Didn't see that coming...

Alright,

So I probably should have shut my mouth. Saying I attract trouble where ever I go... More then likely jinxed my trip to Osaka and Tokyo.

While in Shinjuku, Tokyo I had the pleasure of getting in a fight with two 'gang members' for lack of a better term.



I hadn't gone out that night looking to get into a fight... It just kind of happened. One minute I was walking past a group of what I thought were party goers and the next I had copped a blow to the face.

After stumbling into the nearby wall and having some guy beat up on me I decided that it sucked... Alot. I was able to get him off me and on the ground before his mate hit me from behind and had me on the ground.



I was able to stand up still seeing stars, and finally coming to the conclusion that I was over this experience. I lashed out at the bastard with a punch... Hard, even by my standards. I know I hurt him because it hurt my hand. I thought I had broken it by the way it began to throb from the wrist down to my fingers.

I was glad he didn't get up because he would have been pissed. I was able to get boots into him while he was down before some big black bloke pulled me off him and into a side alley.

His words too me were more or less this: "Run home as fast as you can!"



So with my arm held across my chest by my other, blood streaming down my face and hands I did just that.

Not something I want to experience again anytime soon. I took the photos the next morning before heading to Disney Land and after having a shower to wash a heap of dried blood off my face and arms.

Kind of funny... When I walked into the Hostel the sweet old lady behind the desk looked at me in my stated and asked 'Did you have fun?' in her croaky Japanese voice. Maybe she thought I had been eating Jam all night...

No kids for a whole week!

So this weekend Taz is heading up to Kitakami City - A place where Unicorns graze eating magical grass and shit out rainbows, and the towns folk all live in in Mushroom shaped houses. On the weekend they all come together in the town square to dance, carry giant lollipops and generally be gay and merry.

Well... Not exactly but those are the lies I persuaded her with to come here. It will be good to see another foreigner in my city seeing as I haven't really spoken English face to face with some one for a while.

On Monday we are going to head down to Osaka for a few days. Osaka is the city in Japan that is meant to be the most fun. While other cities inherited tradition, formality and a relentless obedience of social rules Osaka took the attitude. They speak with a cooler accent than those above Tokyo and are pretty big on music, cars and having a good time. I can't wait to see what it is like.

After that we will hit up Tokyo. Hopefully I get to go to Tokyo Disneyland again. When I left that place at Christmas I also left a part of me at the exit. Child Mike. He is trapped in there, most probably standing in the lost property building waiting - yearning for me to come and pick him up, give him a hug and run off to Space Mountain again. Seriously, being in that place is like taking some wonderful drug for a day. I'm positive I saw Disney endorsed patches in the gift store so that people don't have to come down from it cold turkey like I did.

Anyways, as always I will be taking my camera so expect a few pictures when I get back. I just realized I still haven't put up my photos from Christmas so I think I'll need to upload them when I get back as well.

I'm sure there will be plenty of stories for you... I have an uncanny habit of attracting trouble and mischief what ever part of Japan I am in.

Day 21

Well its been 21 Days since I began the training now, and after three weeks it's becoming seemingly more difficult.

I have noticed changes in my body and the training is definitely having an effect. If I was to continue in this way it would certainly bring about huge changes to my body.

However for the moment I will need to put this little project on hold. Doing this in Japan is very difficult for several reasons:

1. There is no English support at my gym. I have many questions regarding technique, diet and exercise but need to rely on the internet as my only source of gaining any insight. he gym also lacks equipment necessary for me to complete my training correctly.

2. It is near impossible for me to buy foods which are nutritional and healthy. Where I live there is no such thing as lean mean. It is a delicacy to keep the fat in meats so not ideal health food for a strict diet. Tuna would be great but it is all full of oil. Just this morning I chowed into a bowl of 'Healthy Granola' which turned out to be sugar frosted... How was it healthy? I have no idea but the packet clear stated it was nutritional.

So to compensate for the lack of lean meat I have relied on Chicken for the past three weeks, and what can I say except: IT IS DRIVING ME NUTS! I'm tired of chicken. I need something else other the white meat. Every bite is like chewing into the sole of a shoe.

3. My work hours screw me around. Some days I started at 1 pm, others I start at 6.30pm. I have no consistency in the times I eat or the time I work out. For example, tomorrow I begin work at 9 a.m. It doesn't help me keep a decent diet and work out routine.

