#15 - No Shaving

Challenge: No Shaving for one month.

I made it one month. It wasn’t pretty. In fact, it got downright ugly. (See exhibit A and exhibit B) I have never tried to grow out my facial hair because I don’t have the HPSI* as some men (and women) do. However, I can say I did it and know what it looks like in case the thought to grow a beard ever crosses my mind again.

Fun fact: My friend and I used to spray Rogaine on our faces every morning on the bus in high school because we wanted facial hair/side burns like Joe Mauer or Tom Selleck. No, it didn’t work. Still doesn’t.



Take-aways
1. You have to get used to what you’re given. I have wanted straight hair and a nice five o’ clock shadow, but I get curls and poorly placed whiskers. You may not love the way you look or how God made you, but rejecting it your whole life makes things worse. You have to embrace it. Just ask the X-Men or any super hero or Tim Allen in The Santa Clause.
2. It was nice to not have to shave twice a week. I used that extra time to straighten my hair.

*Hairs per square inch

NEXT CHALLENGE: Mirror, mirror on the wall, I will not look at you at all.

#14 - Glasses

Challenge: Wear glasses for one week.
This challenge started as a Halloween costume at work and became a week-long endeavor in solidarity with all other four-eyed creatures in the world. Technically, they weren’t spectacles, but rather white sunglasses with the lenses popped out. Many folks thought it was a fashion statement. For others, it confirmed their suspicion that I am a weirdy. I commend those who wear these seeing specs as they can be quite bothersome. They got crushed playing football and nearly melted in the sauna. They limit your peripheral vision and can make one’s face heavier. Nonetheless, I felt like I understood the agitation that poor vision can bring.

Take-aways:
1. Glasses are an extension of one’s body. People who wear them, like me, understand.
2. Some people, like me, look better with glasses.

Sincerely,
The 20/20 Hipster

#13 - Fruit and Veggies Only

Challenge: Eat fruits and vegetables only for one week.

I made it 5 days. The idea of not partaking in the smorgasbord at a family get together last weekend did not sit well with me or me tummy. It wasn’t worth “sevening.” Also, I had a cold all week and saw my doctor. He recommended not dieting/detoxing while sick as it can make sickness last longer. Still, I wussed out.

The hardest part of the five days was abstaining from sweets. I look forward to eating things that whet my pallet. When I cannot, I almost feel a void. I could not look forward to a malt in the evening or a burger when I’m out to eat. I realized how easy it is to become dependent on comfort foods. I do, however, enjoy eating vegetables and fruits and had no problem eating an abundance of them over my five day stretch. I felt better and had more energy. I also think my organs offered up an audible thank you now and then.

Take-aways
1. Eating is one of the great pleasures in life. Tucking into a juicy burger or a delicious bowl of ice cream can be a real joy.
2. Food ≠ Happiness. Yes food can be awesome, but it’s not cool to be dependent on it for joy.

NEXT CHALLENGE – ONE MONTH LONG: NO SHAVING

#12 - Holding an Item

Challenge: Hold an item in my hand for a week

The item I chose was a guitar pick. It was small enough and easy enough to hold while still being able to do most things easily. So I thought. Typing was difficult, as was eating. I wore a batting glove to keep it in my hand during softball. That’s the level of commitment I have to this. I was always fighting the urge to put it down because that’s a natural reaction when you have something in your hands and then you need to use your hands.


Model shown above

The week had a flow of emotions related to this little pick. The week started off with thoughts of ‘this isn’t that hard’ which turned into ‘this is getting a little annoying’ to ‘this is ridiculous, why am I doing this’ to ‘annoyed.’ There came a time later in the week when I set it down for some reason and forgot about it. Then I saw it sitting there. By itself. Alone. Not in my hand. I picked it up with a feeling like I’ve let down a friend. There was an attachment to it that had set in. That, however, wore off quickly and it became, once again, annoying. I didn’t make it a whole week as I completely forgot about it over the weekend.

No Takeaways. There wasn’t really a purpose to this one other than a friend suggested it.
There is no real benefit to this challenge. FYI

NEXT CHALLENGE: ONLY FRUITS & VEGETABLES

#11 - Standing At Work

Challenge: Standing at work. All day.
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re sitting down, which means you’re probably digging yourself an early grave. That's what I've learned at least. After examining the lifestyles of more than 17,000 men and women over 13 years, a recent report found those who sit for most of the day were 54% more likely to die of heart attacks.



Since graduating college and being a workin' man, I've definitely been less active. I decided a change would be well-received by my heart. So I had my desk permanently raised. It wasn't too difficult for a week, especially since I sit enough during the occassional meeting during the day.

