Author: Shawn

I am a practitioner of the martial arts and student of the Buddhist faith. I have been a Type 1 Diabetic since I was 4 years old and have been fighting the uphill battle it includes ever since. I enjoy fitness and health and looking for new ways to improve both, as well as examining the many questions of life. Although I have no formal medical training, I have amassed a wealth of knowledge regarding health, Diabetes, martial arts as well as Buddhism and philosophy. My goal is to share this information with the world, and perhaps provide some sarcastic humour along the way. Welcome!

The Matrix Has You…

There’s no denying that modern life has led to the here and now; a world where everyone (or almost everyone) is plugged in. Computers, laptops, cell phone and tablets are seen and used everywhere with a very small demographic remaining who have either never laid hands on one of those or never will. Our children are no different, with modern life making it almost impossible for someone to raise a child without the use of electronic devices. One good example I can provide is when my son start second grade and his school demanded that we provide him with a device to do his homework on. This blew my mind and I immediately opposed it, as it’s one thing to pay for supplies that are needed but entirely another when you’re expected to buy them an expensive electronic device just to do homework.

My opposition was not well-received, as I was told that any device could be used, including my own cell phone. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m not a fan of providing my personal cell to anyone. Beyond the fact that I use it myself as my personal phone line, there’s also my email access, games, alarm, scheduler and social media. My phone is my phone, purchased with my own money for my own purposes. The presumption of being told I can simply hand it off to anyone else is ludicrous to me. But here we are. I ended up giving my son one of the older version cell phones I had, since I never turn them in. He now uses this not only for his school apps but for a few simple games and some streaming services as well. This is combination with the Nintendo Switch we bought him last summer to keep him occupied on our trip out East.

The issue is that my children are fast-becoming people who can’t live without these devices. As a result, my 8-year old, who should be outside, running, playing, climbing and riding a bike, spends his down time on his back or lying on his stomach, watching Netflix Kids and Disney+, playing Minecraft and unfortunately binge-watching Minecraft videos on YouTube. The unfortunate byproduct of this standard is that Nathan is becoming a bit of a lazy shit. Gets home from school, drops his shit and grabs his devices. Wakes up in the morning, walks himself out of the bedroom and grabs his devices. All weekend, stays on his devices. Drives me absolutely batty!

I grew up on the Northern shores of New Brunswick, where I spent my down time in the forests, swimming in brooks and playing outside. I put so many kilometres on my bike that I usually ended up needing a new one every couple of years. Maybe that had something to do with my growth, though. My point is, we’ve been trying to get Nathan more physically involved with the everyday life outside the house. Considering we have some pretty nice weather on occasion, our new standard has been that if he wants his device, he needs to spend an hour outdoors, first. Not if there’s a snow storm or bad weather, obviously. But in general and overall.

Our idea has also been poorly received. Considering that yesterday morning, I was able to sleep in quite late (pretty bad that between 9 and 10 am is now considered late) before my toddler woke me by scaring the living shit out of me, I didn’t start out my Saturday on the best note. But I made it clear to Nathan that he was getting no screens until he spent an hour outdoors. In true, teenage form, he decided it was a better and easier option to curl up in a blanket and sulk than just go outside. It was -3 degrees. That’s almost cut-off jean shorts weather. Never mind the fact that the time he used to sulk about not getting his screens, he could have easily burned through an hour outside.

Look, I get it… It’s 2023 and everyone and everything is tethered to the electronic frontier. There’s no living completely device-free because no matter how you live, you’ll eventually need technology in some given way, shape or form. I just don’t want technology being the only way my children experience life. Ultimately, he conceded and went outside. Although I don’t like that it turned into a negotiation, at least I got him outside. I think it’s one of those scenarios where the parent gets to say, “Someday you’ll thank me…” ☯️

Sometimes, It’s Worth A Listen…

It’s been a little over 20 years since I tasted my first energy drink. I was the manager of the retail side of a local pharmacy back home and Red Bull had just started to hit serious popularity in Canada. This was before Monster, Rockstar and 5-hour energy started seriously hitting the market, although they wouldn’t be far behind. On its face, there isn’t much inherently wrong with consuming an energy drink. The average 473 mL can usually contains about 100 to 140 milligrams of caffeine, realistically making it no worse than two medium cups of coffee from your favourite coffee chain. And I know people who consume far more than that.

