The Two Month Itch

An update from OurUltimateDate.com

(I was going to go old-school on this and make a video instead of a write up. I haven’t made an AreYouMyWife video in awhile. But I had an accident with my laptop and it’s in hospital. The dent is in the most tragic of places: the place where I plug the power in. So my laptop has lost it’s life line. Thank goodness my battery was fully charged and acted as life support. So back to an internet café for now. But here’s what I wanted to say:)

Depending on which magazines you read, married couples get “the itch” three, five or seven years after they say vows. Well CeCe and I are not married, but we both have the two month itch.

It has been pretty much been two months to the day since I finished AYMW, and just under a month since I moved in with CeCe to live our Ultimate Date.

To be honest, going through the AYMW journey to get to where I am now has been complete down shift in terms of speed. One minute I lived for the day, didn’t know where I would end up in the big wide world and was constantly dating and meeting new people and having adventures.

Since moving in with CeCe, I’ve been tethered to our very tiny apartment, my clothes are in a wardrobe and I’m back on the London job market.

However, every night CeCe and I talk about where we’re at in terms of our relationship and our OUDBOD dreams. OUDBOD is kind of like our bible; a source of inspiration, but we also use it as a tool to constantly remind ourselves of what we want, and hold each other to account. (To boot, we’ve decorated our apartment with some of the Grains of Sand I collected from all over the world.)

I have come to realise that when I set up AYMW my goal was get to know someone naturally, see if we work as a team and see if they – like me – strive to keep life interesting. And what better way than to live with someone in a tiny apartment, struggle with them financially but still harbour big hopes and dreams that we want to pull off within a year?

So I’m definitely have the two month itch, but the itch is not to get married quickly or – on the other hand – to be single again and back doing the wild AYMW process. I’m itchy to get a good job right now, be stable and work on OUDBOD dreams.

Whether or not we achieve our main mission – to remove the ? from AYMW – remains to be seen. But for now, I’m happy to be downshifting the speed. Living out of a bag is only fun for so long, but having a nest to come home to and contribute to is an awesome feeling.

And if Cece and I do well at these slow speeds, maybe next year we’ll up-shift and speed off in some new and wild direction. And of course, everyone reading this is invited to participate.

I’m also very itchy to get my laptop fixed, so I can make another video!

More soon…

***

Other Stuff:

A few folks don’t want to come all the way here to OurUltimateDate.com. They like the old AreYouMyWife blog just fine. So I decided to mirror all posts on the old blog as well. That way nobody has to re-shuffle their bookmarks, RSSs and email update feeds. The customer is, after all, always right!

Oh, and if your wondering why I took my UK contact phone number down, it’s because a woman in Sri Lanka was harassing me at all hours of day and night to get her out of that country.

The Two Month Itch

An update from OurUltimateDate.com

(I was going to go old-school on this and make a video instead of a write up. I haven’t made an AreYouMyWife video in awhile. But I had an accident with my laptop and it’s in hospital. The dent is in the most tragic of places: the place where I plug the power in. So my laptop has lost it’s life line. Thank goodness my battery was fully charged and acted as life support. So back to an internet café for now. But here’s what I wanted to say:)

Depending on which magazines you read, married couples get “the itch” three, five or seven years after they say vows. Well CeCe and I are not married, but we both have the two month itch.

It has been pretty much been two months to the day since I finished AYMW, and just under a month since I moved in with CeCe to live our Ultimate Date.

To be honest, going through the AYMW journey to get to where I am now has been complete down shift in terms of speed. One minute I lived for the day, didn’t know where I would end up in the big wide world and was constantly dating and meeting new people and having adventures.

Since moving in with CeCe, I’ve been tethered to our very tiny apartment, my clothes are in a wardrobe and I’m back on the London job market.

However, every night CeCe and I talk about where we’re at in terms of our relationship and our OUDBOD dreams. OUDBOD is kind of like our bible; a source of inspiration, but we also use it as a tool to constantly remind ourselves of what we want, and hold each other to account. (To boot, we’ve decorated our apartment with some of the Grains of Sand I collected from all over the world.)

I have come to realise that when I set up AYMW my goal was get to know someone naturally, see if we work as a team and see if they – like me – strive to keep life interesting. And what better way than to live with someone in a tiny apartment, struggle with them financially but still harbour big hopes and dreams that we want to pull off within a year?

So I’m definitely have the two month itch, but the itch is not to get married quickly or – on the other hand – to be single again and back doing the wild AYMW process. I’m itchy to get a good job right now, be stable and work on OUDBOD dreams.

Whether or not we achieve our main mission – to remove the ? from AYMW – remains to be seen. But for now, I’m happy to be downshifting the speed. Living out of a bag is only fun for so long, but having a nest to come home to and contribute to is an awesome feeling.

