Emo music is basically music filled with emotion.

It could be positive happiness music or sad, being cheated on music.

I use to think I didn’t care about lyrics, as long as it sounded good, and I realized this music affected my sub conscious more than I could ever really understand.

And yea, it feels good to listen to that emotional charged, I’m hurt, I’m happy, I’m sad, I’m bad music in the short term, but in the long term it shapes our brains in both good and bad ways.

Moderation is best practiced here.

I’m listening to a lot of Chopin now, and it’s great.

Listening to Chopin in moderation is great to do as well, otherwise your brain might explode from the stimulation.

Sometimes enough is when we have too little.

Sometimes enough is when we have no more “room” on our credit card.

Sometimes enough is when we see a smile on our child’s face.

It’s up to us to make a choice of when is enough.

We sometimes eat too much, knowing we’ve had enough 30 minutes ago.

We sacrifice long term benefits for short term pleasure a lot.

Yea it feels good for these few moments, but what about next month, or next year?

Will we be proud of ourselves or will we regret our decisions?

It is our priority to choose when it’s enough, before we even reach our decision.

Else we’re just living ok enough living on the moment.

Mmm Pho in Vietnam

Street food in asia is delicious, and usually cheap. It’s a definite must have for travelers who REALLY want to experience culture of the places they visit.

I’ve been traveling asia for over 14 months now, and I gotta say, Asia is awesome.

Whatever country I’ve been in, I’ve eaten street food.

I’ve found the worse (sickness) came from Laos, and Thailand.

They like to cut raw vegetables to serve with the knife they used to cut that chicken in your dish at some places.

The other problem with street food is if they don’t speak your language, and you didn’t practice theirs, it’s hard to get prices.

The other problem with prices is that most street food places don’t list prices. Being a foreigner and not knowing the language, many street vendors will charge more because they know you can pay more.

It’s up to you how you feel if they decide to charge you more.

On one hand, it’s not cool they don’t charge the same prices for locals as they do for you.

On the other hand, the additional $0.20-$1, you can afford it, and to them it’s like $1-5 additional for them in their own currency (buying power).

The worse thing I saw was in Thailand. When someone was trying to bargain with a Pad Thai street vendor for additional shrimp on Khaosan Road.

Her dish was only 30 baht or so ($1) and he wanted extra shrimp for the same price.

Bargaining on food that is cheap food already? I wanted to punch him in the neck. There is just too much disrespect here.

Now if the vendor was trying to rip them off, then it’s a different story. But in the most tourist road in Bangkok, they list their prices.

The main items of concern when eating street food is, is it safe?

It’s not the most clean food, but neither is the food you get out of that “clean” restaurant.

Ever hear of all the rats living in the KFC’s in the United States?

Yea, it can still get dirty with all those health codes.

The Tips on Buying Street Food In Asia

Four question you want to ask yourself when you are at a vendor.

How much does it cost?

Is it fresh?

Is it clean?

Is anyone else eating it? 

We’ve talked about cost, and basically, you’ll do well to bring a calculator or someone who can speak the language if you don’t know numbers in the language or if the currency is bigger than 10.

It’s best to get the prices of what you order before you order it.

Some folks will rip you off when there are no prices listed.

Also, from your currency, street food is usually $1-3 depending on what you order in their currency. Depends on the countries, though they are usually consistent.

Just make sure you have local currency, to avoid any confusion of currency conversion. Of course if you are in Cambodia, dollars may do you better.

Is it fresh is based on, is it cooked in front of me or was it cooked before and siting here a while?

If it’s been sitting a while, likely flies have landed on it and puked all over it.

You’ll be eating fly puke.

To determine if it’s clean, look at the trash around them.

Look at how clean the tables or bowls are.

Watch how they prepare the food.

There are street vendors who don’t care about their customers, and there are street vendors who follow tradition and treat every customer well.

It’s good to watch what they do to make the food if you can.

If no one is eating the food, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. It might mean they just opened and people will come later.

Maybe they are busy during lunch and dinner and slow late at night.

But if there’s a street vendor close by that is super busy, while yours has no customers, you may want to try that other one.

Of course I’ve found some of the vendors with little customers were way better than the busy places. The busy place may just cater to foreigners better and have better word of mouth.

The best thing you can do when eating street food, is to enjoy it.

Just use a little preparation to make sure you don’t get sick.

And don’t go bargaining on already cheap food with prices listed.

If prices are not listed, well if they try to rip you off, then you may have to pay or face the police.

It’s best to ask for prices before you eat. So you don’t get a surprise.

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Become Positive

A positive person receives many benefits.

By positive, I mean a person who displays an attitude, a thought process, an aura of positivity.

Being positive is not truly the opposite of being negative, it’s more about being optimistic and thinking thoughts which do not look down on other folks.

