Category: Turtles

Year in Review: 2013

1/23/2014

2013 was a very busy year. I read a lot of interesting books and had a lot of brand new experiences. I wanted to briefly capture the spirit of the year and mention some of my favorite memories.

Favorite books

1. Antifragile: Eye-opening combination of philosophy, classical wisdom, biology, finance, and entrepreneurship. It now colors how I look at everything.
2. Fooling Houdini: Really fun read for a magician and fan of psychology.
3. The Big Short: Interesting back stories and great inside peek at a lot of the mortgage meltdown craziness.

New experiences

Google: Amazing company. I'm delighted daily by my peers and am learning a ton.

Suzanne's Match Day: Medical residency Match Day is an even more anxiety-ridden event than standing in line right before you board the scariest roller coaster you can imagine. It was one of the scariest and at the same time one of the most exciting moments.

Awesome theater: I got to see a life-changing magic show (Nothing to Hide) twice (LA and NY), as well as Book of Mormon in London and Odysseo in LA. These were all fantastic and thought-provoking in different ways.

Tesla: The best car I've ever driven. Period. Such a pleasure and phase shift forward for cars.

California Adventure: I had never visited the park before and finally got to see it on NYE. It was more chill than Disneyland, and I got to enjoy some of my favorites from Disney World Florida again (like Toy Story and Tower of Terror).

Scuba with turtles: I had the privilege to dive at a "turtle cleaning station" off Waikiki beach where I saw about 50 turtles hanging out. It was surreal. Such gentle, beautiful creatures.

The Magic Castle: I had only visited the Castle a couple times before in my life, and I set myself the goal to join as a Magician Member, which I managed to do successfully at the end of the year, passing my audition. It involved hard work and practice but also the opportunity to build some really enjoyable friendships. I look forward to taking my magic even further this year.

Flying: Suzanne surprised me with a flying lesson for our second anniversary, and I really liked it. I finally followed up on that and take a handful more lessons toward my Private Pilot license. Flying was always the secret power I wished I had, so learning to fly for real was quite fulfilling. However, I also realized how incredibly difficult it is to be a pilot, how technical it is, how much there is to learn, and how dangerous mistakes can be (so I'm holding off on lessons for now).

Archery: I rekindled my interest in archery when I was in Tallinn over the Spring, and I started practicing more regularly in our local archery range. The feeling of loosing an arrow (when it goes right) is really nice. Archery is so easy -- everything is in your direct control, and you just have to do the same thing each time -- but that's exactly what makes it so hard. I learned how so many small details of posture and muscle make big differences, and the journey to consistency and true physical self-control is the journey to mastery. I also learned about the super cool Archer's Paradox (video here).

Shooting: Ever since reading Emergency, I wanted to learn about survival skills and prepare for WTSHTF. I took the first steps towards learning how to shoot by taking two safety classes and doing a lot of practice. I learned that marksmanship is very tricky and actually has a lot of parallels to archery. I also learned a lot about the psychology of preparedness and the importance of practice. All I can say is, "sights, trigger press, and follow through."

Surfing: Surf's up, dude. I fulfilled yet another part of my childhood dream of becoming a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle by taking a few surfing lessons and practicing it in Santa Monica and Waikiki. It is super hard but also super fun. It taught me the importance of patience, the futility of certain planning/predicting when nature is involved, the way to spot and not miss real opportunities, and the way to cut your losses short when you know you should be leaving but want to "just catch one more wave."

Stand-up paddleboard yoga: I love both SUP and yoga, so I knew I had to try the combo. And it was awesome. Being upside down and seeing water and sky all around you (inverted) gave me a totally new perspective. Also, it was way harder to balance, so every "easy" pose was a new challenge. Also, the incorporation of the potential fall into the water brought in all sorts of new thoughts and feelings that made the meditative part of the yoga way more complex. I love trying and learning new things, so this was a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing it again.

Travel to Moscow: Last time I was there was 11 years ago, and it has changed so much. It was amazing being able to go to the Bolshoi Theater, read the supertitles in Russian, and party with some classmates who live there. It was also surreal to visit the Soviet-era apartment building where I spent the first five years of my life. It was just like I remembered it when I visited 11 years ago. Some things change, and some don't. Having learned more about history and traveled more allowed me to appreciate some new sides to the city.