And if Cece and I do well at these slow speeds, maybe next year we’ll up-shift and speed off in some new and wild direction. And of course, everyone reading this is invited to participate.

I’m also very itchy to get my laptop fixed, so I can make another video!

More soon…

***

Other Stuff:

A few folks don’t want to come all the way here to OurUltimateDate.com. They like the old AreYouMyWife blog just fine. So I decided to mirror all posts on the old blog as well. That way nobody has to re-shuffle their bookmarks, RSSs and email update feeds. The customer is, after all, always right!

Oh, and if your wondering why I took my UK contact phone number down, it’s because a woman in Sri Lanka was harassing me at all hours of day and night to get her out of that country.

Insecurity & the Green Eyed Monster

A young woman cornered me in the hall today while between classes. Although she looked very young it appeared that she had 3 small children under the age of 5. She began by telling me what a wonderful man her husband was and then added that even though she knows that he is faithful to her, at times she flips into the Green Eyed Monster if she sees him in the vicinity of a woman.

Intellectually she understands that he has done nothing wrong, but emotionally she feels terrified that he will eventually see another woman and then leave her. She wanted to know how she can learn how to trust people.

I realized that in the few seconds we had in the hallway there was no magic answer I could offer that would bring her the peace that she desired. What I did say was this - I told her that irrational jealousy (the kind that is not based on fact but on emotion alone) has nothing to do with trusting one's spouse. I told her that in fact this type of jealousy is rooted in her negative feelings about herself, and her belief that she wasn't good enough or pretty enough or wife enough for him - or any man. Deep down She had great difficulty loving herself and so it was very difficult for her to understand how anyone else could love her.

So she was creating a dialog in her mind that told her that one of these days he will discover just how worthless she is and then he will go off with a real woman. She doesn't trust herself enough to believe that she can be a good enough person for this man who is so loving, spiritual and wonderful - surely she didn't truly deserve him right?

Tears rose in her eyes and she looked at me clearly and said "So it is me isn't it? I'm the one who needs to work this out." "Yes" I said gently. And that doesn't mean that there is something defective in you. Most young women go through periods in their life when they feel insecure and jealous. But you are way ahead of them because you have the desire to figure out what's wrong so you can change it before it becomes a problem."

I told her that even I had tangled with the Green Eyed Monster as a young bride, and that I successfully overcame it, and so could she. She smiled and seemed to feel great relief. She had a new understanding and a goal to work toward, and most of all she was motivated by the love of her family and her desire to love herself; and to make this change a priority in her life.

Before one can change a problem, we first have to recognize that there is a problem. Once we realize there is a problem we need to have the courage to deal with it and replace it with something positive that will enrich our life.

Insecurity & the Green Eyed Monster

A young woman cornered me in the hall today while between classes. Although she looked very young it appeared that she had 3 small children under the age of 5. She began by telling me what a wonderful man her husband was and then added that even though she knows that he is faithful to her, at times she flips into the Green Eyed Monster if she sees him in the vicinity of a woman.

Intellectually she understands that he has done nothing wrong, but emotionally she feels terrified that he will eventually see another woman and then leave her. She wanted to know how she can learn how to trust people.

I realized that in the few seconds we had in the hallway there was no magic answer I could offer that would bring her the peace that she desired. What I did say was this - I told her that irrational jealousy (the kind that is not based on fact but on emotion alone) has nothing to do with trusting one's spouse. I told her that in fact this type of jealousy is rooted in her negative feelings about herself, and her belief that she wasn't good enough or pretty enough or wife enough for him - or any man. Deep down She had great difficulty loving herself and so it was very difficult for her to understand how anyone else could love her.

So she was creating a dialog in her mind that told her that one of these days he will discover just how worthless she is and then he will go off with a real woman. She doesn't trust herself enough to believe that she can be a good enough person for this man who is so loving, spiritual and wonderful - surely she didn't truly deserve him right?

Tears rose in her eyes and she looked at me clearly and said "So it is me isn't it? I'm the one who needs to work this out." "Yes" I said gently. And that doesn't mean that there is something defective in you. Most young women go through periods in their life when they feel insecure and jealous. But you are way ahead of them because you have the desire to figure out what's wrong so you can change it before it becomes a problem."

I told her that even I had tangled with the Green Eyed Monster as a young bride, and that I successfully overcame it, and so could she. She smiled and seemed to feel great relief. She had a new understanding and a goal to work toward, and most of all she was motivated by the love of her family and her desire to love herself; and to make this change a priority in her life.

Before one can change a problem, we first have to recognize that there is a problem. Once we realize there is a problem we need to have the courage to deal with it and replace it with something positive that will enrich our life.

