• Cook at least 3 times a week
• Ensure that I will be at the gym at least 4 times a week (unless while away from New York)
• Reduce consumption of beer to at most once every 2 weeks (unless there is a very special occasion)

So there it is. Consider this permission to give me grief if I don’t stick to these. Happy new year!

So this is the new year
And I don’t feel any different
The clanking of crystal
Explosions off in the distance

The New Year, Death Cab For Cutie

The end of 2011 is but a few days away. It’s quite alarming how quickly the year has gone by; indeed, if it weren’t for the cold and a bit of snow here and there, I wouldn’t have guessed that it was already December.

When I look back on the year, I can be relieved in knowing that it was a good one. Things in all areas of my life just went well. The biggest regret that I might have is spending as much as I did on clothing, but dang are my clothes better than before! I can somewhat counter this by asserting that this was also the most generous year that I’ve had; I’ve given much to my family, friends, church, and other worthwhile causes and I’m really happy about that.

As the year winds down, I am making sure that 2012 will start on the best footing possible. All of my credit cards will have $0 balances. I am ending off this year in likely the best physical shape compared to any other December before. I am (definitely) older and (hopefully) wiser. When I survey my life, I can smile and be content. Sure, there are some things missing and perhaps they will come in 2012, but 2011 was a good year from which to build.

To all of you, I hope that your 2011 was fulfilling and rewarding, and that your best years will come both in 2012 and beyond. Happy new year!

Those who know me now know that I am a huge proponent of Google stuff. I use Google products all the time: Gmail, Chrome, Docs, Calendar, Contacts, Talk, Reader, Music, Plus, Voice, Picasa, and so on. It often comes as a surprise when I say that I actually owned an iPhone a couple of years ago, too. (It was a 3G.) With the US release date of the new Google Galaxy Nexus set to be announced this week, I find myself being tempted to get it. But I am also considering the iPhone, to the shock of many. This post serves as a place where I can compare and contrast the devices. It is not meant to pass judgment on anyone who has an Apple or Google phone, so let’s be nice.

Hardware

Let’s start with the devices themselves. I’ve actually had the opportunity to play with both the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy Nexus, and there are some very considerable differences between them. Personally, I am a big fan of my Nexus S form factor: it’s minimalistic, sleek, and fits great in my hand. The curved glass is a bit of a gimmick but it doesn’t really swing things positively nor negatively.

The iPhone is similar to the Nexus S in size, although it feels a bit better made with the glass and brushed aluminum. (The Nexus S has a plastic case.) That said, we’ve all seen pictures or, worse yet, have experienced the shattered glass of the iPhone too many times. But the iPhone feels nice in my hand. As part of the announcement, a lot of time was spent with the camera and, indeed, it is an incredible component of the phone. I don’t think anything else in the market comes close. Lastly, given the prevalence of the device, there are tons of accessories available for it. I wouldn’t have a problem finding a case that I like (even though I would remain paranoid of cracking that glass).

The Galaxy Nexus is nothing short of a behemoth. Someone had the bright idea that, for a phone, bigger is better. Didn’t we all learn our lesson from Zack Morris? The 4.65″ screen looks incredible but it is simply unwieldy in your hand. You know that there’s a problem when you can’t reach the opposite corner of the screen while holding the phone. Size matters, people, but the same rule doesn’t apply everywhere. The camera, while good, isn’t as great as the 4S camera, and I think that the variety of accessories will be smaller for this device.

Software – Mail

Most iPhone users agree with me when I say that the Android Gmail application is vastly superior to Mail. As a power Gmail user, this is incredibly important as it is one of the most frequently used applications on my phone. Until very recently, this would have been a dealbreaker for me, but Google released a native Gmail application for iOS! While it does expose things that I could not do in Mail (e.g. application of multiple labels), it is still not where the Gmail application is for Android. Hands down, that is king.

Software – Contacts

Going hand in hand with my use of Gmail is my use of Google contacts. Everything is synchronized beautifully because Google manages it all under the hood. Now, Apple has now introduced iCloud, which basically does what Google has been doing since the very beginning. (I remarked how iOS5 is basically Apple ripping Google off and how Apple is introducing nothing new when they announced it.) But getting an iPhone means that I will need to go through roundabout methods to keep them synchronized. But at least it’s possible. It’s more or less the same deal with Calendar as well.

