A rare entry into the books. I’ve stopped doing these entries because at the start of the year I had both kids in the lab when I arrived making it difficult to type. Then I thought my time was better served getting things done instead of reflected on life. To be honest, I’m not sure that anything has changed either way. It’s neat to look back at how I was feeling a year ago, but at the same time I don’t really miss having to write stuff down. As a consequence of this, I’ve decided to take more of a random approach to entries. Now, I don’t think this is particularly the best way to do it because routine is king. However, sometimes I was literally forcing stuff out which wasn’t too beneficial. What I’d like to do is spend the mornings on the blog instead. I feel like that provides more insight into my life than anything else. It also has the potential to help other people.

That all being said, I am feeling better this fall. Having dropped hockey and loosening my dietary restrictions has really left me more relaxed and physically able. This has led to a greater capacity in my mental cognition as well. 

I’m currently sick again. The big difference this year versus last year is that it’s not as bad and I’m definitely used to it. Where as last year I felt devastated by the sickness, now I’m in a better position to manage the negative feelings. I still get up and get after it and it seems to work. I’m definitely feeling much better mentally than I did last year at this point which is amazing considering I have actually done more work. It’s providing some insight as to how much the physical aspects of my life have dominated the mental. The downside is that I don’t feel as physically fit as I was last year at this time. I haven’t checked the scale and will do in January.

Speaking of the new year, I’m definitely going to have a sober month of January again with the hopes that it will help me get in shape a little more. I’ll also be taking a break from sugar and limiting my dairy and refined carbs. It will be tough but I’m hoping my discipline holds. It was great to have the badge of knowing that I was able to make it through (most of the month) with no alcohol. 

Alright, on to life and more work!

Is to understand that your job or career or goal requires you to keep showing up regardless of how you feel. Putting in your best effort each and every day will build the grit required to to great work. There must have been days when Michelangelo wasn’t jazzed about chipping away the marble for hours at a time. He did it though and now we have David. 

If you find yourself making the type of excuses that prevent you from showing up, then you may need to rethink your job or career or goal.

Monday morning! The last day of the month and tomorrow is my anniversary! Wild weekend. Birthday party was fantastic. It was so good to see all my friends. I didn’t work out yesterday for a couple of reasons. One: I was sort of hung over. I felt that trying to push my body was counter productive. Two: I really wanted to see how much a full rest day would benefit me. Turns out not very much. This morning was a struggle to find strength. I’m not sure why because I had an amazing sleep (or I thought) which was 8 full hours. I haven’t checked the stats yet, but it sure felt good. 

This week should be pretty rocking. I have softball, two presentations that I’m looking forward to and two full days off of school! Next week will be nice because we’ll be full time summer dress. It’s amazing how much better that makes me feel! 

This is also a big sign of the end of the year. It’s coming quick.

A couple of thoughts:

Another blog entry! I’m beat down, swamped and generally feeling weak. It’s been a helluva run lately with Earth Day, Science Olympics, Cameron’s b-day party, Invention Convention, Apple and still have more science olympics and Apple to go. 

I really enjoyed yesterday because having it interactive made it much more enjoyable. I definitely want to expand and grow this idea. I really believe that it will get traction and grow to be something of value. Imagine offering kids of all ages, adults, businesses the opportunity to do something like this? I think it would be amazing. The downsides, while obvious, aren’t impossible and with some planning, I should be able to create something of value. 

I often wonder what the long term value would be, but I always have the teaching card in my back pocket. I also have plenty of connections and could even renew my relationship here because it’s not like I’m leaving to go to the competition…

Anyway, lots to think about and plenty to discuss with some critical thinkers to see how I can make the idea feasible. 

Physically I’ve been feeling pretty good lately. I’m still experiencing some sickness, but it’s not as rehabilitating as when on CPAP. I’ve noticed that I look a lot more tired in the mirror when I wake up, but I’m also aware that I’m under greater than normal stress and have been without my CPAP for a couple weeks now. I need to give it at least a month before I make any sweeping conclusions.

Feels like fall this morning. It’s colder though, but man I love those days where it’s chilly in the morning and warms up to like 15 or 20 degrees and sunny. Those are the best days. Doesn’t appear to be that way today though. I don’t think those show up until mid may.

I had big plans to workout this morning, but instead I did some light work on the bike. I’ve been fairly cautions about my mood the last few days and noticed that I’m getting grumpy. This is usually the sign of overtraining and I need to be more aware of this and take time off. That’s what I did today. The key is to pay close attention to what exactly this means so that I can decide if it’s worth it tot day off or not. There’s no doubt in my mind that there has to be some connection. Anyway, pay close attention to it!

I made a podcast yesterday. It kind of sucked. I need to channel my inner Seth Godin and keep on making them. The more I do, the better I’ll be about it. I think the problem is that I need to keep it shorter and punchier, especially if I’m talking with myself alone. Interviewing someone is a different story. When you’re rambling on it’s easy to lose people’s interest. I feel like that’s something which will come in time and with practice.

I also make a mental note of the way seth godin approaches his work. His stories provide a neat connection to the point he’s trying to make. I’ve obviously stolen them in some of my work, but to investigate it further for podcasts, blogs, etc is essential. 

That’s all for now! 