Do webput a motor-in-savings

When you get your personal webcashmotor you feel happy about the usability and you feel very happy when you touch some initial benefits in cash results. Because in Economy 4G3W that maked by communication motors (mousephones, computers and others screens 4G3W) you are in a cash webpowered universocial space, where you get one or more properties, the owndated webquantums.

Any of your owndated webquantum reached by the datevaluation of any 10€ parcel it becames a registered property where the webcashmatic added value is generated for your webcashaccount profit. For your cashcall_economic_power.

Each owndated webquantum is composed by :

_ 10€ of bank cash, ready to revert as you keep the right for at any moment ;

_ 1 quantum of time stock, the owndated moment of your 10€ datevaluation ;

_ 1 finantial openmix wuwlinked money-to-money, your webpowered tagparcel.

With this material The Webcash_Universocial_Web arrange all the webcashmatic process for your income cash.
And your economic life go up forever. Because webpowered in cash phasis. It means cashkeeping and riskfree.

So your webcashmotor is a motor for savings, because you keep your cash. Just you webput a motor-in.

Then if you tagvaporate your tagparcel, it is better and you may increase the speed and the quantities by your personalized added values.

Code for CC WOC-UP-YOU :


Woc-Up-You by FilipeAlvesFerreira is licensed under a Creative Commons Reconocimiento-No comercial-Compartir bajo la misma licencia 3.0 Estados Unidos License.
Based on a work at knol.google.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://filipealvesferreira.blogspot.com/.

Do webput a motor-in-savings

When you get your personal webcashmotor you feel happy about the usability and you feel very happy when you touch some initial benefits in cash results. Because in Economy 4G3W that maked by communication motors (mousephones, computers and others screens 4G3W) you are in a cash webpowered universocial space, where you get one or more properties, the owndated webquantums.

Any of your owndated webquantum reached by the datevaluation of any 10€ parcel it becames a registered property where the webcashmatic added value is generated for your webcashaccount profit. For your cashcall_economic_power.

Each owndated webquantum is composed by :

_ 10€ of bank cash, ready to revert as you keep the right for at any moment ;

_ 1 quantum of time stock, the owndated moment of your 10€ datevaluation ;

_ 1 finantial openmix wuwlinked money-to-money, your webpowered tagparcel.

With this material The Webcash_Universocial_Web arrange all the webcashmatic process for your income cash.
And your economic life go up forever. Because webpowered in cash phasis. It means cashkeeping and riskfree.

So your webcashmotor is a motor for savings, because you keep your cash. Just you webput a motor-in.

Then if you tagvaporate your tagparcel, it is better and you may increase the speed and the quantities by your personalized added values.

Code for CC WOC-UP-YOU :


Woc-Up-You by FilipeAlvesFerreira is licensed under a Creative Commons Reconocimiento-No comercial-Compartir bajo la misma licencia 3.0 Estados Unidos License.
Based on a work at knol.google.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://filipealvesferreira.blogspot.com/.

Riddle 100

Riddle:

Ravi’s father has four sons: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and _______?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 100

Riddle:

Ravi’s father has four sons: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and _______?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 99

Riddle:

A bus driver was heading down a street in Colorado. He went right past a stop sign without stopping, he turned left where there was a "no left turn" sign, and he went the wrong way on a one-way street. Then he went on the left side of the road past a cop car. Still - he didn't break any traffic laws. Why not?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 99

Riddle:

A bus driver was heading down a street in Colorado. He went right past a stop sign without stopping, he turned left where there was a "no left turn" sign, and he went the wrong way on a one-way street. Then he went on the left side of the road past a cop car. Still - he didn't break any traffic laws. Why not?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 98

Riddle:

I have one, you have one.
If you remove the first letter, a bit remains.
If you remove the second, bit still remains.
After much trying, you might be able to remove the third one also, but it remains.
It dies hard!

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 98

Riddle:

I have one, you have one.
If you remove the first letter, a bit remains.
If you remove the second, bit still remains.
After much trying, you might be able to remove the third one also, but it remains.
It dies hard!

