Contacting Elvis - The MEX Update

After thoughtful consideration this MEX was bumped off of the priority list until further notice. It is still something I look forward to doing at a later date. I'll keep you posted!

Ou.yang.

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Contacting Elvis - The MEX

Well folks, Xmas is officially xed off the calendar and the new year is quickly approaching. The marathon is in less than a week's time and a new goal is in order. So a new MEX it is. MEX if you are new to the concept stands for a Monthly Experiment. I've done two so far, a vegetarian lifestyle experiment and a 6AM early rising experiment - each lasting for 30 days at least.

For the next experiment I've put a lot of thought into - perhaps too much. It's about time that I chose one of those many thoughts. After doing a sleep and diet experiment I thought I'd like to try an experiment in something else, an experiment in communication. And not just any kind of communication - contacting a celebrity/famous person and interviewing them. I was inspired by Tim Ferris' book "The Four Hour Work Week" where he urges participants to try this out to practice resourcefulness, bravery and communication skills, not to mention mentoring from a super successful person from the heavens.

I say from the heavens because that is usually where these people are pictured to be - in a world far far away from "our" own. It won't be Elvis as my psychic powers aren't quite that good yet, that was just to make the title more splashy. So who will it be? That is the question that I'll have to solve for the first part of the MEX.

Here are the rules:

1.No local wannabe celebrities - I'm going for somebody that is world renowned like Bill Clinton or Oprah. Although I don't think it would be either of them. ;)
2.I will ask them at least one well researched question that I am curious about.
3.If the first person I call doesn't work out I will continue to try others until I hit success. Call it an exercise in persistence.
4.Be both eloquent and charming in my approach.

I imagine the MEX will go something like this:

1. Find somebody I really admire and want to talk to.
2. Use my resourcefulness to find their phone number.
3. Call them up and use the script provided from the above aforementioned book.
4. Ask them my question.
5. Ask them if in the future I have any (very infrequent) questions if I could contact them by email.

I imagine the person I would want to contact would be a famous speaker, personal development coach, or entrepreneur.

So there is the first installation of the new MEX. Please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions on how to get famous people's contact info.

The next post will reveal my target.

Ou.yang.

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The MEX - Vegetarianism Day 11

Today the Vegetarian gods showered me with me vegetarian research blessings. I found three veg restaurants, downloaded the "Vegetarian Curry Bible," bought my first surou or veg meat and just had dinner at one of the aforementioned veg restaurants. I also picked up several pamphlets (in Chinese) on vegetarianism to show curious Chinese friends.

Whoooo. What a day. It was a veggie-a-thon-extra-ordinaire.

Not to mention I have also come across interesting new material on "acid/alkaline dieting." Might have to look more into that.

But all excitement aside. I felt the urge. Colonel's constant advertising, at the bus stop, in the elevator, in fat kid's hands, taped to my door... they all had something to do with it. I had just finished work. My old habit would be after a long tiring day to stop by KFC to pick up a Mexican chicken wrap ($1.50 or so) and eat the day away. The fumes wafted out of the KFC smoke stack (another advertising ploy) and into my big shnoz.

I sniffed. And then sniffed again.

And I kept sniffing as I took the road back home. A tall glass of soy milk was the consolation prize. I thought to myself as I drank down my capuccino flavoured soy "I need to find better consolation prizes or this whole thing isn't going to work!"

But, it has been 11 days. I have done a fair bit of research. I cook more at home now. My diet and eating is more on schedule. People are getting curious.

Vegetarianism eh?

Ah yes. 19 more days to go. I will either be a well informed meat eater by that time or an even more avid vegetarian. It is to be seen.

Ou.yang.

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The MEX - Vegetarianism

Thirty (30) days of vegetarianism is the MEX or the Monthly Experiment X. No meat of any kind. Animal products such as dairy products, eggs, oils and whatnot I'll still consume and I'll still wear my leather shoes. I also intend to still slap mosquitoes that wish to feed on me and spray for cockroaches as they give me the heebee jeebees.

