juice".

Progress:

I am 80% through the 60 days.

Weight: 148.3 lbs.

I seem to be hovering in this range.

Food: Smoothie, apple, banana, almond butter, almonds, raw cacao/goji/seed chunks, cherries.

August 25th, 2001 - Day 47 of 60

Having put in a 14 hour day, I can say with some confidence that my Reboot has not shortchanged me on energy, focus or motivation.  Still, I am only human.  I am so tired that my eyes are involuntarily crossing.  No, wait, I am doing it on purpose.  Never mind.

I was going to try and write something profound about something deep, but I forgot it when I was nearly drown walking to my car.  I don't recall rain that hard in a very long time (and I've been in some hurricanes).  So, between my fatigue, the hour, my dampness and the strange feeling an opossum is waiting for me to come outside, I will make this the briefest post of my Reboot and end with a haiku or limerick, I've not yet decided...

While the workday itself was sheer hell,
My Reboot is going quite swell
But I'm so pressed for time,
All I offer is this rhyme
In lieu of my standard nov-el

Ah, limerick.

Hope you all are having a poetic Reboot.

Progress:

I am 75% through the 60 days.

Weight: 149.4 lbs.

Food: Smoothie, apple, nectarine, banana, almond butter, tomatoes, far too many raw cacao/goji/seed chunks.

Smoothie: Before

 

Smoothie: After

These little chaps came from my garden.

August 24th, 2011 - Day 46 of 60

In my never-ending quest to make computing safe for students, I continued on with my faster-than-light campus rounds.  I had been moving all over the place for hours on end and was getting a tad fatigued.  Nothing sounded better to me than a nap in a hammock (if I had one).  As I was darting into labs and classrooms, there were gaggles of students looking around for their soon-to-be classrooms with furrowed brows; tenaciously clutching class schedules as if they were the map for the "Treasure of the Sierra Madre".  Many of them were animated in their speech, simply brimming with anticipation and optimism for the upcoming start of the semester.  I had one student ask me where, "Room Oh-3-2" was.  I told him that it was in the basement of the building and that seemed to illuminate a section of his brain: he got the point of the "oh".  There we so many young people with that look of purpose and determination, seasoned with uncertainty, mixed with positive excitement.  The start of the Fall semester in college is one of those watershed moments.  All the potential you imagine is within yourself is set in motion on that first day like the waters released from a dam's flood gates.

When the Freshmen walk on campus everything is possible.  Before the first day of class, everyone is at the top of the class.  All their dreams are intact, their future is golden, they are taking the first step toward realizing their full potential.  It is all good.  As time goes on, the preconceived notions of college life are brought into sharper focus via the lens of reality.  The best intentions of students suddenly become lost in the endless responsibilities of student life.  The ideas of incoming Freshmen are forged in a fire of optimism.  Very quickly, most of those fires begin smoking and some may even go dark.  It isn't an easy life.  It is like learning to juggle while riding a unicycle and buttering toast.  Yes, it is that hard.  My heart goes out to these kids.  Most of them are in over their heads.  They were not challenged in their old schools.  If they were lucky enough to attend a private school, a challenging public school or are self-motivated, things go better.  When their expectations are grounded in fact, that makes it better as well.  It helps to have a sibling or friend that did this before you so there is some idea of what to expect.  But when you walk in cold, all you have are TV shows, movies and urban legends.  While many of these students seem like they walked off the set of "Welcome Back Kotter", they imagine themselves in "The Paper Chase". The dream of double majoring in Physics and Philosophy quickly becomes a major in Math, which quickly becomes a major in Psychology, which quickly becomes a major in Communications.  The hope of having perfect notes, dependable study partners and a rigid schedule gives way to photocopied notes from a friend of your roommate's girlfriend, Googling "The Krebs Cycle" and reading over notes while watching your torrented copy of "Porkies 2".

