As I had written about in detail over the past few months, I set out to conquer 3 particular endurance programs this year (because I like to be fit and push the limits of my body…as masochistic as that may sound), and they were:

1. The 20 Pull-ups challenge
2. The 200 Squats program
3. The 100 Push Ups program

Now, if you were nice enough to not un-follow me while I documented my struggles through numerous wordy compositions and if you actually read through some of them without falling asleep, you would know that I did eventually end up attaining those 3 magic numbers over the course of 6 grueling months which were filled to the brim with some close finishes, multiple failures, exactly three successes, strange observations and physical pain that I had never felt before.

Having said that, we all deserve rewards for our accomplishments. And I know I post a lot of buddhist quotes and they are ones that I truly believe in. But no matter how material or unbuddhist-like this kind of thinking may be, I am a firm believer in treating yourself to whatever you feel you deserve and desire, no matter what it is (so long as you have the means to acquire it without starving or losing the roof over your head). And for the record, I did not use the idea of a material prize as motivation for completing the aforementioned exercise goals (no, that was all pure determination and stubbornness). But once they were achieved, I did feel that I earned the right to treat myself for putting my mind and body through endurance hell. So now that I’ve covered my hypocritical ass, here is a recap of the rewards that I’ve chosen to serve as mementos for my 2K9 fitness milestones:

• For completing the 20 Pull-ups challenge: a retro black G-Shock watch (early 1980s design combined with early 21st century technology) and a bottle of Patron Tequila. So I can party on time (with limes).
• For completing the 200 Squats program: a Rastafarian white G-Shock watch and some freshly released Criterion Collection Blu-rays (The Seventh Seal and Repulsion, to be exact).
• For completing the 100 Push Ups program: ???.??

Actually, this last self-reward was not only for doing 100 push ups in a row (a near-impossible task that took me the most attempts to complete), but it was also to be the official trophy that would signify the whole shebanga-bang of achieving all three fitness goals in the span of about a half a year (which isn’t too shabby for a little dude like me). So you know it had to be big. And I patiently waited for just the right moment to cross paths with this extremely rare prize. The meeting happened on a recent road trip to the upscale neighbourhoods of Saddle River, New Jersey where the houses were huge (f*ckin 4 car garages, son!), the dining was lots of fun (P.F. Chang’s, Cheesecake Factory, White Castle, Pizzeria Uno, Whole Foods, etc.) and the shopping was fantastic for a “Flipanadian” like myself (I just made that up, can you tell?).

So are you bored yet? Still intrigued perhaps? Well, if you’ve read this far, then you must be a little bit curious (unless you stop reading right now…bye!). Take the above snapshot as a teaser trailer of sorts. If you know what “souliers” means, then you know what I tracked down (or at least the general category). I’ve been looking for said mystery item for a year and a half now. However, the search ended in a most unexpected and grandeur kind of way (huh? Yeah). I haven’t invested in many items truly worthy of the narcissistically self-serving online unboxing ritual. But I feel that this acquisition was highly deserving of the prestigious geek honour. So if I may, I would like to indulge myself in a little bit of web flossing/cyber showing off. I’ll post the official unboxing pics sometime this weekend.

Stay tuned (if you like) and happy Friday.

Let’s skip it this time…

And the ‘n’ is dotted.