Day 5: Sneezing

Sneezing with a cold today. Ugh.
My main observation today is surprise: at the end of daytime & fasting, though it's been about 18 hours without food or drink, I'm not highly hungry or thirsty. I expected more angst and emotion. Yes I've an appetite, but feel basically balanced. But if I were being forced into fasting my feelings might be very different...

Day 4 of Peace Month: Snacks?

Today I must do something more active for Peace. What will it be?

For the moment, my observation is about snacking & eating. After working awhile, I need a break (in part because my computer is setup at chest level & I mostly work in a standing position). At break time I'd normally wander for a hot drink or some food. ...yet now I'm fasting... But clearly the driver isn't hunger or thirst, but rather wanting a change of scene, to have a break, to do something else for awhile. This understanding offers possibilities: setup a meditative corner, and an exercise station, and deliberately bypass mere habitual munching.

Eating & drinking are also of course often very social activities. Lunch meetings and coffee time, as well as breakfast with my pretty wife, are quite different when one party is not eating at all... Having someone just hanging about, even if not hungry, dampens the gusto of friends & other diners...

Day 3 of Peace Month: DPRK

I had a sore throat today; gargled with gin (seeking the curative powers of the juniper berry) and uncharacteristically spit it out. These three days I've not felt deeply hungry - rather, I've wanted to snack, more as a habit, marking time.

Today I setup a place to buy Peace Month goods.   Shop now!
http://www.cafepress.com/peacemonth

I didn't do much directly for the cause of peace today. Did layout of a recent visit to the DPRK on my blog:
http://pretrend.blogspot.com/2009/08/dprk-north-korea.html

Since North Korea is a primary flash point for sudden hostilities, perhaps my simple observations could help peace... I hope so.

Day 2 of Peace Month: Dry

Today my body was still slightly sore & dehydrated from competing in the Swedish Veteran's Athletic Championships on Friday. (Plus I drank schnapps and we slept away from home last night). It was a hot sunny day, and we drove around the countryside in our rented car. Perhaps I moved around somewhat slowly? I saw people eating at some roadside kiosk and had mixed feelings - such food & drink are not very nutritious, but certainly convenient. I saw a few older men who looked perhaps of Middle East origin talking together outside a department store; are they perhaps fasting? Are they speaking together about Ramadan?

First Day of Peace Month: Tough!

The first day of Peace Month was Saturday, 22 August. Through most of the day I took part in a scholarly workshop on Japan / Korean relations at the Utrikespolitiska Institutet (Swedish Institute of International Affairs). Chairing a panel on Economics & Society kept my mind off food & drink very effectively. But the lunch break was a challenge: a huge elegant top-quality sushi buffet which I couldn't sample thanks to Peace Month... I didn't look too closely, but my colleagues sure seemed happy chowing down those tasty treats. Things got really tough in early evening, as my wife Aimee & I were among friends in a lovely garden for a crayfish party, held once a year. Sadly, the party started at 5:30 and sundown in Stockholm was 8:27... I could serve people snacks and take photos, and participate in the singing, but as people got progressively merrier and smacked their lips over beer, schnapps, crayfish and other delights, I began to feel increasingly thirsty, and started to pay more attention to time in the last 30 minutes. But I knew that good food & drink awaited. Future days surely won't be as tough as this one...

Peace Month (& Ramadan) start 22nd August

Well, the Islamic Association in Stockholm has determined that Ramadan starts here on 22nd August. So tomorrow (21st) is a day of preparation... I'm rather happy, because I've the Swedish Veteran Athletics Championships tomorrow, competing in two events (shotput and discus); it will be nice to drink water - I'll cherish every drop!

I found an online timetable of Stockholm times for Fajr & Maghrib (dawn & dusk) at:
http://aysha.se/Salattider_ramadan-2009-22%20augusti.pdf

Another website is at:
http://www.ifstockholm.se

Once the format for Peace Month is clear, there perhaps may be little need to consider Islam & Ramadan... but for every day I fast, one billion others also are fasting. I reckon I'll feel some solidarity, especially as the rest of the world will be largely oblivious to our efforts at sacrifice, self-learning, and peace.

When Does Fasting Start?

It's easy to say "Peace Month overlaps with Ramadan" - but when does Ramadan start? If you are Muslim, it's easy to know from your mosque and community when Ramadan begins locally. Even then, there is variation between parts of the world. But for non-Muslims, it is tricky to know. Ramadan officially begins the evening of the first day of the lunar month. So publicity that "Ramadan begins on the 21st" may mean that the first day of fasting is the 22nd. Tonight I will go to sleep expecting to start the Peace Month fast tomorrow. Here in Stockholm, going without food & drink the first day runs from 1:30AM to 8:30PM; it promises to be a long day...

Get Ready for Peace Month

I'm looking forward to this year's Peace Month challenge. Here in Stockholm it begins on the 22nd August 2009. For Peace Month details look on the website:
http://peacemonth.org