Down Under Day Two

As my readers likely gleaned from the way the Day One travelogue ended, my medicinal strategy to Jedi Mind Trick my physiology for minimal jet lag more or less worked. I was able to sleep for a significant portion of the 13 hour oversea(s) flight from San Francisco to Auckland NZ, via a combination of a strategically timed dosing of melatonin and hydroxyzine (an antihistamine with both anti-anxiety and sedating properties), ample leg room (due to a pre-paid seat upgrade), comfortable footwear and clothing (including a fleece balaclava that allowed me to regulate the temperature of my head), and good earplugs (to block out all but the most obnoxious ambient noises). I now believe I have international travel comfort locked in about as well as it can be. I would say I achieved at least five hours of good sleep on the flight, which is acceptable.

Our plane landed in Auckland NZ at about 9 AM local time. The customs and immigration process went fairly smoothly. My Australian passport is recognized by New Zealand, without the need for a visa. Deborah had a valid visa for her American passport. We were a bit unsure if some of the food we brought with us was prohibited in NZ, but we declared what we had and were transparent about it. I was most worried about the packages of raw nuts (shelled pecans and walnuts). A trained contraband sniffing dog honed in on my bag of food, but we think the dog was simply attracted to the peanut butter of our PB&J sandwiches, because the customs officer waved us on after determining we had nothing forbidden with us. We exited customs and entered Auckland NZ proper.

A pre-arranged limo driver named Gary met us near the airport exit, holding up a tablet with our names on it. He was good natured and told us quite a bit about NZ's sociopolitical climate (in summary, it's miles ahead of the US on many quality of life metrics) on our roughly 30 minute drive from the airport to the Sudima Hotel in downtown Auckland. When we arrived at the hotel, our room wasn't ready yet, because we got in so early. However, one of the reception staffers offered us a complimentary upgrade to a nicer room that was ready, and we headed there.

Now, if this room was an upgrade, I cannot imagine what the original room was like. The room we got was tiny and austere. Basically a bed in the center of the main room and a bathroom off of that. There was a microscopic mini fridge, capable of containing almost nothing, and a small shelf with coffee/tea making amenities. There was a TV too, but we didn't have much interest in watching it. The room served our purposes, a safe space to sleep and bathe, although a microwave might have been nice. We deposited our bags and settled in a bit. Deborah took a shower, after which we took a short walk over to an eatery called the Sunflower Vegan Cafe. It was good plant-based eating. They did not skimp on the portion sizes. It was a bit heavy on oil, but it was tasty and filled us up.

Upon returning to the hotel, we succumbed to intense power naps for a couple hours, catching up on the sleep deficit acquired on the long journey to get here. It was hard to shake myself awake from the nap, but I eventually did.

We had dinner at the vegan friendly hotel restaurant, called EAST, which I cannot help but point out is an anagram for EATS. It was Asian themed. There was no skimping on portion sizes here either. I got a pho noodle bowl. I can't recall what Deborah got, but I will replace this sentence with that information if/when I do.

After dinner, we decompressed in the hotel room for a spell, and then went to bed, fairly satisfied with the day.

Fin.

Boycott SMSM

Hi Readers!

I hope this post finds you and brings you joy. Of course, if you failed to commit to a complete social and mainstream media (SMSM) fast after the New Year, then you are now experiencing the opposite of joy, and I am very sorry. Because the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs) can now freely enter your life and poison you, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Fin.

Down Under Day One

It's Day 1 of the Big Adventure Down Under (BADU). On Day 0, which was yesterday, we mostly completed our pre-trip checklist, with the exception of a few last minute checklist items that could only be done early this morning - turning the thermostat and hot water heater to "vacation" mode, turning off the ice machine in the freezer, and making sure the refrigerator doors were all fully closed.

I woke up early enough to squeeze in a quick 30-minute Peloton workout and a shower, after which I packed some bagels and the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I prepped yesterday into my carry on bag. At some point, Deborah got up, showered, and did her last bit of packing. We had already deposited our dogs, Ziggy and Nyah, at the canine boarding house, Ruffin It, yesterday evening. So, the house was fairly quiet, all things considered.