Software – Music

Well, one might expect this to go squarely in Apple’s favour. After all, the iPhone was borne from an iPod and all of its wonderful features, wasn’t it? It’s true. The iPhone is a very powerful portable music device. As an iTunes user, I think that the synchronization of music across all devices is very handy. Little things like the lock screen control and an equalizer are incredibly useful as well.

That said, Google’s Music offering isn’t half bad. They just unveiled their iTunes Store competitor, and I could realistically get everything I want from there too. My entire music collection is already in the Google cloud, and I am able to stream it and/or download it anywhere I want. Their mobile application isn’t nearly as polished as Music in iOS5, but I do see that the lock screen widget and equalizer is on its way as well.

Software – Maps

The last major application that I use on my mobile device is Maps. Again, there is no question that the Android version of Maps is better; the ability to pan, rotate, and change the perspective (even all at the same time) is unmatched. Apple apparently bought a mapping company not too long ago and rumours are that they will replace Maps eventually but, for the time being, this is another example of Google making sure their products are better on Android.

Software – Third Party Applications

For the most part, the applications that I want are available on both iPhone and Android devices. On Android, however, I can install any application I want out of the box; for iOS, I’d have to jailbreak it. Not a big deal but Apple’s being a bit of a control freak. More on that later.

Software – Operating System

On the software side, I’d like to wrap up by comparing the features/quirks of the respective operating systems. The iOS notification system is still horrible. Even though it is a huge step forward from what it was (remember those invasive pop-ups? Good God!), it’s still ugly and poorly implemented. There is no Internet tethering. There are no widgets on your screens. Siri is amazing. The biggest thing with iOS5 is that it is incredibly locked down. I commend Apple for having such control over their supply chain and for their tight integration between hardware and software. This results in a great product when it leaves the store but, when it leaves the store, you’ve made your money — let the customer do what they want with the device. Apple has ironically become the Big Brother that their epic 1984 SuperBowl ad wanted to defeat.

The Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) notification bar is still better than iOS5 and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) takes it to a whole new level. It is a beautiful implementation of notifications and I am a big fan of it. You can have widgets on your home screen, so it’s easy to see things like the weather, latest tweets, and latest Facebook news feed items at a glance. You can tether your phone. You can truly multitask. And it all works with the Google applications I already use. Nevertheless, I do find that my phone suffers from some inexcusable bugs (like not being able to switch in and out of airplane mode successfully all the time, and not picking up the carrier signal when I know it’s there). Since the Galaxy Nexus will offer a pure Google experience (i.e. no software changes by the manufacturer), you’ll get updates as soon as they’re available and can largely do whatever you want with it. That said, the mere fact that I had to distinguish between Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich speaks to a very well-documented issue with Android: fragmentation. There are so many versions Google has released out there, and each of those versions have other versions that manufacturers and modders have created. It’s a very crowded and uncoordinated ecosystem and that is a lot of chaos from a company that got its roots from organizing chaos (i.e. the Internet) in an intelligent way.

Ultimately, iOS makes it so that stupid users can use an iPhone, but power users are shackled. On the flip side, stupid users often find Android very cumbersome. There are context menus and, my goodness, more than one button to press. Power users – and I consider myself one of them – rejoice at the accessibility offered by this approach. I applaud Apple’s simplicity but, sometimes, it just takes too long to get to something I want to change.

Other

Two more things. I have an iPad, so what I enjoy on an iPad can be enjoyed on an iPhone (for the most part). Things from iTunes and Newsstand (where I have 5 magazine subscriptions now) on many platforms is really compelling. I am also a T-Mobile customer right now, but I have never had a contract with them. In order to get an iPhone and get decent data speeds, I’ll have to switch and face the burden of paying a large sum for a phone or get sucked into a contract. There is still a possibility that T-Mobile will offer the Galaxy Nexus so I may not have to switch. Although, if I’m honest, T-Mobile service is pretty crappy and I’d welcome a switch anyways.

Conclusion

So that’s my brain dump. I don’t think that there is a clear victor here. Do I join the masses and become an iZombie, or do I stick to my current usage and get Google’s latest and greatest?

The world is a pretty ruthless place. Throughout the vacation, self-serving people were trying to exploit others through deception and dishonesty. This manifested itself in many ways: bait-and-switch deals, aggressive vendors, price discrimination, and thievery. In some instances, we were wise to it and were able to escape; in others, we only realized after the fact; in others still, we were basically powerless to stop it.