Instead of thinking:

“That person is fat.”

A positive person thinks:

“That person is well fed, that’s awesome bro.”

If life gets difficult, a positive person appreciates the challenges and views them as opportunities to grow instead of life’s way of getting back at us.

A positive person grows faster and in a more positive way.

I think, therefore I am. It’s been said.

Think positive, become positive, life becomes positive.

The same holds opposite for being negative.

Which path will you choose on your next set back?

–

Here is day 30.

Part 1

Part 2

You didn’t expect this right? Two videos!

I cover a whole lot here, from the reasons why and some great tips as well. Take some notes and leave me some comments!

Posted July 12th, 2010.

Our spines support our whole body. (photo: diice)

Do you have back pain?

Does it bother you when you sleep? When you wake up?

Does it make it difficult to do what you really want to do? Spending time with loved ones or doing kinky things hurt by your back?

Hey, I’m in my twenties, and I have back pain. That’s right, I’m in my twenties and  I have back pain. Not as bad as some people, though it gets pretty bad sometimes.

It gets to the point where I can’t even go out and do anything.

I know a lot of older folks and even younger who also have immense back pain.

Some people try to fix it with Icy hot, or some bengay cream. Some use ice as well. This is all temporary relief. It doesn’t last for a long time.

Remember when I said to fix the system not the symptom?

This is one of those situations.

Do you want to know one of the biggest causes of back pain is?

Guess.

What is back pain from?

Posture? Yes.

Picking up things with your back and not your legs? Yes.

Sleeping in a bad posture? Yes.

These aren’t the largest cause of back pain though.

There is something invented by humans, something we do everyday and is becoming more prevalent as we become knowledge workers more and more in the population.

It’s something we’ve been doing since we were young, something most people do to relax or work.

Have you figured it out yet?

Most back pain comes from SITTING.

Sitting is the worse thing we can do for our backs.

My disclaimer here is, I’m no doctor, or special fitness dude who knows all, so don’t take what I say as medical advice or any of the sort.

Sitting. Did you guess it was this? It took me a while the first time someone asked me all these questions.

Think about it, how much do you sit in a day?

What sort of pressure is on your back and other parts of your body?

It’s a lot more than you think.

You might be asking, but sitting is sort of a requirement in everyday life, and you’re right.

What can you do?

There are times when you can choose to stand instead of sit.

I’m standing up as I write this article. I know use a standing desk. Most office workers sit 8-9 hours a day, which includes the commute.

Students sit just as much or more.

What do office workers do when they get home? They usually sit watching TV.

Same for students.

For some reason, I’ve always had the habit of standing when most people were sitting. I think my body and mind knew somehow that standing was so much more beneficial than sitting.

How do you cure this back pain? Start working standing up if it is possible for you.

Standing up and working is NOT possible for everyone, so for those who NEED to sit, look for ergonomically correct chairs. Just search them via google and you’ll get a ton of reviews.

For everyone else, get a standing desk. You could even use a music stand.

Right now I’m using a standing desk to write this, I’ll show you a video soon with what I use.

It’s very portable and it is the perfect height for me.

Use this website as a guide for how tall your standing desk should be.

Now, you can also use counters as your desk or other places which match with where a standing desk should be for you.

How should you stand?

The best way to stand is with good posture. Roll your shoulders back and distribute weight evenly on both your legs. Back straight and neck not tilted over, but straight.

When you first start working while standing up, you will probably get tired pretty fast. I still have a chair I use to take breaks in, eat or watch anime.

I stand most of the day though, at least 80% or more of my awake time.

The thing is, my back starts hurting the second I sit down, because I’ve been sitting for 16 hour days for the past few months.

I’ve been using my standing desk for about 10 days now. It took me a while to stand correctly with good posture.

It may take you a while too. Try standing on two weight measurement things and you’ll see how you distribute your weight unevenly.

Standing while working or in daily life is another habit you’ll need to pick up. It takes a while. Watch my Day 6 No Shampoo/Q-tips video to learn about habit gravity escape velocity.

I don’t have back pain much anymore except when I sit in my uncomfortable chair. I haven’t had any sharp stabbing back pain either that I have had in the past.

In this example for standing versus sitting, we’re changing the system not the symptom. We’re changing the cause of the problem to not have the same problem. While this may not solve all your back problems, this will really help and cure some.

Here is a video of the Instand.

This is the table I use now on to stand while working.

It’s very portable and light.

Alright, let me know how your back pain goes!

Posted June 20th, 2010.

Ah, with being apart only grows fondness. (Photo: Kuzeytac)

Hi there, it has been a while since I posted yes? We’ll I’m back now!

A lot of things have been happening; I’m sure everyone’s world didn’t stop for me being gone and if it did, that is cool!