We finished the last minute prep with a few minutes to spare before my buddy Stefan arrived in his blue Tesla to take us the the Madison airport (MSN). The 25-minute drive went without incident and we arrived at the United Airlines departures entrance of the airport about 7:30 AM. There was basically no line at the United ticketing counter, where we showed our passports, checked our suitcases, and got our trifecta of boarding passes (MSN to Chicago Ohare, Chicago to San Francisco, and San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand). As a dual citizen of the US and Australia (with valid passports for both), I don't need visas to enter New Zealand or Australia, although Deborah does (for both).

There was, likewise, no line at TSA (PreCheck) Security and we breezed through that as well, arriving at our departure gate - by way of stops to get coffee and fill our water bottles - at about 7:45 AM, a solid three hours before our plane was slated to depart for Chicago. They say that you should arrive at the airport at least two hours ahead of departure for international flights, and this might be true if you are starting your trip at a major airport. But when you enter the air transportation system via a small regional airport, with minimal obstructions to passage and physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, I think an hour ahead is more than ample.

Sidebar: When I visit my sister in Colorado Springs CO, I sometimes fly non-stop into the Denver airport, which is a perfectly fine (and cost effective) arrival destination. But returning home out of Denver is an exercise in exhaustion and confusion. So, coming back, I try to fly out of the Colorado Springs airport, which is even smaller than Madison's airport. It's so much easier to enter the system there (despite the higher ticket price), even if you have to change planes in Denver, because by then you are already safely in the air transportation system. It's getting to the Denver airport and through it's labyrinthine TSA Security checkpoint (even with TSA PreCheck) that is nightmarish...and if I am traveling with my elderly parents, forget about it!

Deborah and I bided our time waiting to board by reading books on our phones and - in my specific case - writing travelogue entries like this one, respectively.

Unbelievably, both our flight from MSN to Chicago AND our flight from Chicago to San Francisco were on schedule. I have to say, United Airlines have proven themselves a reliable air carrier on most of the occasions I have used them (unlike a certain other American airline that shall go unnamed). At Chicago, we busted out the lunch of PB&J sammies I had prepared prior to our journey for just this occasion. Deborah also felt the need to purchase an overpriced snack pack of pretzels and hummus, along with a Diet Coke, and I joined the fray by throwing a small bag of Unreal coconut and dark chocolate candy bars into the mix. We refilled our water bottles and emptied our bladders in preparation for the longer Chicago to San Francisco flight, which departed on time and was remarkable smooth. The Captain of the plane turned of the seatbelt sign just about as soon as we reached our cruising altitude of 34,000 feet, and didn't turn it an again until we started descending into the San Francisco air space.

I tried to sleep on the SF flight, but to no avail. My brain was fully awake, having been informed - accurately - by my biological clock that it was still the middle of the afternoon in Madison WI. I remained hopeful that I would get a few hours of decent sleep on the 13 hour overnight international flight from SF to Auckland NZ, since my biological clock will, by that time, make it feel to my brain like it is 3 AM by the time that plane is up in the air and all the in flight meal service rigamarole is over (I'm estimating a maximum of two hours for all that). I'm aiming to try to sleep for a solid eight hours of that flight, although my brain and biological clock will no doubt conspire to awaken me around 6 or 7 AM Wisconsin time (1 or 2 AM Auckland time). However, I will be well armed for battle with my physiological inner workings...to wit, a hefty dose of over-the-counter melatonin and a precribed dose of prescription hydroxyzine (an anti-anxiety medication prescribed by my doctor, which also has soporific effects on the brain). I shall imbibe said medicinal arsenal about two hours into the flight, which - by my calculations - should equate to about 10 PM Auckland time. Fingers crossed.

If there is any continuation of this travelogue post beyond this paragraph, it means my physiology won the battle...

Bar Brawl

Hi Readers!

I hope this post finds you and brings you some JOY.