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 97

Riddle:

You and a friend decide to have an egg spinning contest. What can you do to make sure that your egg spins the longest?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 97

Riddle:

You and a friend decide to have an egg spinning contest. What can you do to make sure that your egg spins the longest?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 96

Riddle:

What can bring back the dead; make us cry, make us laugh, make us young; born in an instant yet lasts a life time?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 96

Riddle:

What can bring back the dead; make us cry, make us laugh, make us young; born in an instant yet lasts a life time?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 95

Riddle:

An iron horse with a flaxen tail. The faster the horse runs, the shorter his tail becomes. What is it?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 95

Riddle:

An iron horse with a flaxen tail. The faster the horse runs, the shorter his tail becomes. What is it?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 94

Riddle:

Who is your mother's only sister's son's brother's aunt's daughter's sister's father?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 94

Riddle:

Who is your mother's only sister's son's brother's aunt's daughter's sister's father?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 93

Riddle:

Three lives have I.
Gentle enough to soothe the skin,
Light enough to caress the sky,
Hard enough to crack rocks.
What am i?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 93

Riddle:

Three lives have I.
Gentle enough to soothe the skin,
Light enough to caress the sky,
Hard enough to crack rocks.
What am i?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 92

Riddle:

The Pope has it but he does not use it. Your father has it but your mother uses it. Nuns do not need it. Arnold Schwarzenneger has a big one, Michael J. Fox's is quite small. What is it?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 92

Riddle:

The Pope has it but he does not use it. Your father has it but your mother uses it. Nuns do not need it. Arnold Schwarzenneger has a big one, Michael J. Fox's is quite small. What is it?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 91

Riddle:

Take away my first letter; take away my second letter; take away all my letters, and I would still remain the same. What am I?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 91

Riddle:

Take away my first letter; take away my second letter; take away all my letters, and I would still remain the same. What am I?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 90

Riddle:

What types of animals can jump higher than a house?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 90

Riddle:

What types of animals can jump higher than a house?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 89

Riddle:

I am a window, I am a lamp, I am clouded, I am shining, and I am coloured; set in white, I fill with water and overflow. I say much, but I have no words. What am I?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 89

Riddle:

I am a window, I am a lamp, I am clouded, I am shining, and I am coloured; set in white, I fill with water and overflow. I say much, but I have no words. What am I?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 88

Riddle:

What do bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers all have in common?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 88

Riddle:

What do bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers all have in common?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 87

Riddle:

Though liquid in nature, don't push me too far; for then I will break, and the damage may scar.

What am I?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 87

Riddle:

Though liquid in nature, don't push me too far; for then I will break, and the damage may scar.

What am I?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 86

Riddle:

You can see nothing else
When you look in my face,
I will look you in the eye
And I will never lie.

What am i?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 86

Riddle:

You can see nothing else
When you look in my face,
I will look you in the eye
And I will never lie.

What am i?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 85

Riddle:

In the following line of letters, cross out six letters so that the remaining letters, without altering their sequence, will spell a familiar English word.

B S A I N X L E A T N T E A R S

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 85

Riddle:

In the following line of letters, cross out six letters so that the remaining letters, without altering their sequence, will spell a familiar English word.

B S A I N X L E A T N T E A R S

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 84

Riddle:

An archeologist finds a coin dated 48 B.C. How did he know it was a fake?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 84

Riddle:

An archeologist finds a coin dated 48 B.C. How did he know it was a fake?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 83

Riddle:

Brad stared through the dirty soot-smeared window on the 22nd floor of the office tower. Overcome with depression he slid the window open and jumped through it. It was a sheer drop outside the building to the ground. Miraculously after he landed he was completely unhurt. Since there was nothing to cushion his fall or slow his descent, how could he have survived the fall?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 83

Riddle:

Brad stared through the dirty soot-smeared window on the 22nd floor of the office tower. Overcome with depression he slid the window open and jumped through it. It was a sheer drop outside the building to the ground. Miraculously after he landed he was completely unhurt. Since there was nothing to cushion his fall or slow his descent, how could he have survived the fall?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 82

Riddle:

A hole leading in, a hole leading out, we connect to a cavern that is slimey all throughout. What are we?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 82

Riddle:

A hole leading in, a hole leading out, we connect to a cavern that is slimey all throughout. What are we?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 81

Riddle:

Lovely and round,
I shine with pale light,
grown in the darkness,
A lady’s delight.

What am I?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 81

Riddle:

Lovely and round,
I shine with pale light,
grown in the darkness,
A lady’s delight.

What am I?

For Solution click HERE

Riddle 80

Riddle:

A man has recently escaped from prison and is making his way home on foot. He is walking along a straight rural country lane in bright daylight. He has walked about two miles from the prison, when he sees a police car coming toward him. Despite knowing that all squads would be out looking for him, he ran towards the car for a short while, and only when he was about ten feet away, did he turn and run into the woods to hide. Why did he run towards the police car?

For Solution Click HERE

Riddle 80

Riddle:

A man has recently escaped from prison and is making his way home on foot. He is walking along a straight rural country lane in bright daylight. He has walked about two miles from the prison, when he sees a police car coming toward him. Despite knowing that all squads would be out looking for him, he ran towards the car for a short while, and only when he was about ten feet away, did he turn and run into the woods to hide. Why did he run towards the police car?