Currently I’m temporarily in wine country while I wait for my braces to be taken off (in two weeks!) and we’ll see where I end up. My priorities shift based on what my priorities are. I’m a vagabond where my heart desires!

Just to let you know, there are some affiliate links on this page, do whatever you want with them, enjoy.

Health is important!

In March I had upper jaw surgery. They literally broke my jaw and moved it to a good position. I’ve had preparation for over a year now for this surgery (who would go out and pay to have their jaw broken). Now I have 4 metal screw/plates type things holding my jaw up, my muscle will grow on top of them.

It is really fun to have the jaw wired shut, drinking only protein drinks and other liquids. Thanks to everyone who cared for me while my jaw was annihilated, I appreciate it.

I’m working out two times a week, using a weightlifting guide I found on Tim Ferriss’ Blog and it works great for me.

I’m eating a whole lot more healthy as well now, only “whole” foods. I didn’t say organic, I said “whole.” I’ve eaten well since I read the book The Abs Diet, though I’ve gone even further with it. I’ve learned from many different places at the same time that our bodies are our temples, I will sacrifice short term pleasure of sweet fattening, greasy, yucky food for long term “feel great” living. I really love this Organic Food Bar too.

Business is vital!

I canceled my Shoemoney System account, the program is just way too slow and basic and videos thrown up on the fly. The other reason I really didn’t enjoy the program is because I think there were more than 500 students in the first round of sign ups. Jeremy said it would be only open to 500 students though many other marketers advertised it after it was closed before he “opened” the doors again. The program just lacks enough guidance for some things he shows and most new videos were thrown together a few days before they were posted.

Many marketers try to create a scarcity of a product so people will buy, and when someone outright lies about it, it’s unethical. I went through a program called List Control from Frank Kern and he didn’t use this tactic as much. Except I signed up through a back link on his blog after the program had already closed. I understand why they do this, though I wish some Internet Marketers would not lie to their prospects.

Currently I now have two remote part time work items. One with the previous company I worked for and one with another company I found online. If you remember from my first post about when I quit my job, I’m actually making combined the same amount net income after taxes. I’m now able to work remotely and be wherever I want.

I don’t want to stop here though, I have many other projects I’m working on, which I’ll probably start another blog to talk about and show in-depth guides about.

A little about some of my projects, I’m currently using Aweber, to build email lists for local businesses. I’m also redesigning and creating new websites for local businesses. I’m finding local businesses will always want more customers and it is an endless place to work and help local businesses.

I’m using Facebook, Google, Yahoo, MySpace, and Bing to attract qualified leads to the email newsletter and helping the business bring in new customers they wouldn’t have received before.

A MacBook Life

My computer crashed recently, I bought this Asus Windows 7 laptop, and it just broke, the hard drive failed and I lost a month’s worth of data. I had a month old worth of data, though I did lose a whole lot of stuff I had to re-do.

I learned my lesson, continuous back-ups are number one, and I think it is especially important while traveling. I have been using this hard drive to back-up my data. It just becomes too cumbersome to carry this around.

I bought the new updated Apple MacBook Pro. I’ve never owned an Apple product and I will probably not buy an Apple product other than laptop again, though I’m really enjoying this laptop. I can focus on work instead of focusing on making things work and customizing the computer to my every need! I do need windows applications for some of my work that I do not want to buy the Mac ports for like QuickBooks . I use VMware to run the programs in my Mac OS X and it works ok. I’ll write more about my experience, I recommend a MacBook Pro to any user wanting awesome integration of features with stability.  There are some Mac only programs I really like as well such as WriteRoom (which I used to write this article and will use for all future articles).

Living in the Cloud

I’ve been moving everything to the cloud, this new awesome term even old people know. If you don’t know what the “cloud” is, it is the internet. I’ve backed up my data on Dropbox for instant access from any computer, Google docs, and Crashplan for my back-ups incase my computer fails (all the data). Another option is Mozy.

I know many people who haven’t started putting their finances in the cloud through Mint and online banking and they are missing out on the easy bill pay stuff. It makes it easier to have a clear view of where you or I stand financially and easier to automate bill pay and instead work on the important stuff in life.

I’ve been using many other programs as well which I won’t go into depth here. I think many travelers, business people and whoever will find this way of living awesome. Even Google is creating an operating system which most everything run on it will live in the cloud, their cloud.

Some people say there are trust issues with the cloud, and they are absolutely right. I don’t generally care though. I feel there is more protection in some online clouds then there is from physical theft of my stuff or physical loss, a risk online I’m willing to take.

Well, look forward to some great articles, I’ve learned some great techniques and I’ll be doing more videos with some great guides as soon as I learn how to scribble out private data in my videos in Screenflow or iMovie!

Posted on May 21st 2010.