Workout:

Light bike for 15 mins

Minor stretching 

Today is Thursday! Short, but long week. Found out yesterday that I’m likely going to need to go to North Bay for a coding talk. I really don’t mind doing these talks, I just wish I knew how to scale my talks into something bigger. Do I promote myself? I’m not the kind of person who boasts about themselves, and doing so makes me feel less valuable. However, I’m not sure if there’s any other way to take things to the next level. I had a brainwave this morning that I should approach catholic schools in the area and offer to speak for free as way to ‘pay it forward’. If I do a few of these and they’re successful, I may be able to scale it forward as something grander. Just an idea. So many ideas, but not enough action. That is always the story! Today it is going to stop because I’m going to do a podcast on Rage. It’s going to happen! Then it will be on the chapel talks and I’ll have 4 or 5 to work with. Once I get a base, I can start to gauge the value of it. It has to be done regardless of my level of motivation. Just do it!

Workouts this week have been decent. I had a bit of scare yesterday because I thought I was getting sick. I have been bringing up more phlegm, but it’s white and doesn’t appear to be the result of sickness, rather likely due to the dry basement. I’m waiting and hoping that more humidity in the air will result in less trouble with the congestion. 

Workout:

22 min run

3 x 500 row

30s bike

3 x 10 front squat

3 x 7s DB complex

3 x 10 BP light

A mere weeks  now until I turn 40! Crazy how fast it has arrived. I certainly don’t feel 40 and I know that it’s just a number, but one can’t ignore the milestone that it represents. I’m happy that I’m still in great heath (despite the last year) and able to continue to get after it at a good pace. I’m happy for my job and the security it provides. I’m happy for my career and the freedom that it provides. I’m looking forward to the next 10 more years of adventure!

I heard from Apple again and they want me back at the end of April. I’m wondering if there’s any way to make this a full time gig? It would be awesome. My doubts are pretty high though. I certainly don’t have the skill set required to work at Apple nor do I want to get away from kids to be sitting at a desk. 

The Eureka Labs idea still runs with me. It’s funny that my mind is wandering so much with regards to doing something else. Just talked with James Darling and I’m going next week for the hour long workshop. I just need to find an appropriate topic that will pull some people in. Needs to be an hour too. 

A couple ideas: 

• Rage. A story of caring about what you do.

I went hard last weekend on Saturday night. Took me until just now to recover. Not going to deal with that again! Too much, too hard, too fast. Not fun. 

Workout:

22 min run

3 x 500 row

30s bike

3 x 8 clean and press

1 x 10 heavy bag lift

2 x 12 romanian bag life

3 x 5 heavy bench press

Hello spring. It’s cold this morning, but you can smell the spring in the air. Even yesterday I saw that the plant in front of the house had started to ‘spring’ some buds. I love the potential that spring brings. I assume that it’s genetically wired into us. Whatever, it is…i’ll take it. 

My workouts have increasingly been getting better. I’m still not back to running most of the time at 8mph - and I may never get there again - but I am feeling good. I’ll slowly start to increase the speed each week until I’m back. One thought is that I’m doing the bike everyday which takes a ton out of me too. Either way, I’m getting a decent workout. 

I still have my Eureka Labs idea on my mind full time. It’s a totally feasible idea and would be a success, the problem is that the risk associated with leaving my position would be intense. My only viable option would be to setup a ‘year off’ at HTS to pursue the challenge. Problem with that idea is that Charlotte and Henry may not get the discount which could cause an issue in the future.

This weekend will be nice to sit and relax a little. It’s going to be a crazy April and I need to be ready for the grind!

Workout:

22 min run

3 x 500 row

30s hard on bike

3 x 10 clean and press

3 x 25 one arm KB swing

3 x 10 one arm row

Wow, this might be my first written entry of the month. Anyway, it has been a whirlwind March Break with lots of travel and plenty of rest. I had this major epiphany over the break. I really want to start to branch out with my idea to create a science lab that would cater to all ages and corporate groups. From 50,000 feet it’s a good and bad idea that would require some tremendous risk, especially given the context of leaving an amazing job. If I was stuck somewhere it would be a no brainer, but compared to HTS, it makes the risk much greater. There’s sustainability issues, Melissa’s job situation and the capital requirements would be very great. However, being able to access a greater number of people - especially of all ages - would better align with my life goal. Currently, I’m trying to figure out a hybrid solution, one where I could keep my job and still be able to manage to at least get a business started. It might look like a temporary rental of space for the summer or something with some workshops. It could be an extension of Funology, where I travel to places. Who knows.

Fitness - has been really good the last while. I’m so glad that I invested in another dose of antibiotics to cure myself and it worked. The secret now is to ensure that I remain healthy. Part of that is to keep diligent with the cleaning of my CPAP machine. If I get sick again, then the CPAP is done because there’s no way that I can effectively keep healthy. Too bad, because I generally do sleep much better with the CPAP. I’m slowing getting more capable with my endurance and seem to be able to get through workouts with little to no phlegm. Although today I noticed that my nose is stuffy.

Workout:

22 min run

3 x 10 cleans

3 x 20 one arm KB swing

3 x 10 one arm row

30s hard on bike

500m row

A rare typed entry! Charlotte’s here on the iPad so here we go…

I had a decent sleep last night. Sleep app says that I had about 3:07 deep sleep. Seems to be that the more deep sleep I get, the better I feel. I noticed that the CPAP was leaking again. Not sure why, but it doesn’t seem to leak a ton. I’ll have to call. Goodness int he grand scheme of things, the CPAP is causing me more trouble than it’s worth!

I hit the caffeine and the jesus juice this morning so I’m buzzing. It’s good though because I need the energy to get after this chapel talk. Today I hope to get the chapel talk sorted out and have the chance to edit the beginning and then figure out the timing for the Kyle video.

Goal is to add in the thoughts from this morning. I’m going to do that now!

Workout

22 min run

3 x 500 row

30s hard on bike

3 x 8 clean and press

3 x 12 romanian bag 

3 x 10 one arm row