Reality has a way of holding a mirror up to our faces without the benefit of letting us comb our hair first or getting us out of this unflattering fluorescent light. Many of these kids will be fine.  We have a lot of smart cookies that will go far.  We also have many who struggle no matter how hard they try.  It is heartbreaking to see.  To go from a bright future in your mind to feelings of self-loathing and insecurity is a vast swing.  Fortunately, there is endless help available if they only ask.  But for some it is easier to take a bad grade on a test than to admit they need help.  Part of the learning experience in college is outside of the books and lectures.  Part of it is learning how to be a functioning adult in society.  You learn how to make schedules, be on time, complete assigned tasks, socially interact with unfamiliar people, work in groups, work alone, ensure your clothes are clean, do you own shopping, etc.  It certainly can be far too much at once for some.  The last statistic I read was that only 56% of incoming Freshmen will earn a 4-year degree.  That is a hard number to face.

When we start out on our Reboots, we, too, have nothing but blue skies ahead.  Everything is possible and our expectations are out of sight.  As time goes on and life wears us down, we find it can become difficult to keep up with our expectations.  We can lower them, of course.  Some find that harder to do than just quitting.  Others find that the pressures of jobs and family are too much and they can't keep up.  All the issues that face our fresh-faced Freshmen are faced by Rebooters: Uncertain of how to proceed;  Always wondering if they are in the right place at the right time;  Meeting new people and adjusting to a new social circle.; Always trying new and unfamiliar things;  High expectations that are modified by harsh realities...  You get the idea.

I don't know if there is a "graduation rate" for Rebooting.  I know that a large number of people who were on the "JoinTheReboot.com" site seemed to disappear after a couple weeks.  I don't know if they just stopped coming to the web site and continued on with their Reboots alone or if they stopped everything.  Some may prefer the Facebook page, etc.  Still, there is a lot of difficulty with Reboots and it shows in many of the comments.  But, like the Freshman's dose of reality, there is no real failure.  All of this is part of the learning experience.  You are not only learning math, science and history, you are also learning social skills.  You are learning personal management, real life and how you deal with real life.  You are learning about yourself.  What higher calling could their be?

For those just starting out on the Reboot, all I can tell you is to enter into it with an open mind, flexible goals, realistic expectations and a conviction of mind to see it through, even if you fall short occasionally.  We don't know how we will react to situations until we are in their midst (or their midst is within us).  We have no clue what such radical changes (college or Rebooting) will do to us.  But we do know there is a support system that can help us out when we need it.  We know there have been others that have gone through this before us and can give us their options and their support.  Sometimes you need to take a break.  The only time there is failure is when you don't try.  If you don't try, you don't learn anything except how not to try.

When classes start next week, everything will be buzzing and exciting.  The chatter will be loud and animated.  This is just like the feeling one had when they first purposed to Reboot their lives and joined the web site.  Keep your goals in focus.  Don't let small setbacks sidetrack you.  This is a learning experience for us all.  We start out in a deep hole, sometimes.  We have habits (not studying for students, not eating well for Rebooters) we have to break and new habits to learn.  I am encouraging you all to look at the start of the school year as a start for your own "Reboot school year", as it were.  Learn more about the things that will give you a healthier life.  Learn how to take control of the things in your life that now control you.  And, most of all, learn about yourself.  I have a feeling that is a subject you'll use for the remainder of your life.

"You there, in the back row... are you chewing gum?"

Progress:

I am 75% through the 60 days.

Weight: 148.4 lbs.

Food: Nectarine, apple, smoothie, banana, almond butter, nuts, broccoli slaw, cherries, cacao/goji/seed chunks (way too many)

My Pre-pre-masticated meal.

August 23rd, 2011 - Day 45 of 60

Darling I don't know why I go to extremes.

Too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens.
And if I stand or I fall,
It's all or nothing at all.
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes.
Billy Joel - I Go To Extremes

Old Frank is feeling good, but he is also feeling tired.  Even if you are in ace shape, you still need rest.  I found myself in the midst of a contradiction today.  I am complaining that I'm tired and in need of some rest; meanwhile, I am carrying two computers to the building next door (one in each hand held by their handles).  These are not little computers, they are old time IBM (when IBM still made them) machines.  Then, after I deposit one machine, I proceed to carry the next one up the stairs with one hand while, quite literally, quick timing it up.  I laughed when I got to the top.  I did it without even thinking.  There is no way I would have done that six weeks ago.  No way.  So, I swing between the extremes of feeling wonderful, yet feeling overworked.  There would have been no extremes six weeks ago.  There would have been Frank feeling tired morning, noon and night.  No bounding up the stairs.  No clear mindedness.  No concentration to allow me to get through so many things in such a short time.  If there is proof needed that the Reboot is for more than your beach body, this is it.  We can look good, we can feel good, we can think well and we can be healthy.  Yes, even with a perpetual Reboot, we all have to go sometime.  But when I go, I want it to be after a good, long life and not after having suffered for endless years with one debilitating health issue after another.