Take-aways:
1. My feet hurt. I made an appointment with Dr. Scholls
2. It's awesome not to have to get up to leave my desk. Yep, I just stay standing and move my legs to where I want to go.
3. Standing and eating is weird.

NEXT CHALLENGE: HOLDING AN ITEM IN MY HAND ALL WEEK

#10 - No Clocks

Challenge: Not looking at a clock

For decades, scientists have believed that the brain possesses an internal clock that allows it to keep track of time. A UCLA study and I have confirmed this to be true.

Analogy: If you toss a pebble into a lake, the ripples of water produced by the pebble's impact act like a signature of the pebble's entry time. The farther the ripples travel, the more time has passed. A similar process takes place in the brain that allows it to track time. Every time the brain processes a sensory event, such as a sound or flash of light, it triggers a cascade of reactions between brain cells and their connections. Each reaction leaves a signature that enables the brain cell network to encode time.

I was able to keep time in my head, from meetings that always occur at the same time each week, to the siren testing happening at 1pm, to the location of the sun. I did ask people once in a while the time.

Take-aways:
1. Managing mine time was difficult when I didn’t exactly know it.
2. I found myself either early or late to things and felt like the day moved extremely slow.
3. It was nice not to feel responsible and have a good excuse for being late. Sometimes, I think we’d all be better off living in a world without time.

NEXT CHALLENGE: STANDING AT WORK

#9 - MEET MANY PEOPLE

Challenge: Meet lots of strangers

People I met this week:
Adam – at a wedding, musician
Jill – Adam’s wife, works with Kristin
Katelyn – Kristin’s co-worker
Dan – Groom’s drunk brother
Will – smart dude, Katelyn’s hubby
Teegan – Kristin’s co-worker
Erica – Kristin’s boss
Matt – Groom at wedding
Brittany – Bride at wedding we played music in, Kristin’s former boss
Dawn – HealthPartners co-worker, really helpful door opener
Greg – talked fantasy football in The Local’s bathroom
Bridget – Librarian at Ridgedale, helped me pick out good movies
Cassandra – stellar hairstylist, from Portland
Beth – wine making genius, helped me with my first batch
Adam – guy on lightrail, talked Apple shop
Amber – subway sandwich artist
Claudia – subway sandwich artist
Tom – Tony’s friend, talked winemaking
Stacy and Jenna – Tony’s friends, now my friends
Oscar – new apartment caretaker
Nikolas – Oscar’s little boy

Take-aways
1. Trying to make friends in my adult life is way more enjoyable than making friends elementary or junior high.
2. Choosing to be friendly and meet new people has positive effects in so many ways.
3. Dale Carnegie was really right on about human nature (see How to Win Friends and Influence People)

NEXT CHALLENGE: NOT USING A CLOCK

#8 - Book In a Week

Challenge: Read a book in a week.

372 pages in 7 days. That's the fastest I've ever read a book. "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins was a book I kept hearing about from people. I figured it has to be somewhat entertaining since they're making it into a movie. And it was. I recommend it. I'm onto the second part of the trilogy, but downloaded an audiobook. It seems like cheating, but I am much more excited to get in my car to drive anywhere now.

Take-aways
1. Reading a book in a compressed amount of times really makes it more enjoyable versus reading sporatically and feeling out of touch with the book.
2. I can see why so many people read. It's sometimes better than a movie because I get to use my imagination. And what an imagination I have.

NEXT CHALLENGE: MEET AS MANY STRANGERS AS POSSIBLE

#7 - No Profanity

Challenge: No cursing for any reason.

I f***ed this one up. Swearing has become a common part of my vernacular. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. It just is. I try not to swear around anyone who I know would be offended by it. But other than that, I just don't give a s**t. That said, it's probably good to practice restraint and discipline of the tongue. It was very difficult, especially since I played a round of golf and two nights of softball this week. I swear more in competition.

I ended up with a total of 15 swears for the week. Most times, I would remember the challenge immediately after swearing.

Take-aways
1. Trying to be even-keel in sporting activities is difficult, but has allowed me to enjoy golf more.
2. I think I swear because I feel a need to show and release frustration. Holding my tongue makes me feel better about myself after competition.
3. I do not think I will stop swearing, but will try to limit it in competitions.

NEXT WEEK'S CHALLENGE: FINISH A BOOK

#6 - No Car

Challenge: No driving my car or any car.

Three days before this challenge was over, I nearly gave up. It was becoming a headache to coordinate rides everywhere and with a busy weekend ahead, I just didn't think it was worth pissing off some friends and family. But I couldn't give up and so I proceeded to inconvenience others, particularly my wife. (Thank you God for friends and a wife)

Riding the bus and light rail to work was actually nice. It was an hour and a half ride each way, so I had lots of time to read or work on music - it was kind of forced but nice to have. Except for the day when the light rail broke down and it took me over 2 hours to get work.