The idea behind something like energy drinks is moderation. The average, healthy adult can safely consume about 400 milligrams of caffeine in a day, meaning between four to five average cups of coffee. Like anything else in life, the words “average” and “safely” get thrown around because it depends on the specific person, their physiology, age, weight, pre-existing health conditions and so on. It’s a little like alcohol; I know people who will start to feel tipsy after one drink. Others may not feel anything after several drinks on an empty stomach.

So why am I bringing this up? Well, ever since that first pull of sugar-free Red Bull, I’ve been in favour of energy drinks on a daily basis. I don’t go overboard and suck back several cans a day but I have made a point that my day starts with one. I usually prefer the flavour and the fact it’s cold over the taste of coffee and waiting for coffee to cool down. It’s allowed me to start getting caffeine into my system right away and without burning my tongue. plus, I’ve usually managed to rationalize that buying a full flat of drinks from my local bulk store comes out cheaper than buying a medium coffee at a drive thru on my way to work, so it’s more financially economical, as well.

But recently I start taking some health supplements that I’ve been hoping would help with fitness, weight loss and make me feel a bit more energized overall. The big problem with caffeine is that it actually tricks your brain into thinking you’re less tired; it doesn’t actually help with the fatigue itself. So, these energy drinks often contain massive amounts of B-vitamins and minerals that, while useful to the body, can often constitute five times the daily recommended amount. Not something I want to necessarily keep mixing with an untried fitness supplement, as they can often include some of these things. So reluctantly, I stopped having energy drinks almost two weeks ago. And here is the story of the carnage that ensued…

In all seriousness, I feel like shit. The sudden loss of all those B-vitamins and all the other “energy-providing” additives have had me floating through my day like a well-dressed zombie. I’ve experienced headaches and body aches, irritability and difficulty in keeping my eyes clear. A wise man probably would have tapered off over time rather than quit cold turkey but I’ve never been one for trying anything only half way. With that logic in mind, I consumed the last can I had in the house and then stopped. Many of the symptoms I’m describing here have now started to pass and are no longer a constant, although most mornings I wake up jonesing for a can instead of the cup of black steam that everyone else seems to partake of.

But, since I believe in balance, I need to point out the positive aspects, as well. I had a colleague who often used to tell me that I always seemed different, mood-wise, when I drank energy drinks. The big issue with this is that one usually won’t recognize their own change in mood. So I can’t say that I ever genuinely noticed. But one thing I have noticed is that I get to sleep easier and my rest appears to be deeper than it usually is. Maybe that’s just a coincidence since I never made a habit of consuming energy drinks beyond mid-afternoon anyway, but it’s definitely been noticeable. Prior to this, I’d usually be up three to four times a night at minimum and that wouldn’t include blood sugar issues or simple need of a bathroom. So it’s been kind of nice getting full nights sleep.

So maybe all of this is simply coincidence. Or maybe this is just something that my new health supplement is helping with, overall. Either way, once I got through the initial issues with cutting out energy drinks, and I’ve been avoiding using the word “withdrawal” but it is what it is, there have been some noticeable changes. And maybe for the better. Perhaps it would have been worth the listen, when my colleague told me I was better off without energy drinks. And maybe I am. Does it mean I’ll never have another can again? Probably not. But it makes for some interesting conversations. ☯️

Every Once In A While…

My entire household is a bit on the homebody side, preferring to binge-watch and relax in our living room than venture out to something outside the house. Although we branch out to our yard and the occasional play parks during the warmer months, the winter sees my family and I essentially turn into hibernating bears. This is why my wife and I try to make a strong point to take the boys out of the house to do something fun on the weekends. This lets us all get a bit of fresh air, leave the seclusion of our little nest and interact with the outside world. It also gets us some much-needed vitamin D.

This week, we decided to visit the Science museum. Both boys enjoy it, as it boasts several attractions including live animals, science experiments and even play structures that they can play on. The totality of the location makes it an ideal place to go spend a few hours on an afternoon where none of us are at school or work. On this occasion, we went to the museum last Monday, which was a stat holiday for me and Nathan still hadn’t gone back to school. It was a perfect way for me to wrap up my vacation time. We bought a 1-year family membership, which allows us to attend the museum as often as we want. Considering the cost of admission for a “per-visit” entry, we would only need to use the membership two or three times to make up our money.

