IvisitedthebakeryinSFbutneverreallytasted
theTartineBasicCountryBreadwhichsoimpressed
MichaelPollan(Seehisbook"Cooked")ataparty.
IreadChadRobertson'sfirstTartinebookacouple
ofyearsagoandevenbakedsourdoughonce
(notfollowinghisrecipe,though).Butafterthat,
Iwentontocondemnallcarbsandthewhiteflour
especially.
Recently,however,thingsstartedtochange...[
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Icouldonlyimaginewhatwentthroughhishead
whenanemployeechosetojumpfromthe12thfloor
ofabuildingatAmazonHQonNov29(thisandthis).
Asthestoryunfolded,Ilearnt,likeme,hewasa
Chineseprogrammerandwasputona"Performance
ImprovementPlan"beforethejump.Asafellowrecent
PIPsurvivor,IfeltIhadtosaysomethingtohim.
Whilechasingthematerialandthesocial,ifyouhaven't,
gives...[
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Ireadthispostandfollowedupwiththebooks
"TheMushroomHunters"and"FatoftheLand,"
bothfromtheauthorLangdonCook.
Ifirstreadabouthuntingandforagingthreeyears
agoin"TheOmnivore'sDilemma"byMichaelPollan.
Theprosestherefeltsmoothanddisarminglyeasy,
andIcouldjustrelaxandenjoythegoodstories.
Cook'sbooks,however,sentmetodictionaries.It
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IwasrattledbySamSheridan'sbook,TheDisaster
Diaries.Init,theauthorrecordedthe
preparationshedidafterhehadachild.Hewent
throughexperiencesunimaginabletotheChinese
scholarinme:fightingfire,stealingcars,Muay
Thai,knifefighting,survivinginthewild,
livinginanigloo,etc.Hewasable,intheend,
toevenlovetheapocolypse.Whilereading,Ikept
asking"Whataboutme?AmIready?&...[
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IfirstreadthatinS&S.Likemanyothertruisms,
ittakestimeandpracticetosinkin.
Afteroneyearoftraining,Ihaverecently
graduatedtothe32kgintheS&Sprogramandfound
thatIcouldnolongerrelyonmybicepsand
tricepstogetmeoutoftroubleinthemiddleof
aTurkishGetup.Withaheavierbellcrushing
down,abentelbowortippingarmbecomesmore
risky.Ihavetomakekeepingastraightarm
perpendic...[
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Ihadaverygood10-hrsleep(the7x32kg-GetUp
S&Ssessionsuretiredmeout)andwentthroughmy
morningroutinefeelinggreat.Butstilltherewas
thisbluefunkwhenIdidn'thaveaclearplan
whattodoonawindySundaymorning.Thewind
dieddownalittlearound9:00am.Itwascloudy
andabouttorain.
Onourwaytothecoffeeshop,IshowedTimwhere
Ifoundthecarobpods.Thedarkbrownbeanhusks,
lyingonthesid...[
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Fromtheage6to30,mylifewasspentinschools
passingexams.Thenext10yearssawmesittingin
frontofcomputers12hrsaday.At40,Istood
5'7"andweighed195lbsanditwasnotapretty
picture.Thewakeupcallcameafteraphysical
checkupandIwassentencedpre-diabetic.Over
thenexttwoyears,Ilost50lbs,finishedmyfirst
marathonbarefoot,andsnatchedhealthbackfrom
thejawofdiabetes.
Istarted...[
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Earlymorning,Mr.Zhaodrovemetograndma'shome
toattendmycousin'sWedding.Thevillagewasin
thecounty'seconomicbackwater.Peopletherehad
anaccentandwerenicerandmoreclosely
connected.Manyguestshadarrivedonedayearlier
andspentthenightinrelatives'homesnearby.
Thiswasahistoricalmoment.Lookingatthe
gorgeousnewcouple,Icouldn'thelpremembering
thelasttwogene...[
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Dad'scaretakerwas71-year-oldMr.Zhao,atough
restlessex-farmerandfitasafiddle.Hiswife
(20yearsyounger)workedthesameprofession.
Whenshedidn'thavework,shewouldaccompany
himatdad'splace.Theywereneitherrichnor
beautifulandhadhadmorethantheirshareof
miseryandsuffering.Buttheywerecontent,
appreciativeofeachother,andfulloflife.
Duringmystay,thecouplecamearound...[
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IwaslookingforanironfortheclothesIwas
abouttowash.Dadimmediatelypointedtoa
cabinetwherehekepttheonemomhad.Themoment
feltalmostmagicbutIopenedthedoorandthere
itwas,the400W220V1986Egret,initsoriginal
box.Untouchedbytheyears,itbroughtbackall
thememories.
Thosedays,momwasalaborerinastate-owned
restaurantbutonthesidelinesheworkedtobea
tailorandhadbigplans.Later,sh...[
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