Saturday, September 30, 2006
Needed a change around here.
I changed the look of the blog. It needed something refreshing. So here it is! I lost all of my links and fellow bloggers, so if I missed putting you back in let me know. Other than that, enjoy the new surroundings. I know I will!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Wow, cobwebs.
I haven't been here for awhile. I think I was kidnapped or I died or something! Damn alien zombies!!!
Okay, I haven't been made into the living dead, or at least not yet. I've been doing that one dreadful thing that all mankind must do (or should do): I've been working. Alot. A fack of alot more than I want to be. But it's for a good cause. I have some bills I'd like to clear up, some new furniture I'd like to buy, and I want to travel somewhere warm this winter.
I want to live a little.
But in order to do that I need to make money, and right now I have the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately all this work has taken a toll on me. I've missed 5 classes of Karate, I've fallen way behind on my projects, and I think I'm the most out-of-shape looking that I've ever been. I look like shit, I feel like shit. But soon things will be better. I'm going to be getting my normal schedule back in about a weeks time. No more 10-14 hour days, and no more 5 days a week. Probably 4 days of work with 3 days to draw and catch up on stuff. Plus, with tournament season starting soon I'm in desparate need of some quality workout time, so I have to work that into the schedule. We (my father and I) have got some new equipment down in the gym that should help. A heavy-duty benchpress set, 300 lbs of weights, and a kickass stationary bike that doesn't hurt your ass. So things should start to get better and I can start to lose my unpleasent shape and start looking like me again!
And I'd like to send a special shout out to my friend Jose Potter. As I mentioned in my previous posting, Jose competed in N.Y.C. at the All American Open and fought incredibly well finishing second in her class. I've been told she fought 4 fights, beating the woman who placed 2nd at the World Championships, and eventually lost the finals to a very tough 17 year old from Bulgeria. Only 27 years younger than her :P So congratualations Jose on doing yourself and all of us here proud! My only wish it that she doesn't beat me up so badly now that the tournament is over. I'm getting old and my body can't take it anymore :D
Okay, I haven't been made into the living dead, or at least not yet. I've been doing that one dreadful thing that all mankind must do (or should do): I've been working. Alot. A fack of alot more than I want to be. But it's for a good cause. I have some bills I'd like to clear up, some new furniture I'd like to buy, and I want to travel somewhere warm this winter.
I want to live a little.
But in order to do that I need to make money, and right now I have the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately all this work has taken a toll on me. I've missed 5 classes of Karate, I've fallen way behind on my projects, and I think I'm the most out-of-shape looking that I've ever been. I look like shit, I feel like shit. But soon things will be better. I'm going to be getting my normal schedule back in about a weeks time. No more 10-14 hour days, and no more 5 days a week. Probably 4 days of work with 3 days to draw and catch up on stuff. Plus, with tournament season starting soon I'm in desparate need of some quality workout time, so I have to work that into the schedule. We (my father and I) have got some new equipment down in the gym that should help. A heavy-duty benchpress set, 300 lbs of weights, and a kickass stationary bike that doesn't hurt your ass. So things should start to get better and I can start to lose my unpleasent shape and start looking like me again!
And I'd like to send a special shout out to my friend Jose Potter. As I mentioned in my previous posting, Jose competed in N.Y.C. at the All American Open and fought incredibly well finishing second in her class. I've been told she fought 4 fights, beating the woman who placed 2nd at the World Championships, and eventually lost the finals to a very tough 17 year old from Bulgeria. Only 27 years younger than her :P So congratualations Jose on doing yourself and all of us here proud! My only wish it that she doesn't beat me up so badly now that the tournament is over. I'm getting old and my body can't take it anymore :D
Monday, September 11, 2006
It's feels good to be back!
Tonight was my first night of training for the fall term in Kyokushin Karate. It was an awesome class that will go a long way to getting us all back in shape for the upcoming tournament season and testing in December. We spent a good portion of the class working up a sweat through the warm-up and continued on with some moving basics and sparring. And todays sparring was a special one as this is the last sparring my friend Jose will be doing before she leaves to compete in New York on the 22nd. We have to give her some time to heel from all the hard work and training we did over the summer! It felt great to be sparring again as I've learned a few new things over the summer and I'm looking forward to getting the oppertunity to test them out. And Jose gave me a heck of a fight which tells me she's more then ready for New York and will do very well. She's already made us all quite proud through her dedication and determination!
