24

24... what a great number. This is a number that blasts the half way point for my weight loss goals! A total of 40 lbs by October 09, and there is that wonderful number, 24.

OH YAH!

This is it protruding posterior! You are history! Gonzo! Fini! Kickin' to the Curb!(literally) Filed under G!

Can I get a BOOOOO-YAH!!!!!!

What a wonderful feeling to have to stop every few steps to hike up the pants. Having to remind yourself to yank up the jeans before you sit down so you don't moon people... it's great!

I can't wait to get under my Saber 2, 210 canopy and have it feel like a circus tent. Not having to slow fly every time I leave the plane. Getting to be one of the floaters instead of always in the base. Finally having to punch it out for the extra speed when flying with the big guys! First person to tell me to put on a weight belt is getting a great big hug!

One more time people, all together and with feeling...

24, BOOOO-YAAAAAH!!!!!

Guardian Angles

Every one has their own belief systems. Some one thing, others something else. Religious beliefs are as diverse as the cultures that have them.

I am not a religious person, though I am spiritual. And I've had plenty of close calls in the past. Saturday night was no exception.

I was on my way home from a Christmas Party. I had been given offers of couches and spare rooms for the night, but I'm a funny duck and like to be in my own bed.... go figure. The night was a lot of fun, and I'm not a drinker, so driving home was no big deal. The highway was good in spite of the melting snow and freezing rain all day, and I was looking forward to a hot shower. I turned onto the road home and slowed down quite a bit below the posted limit. It hadn't been cleared yet, I was airing on the side of caution.

Half way up the big hill, I hit ice. The back end of my truck swung around and up the hill sideways covering both lanes of traffic I went. I turned into the skid and hit the clutch to cut the drive train, but I wasn't losing any speed. I was calm, yet convinced that I was going to go through the guard rail and roll my truck down the hill into the slew. I remember thinking "awh @#$%, I'm dead... well it was fun while it lasted".

I must have let my foot off the clutch, because suddenly I shot forward just enough that I took the guard rail on the back quarter of the truck. My next thoughts were "OH NO!!! My brand new truck! The fender is going to be totaled" I wanted to cry, but still hadn't regained control. I skidded back over to my lane, (and the steep ditch on that side) managing to get everything straightened out.

Finally I had control back, facing the correct direction. I kept going even slower than before and thanked anyone listening I was okay. I was, however, devastated that I had nailed my baby into the rail. When I got home, I took a deep breath and looked at the back end expecting bent metal and scratched red paint.

Nothing, not a mark. I couldn't believe it! I had taken the impact on the tire itself. Save for some rubbing on the side wall of the tire, my truck was completely untouched. I was shocked. I nearly snuffed myself and came out of it with nothing but an adrenaline dump.

Lucky? Try Blessed.

So thanks again GA for having my back! Hopefully the list of ones I owe you doesn't get too much longer. You deserve a raise.

Snow... with a side of Timmies

We are involved with the Adopt a Driveway program here in Stony Plain. In a nut shell, we clean driveways for our community seniors who are unable to do so themselves. Tuesday heralded the first snow of the season, and Team Crane swooped into action. There were four of us from Team Crane, and (special thanks again for being a part time crane) Ms Petrie from Team Dragon. We, and our Sky Capable cousin, made short work of the snow on our assigned driveway/walkway. It took longer to drive back over to Tim Hortons for hot chocolate and donuts than it did to help our senior out. Bottom line, it felt really good.

Our senior, if left with out help, could have fallen and hurt themselves while trying to clean their own place, or just trying to go to the store. Town bylaws force all residence to clean their walk/driveways with in a specific time period or be fined. How helpless must it feel to be stuck, unable to do something for yourself, to not be able to rely on family for what ever reason? Living on a fixed income is hard enough, but to have the added danger of slipping, the threat of being fined, and no one to turn to. It seems to be a very stressful, lonely situation.