The last time I was in the Comments section of a social or mainstream media (SMSM) site, it reminded me of a brutal bench-clearing bar brawl. Everyone was just hurling verbal punches around. Nothing was accomplished. No growth was observed. And that's basically how SMSM is...one big useless brawl that just leaves everyone feeling exhausted and bruised. Boycott SMSM and save your mental, physical, and spiritual health.

In other news, today is my birthday. I am turning 19 years old...for the third time in my life.

Take care and stick it to The Man whenever possible!

Fin.

Shabbat

Hi Readers!

Happy Shabbat! I hope this blog post finds you and brings you some insight and joy. If you've been following along, you know that Monday is the Sabbath Day in the secular Church of Bike with Joe. Because the Church is secular, there's no religious or spiritual underpinning for having a Monday Sabbath. It's more about "sticking it to The Man," where The Man is the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs)...and there are many!

Unlike the Jewish Shabbat that runs from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, adherents of the Church of BWJ can still do all the fun things in life on Mondays. The idea is to NOT work in the traditional sense of labor that you give to The Man in exchange for money, and sometimes perks like weekends off, vacation/sick time, and retirement savings.

Unlike the Christian Sabbath that is mostly on Sundays (though occasionally Wednesdays and Fridays, depending on the sect of Christianity, for whatever reason), adherents of the Church of BWJ don't go to an actual, physical church. Instead, we engage in the things that bring us JOY. And one of the things that brings us joy is NOT working for The Man on Mondays.

GUPPY EFFECT rock-n-roll super duo had a good rehearsal yesterday. We workshopped and woodshedded vocal harmonies and ran through almost a full set of material. We are hoping to perform an open mic or open jam some time in February.

Well, I think I'll leave it there for today.

Fin.

Mondays Are Holy

Hi Readers!

I trust you are well and I hope this blog post finds you and brings you happiness.

The holy day for Judaism is on Saturday. The holy day for Christianity is on Sunday (and sometimes alternatively Wednesday, for unknown reasons). The holy day for the Church of Bike With Joe is on Monday. You may be asking, "Why is the holy day for the Church of BWJ on Monday?" I am very glad that you asked.

The short answer is because a main purpose of the Church of BWJ is to undermine and disenfranchise the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs). This is sometimes referred to, in the vernacular, as "sticking it to The Man." The Man, in this case, comprises multiple people and entities, including but not limited to Corporate America and its mouthpiece(s) - social and mainstream media (SMSM). If you've been following along, you know that SMSM is considered anathema to the Church of BWJ, which is why abstinence from this toxic entity is enshrined as one of the three Tenets of the Church of BWJ, along with the other two: daily aerobic exercise and adherence to a plant based way of eating. But I digress. Corporate America enslaves workers to a Monday through Friday work week. One way that the Church of BWJ encourages people to disenfranchise Corporate America ("stick it to The Man") is to take a sabbath on Mondays. Because, dammit, you deserve a goddam three-day f**kin' weekend. Am I right?

Some of my readers may know, and others may not, that I used to be a minion of Corporate America (aka, a corporate cube drone). It was a narrative that did not fit me well, and that's why I eventually "fired" Corporate America and became a self-employed marriage and family therapist. I don't see my therapy clients on Mondays, typically, unless it's unavoidable and benefits my clients. I "take 'er easy," as the Dudeists say (The Church of BWJ is an offshoot of Dudeism).

Anyway, I'd like to elaborate further with you today, but I've got things to go do. I am planning to exercise later today and there is talk of a GUPPY EFFECT rock-n-roll super duo rehearsal this afternoon.

Fin.

Positivity

Hi Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you some joy and positivity.

Have you noticed how much negativity is in the world right now? If so, it's probably because you are consuming social and mainstream media (SMSM), where (possibly quite fortuitously) most of the negativity in the world currently resides. Because, I'll be perfectly honest with you, the world is actually not as negative as the SMSM Algo (collectively) would have you believe. In many ways, the world is actually quite a positive place, if you know where to look [SOURCE] (or not look, as the case may be).