Extremes are strange things.  Polar opposites seem like you are as far apart as you can get.  But sometimes even those extremes are joined.  Heads and tails are extremes, yet the two parts of one whole coin.  Night and day are opposites, yet we cannot have a whole day without them both.  My thinking here is more along the lines of human history.  Bear with me as I ramble...   So, imagine being human at the dawn of time.  You eat what you find.  You walk in the forest and eat various greenery, fruits when they are available, roots, berries, a stray nut if you are lucky, etc.  Life is good.  Sure, it has its down sides, too, but you really don't have a lot about which to complain.  With enough food to eat and by living in accordance with nature, the abundant food regenerates in cycles.  You learn those cycles and when certain foods will be available in which locations.  With all this food, you have abundant, even excess energy.  You reproduce prodigiously.  So do your fellow hunter/gatherers.  As time goes on, you start to notice there are other people in your olive grove that never were there before.  Suddenly, the olives are not as plentiful.  Looks are exchanged.  Before too long you notice more people everywhere going after the same food you thought was yours alone.  Now there isn't as much food.  You need to walk farther to find more.  The places that were once abundant are now decimated, even overused.  Some don't come back the next year.  You have to walk even farther.  Before long, you realize you have to hunt other animals for food in the Winter as you are not fat enough to get through and your Winter food supplies of roots and nuts are hard to find.  Now it isn't as easy to get food.  Before you just picked up what was there.  No running, no killing, no hard work.  Now you can stalk game for days and weeks at a time and then have to haul it back great distances to feed your tribe.  Once you are back you just go out again and again.  Life used to be a stroll in the garden.  Now, it is an endless hunting trip.  It doesn't take too long before the hunting trips become expeditions.  The game is moving and so are you.  That is now your life.  This is how the population stays relatively even.

Fast forward a few thousand years...  Some smarty pants (or maybe smarty toga) discovers a way to grow food through agriculture and even store grains.  You learn how to domesticate animals.  Your sore feet thank you as they no longer have to live as a wandering hunter/gatherer.  You've moved up to farmer.  You grow your food and store what you can.  You raise animals.  Life, again, is good.  Again, you have plenty.  Again, you reproduce abundantly.  Again, you soon find more and more people encroaching.  When the weather makes things bad in the field, you wonder if people are coming into your fields and stealing your grain or your crops.  You wonder if those missing animals were not just runaways.  You start to become suspicious of your neighbors.  When poor weather makes your crops wither, all you have are the stored grains.  There are riots, fear and panics.  Then strangers who are very large come around and begin taking things.  You are a farmer, so what can you do?  They are warriors.  You decide you need to learn how to be a warrior.  In time you have weapons and form alliances with your neighbors.  You fight over food and wine and gods and love.  This is how the population stays relatively even.

Fast forward a few thousand years...  Some smarty pants discovers that coal can be burned.  This is an abundant energy source.  You learn how to dig it out of the ground.  It seems like it is endless.  You can make hot fires.  You can stoke fires in boilers.  Those fires help you make things from metal easier than when you did it by cutting down all the trees.  We learn to build steam engines for trains.  We learn to manufacture goods that people want to buy so their lives are easier.  We are better at growing food.  We are better at raising animals.  We are better at making war.  Our number rise.  We know more about what makes us sick.  We live a bit longer.  We still kill one another.  We live in larger numbers more often than we did in the past.  It can be dirty and harsh, but there is work and food and safety as there is civilization.  There are plagues and there are wars.  This is how the population stays relatively even, but slowly begins to creep up.

