Josh Petersen

Weighed in 4 lbs down. Though my confidence in holding this weight is slight.

Sent a cryptic note this AM.

I’ve been weighing in 2-3 pounds down from my starting point. But the variability is disturbing.

We have a great new robot in Joe. He’s already bringing a more empathetic and analytical mood to the room. I blogged more about the process on the company blog. It is fascinating seeing how the tone of the Co-op changes around the talents of the team that is here.

Mother’s Day was last Sunday and I sent my wife the best love letter I could for a beautiful mother of 3. She got to sleep in while I herded kids until 11:30 and then we took her out for brunch. It was a sweet day, with lots of love from the kids for their mom, and enough time for the two of us to spend together to make it count. I love you Anne, you are a great Mother, and most beautiful to boot.

I had a chance to walk Sophia to school this morning, all by ourselves, and it was simply golden. She loves school and she was radiant in the weak Seattle morning sun. I’ve already forgotten what we talked about, but she reminded me of those years when she was our only child, and how easy it was to enjoy your own child. This was certainly the high point of my week, if not my month, who knows, maybe my year. I love you sweetheart.

I’m finding time to write love letters lately. Sometimes good old fashioned pen on paper love letters and sometime new fangled text message love letters. My daughter and I are even sending email love letters. I am in love with love letters. When was the last time you sent one? It is a low risk high reward activity.

I just changed the name of my goal here from “Remain close to my children” to “Increase the odds that my kids will still talk to me when they grow up”. I felt like the “Remain” goal was too static and too hard to show any progress. It isn’t like this new goal is that much easier to measure, but I can at least keep track of anecdotes that relate positive or negative outcomes.

I’m also boosting this goal to number 2 on my list. Number 1 is about making sure my loved ones know I love them. Number 2 is about going the extra mile for my kids to make sure they know I want to always be a part of their lives.

So I hope I’m not doing this wrong. And I hope my kids will still talk to me when they grow up.

I’m still slogging away at Italian, but this week I almost gave up. I never make the time to do my homework and then I spend most of the lesson telling stupid stories in the present tense (and often in the wrong person). Beh!

It might be a bit of an overstatement to say I wrote this book (someday I hope to say that definitively) but for now I want to celebrate the accomplishment. Four years ago on New Year’s Eve, we launched 43Things.com into the world, and this New Year’s we are releasing the first 43Things book. It goes on sale Christmas day and it is a great chronicle of the goals people have posted on our site and the wide array of ways people hope to improve their lives.

The simple idea that writing down your goals can help you change your life is so beautiful and has proved true for many of the folks that have been with us on this awesome adventure into a bigger and bolder life. If you find 43Things interesting or valuable, order the book as a reminder of how knowing your goals can help you know what you really want to do with your life.

I just got my genetic test results from qtrait.com. The results aren’t uniformly interesting, but some of the stand outs are: I’m more likely to become an alcoholic (makes sense), more likely to be dyspeptic (true), a night owl (check), and less likely to smoke. A surprise was scoring 2 out of 2 on the obesity markers. Good to be on guard!

Here is the full genetic monty:

