Sharing with the World

     From the very first blog that I have written for the IHC, I have also posted the links in Facebook as well as in Google+. It was kind of a scary thing at first. I am not usually that outgoing, and definitely don't share with many people the things that I have been blogging about. One cool feature that Blogger has is that you can see who is looking at your blogs. Not exactly who but the originating country and also how they accessed your blog.

It is pretty exciting to know that people outside of the IHC regularly read the blogs that you post. 

     There is a certain amount of anticipation and excitement while you wait for your first like or comment on Kwoon Talk after you post a link. Other social media outlets also provides this instant gratification. But there is a little more to it than just that. Lately I have had the opportunity to spend some time with some "friends for the past". People that I had become friends with through work or other friends or even from high school but have not seen in quite some time. In seeing these people I was amazed how many of them had been reading my blog and had some comments about it. This would not have been possible if I was not posting the links for them on Facebook. I would encourage everyone to take that leap, as scary as it might be, and share your experiences with a wider range of people. 

Weathering the Storm

     This summer has been harder than I could have imagined to keep up with my commitments. I have been searching to find a reason, and during that search found many excuses. 

     A few months ago now I was having lunch with someone that I used to work with. During our conversation over lunch he had asked me why I was doing all of the stuff that I was doing. Getting up early, going to the gym four days a week, doing extra training, fitness class Saturday. I paused for a moment, looked at him with a blank stare and told him that I wasn't really sure. 

     I think that most of the populace is quite happy living in comfort or mediocrity. Those who choose to rise above this and become more, who choose to make themselves better each day have a certain amount of drive, if you will, to do so. Without this drive there is nothing to separate you from mediocrity.  When I could not answer with good reason I started to loose that drive. For with no purpose our actions are meaningless. I remembered this day while searching for a reason for struggling. Is this one action the entire reason? I see it like a river about to burst its banks, it is not the last rain drop that causes the flood but the many that came before it. I remembered this moment because it is when the water spilled over the banks but it is not the entire reason for the struggle. 

     Over the past couple of weeks I have found some sources of encouragement which have enabled me to find that "drive" again. With taking a little vacation, meeting with some old friends that are on similar paths, and getting caught up on reading blogs I have managed to pull myself out of the funk that I was in. Being able to see that others struggle in similar ways definitely helps. 

     Thank you to the others that consistently blog, there always seems to be some source of inspiration in there. 

Enjoying the Heat

My wife has been at the head office of the company she works for in Pasadena for the past three weeks.  We had talked about me possibly flying down after she knew how long she would be down there for. I ended up flying down this past Friday early in the morning. For the past few days the temperature has been well over 100F. It is much easier to deal with the heat while you are on vacation rather than working for sure. Yesterday we were downtown LA first at Staples Center then walking around a bit looking at different shops. Out in the open there was a nice breeze to help cool off but being surrounded by high rise buildings the temp reached slightly over 110F or 44C. No amount of wind cools that off.
When we were done looking through The Last Bookstore we decided to drive to Malibu and up the PCH. After managing to make our way through the L.A. traffic and get to the ocean it was amazing how much cooler it was from the air coming off of the ocean.
     Today we decide to drive up to Santa Barbara. We parked at Stearns Warf and walked around for an hour or so then took the water taxi over to the pier. Once their we were able to walk out on the break wall out to a sand deposit "island". We spent about four hours on the beach and decided to take a drive around the town. Santa Barbara is very heavily influenced by Spanish design with some pretty cool architecture.  It is also located in a very hilly area, much like most of California, so when we were driving around we had some very exciting moments with all of the twists and turns and elevation changes, sometimes very sudden changes.
Along with all of the site seeing I also managed to get in a couple of much needed date nights. In a couple of days it will be back to Stony Plain and two  more weeks of being a single parent.  This trip was a nice break for me and I am sure that the kids are enjoying the break from me and seeing their grandparents.