For Solution Click HERE

Riddle 79

Riddle:

Mr. and Mrs. Mustard have six daughters and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the Mustard family?

For Solution Click HERE

Riddle 79

Riddle:

Mr. and Mrs. Mustard have six daughters and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the Mustard family?

For Solution Click HERE

Riddle 78

Riddle:

Always invisible, yet never out of sight. What are they?

For Solution Click HERE

Riddle 78

Riddle:

Always invisible, yet never out of sight. What are they?

For Solution Click HERE

Riddle 77

Riddle:

What does man love more than life
Fear more than death or mortal strife
What the poor have, the rich require,
and what contented men desire,
What the miser spends and the spendthrift saves
And all men carry to their graves?

For Solution Click HERE

Riddle 77

Riddle:

What does man love more than life
Fear more than death or mortal strife
What the poor have, the rich require,
and what contented men desire,
What the miser spends and the spendthrift saves
And all men carry to their graves?

For Solution Click HERE

Riddle 76

Riddle:

On an average day, what mode of transportation carries more passengers than any other?

For Solution Click HERE

Riddle 76

Riddle:

On an average day, what mode of transportation carries more passengers than any other?

For Solution Click HERE

WMDs and Other Battles

Update from OurUltimateDate.com

The couple who battles together stays together, right?


Every night CeCe and I discuss how our personal battles are going, and what progress – if any – we’re making on our OUDBOD missions (dreams). Two of my major – and recent – personal battles have shared logistical challenges: masks, walls and doors...

On the first front: getting a job. I’ve been gritting my teeth and squeezing the auto-fire in shelling my CV out over a wide target area. However, after a month of battling the teeming masses of elusive, cold-calling London recruitment agents, I feel that I have finally broken down a few walls to secure a small group of “good” agents.

This, in turn, got me through a few doors onto the field where I soldier at my best: interviews with decision makers. Me, them, no masks.

I suppose you could call that “covering fire” for CeCe: If I get a job, she can worry less about rent and focus on her core mission: OUDBOD Dream#2 – Fashion World. Already she has plans to go back to school part-time! CeCe is a soldier who wants training.

On the other battle front: Dream#3: Helping people around the world find their soul-mates. Same logistic challenges: masks, walls and doors. In my search for a soul-mate I did it my way with the AreYouMyWife blog. You could say I created a WMD: Weapon of Mass Dating. My AYMW-WMD smashed down several walls, opened many doors and removed a lot of masks, on a global scale.

And that got me here with CeCe: The Ultimate Date: an even bigger challenge with more soldiers and a mandate that grows with time, small victories and (potentially) additional OUDBOD missions.

However, as many people have pointed out to me, I’m not longer using my WMD. Now I’m thinking about how I might share this instrument, modify it for the good of planet Earth, and make it user friendly to all. That – in military talk – is OUDBOD Mission Dream#3.

I have a two-tier strategy (I love saying that) for both battles. In the next couple of weeks I’ll be going to some interviews and meetings. Hopefully the interviews will get me a good job, and the meetings will lay the ground work for a public Weapon of Mass Dating that not even George W. Bush could miss.

Over and out... More soon...

WMDs and Other Battles

Update from OurUltimateDate.com

The couple who battles together stays together, right?


Every night CeCe and I discuss how our personal battles are going, and what progress – if any – we’re making on our OUDBOD missions (dreams). Two of my major – and recent – personal battles have shared logistical challenges: masks, walls and doors...

On the first front: getting a job. I’ve been gritting my teeth and squeezing the auto-fire in shelling my CV out over a wide target area. However, after a month of battling the teeming masses of elusive, cold-calling London recruitment agents, I feel that I have finally broken down a few walls to secure a small group of “good” agents.

This, in turn, got me through a few doors onto the field where I soldier at my best: interviews with decision makers. Me, them, no masks.

I suppose you could call that “covering fire” for CeCe: If I get a job, she can worry less about rent and focus on her core mission: OUDBOD Dream#2 – Fashion World. Already she has plans to go back to school part-time! CeCe is a soldier who wants training.

On the other battle front: Dream#3: Helping people around the world find their soul-mates. Same logistic challenges: masks, walls and doors. In my search for a soul-mate I did it my way with the AreYouMyWife blog. You could say I created a WMD: Weapon of Mass Dating. My AYMW-WMD smashed down several walls, opened many doors and removed a lot of masks, on a global scale.

And that got me here with CeCe: The Ultimate Date: an even bigger challenge with more soldiers and a mandate that grows with time, small victories and (potentially) additional OUDBOD missions.

