I Live in Iowa: Week 117

Another week, working moderately. I think we in the US like to think of ourselves as hard workers, all the time, but real hard work is not sustainable.

Engineering went well, I cycled through a few iterations of the project I am working and took a two day "Working with China" class. The class was very good, I learned quite a bit. For example, even though China is communist it is a very hierarchical society. Your status is an important aspect of you in that culture. That is a stark contrast to our western perception of communists being equals. Another aspect of the Chinese culture, and most of Asia, is that relationships are more important than the task at hand. Again, that is different than the argumentative goal orientated culture of the west. The concept of "Face" is important too. "Face" is like one's reputation, or quite literally, one's face to the world. The more status someone has the more face that person has too. The implication is that the boss can yell at people, even though he is wrong, if it means he can save face in front of a third party. The concept of a verbal "yes" is interesting too, maybe a whole blog post interesting.

I ran 84 miles including a 24 mile long run and some strides and a couple hard hills, though no formal workout. I need to do some quality, and I would like some running partners to help push me through workouts.

How is being vegan? Expensive. Who pays $6.59 for a loaf of bread? This guy. How about $3 for half a gallon of soy, almond or coconut milk? The upside is I am discovering new foods, like coconut milk, new mushrooms, brown rice, wild rice, quinoa and tahini. I have had some before, but never tried to cook them myself.

I am tired, between working, running, and making food, there is not a lot of time left over. I realized recently that I have not had cable, satellite, or even a home Internet connection in over two years! Considering that means I have probably saved close to $2000 by now, I would say it was a good choice.