• Addiction to street drug use: CC (average)
• Alcohol processing: CC (more likely to become an alcoholic)
• Asthma: AT (medium to low risk)
• Bitter tasting ability: taster
• Codeine metabolism and nursing: Two CYP2D6 copies (average metabolizer of codeine)
• Coumarin-based drug dose (like Warfarin): high dose (slow or normal processing of coumarin-based drugs, meaning I need a higher dose of Warfarin)
• Dyspepsia (indigestion): CC (more likely to show dyspeptic symptoms)
• Early bird or night owl: CC (night owl)
• Eczema: GT (high risk)
• Glaucoma: no result yet
• Gluten sensitivity or celiac disease: No HLA-DQ2*0501 types (low risk)
• Hemochromatosis: GG (low risk)
• Initial response to smoking and drinking: GG(does not tend to report “strong” or “negative” effects from alcohol and nicotine consumption)
• Insomnia: CC (more likely to have a significant preference for evening time over morning)
• Insulin sensitivity in response to endurance training: CT (improvement in insulin sensitivity in response to exercise)
• Lactose intolerance/Lactose persistence: TT (very likely to be able to digest milk after childhood)
• Learning and Memory: CC (better than average)
• Mold sensitivity: GG (more likely to have mold allergies)
• Norwalk virus (the cruise ship sickness): AG (medium risk)
• Obesity (increased BMI): AT (up to 1.31 times more likely to be obese than those individuals with only T type copies.)
• Obesity II: CC (as much as 1.2-2.3 times more likely to be obese than other individuals)
• Odor perception: AG (less sensitive and more pleasurable response to certain odors)
• Physical performance, power vs. endurance v.1: CC (power, yes; endurance, no)
• Post-operative cognitive dysfunction: GG (average risk)
• Protection from Alcoholism: GG (able to process alcohol normally and may be as likely to become addicted to alcohol)
• Resistance to cannabis addiction: CC (more susceptible to THC dependence)
• Restless Legs Syndrome: TT (less likely to develop restless legs syndrome)
• Seasonal Affective Disorder: Normal risk
• Smoking addiction: CC (less likely to be a smoker)
• Variation in height: CC (on average ~.8 cm taller than non CC types

I returned to taking lessons in Italian two weeks ago after an almost six year pause. It is a challenge getting my homework done and a it hurts my brain to speak Italian for a full hour, but all and all it is a pretty satisfying endeavor. My desire was really just to get some mental exercise and not lose to much ground on the year or so I have put into learning Italian. Not sweating fluency or a planned trip to Italy and just focusing on the enjoyable parts of learning a language make this a pleasant experience.

I’ve had this goal on my list as long as any of the goals on my list. Today I can mark it done. My numbers were nothing special, but what is special is that I now know them.

BP: 129/80 (a bit high, but I’m always a bit high)
Total Cholesterol: 250 (I think I can do better)
HDL: 60
LDL: 158

The numbers don’t make me feel anything (because I mostly don’t know what they mean, yet) but marking this goal off my list feels great!

I’m plagued by the audacity of hope!

I got a mention, along with some 43T users, in this nice article.

I am making it to the meditation class I started 2-3 times a month. I’d like to be more consistent as the regularity of the class is a big help in keeping the lessons and mindset going in my daily life. At best, I manage to sneak away to meditate outside of class for 30 minutes. At worst, I go all week without meditating, so I have a ways to go before I’ve made this a daily practice.

I think the favorite thing I’ve learned so far involves some meditations that help curb judging others. Our minds are automatic classifiers. Sometimes I can’t seem to make mine stop from making the most trivial of judgments about people. Thinking of everyone as a buddha just short circuits my judging mind and I love that. It has also been helpful that the meditation series we are doing right now is all about developing confidence and overcoming obstacles – a great theme for novice meditators.

I’m pretty much cheating by marking this as “done” at this point, but I want it off my list before my personal challenge expires.

I went in for my “consultation” last week and just called to make the final appointment. Not true, really, as there are several follow-ups required to make sure nothing works, but it will be the final appointment for the little piece of my vas that keeps it all together. Thankfully, when the Dr gave me a prescription for Valium to take before the appointment, he wrote it for 2 pills, which was a big help in calling to make the appointment, even if the nurse couldn’t understand me very well.

I’ll post a follow up when I’m confirmed sterile to make up for prematurely getting this off my list.

I just found it online.

I went to my first meditation class about 3 weeks ago, and made it to my second class this past week. I’ve enjoyed both classes quite a bit. The content is interesting (though a bit more Buddhism than I knew I was going to get), and the practice has been rewarding. I have managed to fit in meditation 2-3 times a week outside of class, so, so far this seems like a good start. I like the teacher who leads the class, and it turns out I met him a decade ago in a totally different context. The class itself seems deeply radical, 6-7 people with nothing in common other than a desire to improve our minds, gathered in a totally counter-cultural context.

Of all the goals listed on 43 Things this might be the one I currently most hope to accomplish. I think I have a chance!

The other day I was thinking, what would I do if I lost my iPhone. I knew immediately I’d buy a new one. It is a great gadget. The phone part could be better, but it is a beautiful first generation product. It is amazing how many of the little details have been thought through.