Interesting Nugget: 145,000 Minnesota households do not have a car.

Take-aways
1. Dependency on others is a hard pill for me to swallow. But relying on others isn't a bad things sometimes. It shows that we all need to help each other out and we're all better for it.
2. Riding public transportation, walking or biking has some huge benefits. It's cheaper, cleaner and you feel better than others who drive everywhere, like look at all the lazy people driving everywhere.(I only felt this way for a week)
3. Driving is way more convenient. If you've ever not had a car for a period of time, you know the freedomless feeling.

NEXT CHALLENGE: PROFANITY PROHIBITED

#5 - No Cell Phone

Challenge: No use of cell phone. Landline phones are acceptable.

I'm not sure how people functioned prior to cell phones. Maybe times were less busy back then. But this was a difficult challenge as I found myself in more than one frustration situation with no way to reach anyone. Planning ahead of time or via email was key. Needless to say, I failed on Day #1 to call friends as we needed an extra players for softball. I was extremely torn on whether to fail my challenge or possibly forfeit our softball game. I guess you see where my priorities lie. I did rebound and make it the next 6 straight days.

Take-aways
Texting to people via email was super helpful. Here's how you address an email to someone's phone and it will come across in a text.

AT&T – cellnumber@txt.att.net
Verizon – cellnumber@vtext.com
T-Mobile – cellnumber@tmomail.net
Sprint PCS - cellnumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com

You can also do the reverse and send an email to someone by texting their email address instead of phone number.

NEXT CHALLENGE: NO CAR

#4 - Chopstick Only*

Challenge: Use chopsticks for anything that I would normally use silverware for.

Chopsticks are supposed to be thought of as an extension of ones fingers. I don't know how the Chinese do it. Though it may improve your finger dexterity, it makes eating a chore. It's like playing the operation game with food. That's how pissed I got when trying to pick up some oatmeal with these things. Overall, I think I'm better for it because I never was good at using chopsticks.

*On the last night before the challenge ended, I forgot about my chopsticks and used silverware. I will be foregoing silverware at dinner tonight to somewhat make up for this blunder.



Take-aways:
1. I ate probably half of my meals with my hands, which I never really thought about until now. Burgers, sandwiches, cookies, fruit, etc.
2. Improved finger dexterity has led me to complete the game of Operation in under 10 seconds.

NEXT CHALLENGE: NO CELL PHONE

#3 - Stairmaster

I'll admit I wasn't too afraid of this challenge. Until I got to that 8th flight of stairs and had 5 more to go still. All in all, I climbed up and down 96 flights of stairs. According to my math, I burned about 450 calories by doing so. Just enough to justify almost all the shit I ate this week.

No learnings. Just out of breath.

I think I will keep taking the stairs whenever possible. Plus it has really helped in bulking up my legs.

Challenge: Take the stairs always - no using the elevator.

NEXT WEEK'S CHALLENGE: CHOPSTICKS ONLY

#2 - Save the nails

Challenge: Not biting my nails.

I've tried to quit this habit multiple times, but I can never get past a few days. I can say I successfully made it more than a week on this challenge (8 days) and then I fell apart. It was quite the snowball effect.

Learnings
1. It's unbelievable how many times I put my hands up to my face as if it were like blinking or breathing. It had to be like every 5-10 minutes and then I would remember that I have a challenge to conquer. Habits are hard not to bite.
2. It felt really good to be able to open things, like pop cans, without having to use an object to pry it up. The scratching capabilities of nails are also amazing. Nails come in handy more than just for biting.

I will continue to fight the good fight on this one.

NEXT WEEK'S CHALLENGE: STAIRMASTER

#1 - The Dishes Don't Clean Themselves

Challenge: Wash the dishes by hand

Not a difficult one, but a time suck. As you can see in the photo below, the dishes had started to pile before I even began.



Learnings:
1. If you don't do the dishes regularly enough during the week, it sometimes attracts insects. We attracted fruit flies. They soon multiplied and spread throughout different areas of our apartment. (Kristin is making me post this as she thinks it warrants a challenge do-over) What we had then was a fruit fly massacre on our hands and they didn't even see it coming.

To get rid fruit flies:
-Put some wine and fruit in a small bowl.
-Cover the top with tin foil and poke holes in it.
-Wait for them to fly in and drown on that which they love.



2. Washing the dishes by hand is therapeutic. I have plenty of time to do something mindless and think. It's good brain time.

3. Our dishwasher has been on the fritz and leaves our stuff all cloudy. I also have a sneaking suspicion that our dishwasher uses sewage water to rinse everything. I know they are clean because I did them.

NEXT WEEK'S CHALLENGE - NOT BITING MY NAILS