Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Memory Training 2013: Crowdfunding, Diet and Exercise, and Learning Norwegian.


Quick post! I believe I haven't greeted you guys a happy new year yet, so, to anyone reading this, Happy New Year! (Come on, it's still January!)

So, what does the new year have in store for me? New hope, new start, and a new season of memory competitions. 

Getting Crowdfunded


Many of you already know that I wasn't able to go to London to compete at the 2012 World Memory Championship due insufficient funds. I could always point my fingers and say this guy, or that guy, was to blame for it but it ultimately boils down to me. I didn't plan for the possibility of those in charge of getting me to London, to have other priorities, making all my time and effort in memory training here in the Philippines to seem to be for naught. I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Now, to make up for that monumental blunder, I was thinking of putting up a crowdfunding campaign at Indiegogo, to shore up my funds as early as possible. It could be something like "Help me break a World Record!" campaign. What do you think? Anyways, I'll let you know if I'll push through with it.

Memory Sports Nutrition 

In order to compete in the highest levels of this sport, it is not enough to just focus on an athlete’s memory skills. Much like what most of the professional athletes are doing, we also need to have specific training regimen that not only enhances our skills but also our bodies.
About two years ago, I wrote the quoted paragraph above in an article for Florian Delle's Memory Sports website. It was about Memory Sports Nutrition that was supposed to be a series of articles about exploring the possible Diet and Nutrition program for Memory Athletes. Sadly, I wasn't able to get it past the first article due to having different priorities back then. But I plan on continuing what I started there here in my blog. So, expect more of this topic in this space. 

Exercise: Low Fat, High Memory


As I mentioned previously, for us to overhaul of our memories, we also need to take care of our bodies. It has been proven that physical exercise have beneficial effects on our memory. It forces our brain to generate new cells and keeps bloodflow to the brain patent and unobstructed. Something that will make our brains better. In my case though, I have been regularly going to the gym for the past couple of years to rid myself of Hypercholesterolemia I acquired from decreased physical activity and unmoderated diet. It is a bit odd to some, since I hardly look like someone who has high cholesterol. But all those long hours of sitting while I was reviewing  to become a nurse, then training and competing in memory sports took a toll on me. I was even already prescribed by a couple of doctors to take statins but it is something that has an effect on our memory, so, I'm holding up on that one, at least after I re-do my bloodwork this month. I'll see first if my diet and training regimen worked. I'll have more on this later on.

Jeg vil gjerne studere Norsk


Yep, you read that right. I want to study Norwegian. Since I started with my memory training, I've been wanting to use my new found memory skills in learning a new language. I've tried learning Mandarin when I went to Guangzhou, China to compete at the World Memory Championships. But the time constraint with training my memory for the World Championship and knowing that I have no further use for it beyond my trip there, I decided to freeze that project. But now, I think I found the perfect language for me. I have the motivation to learn this because I know in my head that learning Norsk or Bokmal will definitely have a purpose for me. And I think that motivation and a venue to apply those new skills is essential in learning a new language. The exciting part for me is knowing how long I can learn this. I've seen claims of needing an hour22 hours, to as long as 2-3 months to learn a new language. So, we'll see how long I will be able to do this and you guys can read here how I'd fare, as I'll be blogging it all through out my experience. Lykke til meg!  

Artsy Fartsy


This is another project that I'd like to fit in my time and do more of it this year. I've been drawing since god knows when but it is something I haven't done in a long while. Although I've been involved in Arts, like in Nursing and in my Memory Training, I haven't formally trained in it. Except for the lone Art class that we had in high school (I'm wondering what happened to those peices that we did that was too big to take home). What I've been doing a lot is Photography and Digital Art mainly because it is much quicker and less taxing (cause my hands hurt when I draw). But seeing that it is an area I'd like to learn more or re-learn to do, I'll throw something in from time to time.  


Well, this turned out to be longer than I expected, I hope you enjoyed this year's first blog entry! 


UPDATE: I just learned how to add Twitter buttons! So, please follow me at 





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