For those of you at that missed the last post I am doing a monthly experiment or MEX (a cool acronym that I created).


What I Am Not Doing

I'm not leaping into vegetarianism fervently claiming to want to stand up for animal rights, to save the planet or to become more healthy. Honestly I know little about any of those in areas in relation to vegetarianism.

What I Am Doing

I'm doing it to try it out. My 30 days will also include 30 days of research and reading, discussion with vegetarians, posting on forums and watching the occasional scary PETA video. By the end of the 30 days I will look at my findings, see how I feel and make a decision whether to continue or not.

So Why Vegetarianism?  

I've always been interested in what it meant to be vegetarian and what went along with that title. It seems more like a way of life than a change in diet. Also:

• I have a love for animals and life. 
• I don't like seeing things killed and/or tortured.
• I wanted to see why so many great people I knew were becoming vegetarians.
• It seemed like a change that would be challenging on many different levels.
  

Fears

Some of my fears of vegetarianism include:

• Becoming a PETA protester. They're pretty full on now aren't they?
• Losing bacon. I really do like bacon. 
• Getting bored with food choices.
• Losing weight and/or becoming malnourished.
• Being in awkward social situations. ie: Being in the middle of a group of blood thirsty meat eating cattle farmers and them asking me why I don't eat meat with snarly looks on their faces.
• I'm afraid I'll like the change so much and never eat meat again.  
• Being the blunt of vegetarian jokes, ie:

Vegetarianism in China

"Great to jian fei" say most of my female students. "Jian fei" meaning to lose weight. Very few Chinese are vegetarian and usually the associations with vegetarianism include Buddhist monks, losing weight and or some kind of mental abnormality. China however does host what appears to be a veggie friendly platter of options. There is tofu galore and enough variety of veggies to keep me occupied for at least, emm... 3 or 4 days? (Please see my fear or boredom with food choices)

Surely there must be some kind of vegetarian underground society here - I just haven't found them yet. 

Numbers


According to Google Answers there are 250 000 "proper" Canadian vegetarians and 100 000 "proper" Canadian vegans. When I say "proper" they shaved off a million or so other vegetarian groups who partake in other varieties of vegetarianism. The country with the most vegetarians is India, with roughly 30 to 40 percent of the population being vegetarian.

Final Jibber Jabber

So next month you could very well hear me going on about my vegetarian lifestyle or going on about how I love the smell of bacon in the morning. It's to be seen.

Do you have any experience in vegetarianism? Any interest in trying out a vegetarian diet? Are you a die hard meat eater? 

As always, any comments or questions please leave a comment below. 

Ou.yang. 

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The Monthly Experiment

I am planning to try something new and challenging for 30 days every 30 days. I will post progress, photos and notes on here.  

Every month there will be an experiment. Lets refer to it as Monthly Experiment X or MEX for short (jingle yet to come).

• MEX will challenge, educate and inspire. 
• MEX may leave people shaking their heads saying "Now why would he do THAT?" 
• MEX does not bite but may shed.

Last month's MEX was to get up at 6AM and go for a run every morning. After a hugely successful completion of that project it was time to push the bill further.

So I thought to myself.

And then I got up and grabbed a coffee.

And I thought again.

What was something else that I was afraid of, something that I had never consciously thought about and something I knew little about? The answer, not slowly but rather surely came.

Vegetarianism. 

The single word that strikes fear into the heart of meat eaters and grade three spelling bee contestants.

Please stay posted for the next post on my Vegetarian MEX. It will answer such itchy questions as:

• Why vegetarianism?
  
• But what about bacon?
• Is China a vegetarian friendly place to live?
• What have the reactions been like to this new MEX?
• But I want to hear about the wedding?!

For now I leave with you with a quote, a sampler of sorts. In the wise words of George Bernard Shaw:

Animals are my friends... and I don't eat my friends.

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