Having been in New York for around four years, I feel that I have become hardened to people trying to take advantage of me. I am very good at ignoring people on the street (when necessary), and I typically do not get into precarious situations. As such, I figured that I’d be fairly well-equipped to withstand similar circumstances while in Istanbul and around Kenya.

The one thing that I failed to consider, however, is the fact that nobody in our party understood the native languages. It was easy for locals to conspire since we had no idea what they or the signs they had were saying. Nor were we familiar with how things worked in those countries. Whenever we were confronted, I automatically wondered what they wanted from me. Despite my inherent pessimistic outlook on people I don’t know, we were definitely scammed on multiple occasions. Worse still, we say the same perpetrators do it to other people. We eventually came to see what was going on and were still unable to prevent it from happening to others.

I’ve been telling people about the profound relief that I felt when I touched down in New York City a couple of Sundays ago. While scams are certainly going on here, the sense of relative familiarity was overwhelmingly pleasant. After being on guard for over two weeks, I could settle down a little because I was in a place where I knew what was going on. I knew who the “taxi” people were, and I knew who the taxi people were. I knew where we were going. I knew what fair market prices were. I had never felt so happy to be in New York than when I did that night.

While on vacation, we had a discussion about the general nature of human beings. We talked about how New York has made me more jaded and cynical than when I was in Canada. We talked about how my globe-trotting friends have become increasingly on-guard during their trip because it seemed that there was always someone trying to screw them wherever they went. We talked about how traveling was supposed to show us how the world was different, yet it really showed us how the world is the same.

And then there were the children. The children who waved while we drove by. The children who followed us, jubilantly screaming “jambo”, Swahili for “hello.” The children who, despite having almost nothing, wore smiles bigger than their faces.

It was a reminder that everyone was once like that, even the scammers. So why do children lose their blind optimism, their irrational creativity, and their touching good nature when they grow up? Why is it that the world seems to corrupt everyone over time?

I don’t have an answer for this. I don’t have an answer for the exploitation that I experienced for myself or saw for others. I don’t have an answer for the hatred and injustice. I don’t have an answer for selfishness or vanity. I’d like to think that I’m above all of that. But, at the end of the day, I have to admit to myself that I’m no child anymore either.

I unfolded it and read this:

Justin you were fearfully and wonderfully made. You are loved unconditionally. Don’t give up on God. He won’t give up on you. He wants to love on you today in a special way. He is calling you by name. He knows your name. He knows everything about you and He still loves you. Be blessed this day.

A friend

This caused my brain to erupt. What makes her think that I was giving up on God? I’m not! Was it because I bent over in contemplation for a while? Did I not smile enough? Gee that was a nice thing of her to say. Does she write this kind of note to everyone every week? What was her name again? I wish I was better with names; she remembered mine.

It put me in a weird funk for a few hours; I was thinking hard about this and tried to unravel the mystery. (Not like the note was really that mysterious, but it baffled me.) Then I stopped. I let my brain off the hook and my heart took over, and that’s when I accepted the note for what it probably was: a random (albeit directed) act of kindness and encouragement.

Then my brain switched on again and I began to think about how many times I let my brain do all the doing while my heart just focused on pumping blood. I suppose that this is the way people are told to act; “think of the consequences”, “think before you ___”, and “think it through” are phrases used all the time. (This is probably to encourage people to act rationally which, I want to clarify, is usually a good thing.)

Are our hearts so untrustworthy? Part of the message on Sunday quoted Jeremiah, who wrote: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” Ouch. But then there are phrases like “follow your heart” that encourage people to act based on their feelings; throw caution to the wind and don’t worry about the consequences, as long as it feels right.

Clearly, one cannot do without the other. The heart can prompt people to act in a certain way but the brain should kick in and think it through. My dad always advised me to do “everything in moderation.” I guess I should let my heart out a little; I’ve been keeping my emotions on a short leash. I feel that that will be better. I think.

Understandably, those around me here in New York were not thrilled by this objective, but they were supportive nonetheless. I don’t think that any group has demonstrated this more than the lovely people that I have met at Forefront. This is a community that I discovered back in 2009, over a year after I moved down to New York permanently, and it has kept me grounded here since then.