Lessons learned

There is so much mystery and magic in the world around us. There is no need for something supernatural or out of this world to impress or inspire; just look around you at people and nature, and that will be the greatest source of awe. I love how magic can recreate this experience of awe and wonder in a controlled setting and reignite curiosity in others.

When I went dolphin watching in Moorea, I learned how fascinating these beautiful creatures are. My mind was blown when I learned that dolphins breathe totally consciously and need to sleep one hemisphere of their brain at a time as they continue to consciously swim and breathe with the other hemisphere. Now if that doesn't show you how freaking cool science, nature, and reality are, then I don't know what will.

I also learned how critical practice and diligent craftsmanship are to creating the results you want for yourself. I want to take pride in what I do and produce, and that comes with really hard work and lots of practice doing things that are not very glamorous.

Things that were good

I tried lots of new things and opened myself up to tons of new experiences. That was really fun for me. I also achieved a number of my goals, like successfully ramping up with Google and passing my Castle audition.

Things that were bad

I slacked off in some of my relationships and could've done better to keep in touch with close friends. I also overstretched myself and didn't go deep enough in the areas that showed promise. I also rushed myself too often and failed to stop and smell the flowers sufficiently. I also failed to push forward my exercise and physical training regimen as much as I would've liked.

Goals

Focus on a few critical areas. Time to go deep. Set some ambitious goals in a couple areas and work towards them. No excuses on health-related goals. Invest the time to build and strengthen some new friendships I've been starting to cultivate. Do a few things that will let me find myself and my next big projects in life.

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Turtle Power

4/30/2011

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XKCD

Turtles rock. 'Nuff said. (Time for a more "fun" blog post. Too much philosophizing going on around here....)

Hawaii 2010

Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Turtles

My favorite TV show as a kid was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My favorite turtle was Donatello. That is the reason why dark purple is my favorite color. And I can honestly say, that is also the reason why my favorite food is pizza.

Donatello was the best turtle in my humble opinion because his weapon was the most realistic: he used a freakin' stick. As I took karate lessons growing up, I wanted to learn skills from the TV that could actually be applied in real life, and I knew I wouldn't be packing nunchucks or swords anytime soon. Also, according to Wikipedia, he was the "brains of the group."
My friend Joanna loves turtles even more than I do. She has approximately twenty stuffed turtles, all with different names and personalities. She is a very smart person, so if she loves turtles, they must be great. And don't even think about making jokes about turtle soup around her.
I saw some really awesome turtles in Hawaii, both swimming around the ponds of the hotel and sunbathing on the beach. They looked peaceful and at one with nature -- something I want to be.
Shell, armor, and hiding place: Turtles have an awesome shell that protects them from predators. Their body is scaly and rough like armor, and anytime they need to hide or go into a dark spot from some R&R, they can just retract their heads into their body. How cool is that?
Sea turtles have a great sense of smell and orientation, better than even dogs. They use this to find food and to retrace their steps when laying eggs and coming back to see them hatch after going out to sea.
Turtles have an undeniably sweet nature. I think this is because they have a human face and a slow, deliberate crawl. (However, I have been notified that there are in fact angry snapping turtles that live in New Orleans, and those are the evil ones that the soup is made from.)
The tortoise is the hero of the fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. Slow and steady wins the race, baby!
There are many amazing varieties of turtles and related species: sea-lubbers, land-lubbers, tortoises, mini turtles, giant turtles/tortoises, etc. There are about 300 species of turtle. All have unique properties and cutenesses.
Turtle candies are awesome. Whoever thought of combining chocolate, almonds, and caramel is genius. If only the caramel didn't get stuck in your teeth, it would be the perfect dessert.
Turtles are the subject of a wonderful Buddhist saying about the preciousness of human life:

Imagine a blind turtle swimming at the bottom of an ocean the size of the universe. On the surface of the water, there floats a wooden ring, tossed around by the waves. Once every hundred years, the turtle rises to the surface. When the turtle's head rises through the wooden ring, a human is born.

This is an extremely special gift we have been given.

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Year in Review: 2013

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