Fast forward a bit...  Some smarty pants discovers that oil is highly concentrated energy.  We learn to make no end of things from it.  Most useful is gasoline.  We learn to do all the things we did with coal, only better.  One gallon of gasoline can do the work of more than 500 men for one hour, or one man for more than 500 hours.  Things take off.  We learn to grow food with petroleum-based fertilizers.  We build power plants from our old friend coal and from our new friend oil.  We have electricity to run stoves and refrigerators.  We grow more food, we can store food better and transport it long distances with these automobiles we've created and with trains.  With all this extra food we reproduce prolifically.  Soon, our population doubles.  Then, it doubles again.  Then, it threatens to double again.  It used to take a very long time to double.  Soon, even with all our ability to make food, we find that others are starving.  Some people are getting sicker at younger ages.  We are not sure why.  They have odd troubles like gout and diabetes and other strange things our parents never heard of that much, except for a few rich people.  Our medicine becomes amazing against broken bones, severe trauma, bacteria and virus issues, etc.  We create machines, even machines that think, which do the work we once did.  We are so productive that is astounds the mind.  Yet, with all the productivity, we work more than ever.  We feel stressed and unsettled.  We are not as happy. We live longer.  We still kill each other.  Even with all our killing, we notice our population isn't even.  It just keeps going up and up.  Soon we notice that we need more petroleum than we can harvest.  We begin to feel afraid.

The extremes are stark:  famine to abundance; leisure to endless toil; ignorance to knowledge; endless resources to scarcity; small population to massive population.  Why is it we can't see the extremes and make adjustments?  If we know our modern diet is hurting us, why don't we use our knowledge to grow clean, healthy food in such amounts that everyone could afford it and stop eating things that hurt us?  Why not use our modern medical knowledge to continue giving wonderful acute care, yet teach people that stress, poor diet, lack of community, lack of true rest, overwork, pollution, anxiety and physical inactivity can all harm our health?  Can't we use our abilities to create wonderful products in vast numbers to ensure no one goes without books, tools to foster creativity, tools to bring ease to our existence, tools to free our time to do more human things, and supplies to keep everyone healthy and happy without resorting to endless work and quest for profit?  Do you follow me on this?  We tend to embrace the extremes as a positive value.  We discover something new and run to it without considering what we've left behind.  Once we discover Indian food, does that mean we have to reject Chinese food?  Can't we find a way to keep the best of the old and the best of the new?

There needs to be balance in our lives.  Our Reboots have show us how out of balance we've been.  Six weeks into it and I see how much better I can be.  What else should we balance?  Work and play, activity and rest, new technology and old technology, people and things, etc.  We need to consume less.  We need to make less of ourselves.  We need to consider what we are doing and how it will affect ourselves, our families, our communities and our world.  We need more of a plan.  We need to stop running toward the extremes and start looking for a place in the middle.

I don't talk about my Reboot with anyone, but some who are close to me know something is up.  They look at me as if I am an extremist.  They don't understand that they are the extremist.  I think I am, finally, walking toward balance.  I am striving for harmony.  I seek sustainability.  If I eat a hamburger tomorrow and then go on with my Reboot or my post-Reboot diet, I will be fine.  They will continue down the road of the extreme.  If that makes them happy, I am happy for them.  I am not judging.  But I think I am speaking from experience when I say I am now moving toward a place of moderation, compromise and wholeness.  I am trying to stay away from the extremes and find a comfort in the middle way.  Sometimes seeking the middle way makes you an extremist to those who have much to lose.  So be it.

Progress:

I am 75% through the 60 days.

Weight: 148.9 lbs.

Food: Nectarine, banana (2), almond butter, mixed nuts, broccoli slaw, cherries, raw cacao/goji/seed chunks, apple

Broccoli Slaw "El Diablo" with tomato

August 22nd, 2011 - Day 44 of 60

Nature is replete with examples of renewal, rebirth, evolution and adaptation.  Animals learn to use tools and adapt to environments that include encroaching civilization.  Viruses mutate to become more stubborn and resistant to our medicines.  That doesn't explain to me how the average computer user lives within a frozen space-time continuum (“Eddies,” said Ford, “in the space-time continuum.”
“Ah,” nodded Arthur, “is he? Is he?”) and shows little to no interest in leaving with the exception of updating hardware in order to play a new game that is all the rage.  In fact, I'll bet half the people I know who ask me for computer hardware advise are doing so just because they want to play a new game or browse the web faster.  And, really, who can blame them?  Why spend money on something if it isn't necessary?  But it is one thing to be frugal and another to be oblivious.  While some animals, life forms or undefinable objects may deal with things on their own, sometimes they need some help. If you drive a car and never think to change the oil, shame on you!  If you own a pet and never brush their hair, tisk, tisk!  As for me, I am, at this moment, trying to do my part by breathing life into hundreds and hundreds of computers.

