It’s been nearly a week after I kicked off the maiden voyage of my site’s “Projects” section and everyone’s heads are already spinning, save for my wife. I haven’t polled the audience, but the rollercoaster of new diet, stable morning and evening routine, and purposeful limiting of certain technology has spun, looped, and stalled. I’ve made promises of getting back on, exhausted convenient excuses, dallied, and delayed. But the one guarantee I haven’t scratched off the tin, however, has been to keep you updated on the whole ride – that was part of the deal, remember? So, your dizziness is to be expected – after all, the warning signs were flashing, the height requirement well-posted.
My wife, on the other hand, chose not to board. Unlike everyone else, she’s managed to avoid the twists and disappointment entirely. However, she has the added benefit of experience on her side. Over the years I’ve known her, she’s learned that while I’m capable, I’m also a slow or false-starter. Eventually I’ll get there with these things, but it’s going to take me a few goes. So, when I see her eye-rolls at my fresh announcements, I know they’re justified, as is her continued support in the off-chance that one takes hold.
Several months ago, I tried a similar experiment, at least with my diet. I did precisely what I plan to do this go around: an extreme version of the ketogentic diet called the “Carnivore Diet,” where food is limited to just animal products. Same song and dance – big announcement from me, eye-rolling, and a few false-starts, but after I got those out of the way, I was 14 days in with just over two weeks to go. I waivered a bit around week three, asking her if I should end it early, and if not for her renewed pushing to get through the full month, I might not have made it.
This time isn’t different, neither in execution nor, I hope, in follow through. Tomorrow is another honest-to-goodness attempt, and with any luck, I’ll make it to the end of the 30 days. Having done this a few times, Not just the carnivore diet, but a low-carb / ketogenic option. I’ve realized the toughest part is the first few days, roughly 5 to 7. Beyond that my body gets used to the change, and it boils down to managing the hunger, not the cravings. I described that bit to my family as hearing the “Jumanji” drums. When I get that far in, it’s easy to ignore hunger pain at first, but the build-up is slow and more consistent, just like the score to the original “Jumangi” series. In the morning, they’re soft, barely audible. But given some time, they deafen the senses and must be addressed.
Now for the twist – as I’ve been out walking with my daughter, I’ve had extra time to think. Add to that the favors called in from friends who need some technology help, and you’ve got the perfect storm of “asking too much” of myself and my schedule. I don’t mean I don’t have time to help them out, rather they’ve inspired me to invest or manufacture some spare time into doing a few learning-related activities for myself. So, as unwise as it may sound, I’m going to add at least two more projects to my projects section tomorrow Don’t worry, these won’t be on any timeline like the health one. – one for app development, and another for advanced data visualization using D3. D3 (or D3.js) stands for “data driven documents,” and is a javascript library for web-based data storytelling.
How do I plan to this and where does this time come from? Well, those details will need to come out in the wash, but I have a few ideas. But I’ll save those for a later update. What everyone should know now, though, is that the rollercoaster is starting up again, and it’s time for you to decide to join with my wife in another ocular-ascending chorus, or choose to bet that this time will pay out.