Ryan Martinsen

Rock Climbing

Ryan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:28:06 +0000

I wasn’t going to mention it–and it’s a good thing I didn’t as expectations would have been shattered–but now that I’ve screwed it up I can confess to attempting to post every day this month. I did it in November 2007 and 2008 though I’m pretty sure I cheated a few times and posted a day late and changed the post time. I decided not to do that this time. I’ll just post twice a few days this month to make up for it.

The culprit for missing Saturday?

I know, right? It was pretty awesome.

Yes, I was belaying when I took the photo.

Don’t worry, the guy was on a fat ledge and I told him to wait a second while I took the picture.

He’s still alive.

Pent House

Ryan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:48:27 +0000

I’m at a pent house party. It’s awesome. 47th floor (well, the roof) of a building near Wall Street.

That is all.

No idea if this photo is any good…

Entitlement on the subway

Ryan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:14:15 +0000

I’ve heard a lot of strange things on the subway. This morning was something new though. A short lady with reddish-brown hair, I’d guess between age 50 and 60, apparently wasn’t able to get on the train as fast as she’d have liked. She voiced her opinion of the man–the cause of the delay–for all to hear (I missed part of it due to my in-ear headphones): “… and you’re on your phone texting! We all deserve to walk on the train when we want to!”

I guess she didn’t realize I deserve to stand quietly on the train without anyone else saying anything. Oh wait, that’s just as absurd.

She rattled on for some time, but I stopped paying attention so I could write down what I’d heard her say. The man said something I couldn’t hear. The woman in front of me, whose face was about 18 inches from mine (it’s only awkward if you look at each other), shook her head in amazement.

Over 5 million people ride the subway on an average weekday.

This lady probably lives here in the city. I do not doubt she is a smart, rational human being. I do not know what happened to her this morning. Maybe she nearly got hit by a bus. Maybe the man really was rude. I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s completely absurd to claim any sort of entitlement concerning when you get to walk on a semi-crowded train.

The subway can be a pretty stressful place, especially during the morning rush hour. It’s not uncommon to see someone squeeze in a crowded train, making other people more uncomfortable (unless you like playing sardines with strangers!), and then look all put out when someone else does the same thing behind them.

I have nothing against the lady on the train this morning. I know nothing of her other than that she has moments of weakness just like the rest of us do. We’ve all done and said things we’ve regretted. What bothered me this morning was not her, but the sense of entitlement she expressed–a sense of entitlement you, as I, have experienced from time to time.

The majority of the people you meet are smart, rational people. You are a smart, rational person. I, too, like to think I am smart and rational. So why does this happen to smart, rational people? Why does this happen to you? Are there things we can do to guard against this sort of thing? I’m interested in what you have to say.

What helps me stay rational in stressful moments (though I often fail) is to consciously remember that everyone around me is, in fact, a living, breathing person. It works even better when I take it a step further and remember that everyone around me is a son or daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves them.

If, however, you’re feeling particularly upset and have no desire to feel happy feelings about anyone I suggest you think of everyone else as vampires. Look each person in the eye and tell them they’re a vampire. Then, if you’re on a train, get off at the next stop so you can feel stupid all by yourself. After you’ve felt stupid for a few minutes walk up to a stranger and tell them they look nice today.

The best way to end a meal is to…

Ryan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:33:35 +0000

Westville in New York City is a superb place to eat. If I were to only recommend one item on their menu I’d tell you to get an order of sweet potato fries, but then I’d also recommend their cobbler, thereby violating my made up rule to only recommend one thing. So I won’t only recommend one thing.

The mixed berry cobbler with which I finished off my meal:

Their burgers are pretty good. They were out of black bean chipotle soup so I enjoyed some turkey chili in its place. I was envious of the salmon my friend got. Oh, and the staff were friendly, too.

In summary, the food here will nourish and strengthen your body and do it the good that it needs (though perhaps not the cobbler).

To do the deed at hand

Ryan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:21:24 +0000

To cast aside regret and fear. To do the deed at hand. Every man that can ride should be sent west at once [...] we must first destroy the threat … while we have time. If we fail, we fall. If we succeed–then we face the next task.
– Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, chapter 6

The end of wimpiness

Ryan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:56:45 +0000

I am tall, skinny, and wimpy. I’m not as wimpy as some, but still pretty wimpy. I think it’s time to change this fact.

Public declarations are rarely a good idea and I certainly don’t intend to announce any new 30-day plans or anything of the sort in some lame attempt to become a manly hunk of muscle; rather, I’m just saying it’s time for this state of wimpiness to change.

The ultimate wimp is he who can admit to his wimpitude and do nothing about it, even though he’d like to.

No, really. I am bringing this up for a reason. I don’t like going to gyms to work out. I don’t like doing push ups just so I can do more push ups.

The best kind of workout is the one that doesn’t feel like a workout.

Rock climbing is a good example. It’s a great workout, but to me doesn’t feel like one while actually rock climbing. Dancing is the same way for me. It can be great exercise, but to me it doesn’t feel like it. I suppose others feel the same way about running, doing push ups, and working out in a gym.

So I don’t want to get a gym membership, do push ups every day, or go running every morning. I do, however, want to improve my physical health in a meaningful way while also having a good time.

The problem with rock climbing is finding a good place to go and people to go with often enough. Also, winter is coming on and winter has a tendency to be cold outside. Climbing gyms in NYC are expensive and really not that great anyway (from what I’ve been able to discover online).

Do you know of any other fun hobbies that also happen to be a good workout? I do like swimming. Basketball can be fun. What else?

