The Fried Food Potluck

Since Joey and I are giving up fried foods in February, we decided to fry everything in sight at the end of the month. Items included:

1. Twinkies

2. Catfish

3. Bananas

4. Garlic Chicken Sausage

5. Sushi

6. Sweet Potato Fries

7. Samosas

8. Tofu

9. Bacon wrapped mac n' cheese

10. McDonald's Chicken Nuggets (my contribution! I did not realize there was a McDonalds in Haight-Ashbury)

Sadly, we could not get to the wings, french fries, and shrimp (people were getting full very quickly given the heaviness of the items).

I was unable to try the fried twinkies (I heard it was delicious) given that the Discipline Off has called for no refined sugars for the next few months. However, I did enjoy all of the other items and will be looking forward to no fried food for the next 5 months.

Many thanks to all of the folks who came over!!!

The Fried Foot Potluck

In February, the next vice to go is FRIED FOOD. And to celebrate our giving up of fried food, we will be hosting a fried food potluck at my apartment. All you have to do is show up with your food of choice. Signups for items are

-------------------------------------------->HERE<------------------------------------------

You are welcome to fry your items at home. However, we will have a fryer (using my turkey frying pot) with --- you can bring your uncooked items to the party and they will be fried up.

The potluck is on Saturday, January 29th at 730PM. I will be kicking people out at around 1030 to go out after --- you are more than welcome to join in (will likely head to Double Dutch, or per Joey's request, the Castro).

Final details (like my address and how to get into the apartment building) will be emailed out to folks who have signed up on the google doc. So please, SIGN UP if you want to come!

Figure 5: Deep fried twinkie

Farooq's Motivation

I will give credit where credit is due: Joey did form these resolutions, and I simply desired to follow. However, it was the (petty) competitor in me that decided to form this 'Discipline Off' and somehow turn an individuals drive for self-improvement into the epic battle that this is.

I admire Joey's piousness, and surely credit his faith in coming up with this idea in the first place. My contrasting non-piousness makes this Discipline Off that much more interesting. This is no longer simply a battle of wills between two schmoes, nay, it is a case study exhibiting the drives and disciplines of the religious vs not.

Joey is very confident that his religiosity will inevitably triumph against my earthliness. However, I intend to surprise Joey and demonstrate that will power and discipline need not only come from faith, but from within. Note, I am in no way trying to marginalize religion! If it can make Joey and others better themselves, I am all for it. I'm just claiming that this self-improvement set is not exclusive to the devoted followers of any faith.

Obviously, besides the fleeting satisfaction of 'beating' Joey, I'm doing this for the not-so-fleeting physical and emotional benefits.

I'm extremely confident that I'll be able to stick to eliminating the 6 vices Joey just listed. Thankfully, hitting on girls in gay clubs is not one of them.

The Discipline Off Overview & Month 1 Challenge: SUGAR

On Sunday, January 16th, Joseph Wood and Farooq Khan decided to engage in a battle of discipline (and pettiness). The Discipline Off was born.

The rules:

1. Each individual has to stick to a discipline, eliminating a 'vice' every month.
2. Monthly challenges are cumulative, hence the discipline off requires more discipline over time.
3. Although not required, using the phrase 'discipline off' in casual conversations is encouraged.
4. The winner will be decided at some arbitrary point in time in the future. Clearly this has not been thought through.

The competitors:

Figure 1: Farooq Khan, the overwhelming favourite, demonstrating discipline.



















Figure 2: Joseph Wood lacks discipline in the 'touching kids' arena.





Month 1 Challenge: SUGAR


The first discipline off challenge involves eliminating sugar from one's diet. Clearly, Joey needs to:

Figure 3: Fat Joey