#29: Sandtrap

This was a lazy month for me - 10 yoga sessions and 10 lifts. It is what it is, but I'm grateful to see the dividends from consistent weightlifting. My body hurts like hell but it's a good kind of hurt, the one you only get from a little bit of hard work. I've never been much of a hard worker if I'm being honest with myself, but it's the only way to succeed in life if you haven't been born rich, so you might as well get good at it. Sure, work smarter, but hard work...I'd forgotten what it feels like. It's more rewarding than running for me and it's motivating me to do more hard work. Chasing it. Finding it. Feeling it.

February 1st, 2026 to February 28th, 2026

Long story short: I'm training hard and talking about it. Hopefully you find this entertaining enough to subscribe, tell a friend and take on The Sendō Challenge.

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Man I love lifting weights. It is starting to get a little boring just because I'm 6 weeks into the program, but I like feeling strong and I like looking big. Running is great and all, but it just strips away all of my muscle, and being a lean mean green bean isn't the end goal. So we keep lifting and we keep eating. I've been eating an egg sandwich every morning which has been great, but I think I honestly need 2-3x the amount of food I've been eating to get my muscles back. I felt a noticeable change in my physique after five weeks, so I'm curious to see how I'll look at the end of the program at week twelve. Don't think I'll look like an absolute unit yet, but I figure that with 3 training programs completed I'll be shredded by Christmastime.

Last month was impressive, this month not so much. I'm happy that I got at least one longer 40 minute session in, but the dedication wasn't there this month. My meditation sessions have been OK as well, because of my late night extracurriculars, my mind has been extra foggy in the morning and I haven't applied that true focus, those deeper limbs of yoga, that much this month. So clarity has been lacking even though my temporary sense of peace has increased each day. Short term gains for long term losses...it ain't adding up.

JJK has gone for a more aesthetically driven season this year and it's been fun to watch. The story continues to be great, but the vibes that each episode delivers have been immaculate. I love when authors take the simple concepts behind shounen manga and push it to the limits of creativity. We've all seen countless numbers of anime and we get the general direction the story is going in, so using creative ways to tell the story makes it more engaging. I have no clue what's going to happen episode by episode and that's refreshing.

Star Trek Voyager has been a delight to watch. It's the only one of the 90s era Treks that I didn't get into. The first few seasons were meh like they usually are in Star Trek, but it's really Season 4 and onwards that made me fall in love with the show. The aesthetic felt so different from TNG and DS9 that I struggled a bit, but now I've come to love the look and characters of Voyager. Janeway is an excellent Captain, The Doctor is my favorite, and everyone else feels well developed and interesting. I feel like I've learned a bit about being a leader from Star Trek, and each Captain has a different personality and way of leading. It's inspiring really, and it's made me want to find a world I'm passionate about and can put my energy into. It's also made me appreciate and realize how different people can be, and how it's our unique combination of talents that we can put together to solve any problem. Janeway is GOATed. Looking forward to watching Prodigy when I can find a good streaming service.

Speaking of Star Trek, I've been watching Starfleet Academy and that's been great. Yes, there is a lot of CW energy going on here and it does feel a little high school at times, but the cast is great and the storytelling has been strong. It's only been 7 episodes and I have high hopes that they'll get many seasons to develop this new era of the galaxy.

Homeland is insanely good. This might go down as one of my favorite shows...well at least in the Top 25. The premise is this: Adrian Brody is a Marine who was presumed MIA but returns home after eight years of living as a POW. His story is remarkable and one of survival, but after eight years of captivity, no one is sure if he's been turned against the US. Carrie Mathison is the CIA analyst tasked with determining that fact, and the journey that these two characters go on is heartbreaking and inspiring. I love that Carrie is a jazz enthusiast who is bipolar but talented and driven to save lives. I love that Brody, time and time again throughout the series, shows that he is both a hero and a traitor. I feel anxious watching many episodes because the creators have done an excellent job in bringing the viewer into the intricate web of competing loyalties that these characters find themselves in. I just finished Season 3 and apparently there's eight seasons; I have no clue where the story could go and I'm excited to see how it all ends.

Great content from around the world.

The Moment Avery Brooks Changed ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ Forever | Woman’s World

Unlocking the actor’s authentic voice transformed the sci-fi series from a spinoff into a legend.

Woman's WorldEd Gross

Jim Carrey’s greatest film is more than just prophetic (and it’s very prophetic)

The Truman Show can teach us a lot about reality TV, social media, and being a person.

Polygon.comOli Welsh

The coolest Pokémon battle ever still hasn’t been topped

The original Pokémon aura farmer is still unmatched

Polygon.comFrancesco Cacciatore

Don't go anywhere! Sendō: GTD will be back after a short break.

Sterling K. Brown

Sterling K. Brown’s career is a study in patience. Born in St. Louis and trained at Stanford before earning his MFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, he built his foundation in theater long before television audiences knew his name. For years he moved through the industry as a reliable presence — guest roles in series like Supernatural and The Good Wife, steady work, strong performances, no spectacle. It’s easy to overlook that phase, but it’s the phase that matters. He wasn’t waiting to be discovered; he was sharpening the blade. By the time the spotlight found him, the work had already been done.