I have made no secret (especially to them) that they are the principal reason why I am still here in New York. As much as work is a part of my life (not that much), what keeps me here is not my salary. I am convinced that I can earn a good living in any number of places, but finding a place like Forefront is very special and I do not take it for granted. Few words can express how grateful I am for the staff at Forefront who have cultivated such a fruitful environment.

So it should come as no surprise that I attribute most of my decision to stay in New York to them. Yep, that’s right, I’m sticking around after all! (In fact, I just called my management company last week to re-sign my lease for another year.) How could I give this amazing community up? Through Forefront, I have made incredible friends, developed musically, served diligently, and learned consistently. This continued to happen through these last few months, even as I had one foot reaching for the door.

I feel that this last point I mentioned deserves more reflection: even when I wasn’t committed to New York, I was still immensely committed to Forefront and I think that is extremely telling. It has been my rock here in the city and, now more than ever, I am willing to build on it.

I am tired of being neither here nor there; it was very unfair to me and to everyone around me while I was tentative with my life. I wasn’t living in New York as long as I thought that I wanted to leave; I didn’t invest as much as I could have, and I was content to just float on in life until something happened. Opportunities were neglected, and ambitions were deferred.

No longer. I’m here. I’m happy. I’m committed. And I’m eager to start living again.

PS To the non-Forefront folks in New York, please trust that your role in keeping me here does not go unnoticed nor unappreciated. Former roommates, friends from work, and other connections are all important!

PPS To those in Toronto and Waterloo, sorry. I know that I teased a return to the Great White North and, while the intent was certainly genuine when I stated it, I can’t have my cake and eat it too. I’m still not that far away from you guys!

PPPS To those who have influenced me from Forefront, seriously, thank you.

It’s true that I have spend many years training to be well-qualified for a good job. It’s also true that I am able to live the way I do because of what I do at work. But that’s all that it should be: a means to an end. What I do between the hours of nine (or so) and six or so (rarely five) just enables me to do what I want to do for all of the other hours in the day.

I am truly envious of those who have jobs that have a tremendous, positive influence on the world. Those who have such professions can be completely passionate about their jobs and can find greater meaning in them. Teachers, doctors, firefighters, artists, scientists, and the like can improve the quality of the human condition, and that’s something worth doing. Those of us who just push bits and bytes on a computer and make rich people more wealthy have less of a compelling story.

This, of course, is not to suggest that I am not happy with where I work or that I am ungrateful. But I should learn to put it in its place; what I do with my family, friends, colleagues, and in the community around me is more important. So, the next time you catch me babbling too much about work, feel free to stop me

As a bit of an nerd, I am the proud owner of series like Planet Earth and Life. Plus, the sound of David Attenborough’s smooth voice can lull me into sleep like nobody’s business. I was pleased to find out that the Blue Planet series was available as part of the Amazon Instant Video collection, so I dove in and started watching it.

I continue to be amazed at how diverse and resilient life can be on this planet. Lakes, seas, and oceans can be teeming with life of great varieties, all being a part of complex ecosystems and food chains. Even at the greatest of depths, devoid of sunlight, organisms have found a way to thrive in shocking abundance. (I will say, however, that some of the animals at these depths are among the most hideous that I’ve ever seen; good thing they live in nearly complete darkness.)

Enter BGREEN. Meredith and Thomas were part of a crew that went out to the middle of the Pacific Ocean. As part of a VBS documentary called TOXIC: Garbage Island, they set about witnessing and researching how industrious nations have affected the makeup of the ocean. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, they found what they were seeking: “garbage island.”

Since I don’t want to spoil the documentary for any potential viewers reading this, I’ll stick to my reaction: I was disgusted to see what they saw. We have contaminated the planet in the places furthest away from civilization. Worse yet, there doesn’t appear to be much that we can do to clean up the mess that we have created.

When I looked into how I have contributed to the problem, I realized that it was mostly due to the attitude that I (and many others) have towards waste; once it is out of my immediate vicinity, it all but vanishes from my memory. Indeed, once the door of the compactor chute closes behind me as I walk back towards my apartment, anything I dropped off there ceases to exist.

And that’s the crux of the problem: we fire and forget. For the most part, I have thought very little about what happens to the disposables after they leave my hands for the last time. I often don’t think about how tons of garbage get hauled away towards who-knows-where, and how mountains of waste are being built on a daily basis. It doesn’t usually occur to me how contaminants can make their way into the water table, or how things that aren’t biodegradable can make their way into the oceans.