But our town has this program, Adopt A Driveway. People volunteer to take on these homes and make a difference in our seniors life. I know I have tried to fuel a friendly competition (okay raging competition) between the teams to make it more fun (which has worked like magic) but now that we have our first snow under our feet, I have put a lot more thought into it. There are still driveways and their owners out there that need us.

As Mrs Halvorson (Crane Extraordinaire) pointed out, it took only a few minutes of our time, the walk way wasn't bad, and we won't let it get bad... so why don't we get more driveways assigned to us? Well, with a few more teams, we could get them for sure! We should all be talking amongst our teams (hint Queen Crane) to see if we want to take on a second location. At the very least, hassling our training mates to get on a team and do something great for our community, not to mention ourselves.

But that's just some random thoughts.... maybe worth thinking about?

PS
To the Tacky Tigers and Loud Leopards..... Our senior sent us a present! HAHA so there!

Playing "Catch Up"... UGH!

I decided to review my numbers the other day just to see where I am at with my goals. I added everything up from Oct 3 to Nov 17. 46 days worth of push ups and sit ups. This is what I found.....

Pushups = 2520, Sit ups = 2480. So I'm thinking... not so bad. I had a badly pulled Abs muscle and couldn't do either for 2 weeks and thought in spite of that, the numbers were looking pretty good.

Then reality set in...

I did the average and found I'm only getting 54.78 push ups/day and 53.91 sit ups/day. Drastically less than half of what I need to be doing. Bottom line, to make up 14 days of injury recovery time, I have to do 28 days at 200/each/day (200 - 125 = 75 extra. 75 X 2 =150... roughly 2 days to make up one). The entire month of February gone just to get back what was lost and not lose any more ground. Harsh but true.

Here's the thing... the idea is to average 125 push ups and sit ups each per day for 13 months. Being very sneaky and devious... I figured I would try to average 150 of each per day and get back into a shape besides round. This way I would be able to complete the required strength outline with out having to kill myself to do it. But slack just one day, and BAM, you're hooped for 2 more.

In spite of this I slacked on my sit ups for 2 days and my push ups for one. Then had the brilliant idea of making them all back up again last night. Translation 600 sit ups and 400 pushups in 4 hours..... but the stupidity continues. I then decide to do 8 rounds of sparring.... which gave me an up set tummy. (what was my first clue?) Only to top it all off with running this morning at the TLC. (I managed to complete running 2k, but had to walk a bit between laps). I hurt sooooooo bad! The best part is I still have my 200 push ups and sit ups to do today. Oh good (not).

memo to me..... the whole slacking thing.... yah, don't do that again!

Do What You Hate

We've all heard the expression "Do What You Love". Applied to careers, school, life in general this expression is a guideline to happiness. A rule of thumb that is accurate and easy to follow. It's easy to do things we love or like. We make time for them, plan it in our schedules, and are protective of the time we allot for these activities.

Do what you hate? Exactly!

In every activity there is something that we don't enjoy or perform to the full potential. Why? Well we dislike or "hate" that part of the activity, so we don't practice. We focus on the things we are already good at and don't sweat the other stuff. We have the luxury of being able to specialize in a task, and leave the other stuff to someone else. Sometimes we are good at something and don't bother learning a more efficient way of doing things simply because what we do is working.

Examples...
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1 - Flying Kicks, I hate flying kicks. I rarely do them in class and don't enjoy it when I do perform them. They are one set of techniques that I am just not fond of. I could list a bunch of excuses but the bottom line is I don't like them. So when I am practicing or working out, what is the one thing I make sure I do every session? Flying Kicks. I grumble, moan, and finally just bite the bullet and do my flying kicks. Again the only way to get better at something is to do it. And that value that flying kicks provide to my overall flow and timing is incredible. With out practicing them, I would have to find new ways to develop the skills they already provide. End result, I just suck it up and do them. It helps me in a lot of ways and the follow through I learn is a must to succeed.