Once the boys had played themselves out and mealtime was fast approaching, I decided I wanted to take the family out to a restaurant for dinner, since I would be back to the routine of a bagged lunch and supper at home starting the following day. Going out to eat is a bit of a mixed bag for me. Setting aside that the rising prices of everything continues to make it more and more difficult to justify eating out when one could simply make a meal at home. Plus, one usually needs to set aside their wonder about how the food is prepared, how clean everything and when it comes to an actual sit-down restaurant, the concept of tipping becomes an issue as well. (Just an FYI, I do provides tips, so let’s not have THAT argument here…)

I also have issue with how some folks choose to interact with paying customers. Although I consider myself a very tolerant person, I’m not always a patient one and this can often lead to unpleasant situations if I receive poor service. Having worked in the service industry myself in the past, I understand the pressures that can be associated with working as a restaurant server for long hours on end. So I usually approach my restaurant visits with a touch of cautious optimism. Like a teetering scale, it can often go either way. On this occasion, our waitress was quite nice and polite and answered all of our questions before getting our drinks and allowing us some time with the menus.

Since my children are quite particular about what they eat, we usually have to meet them in the middle with individual meals that suit their preferences but are similar enough that one won’t fight for the other one’s meal. In this instance, we ordered Nathan mini cheeseburgers with ketchup and fries and Alexander got the same but in hamburger form, since he won’t eat cheese (I know, right?). Long story short, after waiting for a brief period of time, I left for the bathroom and to check my insulin pump before my meal. When I got back to the table, I was pleased to see that our food had arrived. All, except Alexander’s.

I wasn’t there for the interaction but my wife pointed out that our toddler wouldn’t eat cheese and that we had ordered hamburgers for him, not cheeseburgers. The waitress took it back and they were currently correcting the problem. Satisfied that our concern as addressed, we asked that his fries be brought out so he could start eating with us, which they accommodated. His burgers were brought out a few minutes later, which he barely touched, rendering the point moot. But they corrected the issue and quickly, to boot. So, no harm, no foul, we all started wolfing down our food and enjoying our meal. The restaurant was reasonably empty, which I’m sure isn’t great for them but was comfortable for us.

Since I had already put the oversight out of my mind, what happened next surprised me. The restaurant manager came to check on us and ask how our food was, then explained that she had removed Alexander’s meal from our bill due to the mistake. We were grateful but explained it wasn’t necessary and she took it a step further by explaining that it was directly her mistake as she was helping to dress meals in the kitchen. She felt that since it was her mistake that it was only fair that she comp the meal to make up for the inconvenience. Look at that! Faith in humanity restored! We were so taken aback that all we could do was thank her and continue to enjoy our meal (which I was unable to finish due to the portion size).

As I said earlier, I worked a lot of years in the service industry before becoming a police officer and having even been a manager in a number of different industries myself, I’ve seen many of them take care of mistakes by refunding or comping certain services. But the willingness to take responsibility and explain that this was directly her mistake? I Don’t believe I’ve ever seen a manager do that. It was certainly the right thing to do, don’t get me wrong. But it was nice to see. And since we would have gladly eaten our meal and gone on our way, having received exactly what we paid for, we would have been no less pleased with our visit. But this was a significant dollop of icing on an otherwise delicious cake.

Given the nature and attitude of society, the inflated sense of entitlement and the attitudes, snowflakes and more popularly “Karens,” it can be easy to forget sometimes that not everyone is a total jackass looking to make your day worse. Sometimes, you hit a person who genuinely wants to make something right and there are those who still believe in taking the right responsibility when they believe they’ve done something wrong. When one has the opportunity to experience this phenomenon, it certainly goes a long way towards restoring one’s faith in humanity. Needless to say, this restaurant location just may have become my family’s new, “non-fast food” go-to spot. ☯️

When Your Pillow Is Stronger Than Your Will…

One of the big things that makes dealing with the winter months harder is the fact that it’s always dark when I start my day. This basically forces my body to say, “Nah, bro! Lay your head back down and relax, it isn’t light out yet…” As much as I would like to succumb to that little voice, duty and responsibility are usually the prevailing factors. This morning was no exception. I woke to my alarm, which is a pretty rare occurrence for me. I usually toss and turn and wake well before my alarm goes off.