However, as many people have pointed out to me, I’m not longer using my WMD. Now I’m thinking about how I might share this instrument, modify it for the good of planet Earth, and make it user friendly to all. That – in military talk – is OUDBOD Mission Dream#3.

I have a two-tier strategy (I love saying that) for both battles. In the next couple of weeks I’ll be going to some interviews and meetings. Hopefully the interviews will get me a good job, and the meetings will lay the ground work for a public Weapon of Mass Dating that not even George W. Bush could miss.

Over and out... More soon...

Weight Loss & the Latest Studies

Weight loss. Most of us have had to think about it, all of us have an opinion about it but few really understand why it is so difficult for one person to maintain a healthy weight while for others it just seems like an impossibility.

Studies abound stating everything from the longevity benefits from weight loss to touting that overweight people who are otherwise healthy may increase their risk of dying by intentionally losing weight, according to provocative new research. The truth is that not even the scientific community fully understands the psychological and physiological reasons for obesity.

A recent study shows that many of those who cannot seem to eat less have a deficiency of certain hormones in the hypothalamus causing them to be unaware of feeling full until their belly feels engorged.

Another study mirrors what psychologists have said for years, that the hypothalamus is programmed to feel satiated by three emotions, hunger satiation, sexual satiation or anger release. It suggests that of the three having sex is the best way to satisfy the bodies chemical needs and prevent over eating as an emotional crutch.

With Science being at the forefront of discovering how our brain and body are connected it seems that learning why some people find it easier to remain thin while others fight weight their entire life should be forthcoming. In the meantime however, let's be satisfied to understand that not every "body" is the same.

In fact, eating healthy and exercising is a good general rule of thumb for everyone. But for many, doing so is much more difficult; and the truth is, we don't really understand why. Perhaps we as a people can be less judgmental and more compassionate when it comes to the issue of weight.

Weight Loss & the Latest Studies

Weight loss. Most of us have had to think about it, all of us have an opinion about it but few really understand why it is so difficult for one person to maintain a healthy weight while for others it just seems like an impossibility.

Studies abound stating everything from the longevity benefits from weight loss to touting that overweight people who are otherwise healthy may increase their risk of dying by intentionally losing weight, according to provocative new research. The truth is that not even the scientific community fully understands the psychological and physiological reasons for obesity.

A recent study shows that many of those who cannot seem to eat less have a deficiency of certain hormones in the hypothalamus causing them to be unaware of feeling full until their belly feels engorged.

Another study mirrors what psychologists have said for years, that the hypothalamus is programmed to feel satiated by three emotions, hunger satiation, sexual satiation or anger release. It suggests that of the three having sex is the best way to satisfy the bodies chemical needs and prevent over eating as an emotional crutch.

With Science being at the forefront of discovering how our brain and body are connected it seems that learning why some people find it easier to remain thin while others fight weight their entire life should be forthcoming. In the meantime however, let's be satisfied to understand that not every "body" is the same.

In fact, eating healthy and exercising is a good general rule of thumb for everyone. But for many, doing so is much more difficult; and the truth is, we don't really understand why. Perhaps we as a people can be less judgmental and more compassionate when it comes to the issue of weight.

Media and their icons

Update from OurUltimateDate.com
The other week CeCe and I did a cool interview with Lorraine Kelly. Her production team made an icon for a vignette that made me look like this:









And here’s that interview:
VIDEO: Lorraine Kelly Interview on Sep-06-2007
(Video not working? Click here)

Here’s what CeCe thinks the logo should look like now:

And I’ve got some job interviews this week. As soon as I get a job, we can start working harder on our OUDBOD Dreams…

Or buy a plane.

Media and their icons

Update from OurUltimateDate.com
The other week CeCe and I did a cool interview with Lorraine Kelly. Her production team made an icon for a vignette that made me look like this:









And here’s that interview:
VIDEO: Lorraine Kelly Interview on Sep-06-2007
(Video not working? Click here)

Here’s what CeCe thinks the logo should look like now:

And I’ve got some job interviews this week. As soon as I get a job, we can start working harder on our OUDBOD Dreams…

Or buy a plane.

Mountain Bike = Job?

Update from OurUltimateDate.com

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been a bit down. I’ve been waking up every day in a nightmare that I faced two years ago: Dealing with London recruitment agents.

When I first moved to London in January of 2005, I hit a series of walls. In order to find a job, I trawled through hundreds of internet sites, fired off thousands of tailored CVs and made – as well as received – hundreds of cold-calls from high-octane, fast talking recruitment agents.

But back then – and again now in deja-vu – these agents rattle off briefs and specs and speak as if I already have the role they’re pitching. They use words like “fab location”, “stunning offices” and “brilliant benefits.” Sometimes they get so excited I feel as if I could write cheques on what they say. But bounce, bounce, bounce.