That's not to say there are not Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs) actively working on both increasing negativity in the world and convincing you that there is more negativity in the world than there actually is. The DFUs need you to believe that the world is dangerous, that this danger is perpetrated by "the other," and that only the SMSM Overlords (Corporate Media and its underwriting Corporate Advertisers) can save you from these dangerous and nefarious perps (whoever they are!). That's all entirely BS. But the more you consume SMSM, the more this BS pervades your mind and erodes your happiness and critical thinking abilities (also sometimes called Rabbit Holing, in the vernacular). 

I'm not sure why the DFUs collectively thought depositing most of the world's negativity in SMSM was a good idea. However, my guess is that once they realized how potently addictive SMSM was, it made sense to harness this addiction to draw as many victims as possible into SMSM (you may be old enough to remember how tobacco companies did the same thing in the 1950s and 1960s, using addiction to compel millions of people to buy their products and - in so doing - sign their own death warrants. SMSM is the death warrant of the 21st century, although this latter death is a much more insidious mental and spiritual decay that robs your soul of happiness, joy, and positivity - like the Dementors in Harry Potter films.

All is not lost, however. The Achilles Heel of the DFUs is that they have, in fact, put all (or most) of their diabolical eggs into one proverbial basket (or two baskets, if you arbitrarily separate social media from mainstream media...but no one actually does that anymore...they have "blended" into basically one and the same thing), and that basket(s) is SMSM. The reason I said above that this is possibly quite fortuitous is that this gives us an OUT from the negativity and soul-death purveyed by the DFUs. You have probably heard the term "safe space," often associated with the controversial term "woke." Because most of the world's negativity (by some estimates, 80%+ of it) is now housed within the SMSM domain, most of the physical and emotional space OUTSIDE of SMSM is effectively "safe" from negativity (the residual 20% of negativity not captured by SMSM comprises real world things like road rage, property taxes, douchebag bosses, divorce/breakups, narcissists, losing a loved one, chronic illnesses, TSA at the airport, and that kind of thing...which happen actually pretty rarely and infrequently in the real world outside of SMSM...and these real negatives are sometimes quite avoidable). 

The DFUs do not want you to dwell in this safe space outside of SMSM too much, because if you do, you will be immune to their persuasion (to fear/hate "the other" and buy products that the DFUs tell you will assuage your anxiety) and begin to obtain quite a lot of happiness and positivity. If you need any objective proof of this thesis, consider how "anti-woke" the DFUs are. They are constantly deriding "wokeness" as weakness and a threat to your life and to the world and to your kids and blah blah blah. In fact, wokeness is actually the safest cognitive and emotional space for most people, which is why the DFUs hate it so much. Not only that, but most of the rest of the world outside of SMSM is WOKE! 

The DFUs do have a plan in 2025 to begin a scorched earth invasion and cleansing of the woke domain outside of SMSM, in an effort to herd as many people as possible into what they describe as the "safe" space of SMSM, but that is their great deception. This attack on wokeness begins in earnest on 1/20/25, which is why I have urged and encouraged my readers to get woke and purge SMSM from their lives prior to that date, ideally at least three weeks prior to that date, which is the amount of time that Science has determined it takes to fully detoxify and detach from SMSM (it can be as little as two weeks for those who already follow the other two Tenets of the Church of Bike With Joe - daily aerobic exercise and a vegan diet).

You might be asking, "Why should I leave the SMSM domain and embrace the Woke domain, if the Woke domain will be the target of the DFUs unbridled and unyielding assault in 2025?" It's an excellent question. The only answer I have is that the Woke domain is on the right side of positivity, happiness, success, and other touchy feely things like that (aka, Salvation). Additionally, the Woke domain needs an Army of Resistance to the DFUs. And while owning that resistance is totally NOT mandatory or even your responsibility, forfeiting your eternal happiness and positivity in favor of negativity, fear, and hate is not an acceptable alternative for many. However, it is always your CHOICE. If you choose SMSM over the Woke domain, then you are choosing fear/hate/negativity/vitriol/turmoil over happiness/joy/love/positivity/peace. If SMSM has already decayed your mental, physical, and spiritual well-being, then all of the above will sound like conspiratorial nonsense to you. If so, I am very sorry, and also this blog post is not for you. My emotional labor is intended for those seeking positivity, happiness, joy, and those sorts of things. Not you? Totally fine.