Your computer needs attention like your car, your dog, your significant other or even your shoes.  Without regular attention, maintenance and TLC, things can fall apart.  While the work I am doing right now is mostly mindless zombie tasks, there are some issues that need considerable thought.  If you've ever played with a sliding puzzle (the sort that have numbers or letters or a picture that must be placed in a specific order) you'll know what it can be like with computers.  If you add an update to a machine, will it break something else?  Or, if you add an update, it works for most things, but breaks just one thing unless you update that thing first and THEN add the other update?  Sounds crazy, but that is how it goes, sometimes.  Dozens and dozens of applications on hundreds of machines.  Then dozens more applications on the network and then the network operating system, etc.  And, as anyone who owns a computer knows, years of use and abuse can take their toll.  You started off with a a fairly pristine setup and time does nothing but add crap, updates, temporary files and god-knows how many unwanted files and applications from years of web browsing. Then you have outdated software that just can't keep up with modern requirements.  Is it any wonder most people are frustrated with the computers?  I feel like I am in a constant wrestling match with machines.  Now, I don't blame the machines, per se.  The issue with most (not all) computers is the operator.  Or, as we tech guys are fond of saying when the owner of the computer is within earshhot, "We have a PEBMAC problem here."  PEBMAC = "Problem Exists Between Monitor And Chair". 

Is it really your responsibility to know all this computer jazz?  How much does one have to know to get by in this world?  Should I get a PhD. in Automotive Engineering to make sure I can fix my car?  Do I have to graduate from the Culinary Institute of America so I can fix a good meal?  Now you are saying I need to be a Computer Engineer just to Google "funny cat pictures"?  No.  Our modern culture has long since outsourced expertise on most occupations.  Long-gone are the days when someone was an expert on many or most things in their lives (think Erasmus or a farmer from one hundred or so years ago).  But, what I am saying is we all need to take some sort of responsibility for those things that directly influence our ability to function in the world.  While you may not need to know how to adjust the timing on your automobile's engine, you do need to know how to check the tire pressure, oil level, and how to operate it properly.  You may not be a Veterinarian and capable of diagnosing Feline Leukemia, but you should know how to feed and water your pet.  When it comes to your computer, you don't need to know all the intricacies of the operating system, but you should know how to update your software and how to safely browse the web without causing havoc.

When we get to the point where I am doing some of my drudgery-type tasks, it still can get a bit complex.  These things need to be done, thought, to ensure compliance, security and performance.  When I think of my Reboot, I can become a bit overwhelmed.  I, like many of you, have been interested in health and fitness for most of my life.  I have seriously pursued these since my late teens and redoubled my efforts in my twenties.  In all the years that have passed, various fads, theories and techniques have changed and schools of thought have come and gone.  I don't even want to think of some of the things I've done in the name of health.  While I may not have a PhD. in nutrition, an M.D. or even a correspondence school diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine, I do know that science can do many things well, but nature usually gives us what we need to maintain our health.  Regardless of fads and technology, we can do more to maintain our health and fitness by just eating food (real, wholesome food), exercising regularly, creating and maintaining good relationships and keeping a positive mental attitude.  I am not against technology (obviously), but I am against technology dehumanizing us.  I am also very much against using technology as a savior.  TV is not a babysitter, for example.  Computers can't write your term paper.  Cell phones can't take the place of human interaction.  All these devices are wonderful, but they can only do so much.  They make our lives convenient.  They should be freeing up our time so we can be more human.  They remove obstacles so we can do the things we do best: think, create, dream, inspire and love.