They never call back. Or their PAs tell me that are always in meetings (despite one incident where the PA forgot to cover the mouthpiece when asking the agent if he was in.) Or my email inbox fills up with thousands of “AUTO-REPLY” messages, cut from a templates about “not right at this time” and “keeping me on file.”

For my entire 28 years of pre-London life, if I wanted a certain job I would just walk into head office, speak to the boss, make him/her laugh, shake their hand, and get the job.

But not in London. They like things to be complicated here. In a funny way, using a CV and an agent to get a job is kind of like dating: there are a lot of games involved as well as masking of true character.

So how does an employer in London see the real me and all my skills instead of my CV in a pile?

Oh my! The last time I asked a question like that, I set up AreYouMyWife.com, went around the world, asked CeCe out on the Ultimate Date and came back to where I started.

So maybe I should set up AreYouMyJOB! Yea! I could make it no rules, worldwide, dare bosses to interview me instead of trusting a potentially BS-CV and some Redbull-chugging, quota-having, sales-driven recruitment agent!

Hmmmmm….. so many ideas here.

But finally history repeated itself. Back when I first got to London I would finally meet a quality recruitment agent in the teeming masses of crappy ones who believed in me as a person, not just as a paper, and told me what my problem was: my CV. It wasn’t “Londonized.”

One day, she invited me to her office and sat me down with my CV and a red pen. Where I might have written “answered phones”, she wrote “liaised with suppliers and operations in a client facing role.” I hadn’t “written a book” but “produced copy in an agency facing role.” I hadn’t been a “CSR” but a “Team coordinator in a front line consumer facing role.”

Systematically, this wonderful agent “buzz-worded” my CV. Because in London, it’s all about titles. With that, she got me onto a playing field on which I never lose: THE INTERVIEW.

I love job interviews. I thrive on them. I treat them like friends having a discussion: I have fun, I make people laugh, and I handle questions and objections and always get offered a job.

Back to the present: Yesterday a recruitment agent who is a friend of a friend called. He sounded bored. He was going through the motions asking me routine questions about my CV when… SUDDENLY! ... and excitedly, he asked: “What kind of bike do you have?”

He had come to the last section of my CV: Hobbies/Sports. The first entry was mountain biking.

Next thing I knew he invited me to his office to show me his mountain bike. Then we went to the pub. Between talking about suspension, fat tires, cranks and Z-frames, (but never mud-guards), this wonderful agent once again tailored my CV to what he needed to get me into the interview room.

I guess it’s not just who you know, but what you know… about bikes.

Mountain Bike = Job?

Update from OurUltimateDate.com

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been a bit down. I’ve been waking up every day in a nightmare that I faced two years ago: Dealing with London recruitment agents.

When I first moved to London in January of 2005, I hit a series of walls. In order to find a job, I trawled through hundreds of internet sites, fired off thousands of tailored CVs and made – as well as received – hundreds of cold-calls from high-octane, fast talking recruitment agents.

But back then – and again now in deja-vu – these agents rattle off briefs and specs and speak as if I already have the role they’re pitching. They use words like “fab location”, “stunning offices” and “brilliant benefits.” Sometimes they get so excited I feel as if I could write cheques on what they say. But bounce, bounce, bounce.

They never call back. Or their PAs tell me that are always in meetings (despite one incident where the PA forgot to cover the mouthpiece when asking the agent if he was in.) Or my email inbox fills up with thousands of “AUTO-REPLY” messages, cut from a templates about “not right at this time” and “keeping me on file.”

For my entire 28 years of pre-London life, if I wanted a certain job I would just walk into head office, speak to the boss, make him/her laugh, shake their hand, and get the job.

But not in London. They like things to be complicated here. In a funny way, using a CV and an agent to get a job is kind of like dating: there are a lot of games involved as well as masking of true character.

So how does an employer in London see the real me and all my skills instead of my CV in a pile?

Oh my! The last time I asked a question like that, I set up AreYouMyWife.com, went around the world, asked CeCe out on the Ultimate Date and came back to where I started.

So maybe I should set up AreYouMyJOB! Yea! I could make it no rules, worldwide, dare bosses to interview me instead of trusting a potentially BS-CV and some Redbull-chugging, quota-having, sales-driven recruitment agent!

Hmmmmm….. so many ideas here.

But finally history repeated itself. Back when I first got to London I would finally meet a quality recruitment agent in the teeming masses of crappy ones who believed in me as a person, not just as a paper, and told me what my problem was: my CV. It wasn’t “Londonized.”

