Taking a Break

     Even with all of the things that are going on I have been trying to take a little bit of time each week to do something that I enjoy doing. Sometimes alone, sometimes joined by a family member or two. I think that it is very important to do this in order to help refocus and prioritise all of the other stuff that is going on. For the past few weeks this has been golf. I have not had enough time to go an play, but living beside the golf course has given me the opportunity to be able to walk to the driving range.
     This weekend I started thinking more about the lessons learned at Kung Fu while walking to the driving range. I started thinking about how many balls I hit in the hour that I would go. Then how many different clubs that would be used in order to hit those balls. And finally how many walks to the range it would take to swing each one of those clubs 1000 times. It appears that if I am able to stay at this every weekend for an hour I may be able to make the Seniors Tour. 
     One thing that I have learned through an astronomic amount of bad golf shots, is that much like everything else in life routine is everything. When at the driving range I am there to do something that I enjoy and also to learn and get better at it. The way I have gone about doing this is to ensure that I do everything the same and then make small controlled changes. Much like in practising Kung Fu. Everything from lining up the shot to setting the distance from the ball to the angle of the club to inhaling on the back stroke and exhaling on the follow through. These are all things that are easy to control and repeat every time. Doing this causes me to focus on that one shot every time. It grounds me to the act of what is happening and betters the chances that the outcome after impact is more favourable. As soon as the routine is broken everything falls apart. It does take me like an hour to hit a small bucket of balls though.
      Last week we were also learning about the impact that muscles have on speed training. The more muscle you use the slower you are and the less force is applied to the target. So this weekend I also gave this theory a test at the range. The first few shots were not very good. The timing has to be almost perfect. Tighten up to early or late and you are either hooking or slicing the ball like crazy. After about a half dozen shots though things started to look much better. I managed to hit the ball straight, which is always good, and I was also hitting the ball 10 to 20 yards further depending on the club. 
     Unfortunately I won't be deriving an income from golf anytime soon. Being able to use the theories learned in Kung Fu to better yourself at something else that you enjoy gives the affirmation sometimes required that you are heading in the right direction. 

A Change in Lifestyle

     Most of a full week in and five more to go.

 Let me explain. 

     Last Wednesday morning I took my wife to the airport so that she could fly to Pasadena, Ca.  The head office for the company that she works for is located there. With a bunch of other stuff going on this summer as well, we had discussed this opportunity for her at length. There  was no way that I would have been part of holding her back from progressing in her career, so for me it was an easy decision. There were some initial timing details that we need to figure out with the sale of the house and the short period between receiving the paperwork and signing our papers at the lawyers but somehow it all managed to work out. 
     The time with the kids has been awesome so far, they have managed to keep up with their chores and I have been able to be around when they need me to be. I know that this is about to get much harder with the end of school quickly approaching and lots of extracurricular things like the Canada Day Demo and four on four hockey about to start on top of going to the gym and Kung Fu classes. The kids are also flying out to see my parents on Aug 1st for almost three weeks so it is nice to get some extra time with them before they go. I am sure that over the next five weeks that there will be lots of routine things that don't happen, gym missed here a class missed there, but I also know that it is for a relatively short period of time and in a couple of months things will be back to "normal".
     One thing that I didn't think too much about while we were discussing Dawn working in Pasadena, were my requirements. As they are mine and should definitely not adversely affect her career, it never really entered the conversation. That is until after she left and I started trying to figure out how I was supposed spend time with someone that is 2800 km's away. And that was the easier one to overcome. We have been talking daily so I am pretty sure this one will be covered. The date night one is going to be a little trickier though. 
     If I am missing here or there over the next month you will know why. I don't plan on missing anything but it is amazing how much stuff you don't know you don't do, until you have to do everything.

Synergy

     By definition SYNERGY is the interaction of elements that when combined, produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements.

   A different look at this might be , an individual is capable of more than that person would normally be capable of when part of a high functioning team.

     This past weekend Silent River Kung Fu had the opportunity to be involved with Heritage Days in Onoway. For the second weekend in a row we were able to be in a parade and as a group represent our school. We also managed to do a forms demo down town after dismantling the float. Last weekend in the Farmer's Day parade we won first place with our float which was pretty amazing considering how many entrants there were in Stony's parade. This weekend we managed to win another first place ribbon.

     When the marshal came over with the ribbon, Sifu Brinker had thanked me right away. A similar thing happened last weekend and the more I process this the more I believe that it is undeserved. Or maybe not completely undeserved but there are way more people that also deserve credit for what we manage to accomplish. 