I got out of bed and started on what is the first day of my family’s complete routine when it isn’t the holidays, which includes making a school lunch for my oldest. Today is his first day back to school and he couldn’t have been more thrilled. Kidding. Totally fucking kidding. He was like a bag of smashed ass when he woke up. In fact, lately he’s always carried a look as though he needs a cup of coffee to start his day. This is well in keeping with the fact that he’s developed a significant teenage-like attitude despite only being 8-years old. No idea where he gets it from…

Begrudgingly walking to school

I’m usually gone to work by the time he gets up for school but this morning was apparently the day he chose to view the world as I did, staring out his window and seeing that it was still dark. This led him to believe that his place was in his bed as opposed to braving the elements to head to school. It took a bit of convincing from my wife to make him understand that it was still dark because the nights are longer right now but that yes, he needed to get up for school.

He eventually made his way towards getting dressed, grabbing his things and heading out the door, albeit begrudgingly. According not my wife, he never said a single word from the time he woke up to the moment he stepped out the door. This is the basis for his first day back to school. Poor kid. I don’t think I’ve ever related to my son as much as I have this morning. It’s rough, heading back in after having been on break for a while.

I was extremely close to just saying screw it and staying in bed, this morning. Such is the effect that winter has on an aging body. So deep was my sense of fatigue that I actually caved and purchased an energy drink on the way to work; my first can of 2023, not that this is something I’m bragging about. But this morning has certainly made me appreciate the down time I’ve had over the holidays and the ability to simply sleep without an alarm (until my boys woke up). ☯️

Croaking In A Winter Wonderland…

Wow, I can’t remember the last time I posted something this late in the day. Probably not since my first year of blogging. Sometimes, it gets a little difficult to figure out topics to write about and as my wife occasionally reminds me, I don’t HAVE to post something every day. Most bloggers don’t, in fact. But for me, it’s kind of a “me against me” kind of thing, you know? Anyway, some of my posts have been pretty self-pitying lately so I thought I’d switch gears and move on to something that’s actually productive. And since it’s cold as all fucking hell in Saskatchewan right now, I can’t think of any better subject than, well… the cold!

The cold weather of winter can have some pretty negative effects on the human body. At its least, the body will fight harder to keep your core temperature warm when exposed to cold temperatures. This will cause to body to burn through its energy reserves, leading to the body getting colder, which can lead to difficulty focusing and thinking clearly in extreme weather. Eventual issues can include the aggravation of existing pulmonary issues, such as asthma. The human body is a wonderful machine that works hard to try and keep you warm in colder weather but there’s no denying that the modern homo sapien isn’t biologically designed for extreme colds, which makes me wonder why we live in Saskatchewan. But I digress…

Despite any other health conditions or the risk of hypothermia and frostbite, dealing with Type-1 Diabetes in cold weather can be a challenge, as well. Considering extreme cold aggravates most pre-existing conditions, Diabetes is no exception. Although every person is different, being out in the cold weather usually tends to cause my blood sugars to drop. This is likely a result of my body working so hard to maintain its temperature. In fact, half an hour of being outside in the Prairie winter clearing a bit of snow from the walkway will usually cause a bigger drop in blood sugars than a full hour of weightlifting or cardio.

This is why it’s so important to keep a solid eye on one’s blood sugars when venturing out in the arctic wonderland. Being on a continuous glucose monitor helps, since it allows me to venture out and have a continuous view of how my blood sugars are reacting. It’s not so bad when I’m at home, since I have immediate access to snacks and fast-acting carbohydrates in the event I drop. Things get a bit tougher if I happen to venture out to go sledding or running. Although I have to confess that running in the snowy weather is not my cup of tea. Another important thing to remember is to stay hydrated. People forget that dehydration can happen almost as easily in the cold as it does in the heat.