His breakout as Christopher Darden in American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson was not luck — it was readiness meeting opportunity. The performance earned him an Emmy and established him as an actor capable of carrying enormous emotional weight without theatrics. Then came Randall Pearson in This Is Us, a role that demanded vulnerability at scale: anxiety, adoption, race, ambition, grief, fatherhood. Brown didn’t play Randall as a symbol; he played him as a man. The performance resonated because it felt lived-in, disciplined, specific. Awards followed — Emmys, a Golden Globe — but more importantly, audiences trusted him.

What makes Brown compelling is the precision of his emotional control. He allows characters to break without losing dignity. He can deliver a monologue that trembles on the edge of collapse, yet it never feels indulgent. There’s an athletic quality to it — breath control, pacing, restraint. Strength expressed through depth rather than dominance. In a culture that often equates masculinity with stoicism or bravado, Brown models something else: presence, articulation, emotional literacy. It’s not softness; it’s command.

He speaks openly about therapy, about the grind of auditions that went nowhere, about the discipline of preparation. There’s no mythology in his narrative, no story of effortless destiny. He honors the work. That humility is part of his authority. Even as he moved into film — roles in Black Panther, Waves, and beyond — he maintained the same seriousness toward craft. The consistency is the point. Fame expanded, but the method didn’t change.

There’s also the quieter dimension: husband, father, steady partner. In interviews, he often redirects praise toward collaborators and family. The leadership feels internal, not performative. He carries success without arrogance, and ambition without desperation. That balance is rare. It suggests a man who understands that longevity isn’t built on momentum alone; it’s built on character.

Sterling K. Brown’s arc challenges the obsession with early brilliance. His ascent in his 40s reframes what “prime” means. Preparation compounds. Patience compounds. Emotional intelligence compounds. He stands as proof that greatness doesn’t have to be loud or immediate — it can mature, deepen, and arrive exactly when the foundation is strong enough to hold it.

Back to Sendō: GTD! Hope you learned something new.

Unedited ramblings, typically after a run.

Please feel free to skip to the end.

2/9/2026

Took a big time gummy at the end of last month and had a true psychedelic experience. The "heroic dose" as some people call it, because you go on the full hero's journey. More than anything it reminded me not to use every day because you lose the true power of the experience. Like most trips, it's not worth repeating here, but the lesson I took away was to continue to appreciate life and find time to connect with family and friends. That's really it! But it honestly felt like a near death experience (NDE). I kind of thought I was dying, but it just made me feel like I wanted to be close to my loved ones, I wanted to make sure I was doing right by God, and everything else was out of my hands. Felt like I had memories of past lives and I remembered the ways that I hurt the people in my life. Point is, be kind and be good. That's all I believe in now.

What else is going on? I shut down the Instagram page for now as I don't need it, my goal is to continue to make this project my world class baby. Video continues to be the one dimension I want to work on, but otherwise we carry on with making great writing and relentless training. Today is the last weightlifting workout of Week 4 of 12, which is exciting. I don't feel huge yet, but I feel slightly bigger, and I'm eating way more so I should be hitting my protein and calorie goals more consistently.

2/19/2026

It's been a bum month, but I've only been taking gummies at night after work and I'm still keeping up with weightlifting, almost done with Week 5 of the PTP 2. Been practicing golf as well, using the arm sleeve thing to keep my arms together, and finally getting my right form. My Goodwill clubs are throwing off my body from getting perfect positioning, but I'm finding a position where I can hit balls consistently. Starting to like this thing! Also realizing that Zen and yoga are my path in this life, and that's giving me comfort and focus. They've been with me for years and they've been a guiding star in my life ever since. Let's continue the journey.

2/27/2026

Such a lazy month for me. It was going back to gummies that drained my mental energy. Thankfully I only did it at night, after like 8PM each night, but even doing it at night drained my mental energy for most of the next day, and it becomes a bad form of compound interest. So here I am with only 10 yoga sessions in the books this month, but at least I'm still lifting weights and still plugging away at things.

I'm excited though - I put down a deposit for the $60K Cybertruck, and delivery isn't expected until 2027. Yes, Elon is a horrible person, but the Cybertruck is the only vehicle that truly excites me and I'm excited to own one next year. Just got to be patient and control my finances and my mind. There's so many big things coming up over the horizon and I'm far from ready. But at least once again I'm realizing that the answer to everything I've been looking for is in the world around me, not the insular world I built for myself. Getting ripped at night isn't a world, it's a moment. I feel peace, I feel joy, I feel happiness in those few hours, but it's an illusion. I keep waking up each day and want to throw myself back into it versus finding ways to feel alive in the world.

But I know now that physically, I can express myself and make connections through yoga, weightlifting, cycling and golf. I don't like running at all actually, and it makes me rail thin, which isn't great for someone that's already naturally slim. Mentally, I know that anime, manga, videogames, movies and TV are realms that excite me. The journey I'm on now is to become those things and make connections with others, willingly and joyfully. I can figure this out.

Of course the question becomes - what happens to Sendo? What is the Challenge? Should I just simplify it to 10,000 Hours of Yoga? That still tells a great story. And the heart of Sendo is still running/cycling, strength training and yoga. Time to keep on thinking.

See you for the next one.

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