Your Reboot is not the end-all and be-all of your life.  Like a chainsaw, it is a tool that is useful when used in the proper context.  But, sometimes, when a guy buys a chainsaw, everything looks like potential firewood. You can't buy a computer, turn it on and then never do any maintenance and expect it to work flawlessly forever.  You can't buy a car, drive off the showroom and never expect issues if you do not perform maintenance.  You can't do a Reboot and expect it to fix all your health issues forever without ongoing and vigilant maintenance.  The Reboot is the purchase you make at the store.  It has a manual, so to speak.  The Reboot is the start of a new perspective.  You need to actively perform the maintenance required to keep your body and your life in good operating order.  Yes, that is a very tall order.  Yes, it can be confusing.  No one knows everything and we each are different.  We have different capabilities and different requirements.  In the end, just like with your car, your computer, your home and your pet, YOU are the first line of defense.  You are the primary caregiver.  You are the go-to-guy.  You have the responsibility to discern what is best for your life.  The Reboot is like your taste of religion: Your conversion is a momentary event followed by the daily practice of your faith for the rest of your life.  As I sit here, hours after I normally go home, waiting for endless processes to grind out on ancient hardware, the comparison between maintaining these machines and our bodies is too similar for words.  Unlike my PC, I can't upgrade my memory or my hard drive.  I need to be able to run today's software, as it were, on yesterdays hardware.  Our Reboot is the first step in our ongoing maintenance that allows us to do just that: stay current in our out-dated hardware. Sometimes I wish I could wipe my hard drive and start fresh.  This is especially true for anyone who has experienced the film "Gigli".  But that is for another post.

Progress:

I am 70% through the 60 days.

Weight: 146.8 lbs.

At this point, I have no idea what the deal is.

Food: Grapes, cherries, banana, almond butter, nuts (too many), raw cacao goji seed chunks, broccoli slaw, three apples (they are so good when they are fresh)

August 21st, 2011 - Day 43 of 60

"Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?  You better run!  You better take cover!"

What better way to use one's sole day of rest than to arise early and toil in the garden for five hours.  I had no choice as the peas need to go in now if I hope to get any for the Fall.  So, a bit after seven I was out in dew-damp earth, reaping the neglect I'd sowed.  My schedule has been such that I'm not attending to garden and home matters as I'd like, but things are still relatively functional.  The pea seedlings (the peedlings) were not going to wait another day.  There were rumblings of insurrection from the two pans of young and bold fruits-to-be (yes, peas are, technically, a fruit like a tomato).  So, rather than watch my peas make like pea soup and split, I did the work.  After a few hours I saw some dark weather coming in like a cinder-soaked curtain.  But it was the thunder that was the most ominous.  The sound of that thunder was the sound you'd hear in a movie where God speaks.  Horror movie thunder pales to God-movie thunder.  I knew I needed to get moving, but I still was a good 45 minutes off.  Luckily, the thunder was a warning for me as the storm was so strong, I could hear it coming from a long way off.  As I placed the last baby into its bed and tucked it in with its earthen blanket, I felt the first drop of rain.  I got my wheelbarrow of organic earth covered and stowed in the nick of time.  By the time the first splash of water from my upstairs bathroom shower hit my mud-caked body, the skies completely opened up and my garden was getting its mud-caked body showered as well.  The lightning and thunder were very present and power flickered a few times in homage to the savage power of nature.  The storm was intense, but brief.  After thirty minutes or so the world returned to calm. With my work behind me, I was finally free to eat something and read for a while.

Thunder is one of natures most respected harbingers.  When thunder speaks, everyone listens.  I whispered a "thank you" to thunder as it graciously gave me ample warning of impending "satus interruptus".  Without it, I may have been stuck in a muddy predicament. When it comes to our Reboots, I wonder what the "thunder" moment was for you?  What thunder warning did you hear that made you take notice?  For me it was pants that were far too tight and a loss of my once proud physique.  Walking up the hill to work was more of a chore than it should have been.  Mainly, it was the sallow look on the face of the chap I see when I shave.  Some spark was fading.  It was as if I was walking on the edge of a precipice and really didn't care.  I wasn't interested in falling over, but I wasn't taking the sort of precautions one should take in that situation.  I had been mulling over a change for weeks.  Two years earlier I attempted a change that didn't work out due to social and family pressures.  In retrospect, that never should have happened.  This time it will not happen.  Without the thunder, I never would have know a storm was so close.