So it was nice to get back into the swing of things. I feel out of shape, but that's typically how we all feel after summer break.
My Sensei made the comment that I look like I've gained 20 pounds over the summer, and he wasn't far off! But I'll be working hard to get into good tournament shape and I'm feeling positive the extra weight will work to my avantage in my heavily competitve division. I was considered to be on the lower end of the Heavyweight Division but now that I've been able to gain some size I'm more evenly matched, which is definately favorable when you're fighting guys in the 225-250 pound range! I'm setting my sights on the South Okanagan Tournament on November 18th, unless they decide to hold the Cranbrook Tournament before then. It's a nice tournament to get the season going and will be a great place for me to build experience in the Open Division. I'm excited to be back training and I'm looking forward to the new tournament season. And it was really nice to see everyone again. I can hardly wait until Saturday and more in-class training!
So it was nice to get back into the swing of things. I feel out of shape, but that's typically how we all feel after summer break.
My Sensei made the comment that I look like I've gained 20 pounds over the summer, and he wasn't far off! But I'll be working hard to get into good tournament shape and I'm feeling positive the extra weight will work to my avantage in my heavily competitve division. I was considered to be on the lower end of the Heavyweight Division but now that I've been able to gain some size I'm more evenly matched, which is definately favorable when you're fighting guys in the 225-250 pound range! I'm setting my sights on the South Okanagan Tournament on November 18th, unless they decide to hold the Cranbrook Tournament before then. It's a nice tournament to get the season going and will be a great place for me to build experience in the Open Division. I'm excited to be back training and I'm looking forward to the new tournament season. And it was really nice to see everyone again. I can hardly wait until Saturday and more in-class training!
Saturday, September 09, 2006
A moment of clarity.
Have you ever had a moment in your life, one fleeting perfect moment, where it seemed like everything in the cosmos suddenly became perfectly aligned and everything that you've been pondering and brooding over made absolute perfect sense?
Me neither. But right now, after a full day of watching Veronica Mars season 2 and doing my best to eliminate all the alcohol in my apartment via consumption, I suddenly feel like I might be the closest I'll ever be to that moment.
It all makes sense now.
And although this somewhat criptic message might not make sense to anyone but me, I feel it needs to be logged in my blog for future referrence. All anyone ever really needs to be satified is a reason. For some it's a cause; for others it's a purpose. Sometimes these things make us happy and sometimes they just bring about a sense of contemptment. But whatever the reason, cause or purpose, as long as there seems to be something there worth doing, the end result should always be the same. It's the journey, or quest, that we choose to take that ultimately provides us with life's pervebial "bumps in the road". They're there to teach us through trial and error the right and wrong way about things. Without them the journey would have no meaning, and therefore our purpose or reason wouldn't exist and we would all be back at square one. By taking these quests, and fullfilling our purpose, we should ultimately achieve an ending, and with that a sense of completion. I like to think of it as a "prize" for finishing our quest. Like a "trophy" that only we can see and it doesn't collect dust because it's on a shelf inside our mind. And everytime we think about it we feel warm and happy all over. It brings about a feeling of pride knowing that an end has been reached, and for better or worse no one can take that away. I'm going to be finishing a quest very soon. One that has been going on for a very long time, but it eventually had to end so that another can begin. I don't feel any sense of pride for finishing, but I do feel relieved which is a prize in itself. And my new journey will be epic; a quest that could very well take me the rest of this life to complete. The end result will be incredibly gratifying, but it's the quest that I'm most looking forward to.
It's time to unleash my potential. I've kept things under heavy lock n' key for well over a decade now. Over the past few weeks I've felt things building up, like a pot of pasta you fill too full and the water's about to boil over. It's been causing me a loss of proper sleep, a serious lack of motivation, and above all has made me feel tremendously unhappy. I like to be happy. I believe what I'm going to do will make me very happy, and above all be an achievement I'll be proud of accomplishing.
One journey ends, another takes it place. It will all happen soon and most people won't notice at first. But keep watching. All things happen for a good reason. And I have one. That's all I can say for now. Time to put a new pot on the stove, set it to the right temperature, and wait for the water to boil. You never rush if you want good pasta.
Me neither. But right now, after a full day of watching Veronica Mars season 2 and doing my best to eliminate all the alcohol in my apartment via consumption, I suddenly feel like I might be the closest I'll ever be to that moment.
It all makes sense now.