Halloween in Boston

Ryan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:01:06 +0000

Highlights of my weekend in Boston in no particular order:

Great fall weather.
Rockin Halloween dance.
Attending the Boston stake conference Friday night in the Trinity Church.
Hearing Elder Ballard speak Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the stake conference and YSA (young single adult) education conference.
The other two speakers at the education conference: David Neeleman (founder of JetBlue) and Clay Christensen (Harvard professor).
Out host, Natalie, was awesome. She drove us all over and made a delicious cheese ball, Mickey Mouse pancakes and some other food with meat in it. It was good.

I could live in Boston.

How I form habits: the musical experiment edition

Ryan — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:51:16 +0000

I like change. I like to try new things. I like to meet people. I find it difficult to form new habits. I have high ideals I don’t always live up to. I like watching people interact instead of taking part in large groups. I like my comfort zone. I don’t like change.

One month ago while listening to classical music at work I remember thinking the following: “I’m happier when I listen to this kind of music. I don’t want to listen to anything else. I wonder if I’d go crazy if I only listened to classical music and other uplifting* music for a month.”

* My opinion, naturally. I am fully aware that others may not find the Mormon Tabernacle Choir uplifting.

This is not the first time I’ve tried something I thought was kind of crazy as a 30 day trial. In May 2005 I attempted (successfully) to go to bed and wake up early for a month (see here, here, here, and here). In April of this year and again in July/August I lived on a low-information diet in an attempt to simplify my life (it worked). Also in July/August of this year I tried, mostly successfully, to be sugar-free. I’ve also attempted several 24-hour read-a-thons.

While I have not stuck with everything I have tried, I do not regret these experiments. I have learned a great deal from each one and recommend trying it.

Though my experiments aren’t mind-blowing or record-breaking in any way, the responses I get are insightful and can be broken down into a few basic categories:

Curiosity: people want to know why
Incredulity: people don’t think I can do it
Apathy: people don’t care
Excitement: people want to hear all the details

Most people express a combination of these four emotions, the intensity of each varying wildly in each mixture. While I cannot be sure what makes someone upset over my choice to not eat sugar for a month, I have a hunch it comes down to a fundamental attribution error. People assume that because I have chosen to do something crazy I must actually be insane or dogmatic or masochistic. Perhaps I come across as judgmental. Perhaps every time you ate a cookie during the month of August you heard my voice in your head saying, “that’s what, 3 pounds right there?” If so, I’m sorry. I certainly didn’t say that and I wish I hadn’t give that impression.

I really doubt anyone thought that though. The point is that we’re all really bad at attribution. You probably don’t know the reasons I have for what I do (even if I’ve explained it to you), and I don’t know why you react the way you do.

The point of this isn’t to necessarily to defend myself against those who commit attribution errors (and against whom I commit attribution errors in return). The point is that everyone is different. My way of making habits may not be your way of making habits, so you shouldn’t necessarily try to form new habits the way I do.

But hey, if other things aren’t working you might as well try the way others do it.

“Abstinence is as easy to me, as temperance would be difficult.”
– Samuel Johnson, quoted in “Memoirs of the Life and Correspondence of Mrs. Hannah More”, edited by William Roberts

Abstinence is easy for me. So is indulgence. If I can accomplish a goal by one extreme or the other, all the better. Most often, though, a short period of abstinence (sugar) or indulgence (classical music) is all I need to establish temperance going forward.

So try it, if you want. If not, I don’t care.

P.S. I almost forgot. A month passed without ever really thinking about the classical music goal. I did it, though I wasn’t strict about it. I went swing dancing and listened to jazz music. I didn’t plug my ears in grocery stores to avoid hearing that other music or anything like that. 90% of what I listened to, though, was classical music. I expanded my classical music collection. All in all it went well and I’m glad I did it. I’ll probably continue it, though perhaps to a lesser degree.

Nearing hour 24

Ryan — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:02:16 +0000

From what I’ve been able to gather from the others participating in the read-a-thon, they started at a later hour than I did. I started at 1:30 AM EST and it’s now 1:00 AM the following day. I am going to bed. Between falling asleep, running errands, and attending birthday parties for 2 friends (I read on my phone while at the parties!) I certainly did not spend a full 24 hours of reading. I’ll wager I read and listened to books for a good 12 hours.

12 hours is quite good I think. About 11 hours more than usual.

Still, it doesn’t seem right to sign up for, and participate in, a 24-hour read-a-thon without reaching the goal. So, I plan to make it up this week. I don’t think I’ll be able to fit another 12 hours in tomorrow, but I certainly can over the next few days. I will keep all ya’ll updated by posting my progress here.

Thanks to all the ‘cheerleaders’ who have commented on my posts for encouraging me to keep reading!

Progress isnt always easy to show

Ryan — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:56:23 +0000

Soon after my last post I realized I needed to buy some dress shoes for tomorrow. Upon ensuring that I had an audiobook I could listen to I struck out for Macy’s. While waking I listened to Catch 22 and while waiting for and riding on the subway I read 1984 on my iPhone. Amazon’s Kindle app is by far one of my favorites. I also have the new Barnes and Noble eReader app, but have yet to use it.

Since returning from my shoe errand I finished The Fellowship of the Ring and have delved deeper into 1984.

While I love days like this, a part of me (the inner narcisist perhaps) wishes I could show more. To say I read 10 books in one day would be awesome, but then I’d have to choose different books. Oh well. I may not be able to demonstrate progress with numbers, but that’s really not what matters anyway.