As the clouds cast their last, feeble drops of rain toward the earth, the thunder says its goodbye.  The drenched ground eagerly soaks up the succulent gift from above and sets to work building life.  My seedlings were none the worse for wear.  Their baptism complete, they were now about the business of pea production.  Without faith and hope, no one plants seeds into the ground.  Why bother with the weeks or months of labor if you don't plan on seeing a harvest?  Without faith and hope, no one starts a Reboot.  Why bother with the weeks or months of labor if you don't expect to see a harvest?  But we do expect to see growth and a harvest.  We sow because we have faith.  We know all the labor, even in the midst of the storms, will be worth it when we reap our bumper-crop.

A gardener watches the world for signs of when to act.  When she sees certain insects move or certain shoots spring up, she knows it is time to plant.  When she hears the thunder, she knows to protect the vulnerable plants.  A Rebooter watches her body for signs of when to act.  When she notices certain feelings or symptoms, she knows it is time to juice.  When she hears the thunder, she heeds the warning and sets to her task. She sips her juice in gratitude and whispers a quiet "thank-you" to the passing thunder.

Progress:

I am 70% through the 60 days.

Weight: 149.7 lbs.

Up just a little from yesterday.

Food: Homemade salad, banana, almond butter, raw cacao goji seed chunks, tropical smoothie, fancy eating-out salad, first local apple of the season.

August 20th, 2011 - Day 42 of 60

I love my work.  I will say that working in general has become difficult, but I still love what I do.  I will stop working as soon as I can because I have ten-thousand other things I want to do in life, but I don't dread getting up to work.  I do dread getting up and putting up with the crap that goes with work, but I guess we all do.  Things are not managed well and there is always too much required of me.  That can lead to stress.  Strike that, is DOES lead to stress.  You ask too much of someone and it can tax them to the point of reduced efficiency.  They will miss little things that can lead to big problems.  Overlooking even a small thing might lead to serious issues in your systems.  If you don't give workers the tools or training they need it will frustrate them and the results will be less than optimal.  If you don't ensure they are working reasonable hours and take some time off, they will burn out.  I thought of these things in passing as I was working today.  I normally don't work on Saturday but my workload is such that I have no choice.  Hopefully, this extra work phase will only last for a short time and I'll go back to normal sometime in September.

This whole concept is directly applicable to your food life.  Most people love to eat.  They may not like the political crap that goes with eating (eat your vegetables, don't eat too much junk, etc.) but we sure do love our food.  If we eat too much, we can overtax our bodies and they will not work as efficiently.  After prolonged overconsumption we can cause a breakdown of vital processes that can lead to illness.  If people are not trained how to eat properly, they will assume they are doing alright.  I had direct experience with this as a few people at work were "bragging" about eating well by holding up a certain food as a "health food."  I gave them the evil eye, but I didn't want to discourage them.  I asked them a few questions that I hoped would get them thinking.  I believe people should have treats occasionally to reward good behavior (I'm not a prude) but treats as a lifestyle are not productive.  Overeating makes the body work too hard.  It is very hard work to process a large amount of heavy food.  We get sluggish, run-down and overweight.  Sometimes your body needs time-off from its labors.  For some that means a REAL time-off with fasting.  For others, the Reboot is the perfect bodily vacation.  Less food to digest, less stress over what to eat, proper nutrition ensures you get what you need and revitalizing energy returns to motivate you.  And, after a nice Reboot, you may return refreshed to your labors and with a new perspective on food.

I am sure I'll see a couple more Saturdays with work on my calendar, but I can cope.  I am hoping that my body doesn't feel overworked and under-appreciated as many of you might feel in your jobs.  I wouldn't want my body to go on strike or, heaven forbid, up and quit on me.  Balance at work and balance in diet: eerily similar and both vitally important to good health.  We may not feel like we have much control over work, but we certainly have control over our diet.  So, if you are not Rebooting, go to your boss (that is you) and ask for a raise, of sorts.  Insist on a Reboot.  If you are already Rebooting, congratulate yourself for treating your employee (that is you, too) so well.  Know that your intelligent management will reap long-term benefits for your business.

This Reboot is one job I will miss when I retire from it.  I will look back upon it with fond memories.  I'm sure I'll be able to get some part-time Reboot work, too, as I have a lot of experience. :)

Progress:

I am 70% through the 60 days.

Weight: 149.4 lbs.

Down a bit again.  Hope the trend continues.

Food: Cherries, Banana, Almond Butter, Nuts, Raw Cacao/Goji/Seed Chunks, Big Salad

Big salad I made after slaving all day at work.