One day, she invited me to her office and sat me down with my CV and a red pen. Where I might have written “answered phones”, she wrote “liaised with suppliers and operations in a client facing role.” I hadn’t “written a book” but “produced copy in an agency facing role.” I hadn’t been a “CSR” but a “Team coordinator in a front line consumer facing role.”

Systematically, this wonderful agent “buzz-worded” my CV. Because in London, it’s all about titles. With that, she got me onto a playing field on which I never lose: THE INTERVIEW.

I love job interviews. I thrive on them. I treat them like friends having a discussion: I have fun, I make people laugh, and I handle questions and objections and always get offered a job.

Back to the present: Yesterday a recruitment agent who is a friend of a friend called. He sounded bored. He was going through the motions asking me routine questions about my CV when… SUDDENLY! ... and excitedly, he asked: “What kind of bike do you have?”

He had come to the last section of my CV: Hobbies/Sports. The first entry was mountain biking.

Next thing I knew he invited me to his office to show me his mountain bike. Then we went to the pub. Between talking about suspension, fat tires, cranks and Z-frames, (but never mud-guards), this wonderful agent once again tailored my CV to what he needed to get me into the interview room.

I guess it’s not just who you know, but what you know… about bikes.

Embellir les mauvaises herbes. Summer Trees

Weeds- 2008 version, silkscreen on communion wafers (food coloring)

Embellir les mauvaises herbes. Summer Trees

Weeds- 2008 version, silkscreen on communion wafers (food coloring)

Worry, Anxiety & Self Confidence

Worry is one of the most common forms of anxiety, and one of the easiest to understand. We worry because we don't like the feeling of not being in control of the world around us. We worry because we have at some point in our life convinced ourself that if we can't control the world around us, then worry is the next best way to stay on top of those things we cannot control.

Anxiety or worrying in its simplest form is neither a problem nor an emotional deficit. It is when we have created a habit of worrying that interferes with our ability to fully relax and/or enjoy life that it can become a devastating problem.

The degree to which we worry is directly linked to our lack of self confidence. We worry because deep inside we do not believe that we have the ability to cope with the traumatic situations we worry about. We become anxious and worry because we do not have confidence in our own ability to deal with the difficulties that life might present to us.

Acknowledging your worrying as a negative influence in your life is the first step. Making a commitment to overcome your irrational fears by replacing a negative habit with something more positive is the way to begin your journey toward a healthier way of coping with life.

One of the best ways to begin to work your way out of habitually worrying is to start a worry journal.

• Whenever you find yourself worrying intensely about something, write your worry down in your journal.
• Attempt to determine to what degree your fear is rational and to what degree it is having a negative effect on your emotions, and behaviors.
• Then think through the scenario that is fearful to you and imagine to what degree you would be able to take control of the situation. Find those aspects of your personality that will enable you to cope, to survive and to carry on in spite of life's unexpected difficulties. In essence create a plan of empowerment.
  

Most of us are afraid of what we do not understand and what we fear we cannot control. So begin by replacing irrational fears with rational solutions. Doing so will increase your level of self confidence. And when you feel confident in your ability to deal with life's trials, you will no longer have the need to worry.

Worry, Anxiety & Self Confidence

Worry is one of the most common forms of anxiety, and one of the easiest to understand. We worry because we don't like the feeling of not being in control of the world around us. We worry because we have at some point in our life convinced ourself that if we can't control the world around us, then worry is the next best way to stay on top of those things we cannot control.

Anxiety or worrying in its simplest form is neither a problem nor an emotional deficit. It is when we have created a habit of worrying that interferes with our ability to fully relax and/or enjoy life that it can become a devastating problem.

The degree to which we worry is directly linked to our lack of self confidence. We worry because deep inside we do not believe that we have the ability to cope with the traumatic situations we worry about. We become anxious and worry because we do not have confidence in our own ability to deal with the difficulties that life might present to us.

Acknowledging your worrying as a negative influence in your life is the first step. Making a commitment to overcome your irrational fears by replacing a negative habit with something more positive is the way to begin your journey toward a healthier way of coping with life.

One of the best ways to begin to work your way out of habitually worrying is to start a worry journal.

• Whenever you find yourself worrying intensely about something, write your worry down in your journal.
• Attempt to determine to what degree your fear is rational and to what degree it is having a negative effect on your emotions, and behaviors.
• Then think through the scenario that is fearful to you and imagine to what degree you would be able to take control of the situation. Find those aspects of your personality that will enable you to cope, to survive and to carry on in spite of life's unexpected difficulties. In essence create a plan of empowerment.
  

Most of us are afraid of what we do not understand and what we fear we cannot control. So begin by replacing irrational fears with rational solutions. Doing so will increase your level of self confidence. And when you feel confident in your ability to deal with life's trials, you will no longer have the need to worry.