Now this post is starting to sound like doom and gloom, and the sad reality is that the situation is quite grim. As more and more human beings fill the planet, and as more capitalistic and consumerist societies pop up, the rate at which waste is generated will likely increase. And the number of places where we can put it will likely decrease. Yes, technology may play a big part in curbing the problem, but I am wary of depending on that.

So, just as it is with many challenges of our time, the solution lies in the hands of the individual. It always starts with one, it seems. What can I do to make a difference? Well, here are a few ideas that have come to mind:

• declining to take plastic bags and cutlery from places where I get groceries and food
• eating at restaurants as opposed to taking out
• bringing lunch to work
• using water bottles as opposed to disposable bottles of water
• asking you to do the same

The good news is that, in many places, it is easier than ever to do the little things that can add up to make big differences. Recycling facilities are becoming better and more accessible. Curbside sorting stations are popping up. Companies, like Bloomberg, have adopted measures to dramatically reduce waste while increasing the use of compostable materials. My church has started a recycling program during its services. So there’s hope. We just need to keep that hope in mind, and to do our small part.

Such is the reality for millions upon millions of people around the world. The statistics are both staggering and depressing. In fact, 20% of the world lives on less than $1.25 a day. Oh, and did I say millions of people? I really meant to say billions. Scary, huh?

In the latest series at Forefront, Imagine, we were challenged to eat on $2.00 a day for a week. The point of this is not to make us suffer, but to experience a hint of the hunger, stress, and poverty that billions of less fortunate people have to endure on a daily basis. Maybe then, after identifying with them and participating in their reality, we can be invigorated to change their plight.

Despite this, though, I realized that living on $2 a day in New York is not *that* hard. In the land of Ramen noodles, PB&J, potatoes, popcorn, and other cheap foods, it’s pretty doable. Many of my friends at Forefront have been putting together some incredible recipes under these kinds of constraints. If, however, our consumption was limited to rice and other basic starches, I can imagine how quickly our bodies would start to deteriorate.

The other thing I realized is that we have the luxury of choice. This is something that members of the church are doing voluntarily, while the billions out there have no such liberties. I should fess up right now by saying that I am not participating in this challenge yet, but will do so after I have overcome an illness and have my dental issues addressed. So I’ll probably be attempting this towards the end of February on my own. I hope that I don’t ever take this ability to pick and choose for granted.

I, for one, will be exercising my freedom of choice and using part of my relatively abundant resources to make a difference. Even without direct participation in the challenge (yet!), I am moved by all of my friends who are doing it and really sacrificing. As someone who loves food, I can only imagine how difficult this is for them, and will be for me.

So there you have it. Two dollars a day. Coming to a hungry yet humble stomach near you.

This was one of those freakish accidents that we all think wouldn’t happen to us. More than anything, I was in shock; over and over, I just kept on thinking, “did that really just happen?” This happened in the wee hours of Christmas Eve, so finding a dentist at that time would prove challenging. When I woke up early that day, I started calling around and found a dentist who could fit me in at noon. There was no real discomfort so I was hoping that everything will somehow turn out fine.

X-rays of the tooth suggested otherwise; there was pulp exposure, which means that the area where the nerve is in the tooth was compromised. As there were no immediate sensitivity issues, the dentist cemented the chipped part back on and proceeded to offer no guarantees about any sort of recovery. The tooth may die. I may need a root canal. I can’t bite anything using my front teeth. The cement can break off.

Five weeks later, I went to see a dentist in New York to check if/how things had progressed. I didn’t feel any pain or anything, so I was optimistic that my little nerve hung in there and was on the road to recovery. But, again, x-rays suggested otherwise. It seemed that the tooth was, in fact, slowly dying. He proceeded to reiterate many of the things the dentist in Toronto had said.

It seems, then, that I have little choice: go on without biting and with the knowledge that, one day, the chip will fall off again and that I’d be back at square one, or get the root canal and put a crown in. The latter would mean that I could bite and be somewhat normal again, but I’d have to replace the crown every once in a while. Oh, and that I’d lose the nerve forever. It’s amazing how the most minor of events could have such lasting impacts.

Despite not being able to enjoy many of my favourite foods so far this year, there has been much to celebrate as well: an amazing snowboarding trip out to Killington, fun trips back to Canada, seeing many great friends in concert, being diligent at the gym, and generally having a good time in New York. There’s always a silver lining, huh?