2 - Running, I hate running. I get tired and my knees start to hurt. Pity party for me, ready, set, awwww! Again I'm not going to whine about it, just say that it's not something I like. However, it is something I practice. It's good for me, bla bla bla, but the point is, by training myself to do the things I don't enjoy, it makes the things I do enjoy easier to do, and more fun.

So on that note, start practicing the things you don't enjoy more than the things you do. Think of the less fun stuff as your vegies and the cool stuff as your cheesecake. It will make you a much more rounded person and martial artist. Last of all, if anyone is interested, I'll be dragging my sorry butt to the TLC Thursday nights at 20:00 hrs starting on the 27th. If anyone wants to share my misery of running laps, you are more than welcome to join the "fun".

Lest We Forget

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. A day set aside to honor all of the people who died for us and our way of life. A day to honor those who have sacrificed, and those who continue to do so.

What does this really mean? I guarantee most people stop at 11 am and give the moment of silence. But what are they thinking? Are they watching the clock, wondering when the minute will be over? Are they doing a check list of things to do that day? Are they silently humming a song in their head? Are they zoned out and thinking of nothing at all?

What does Remembrance Day mean to you?

It has always been a somber day of reflection for me. I have known many people who have and have not survived wars. Relatives and family friends who fought, lived, died... were forever altered by the ravages of war. I have remembered, I have been thankful, I have run the names in my mind.... and then I have seen the sunrise of the 12th, only to have forgotten, moved on, failed to be mindful. Every now and again we remember, but mostly we wear our poppies and consider ourselves to have shown honor.

Someone I knew, respect, and care for a great deal died last year in Afghanistan. He taught me many things in his life, as he lived what he believed. He died for those beliefs as they took him into a war, knowing that it might be his final act. Not wanting to die, but understanding that it was a very real possibility. One that sadly came true.

In his death, however, he made me realize that we forget. One day a year dedicated to remembering nameless numbers. Ones we understand are men and women, but that is all. An abstract realization. We do not see the families who grieve, save a glimmer on the news, and then it is gone from our minds.

I have thought about my friend everyday since he left for Afghanistan, and every day since he died there. I have cried for him, his family, our friends, and for myself. For every number, there is a person who was loved and will never be forgotten. A family that is no longer whole.

Will they truly be remembered, or will we simply say "Lest We Forget", and move on?

They will be remembered by me, everyday, with respect, honor, and pride. Their families, their friends, all those that loved them and I will not forget. Not again.

To all of our fallen, and their loved ones...

I Remember

Questions

I always tell everyone that they need to have a question at the end of class. There is a reason for this, I'm not just OCDing again. Questions give you answers, true, but more importantly they stimulate thought. If you are not thinking about your training, not finding new ways to apply it, or just making sure you don't have holes in your knowledge, are you really progressing?

I was asked last night if theory questions could be asked at the end of class as that student's "question". The answer is YES! Anything that applies to your training is fair game. I don't cover theory in class very often for the purpose of forcing you guys to ask questions. The answer doesn't have to come from me or another instructor. It can come from your classmates as well. Work together and motivate each other.

Look at the project Ms. Donohue has on kwoon talk. It's a going concern involving students from white to black belt, started by an orange belt who felt she needed to give herself a kick in the pants. And all stemming from the desire to progress, to achieve, and to answer her own personal question.

We are limited only by ourselves and the questions we don't ask. There is not such thing as a stupid question. The only bad questions are the ones we don't ask. Something Master Brinker has mentioned something he respects about me is that if I don't know or understand something, I stop and ask the question. I had never really thought about it until he mentioned it. Sometimes I would feel stupid for not knowing what seemed to be common knowledge, but how else would I learn? Don't let something stand in the way of learning. Take responsibility and get the answers you need by asking the questions.

And for all the smarty pants out there who feel the need to ask what the meaning of life is.... the answer is 42.