Last point I’ll bring up is to be mindful when shovelling snow. I’ve attended a lot of incidents during my policing career of people who suffered cardiac arrest while shovelling. The forcing of the muscles and pressure it places on the chest, mixed with the effects of the cold can make shovelling extremely dangerous under the right circumstances. Take frequent breaks, lift with the legs not your back and if you feel faint or dizzy, be sure to stop and take breaks. The snow ain’t goin’ anywhere. Unfortunately… ☯️

Back In The Tilted Saddle…

It’s been something of a rough six months for me. Although I recognize that some may have some significant issues they’re dealing with in their own lives, one must acknowledge that our individual obstacles in life are specific to us, so I make no apologies for disliking anything I may be dealing with. My journey is my own. Moving on. Last fall, I faced a strange shift in what was otherwise one of the few remaining stable points in my life. I travelled home on vacation for what should have been a very special trip. My parents would meet my mother-in-law for the first time as well as seeing their second grandson in person for the first time. it should have been fantastic but it turned out to be anything but.

Besides the lacklustre outcome of the trip, which included a massive amount of spending to get us there, I was taken aback at how few people made themselves available to us while we were there. While I recognize the selfishness of that statement, it’s usually what happens when I go home. family and friends make time so that we can catch up. This didn’t happen, this time around. In fact, even Sensei somehow managed to skirt seeing me during the time I was there. I left New Brunswick with a feeling of emptiness that I had never experienced before. Although I was disappointed at the time, I think it had an effect on me that’s been lingering over the past months.

For quite a while now, I’ve had no energy or motivation to focus on my fitness or health. Sure, I’ve continued to take my medications, I monitor my blood sugars and keep a close eye on certain things. But I dropped out of karate within two classes of starting back in September. The pressures of work and life seem to have held me down more in recent months than it ever has, before. Losing that consistency and stability back home made me realize that “back home” isn’t back home, anymore. I took a rare opportunity to have some time off over the holidays. Since Christmas and Boxing Day took place over a weekend, I had a four-day weekend starting on December 23rd and I took the remainder of the following week as vacation time.

Since New Year’s Day was also on a weekend, I had yesterday as a day off. All in, I was away on vacation from December 23rd to this morning. That’s almost two weeks that should have allowed me to relax and unwind. Unfortunately, certain elements beyond my control managed to keep some pressure on, despite being on vacation. This morning is my first day back. I have obstacles and issues to deal with that manifested during a time when I shouldn’t have been thinking of work. But at least I got a few mornings of sleeping in. Let’s see how well THIS is going to go… ☯️

Thermogenic Supplements

I’m a big fan of supplementation. Start a conversation about vitamins and shit in any group and I can promise that it will be divided conversation, almost ALWAYS equally divided. For some, they believe there’s no point to supplementation as it just ends up being something you swallow to crap out the other end with no measurable results. The big problem is that one needs to take supplements for a significant period of time before any measurable results can/would be seen. Plus, since all people are different, supplements may not work as well for one as they would work for another. The other half are the ones that at least take a daily multivitamin or supplement in order to help themselves along in whatever they’re trying to accomplish.

For example, you can take supplements for low iron, lack of B-vitamins or if you spend all your time indoors and never get the opportunity to spend time outside, supplementing your Vitamin D can be a good idea. Actually, I wrote a really good post about certain vitamins, minerals and supplements that explain what individual supplements do and how they benefit one’s body. I’ve reposted it several times and for your convenience, you can read that post here. Despite promising myself that I wouldn’t conform to societal norms and make a New Year’s resolution, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have plans to increase my fitness in the coming year and a part of that is a new form of supplementation.

I recently did some research on some called “thermogenics.” Simply put, thermogenic supplements are intended to increase the body’s core temp, specifically in the fatty tissues, which is supposed to cause the body’s metabolism to burn fat through this increased body temperature. Since I’m not a scientist or medical practitioner, I’m sure there’s more to it than that. But it’s an interesting concept and one can’t deny that something that aids in fat burning sounds far more plausible than a supplement that’s supposed to just make you lose weight. After all, one’s fitness must always include one’s own efforts as well.

According to an article posted by HealthLine.com, “the word “thermogenic” literally means heat-producing.” The article covers different types of supplements that have a thermogenic effect on the body but outlines how the effectiveness of this is hotly debated and there’s no significant evidence that it holds any significant effectiveness. One thermogenic supplement they mention is caffeine, which is ironic. If caffeine was effective as a thermogenic supplement, I’d be a skinny bitch by now, considering how much caffeine I suck down in the course of a day. Of course , all of that will need to change since I have decided to find out for myself and have started taking a thermogenic supplement prior to working out.