     Two years ago, while we were waiting in the staging area at the Farmer's Day parade, a group of people were discussing how nice it would be if we had a trailer to put some of the stuff that we were carrying on. I had just purchased a small trailer in order to bring all of the kids and my bikes in to town so i volunteered the use of it. The discussion quickly changed when I mentioned that I was the manager at large equipment trailer manufacturer. Once the parade started the ideals of grandeur slipped away.  The next spring while discussing Panadamonium with Sifu Csillag and Mr. Kohut, the topic of creating a float resurfaced. One of the salesmen at the company I work for, who happens to be Sifu Bryant's brother-in-law, happened to have a trailer that was about the size we were looking for. I picked up the trailer and brought it to the Kwoon during open training  so that Sifu Brinker could see what the "plan" was before signing off on having the float. I forgot to mention that the trailer may not have been in the best condition. As Sifu stepped out of the Kwoon you could see the expression on his face quickly change to disbelief. In the end he said that he trusted that his students would represent the school the best they could and agreed that we could enter a float. For the next week I spent a bit of time each day removing the paint and rust from exposed areas and repainting. By the next weekend it was like a brand new trailer, minus all of the holes in the wood. The three of us joined by Mr. Dyble constructed the weapon rack and installed on the trailer. 

    On the day of the parade there was lots of help from the team, and this somewhat decrepit trailer started to take on a new life. Sihing Macdonald had signs for the school made and we managed to cover up the lumber issues on the deck, and once the dragon was added it drew any focus away from the remaining flaws. We threw some mats on to ensure no one would fall through the deck and we were off. 

     This year was very similar. The components were already there we just made some small adjustments. Sifu Csillag came out to give me a hand to change the weapon rack so it could be installed on the newly decked trailer and we also made a platform to elevate the head of the dragon. Another change that was made actually came from Sifu M. Beckett. Reading her blogs on reducing impact and waste was the reason I looked for alternatives to the cheap plastic covering we had used on the deck the previous year. We also used the new dragon this year as there was talk of running with the older one. All of this came together to create something that was truly beautiful.

    In Onoway, it was like pulling in to the pits for a tire change. Once the trailer came to a stop there were people all over it installing things as they had been the week before. there was a little more work as the road I had decided to drive on the way there may not have been in the best shape and the weapon rack needed some attention. In 30-40 minutes we once again had an award winning float to call our own. 

     I may have been the one to supply the truck and bring the trailer, but it was the actions of a team working together that made it what it became. I am very grateful to be able to be a part of this team and there is no doubt that this team has made me a better person. I would encourage everyone to try to come out to more of the school or team events when possible. It is these events that solidify the team and bring everyone closer together. 

Smelling the Roses, or maybe Lilacs

     As spring turns in to summer the endless list of things that need to get done seems to get even longer. This weekend some of the "have to do's" got pushed to the side for "want to do's".
     Saturday morning started off with it's own struggles. I was a little late leaving the house in order to pick up the trailer for the float at our other house and be at the Kwoon for 7:30. I got to the other house and realised that the key for the large barn doors on the shop were on my car key chain, which was at home. Why would I need my car keys when driving the shop truck? It is about a ten minute drive between the two properties, so the decision was  made to "remove" the other lock. Thank goodness the rest of the day went a lot smoother. 
     Once we were able to deal with the initial shock of change, the parade was lots of fun. As we were about to get on to the road from the town yard, we had to stop for the lead band to go by. The gentleman who was marshalling the entrants in to the parade jokingly said "this is your first time through, right?" It is inspiring to think that there are that many groups in the community that come together to support this event. In a few spots along the route the crowd was amazing. The density of the crowd overtook the sidewalks and spilled out on to the road. All in all, this was an excellent morning spent with some awesome people.
     Sunday started super early for me, but it was easy to do as I was invited to do something that I enjoy. The alarm went off at 4:30 for a quick bite, shower, pack the car and then drive to The Legends in Sherwood Park to play golf at 7:15. The invitation was from someone that I used to work with at SMS about eight years ago and don't get to see too much. It was like the old adage "killing two birds with one stone". It was an excellent morning for golf. Slightly overcast with a gentle breeze to keep most of the bugs away. Once home, I changed and then took the family to Farmers Days. Baker and Adrianna went on lots of rides, while Dawn and Cassidy walked through the General Store. Once we left we also decided there was time for a treat so we went to Jack's for some ice cream.
     Later the reality of the ever looming "Monday" sets in which comes some laundry and other chores. It was nice to have a couple of relaxing days to regenerate. It also looks like our house deal should wrap up Monday, as long as the conditions all get removed, which also helps knowing that the end of caring for two properties is in sight. 
     Now it is back to work and trying to figure out how to schedule all of the work that "had to" get done on the weekend.