So even though I am putting this goal on pause does not mean I am not working as hard towards it. In the past three weeks I have learned quite a lot about exercise and nutrition. I will continue to visit the gym 4 - 5 times a week as I have for the past year. On top of that I will be continuing my HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) Routine. This is actually a very interesting concept for any body who is trying to lose weight and tone up. I might explain it in a later post because it does work.

As for meals. I'm not going to go back to eating sweets like I once did, or junk food. I like having a clean system and functional system. These past three weeks while I have eaten healthy I have ingested more milk, Whey Protein, fruit and eggs then I could have imagined. It has messed with my digestion in strange and mysterious ways, namely racing to the toilet first thing in the morning to 'expel my waste.' And I'm not talking pushing out neat little turtle heads here... Think along the lines of a Geyser.

As far as I'm concerned I'll be glad to get back to my cornflakes every morning and sandwiches for lunch. I lost over 40kgs with Vegemite and cheese sandwiches and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg to buy a loaf of bread every week. At least I know when I go drop the kids of at the pool they'll sink straight to the bottom.

I think so long as I keep up my exercise and keep eating under 2000 calories a day by time I get home I may still change a bit more and get closer to my original goal of a six pack. The main aim is to lower my body fat percentage so I'll keep at it, you don't have to be a body builder look lean.

Day 15

It has come to my attention that there is a growing band of people rallying against me. People who have deemed the use of the my blue boxers in every photo as 'disgusting' and 'unclean'. You no who you are and now you are insisting that I change them. To you I ask this one simple question: "Why?"

The pope wears the same white clothes every day. How often does some one say to him, "Hmm I think your white clothes are a bit dull, how about this nice Hawaiian shirt today?"

Let's look at the Darlai Lama. Every time you've ever seen him what is he wearing? Oh! That's right. A red robe with that little yellow thing around his neck. No one is pushing at him to wear a green robe, or a blue robe, or a friggen hot pink robe!

What about Abraham Lincoln? Can you imagine him with out that beard? He would just be a face. I'm not American, or know nothing about American History but I think that beard helped. In fact I think that beard is what made his presidency... That and his hat. Now imagine if he had shaved it because some one said "Yeah... look... The beard isn't working... Maybe just keep a little bit of fluff under your bottom lip."
I warn you to never enter the White House, because he is there, and he will be pissed if you have thought that.

Bah! You should be ashamed, suggesting I change my blue boxers just because you don't like the colour, the pattern or the fact that by now the skid mark to cotton ratio has shifted somewhat and now favors the former. Just for you 'blue boxer haters' out there, you inhuman monsters full of hate and prejudice towards my underwear I'm going to wear them twice as hard as I was before.

You'll be sorry you ever judged my blue boxers. Stand up my brothers and sisters who have worn underwear more then one day in a row. Be proud of your underwear. Together let's end this oppression. With one voice lets shout "Forwards, Backwards, Inside Out!"

Ungrateful people. You should all consider yourselves lucky I'm even wearing underwear in this photos... Or unlucky depending on your point of view.

Day 14 - Two Weeks Down

Hey everyone,

Well I haven't posted everyday as I said I would or posted the photos. Slack I know, but with the mood I have been in they would have made very dull and uninteresting posts. On the plus side though I have been going the gym as planned and having been continuously eating healthy for two weeks now.

Broccoli, Cauliflower and Asparagus still taste of like shit too me, even after two weeks of forcing it town my throat. Fiber is fiber after all. I've taken to mashing it up and mixing it with Vegemite, something that I remember Mum doing often for my sister when she had to eat the same vegetables.

When I checked my weight on Sunday morning I was happy to see that I had gone down from 80 kilograms. Looks like my metabolism works faster then it used too and all the junk I ate over Christmas came off me pretty quick. My weight is now 76 kilograms, give or take at any given time. It seems to fluctuate every time I check.

I have also noticed some significant growth in muscles, especially in my legs and arms. Today after haphazardly looking in the mirror I couldn't help but notice my biceps seem to bulge out heaps more then they had two weeks ago. A good sign, and probably cause for my fluctuating weight as muscle weighs more then fat does. It would be good if I could work myself back up towards 80 kilograms but with muscle as opposed to body fat.

As for the six-pack. Well no sign of it yet, but give me a chance. Two weeks isn't very long when you look at the length of three months. My abdominal area is a lot stronger since I've started training and if I give it a firm knock I can definitely feel a lot of muscle just waiting to escape...

So in due time it will appear.

It will shine like polished armour,

It will dazzle you with its radiance,

It may even blind some of you... So beware!