It’s only been a few days, of course. But if it works, great. If it doesn’t, no harm, no foul. Seeing the effects of any supplement takes a significant amount of time, usually a few months at least. In the meantime, the same rules of life continue to apply. Stay hydrated, monitor blood sugars and check one’s blood pressure regularly. If I begin to notice anything out of the ordinary, I can drop the whole thing without issue. I’ll keep everyone posted, if and when I see any results. ☯️

Here Comes 2023!

Happy New Year, you bunch of fuckers! If you made it past the midnight line, you’ve made it this far. Hopefully , you have a bunch of ideas and goals for the coming year that will fulfill you and make you feel complete. As far as I go, I’ve decided to try something a bit different this year and will be avoiding the whole resolution thing. I think that this year, I’ll just be me. That almost sounds like a rougher go than trying to change but it’ll be different than anything I’ve tried to do in recent years, so why not? may as well as have a go at just letting the world experience all that is me without resolving to do anything different. Right?

Sigh… Happy New Year, everyone. Hopefully 2023 treats you better than 2022 treated us all! ☯️

The End Of One Chapter…

Here we are, folks! This is the last day of 2022. I would be lying if I said the past couple of years have been easy. If anything, life after early 2019 has been chaotic and upsetting for me on many different levels. My life has changed and altered in ways that I would not have imagined a decade ago. As many of you know, I live my life without regret, acknowledging that even the worst of things that have happened to me have brought me to the here and now, where I’m married to a wonderful woman, have two sons and have settled down in a life where I n o longer have to rush out of my home in the wee hours of the night. All things considered, I’d say I’m doing pretty well.

Many people haven’t fared so well. And with the coming of the New Year, many people may choose tonight as an excuse to drink in excess, make poor decisions and put themselves in some level of peril as they transition into the next year. I would love to assume that my fellow people would be smart enough to make responsible choices. And I hope I’m right. But given everything that’s happened to EVERYONE in the past few years, the pandemic, the snowflake generation, the state of the world including wars, divisive societies and the continued debate over healthcare, vaccinations and the wearing of masks when necessary, you’ll forgive me if prayer and hope is a bit stronger in me this year than I would usually care to admit.

As we move from 2022 into 2023, let’s all take moment to remember how fortunate and lucky we are to live in a modern world where we get to enjoy modern medicine, resources and a way of life that many across the world don’t have the pleasure of enjoying, despite how far our race has advanced. Being grateful doesn’t make you weak. it simply shows that you’re a venerable human being. And that’s all one can hope to be. Some food for thought as we move into a new year that carries all our hopes, dreams and ambitions. ☯️

A Very Merry Christmas…

People talk about the fact that the holidays are a stressful time. This is mostly because people tend to travel, stay outside of their homes, deal with family and outside influences and basically take themselves out of their comfort zones. But there’s no denying that when gifts are exchanged, there’s that moment of glee and child-like wonder, even if you find yourself as an adult. What’s even more exciting is when you receive something from a family member that has some thought and appeals to your interests. this was exactly the case for me, this holiday season.

This year, I got a lovely sky blue sweater from my wife. She also gave me a lovely light-grey suit for work, which I had been eyeballing for quite some time. I got chocolates and a few assorted little items and tokens but I also got three very important little gems from my kids, which I was quite pleased to get. I apologize for the look on my face in the photo below. I was giving my son Nathan instructions on how to take a photo of me, holding my prized Christmas presents. He snapped the photo while I was explaining, hence the serious face. I would have had him retake it, and I did. This was the best one he took…

One could swear from the look on my face that I’m unimpressed but I swear I’m happy with what I got. What you’re looking at are special editions of the Art of War by Sun Tzu, the Art of the Samurai by Yamamoto Hagakure and Tao Te Ching by Laozi. I’ve owned all three books in some iteration or another, at some point in my life. In fact, I think I still have an older copy of the Art of War somewhere in all my stuff. But these special editions have not only made an excellent gift that’s right up my alley, it’s reignited my interest in all three books and will occupy what little bit of reading time I have, over the months to come. ☯️