Anyway, my time is up. I need to go make and eat some breakfast. Then I will see some marriage and family therapy clients today, followed by some exercise.

Fin.

New Year Miracle

Hi Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you some joy and positivity.

For those of you that took me up on my social and mainstream media (SMSM) fasting challenge, how is it going? Leave a Comment below this post and let us know. I'm not going to lie, SMSM is insidious in its creepiness. By that I mean that despite my diligent adherence to the challenge (or perhaps because of it?), I am really noticing all the ubiquitous ways in which the SMSM Algo (collectively) finds avenues to creep into my daily life. It's literally creepy. Are you finding this also? It's something you don't really notice when you are deep into the SMSM addiction. It's only when you try to detoxify from the negativity and grievance of SMSM that you become aware of its ubiquity.

The Algo and it's many-tentacled search engine optimizers are, I'm sure, actively disenfranchising my blog and its posts about disenfranchising SMSM. SMSM (collectively) thrives on people's blind addiction to it, and anything that exposes the way it "brain hacks" is anathema to its mandate. In all honesty, the main thing this blog has going for it is that the Algo probably dismisses this blog as trivially unimportant and benign. In many ways, that's a good thing. It allows this blog to fly under the proverbial radar, so to speak. I'm not looking for a mass audience for my proposed rebellion and boycott against SMSM. Rather, I am looking for a relevant and interested target audience, which is likely a very small audience - probably just a handful of people. I honestly have no way of knowing how many people this blog has found, much less saved from the destructive clutches of SMSM. Maybe more than I think. But also maybe none.

I am sure many people have dismissed my warnings about the destructiveness of SMSM to mind, body, and soul (mental, physical and spiritual well-being) as hyperbolic. I pity those people. But I cannot devote too much mental energy too them, as there is no return on investment (ROI) of my emotional labor there. It's a "lead a horse to water" kind of fool's errand, if you'll forgive the mixing of metaphors. The naysayers are - proverbially and literally - "lost souls." My focus is on those who are willing to entertain my hypotheses and put them to the test - by actively abstaining from SMSM for at least three weeks and seeing for themselves what a positive benefit SMSM disenfranchisement has on their well-being in all domains of life.

It's the New Year, and time is running short for folks to get on board with the social and mainstream media (SMSM) fasting challenge. While I am hoping for a New Year Miracle (and both Cosmic and Karmic Forces are hard at work on this), the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs) are also literally Hell bent on complete and total domination and destruction of the Collective Soul of Humanity. Some of this terminology I am using may sound religious, but that is largely for theatrical effect. My position on this matter is most definitely secular and informed by evidence-based Science. The DFUs hate Science, and that's one of the reasons that you see so much anti-Science and anti-intellectual rhetoric and messaging in the SMSM domains. Facts and critical thinking abilities are heavily discouraged by the SMSM Algo (collectively). It's by design that spending one's time connected to SMSM corrodes the ability to reason and think critically. Go to any Comments section of a SMSM site and you'll see that its filled with reactionary EMOTIONAL content, not reasoned RATIONAL content. That's why most conversations on SMSM quickly descend into anger and vitriol and character attacks, while never really addressing the facts of the case.

Anyway, I have to go get ready for work. I am seeing a handful of marriage and family therapy clients today. And before I go do that, I need to feed the dogs and let them out. My healthy substitute activity instead of SMSM today is reading. I'm almost done with The Handmaid's Tale novel - which has become almost non-fiction in these troubled times we are in.

I hope you find happiness and positivity today.

Fin!

Contract

Hi Readers!

Happy New Year!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you some happiness or catharsis. I just wanted to share a global New Year's Resolution with all of you. Feel free to make it your own as well.