And although this somewhat criptic message might not make sense to anyone but me, I feel it needs to be logged in my blog for future referrence. All anyone ever really needs to be satified is a reason. For some it's a cause; for others it's a purpose. Sometimes these things make us happy and sometimes they just bring about a sense of contemptment. But whatever the reason, cause or purpose, as long as there seems to be something there worth doing, the end result should always be the same. It's the journey, or quest, that we choose to take that ultimately provides us with life's pervebial "bumps in the road". They're there to teach us through trial and error the right and wrong way about things. Without them the journey would have no meaning, and therefore our purpose or reason wouldn't exist and we would all be back at square one. By taking these quests, and fullfilling our purpose, we should ultimately achieve an ending, and with that a sense of completion. I like to think of it as a "prize" for finishing our quest. Like a "trophy" that only we can see and it doesn't collect dust because it's on a shelf inside our mind. And everytime we think about it we feel warm and happy all over. It brings about a feeling of pride knowing that an end has been reached, and for better or worse no one can take that away. I'm going to be finishing a quest very soon. One that has been going on for a very long time, but it eventually had to end so that another can begin. I don't feel any sense of pride for finishing, but I do feel relieved which is a prize in itself. And my new journey will be epic; a quest that could very well take me the rest of this life to complete. The end result will be incredibly gratifying, but it's the quest that I'm most looking forward to.
It's time to unleash my potential. I've kept things under heavy lock n' key for well over a decade now. Over the past few weeks I've felt things building up, like a pot of pasta you fill too full and the water's about to boil over. It's been causing me a loss of proper sleep, a serious lack of motivation, and above all has made me feel tremendously unhappy. I like to be happy. I believe what I'm going to do will make me very happy, and above all be an achievement I'll be proud of accomplishing.
One journey ends, another takes it place. It will all happen soon and most people won't notice at first. But keep watching. All things happen for a good reason. And I have one. That's all I can say for now. Time to put a new pot on the stove, set it to the right temperature, and wait for the water to boil. You never rush if you want good pasta.
Friday, September 01, 2006
I'm feeling much better now, thank you.
It's amazing what having a week off will do for a person. It's even more amazing how once that person goes back to work and is thrown face first into one of the most insane work weeks of his life, he just smiles. And that's what I'm doing now. Smiling.
It 2:12 am as I write this, and believe it or not I just got in from work. As most of you know I do sign installation projects with my friend part-time, and tonight we had a big one. We've been non-stop busy all week, putting in 30 plus hours in 3 days. Tonight we had to go to Eaton Centre, located in downtown Calgary, and remove/re-install all the signs on their escalators and elevators. It's a big job but well worth it's weight in gold. And having just spent 5 hours hanging 30 feet in the air helping to install these signs makes me giggle. Not because the thought of falling to my death if I slip is funny, although to some it might be. And not because the payout for doing this is stupid good money. It's because as of now my weekend has begun. And as of earlier this week I'm feeling it again. I want to draw. No, scratch that! I NEED TO DRAW!!!!
I'm going to be finishing up the project that has been bothering me, because I finally see that it's going to be alright. It will be good. And my next project is going to be great! And the one after that.... spectacular! Because I'll make it that way. I'm living my dream and I should be happy while doing it. Thanks to everyone who sent me words of encouragement. I heard them and they helped. I'm going to bed now. I have a busy weekend ahead of me.
I'm looking very forward to it.
It 2:12 am as I write this, and believe it or not I just got in from work. As most of you know I do sign installation projects with my friend part-time, and tonight we had a big one. We've been non-stop busy all week, putting in 30 plus hours in 3 days. Tonight we had to go to Eaton Centre, located in downtown Calgary, and remove/re-install all the signs on their escalators and elevators. It's a big job but well worth it's weight in gold. And having just spent 5 hours hanging 30 feet in the air helping to install these signs makes me giggle. Not because the thought of falling to my death if I slip is funny, although to some it might be. And not because the payout for doing this is stupid good money. It's because as of now my weekend has begun. And as of earlier this week I'm feeling it again. I want to draw. No, scratch that! I NEED TO DRAW!!!!
I'm going to be finishing up the project that has been bothering me, because I finally see that it's going to be alright. It will be good. And my next project is going to be great! And the one after that.... spectacular! Because I'll make it that way. I'm living my dream and I should be happy while doing it. Thanks to everyone who sent me words of encouragement. I heard them and they helped. I'm going to bed now. I have a busy weekend ahead of me.
I'm looking very forward to it.
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