Resolution: My tacit agreement with the Diabolical Forces in the Universe for 2025 is this: You don't f**k with me and I don't f**k with you. Sound good? Good.

Fin.

In Earnest

Hi Readers!

Happy 2025!

I trust today's post finds you and brings you joy. Sadly, however, if this is the first post from this blog that is reaching you, it may be too late for your mental and spiritual salvation. As those who have been following along with this blog for some time well know, yesterday was the deadline to begin the 21 days of social and mainstream media (SMSM) fasting in earnest, in order to be cleansed and liberated before 1/20/25. While that date may seem arbitrary, it is not. For that day is the beginning of The End (Times?), and it takes approximately three weeks (21 days) to fully detoxify from the poisonous fear, hate, vitriol, and exhausting negativity of SMSM. For a brief overview of this toxicity, WATCH THIS: "Brain Hacking" on 60 Minutes (with Anderson Cooper).

That being said, all is not lost. For adherents of the Church of Bike With Joe who follow all three of the Church's Tenets religiously (in the secular sense), cleansing only requires about fortnight (14 days), give or take. The other two Tenets, besides SMSM abstinence, are engaging in 30+ minutes of aerobic exercise daily and adhering to a 100% plant based (80% whole food) way of eating. If you are reading this first thing on New Year's Day, you can effectively grandfather yourself into the three week detoxification, if you happened to aerobically exercise yesterday, have not eaten any animal based foods yet today, and SMSM has not yet invaded your day.

Unfortunately, I have no compelling and persuasive way to convince you that adhering to the three Tenets of the Church of BWJ are essential to your physical, mental, and spiritual salvation, other than to challenge you to try it for 2-3 weeks. If you can 80-100% comply (follow it at least 5.6 out of 7 days of the week) with the Tenets for that time period, I am confident you will experience the positive benefits.

That being said, not following or even caring about the Church of BWJ Tenets won't kill you. It will just deny you a joyful, happy, and positive life experience. Because a lack of the three Tenets in your life contributes to negativity, unhappiness, anxiety, anger, and grievance. In fact, grievance addiction is fostered by SMSM, which is why we at the Church of BWJ consider it the Core Tenet. If you don't eat healthy and exercise daily, you can still reclaim about 80% of your freedom, happiness, and positivity by simply abstaining 100% from SMSM. The Diabolical Forces in the Universe largely invade and infiltrate your life through SMSM these days. I never thought it was a good idea for Them to put all the proverbial eggs in that one basket (SMSM). I would have diversified a bit more to make disenfranchisement of their toxicity and negativity more challenging for folks. But it is what it is, and as a result of Their shortsightedness, disenfranchising the Diabolical Forces is much more straightforward and achievable. But it's still a choice and you have to decide to make that choice. Either way, you own the outcome, no one else. Just be aware that the Diabolical Forces will be expanding their reach and optimizing their toxic negativity with few guardrails in 2025 and continuing for the next 4+ years. The three Tenets of the Church of BWJ can insulate and protect you from Their toxic negativity. Science is unaware of any other strategy more effective than the three Tenets for disenfranchising the Diabolical Forces from your life. 

Alright...well, if you have read this far, bless your soul. I don't think I could have suffered through that diatribe above, if I'm being completely honest. But then, I already follow the Tenets of the Church of BWJ, so it's kind of a no-brainer, so to speak, for me.

I'm curious to know what 2025 has in store for you. What are your goals and aspirations for this brand new year? Leave a Comment below and share, if you like. I plan to continue the positive actions I implemented in 2024, which include the three Tenets. I aim to have a more profitable year for my marriage and family therapy practice in 2025. 2024 was a bit more profitable for Palm Tree Family Therapy than was 2023. I was also able to squirrel away some retirement savings in 2025, despite some considerable business and personal expenditures in 2024.

Today is a holiday. I am going to do a bit of administrative work and pay my quarterly business taxes. Then it's Chill City for most of the rest of the day.

Fin.