I'm back

Well, things have been hectic but I'm back again and I apologise for the unplanned intermission.

I don't actually have anything terribly interesting to report today but I just wanted to let those of you who read the blog know that I'm getting back on this horse.

Since the last time I've been on here I've received a bunch of new parts for my motorcycle including a touring seat, and new saddlebags. The bags are huge, you could put a small child in them if you really needed too. The seat is amazingly comfortable and comes with a driver backrest. I wish I had known earlier in my motorcycle career how great a good aftermarket seat can be.

Check out mustang seats

If you're interested in a fantastic motorcycle seat. The price is about average but the product and the customer service are both outstanding!

You can also check out my training log as I've made my first entry into that since January. . .

Till next we meet. . .

Real Life

My apologies to those who read this to keep up with my life, suffice it to say it's been busy.

I've been working more to help offset the cost of my motorcycle trip this summer and all the parts I've been putting on the bike in order to make it.

Aside from that 've been working on the bike to get all those parts on . . . and of course riding.

I'll try to get something better up later this week.

Till next we meet. . .

Leap of Faith

There's a man named Joseph Kittenger, probably not someone you've ever even heard of though his name should be as familiar as Chuck Yeager, Bob Hoover, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, etc. The reason you should know his name is that he took the term "Leap of Faith" quite literally. . . He took a helium balloon to an altitude of 100,800 feet to test the effects of high altitude on human beings. Then when he's at the very edge of space he did something remarkable. . .

He jumped.

You can see a video of it here

Skydive Video

You can also read about him here

Wiki Article

After watching that how can anyone fear the little leaps of faith that we take on a daily basis?

Till next we meet. . .

Carpe Diem!

Last night on television was a show about the late, great Freddy Mercury. For anyone who knows me you know that I've been a tremendous fan of Queen since I was a teenager, for some reason their music really reached out to me and I just fell in love.

Over the years I've done a fair amount of reading on Queen when it came my way, I'm not someone who has to know every detail of every moment of the lives of musicians but I did find their story quite fascinating. Last night was so cool because I was able to see video of Freddy Mercury being himself rather than the character he played on stage.

The one thing that really stuck with me is that Freddy was a man who lived every day to it's fullest, he didn't waste time with regret and with suffering but was always moving on to the next great joy that life had to offer. Even on his deathbed he was creating music and enjoying life as much as he was able.

I think it just served as yet another reminder to me that I need to stop being afraid of the "What ifs" that life throws our way and just run with what my heart tells me is right. I have to admit that the times in life I've lept in head first are always the most entertaining.

Till next we meet. . .

A Quick Story

I hired a plumber to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he had just finished a rough first day on the job, a flat tire made him lose an hour of work & his electric drill quit, his ancient one ton truck refused to start. As I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.

On arriving he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. Upon opening the door he had undergone an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do at the little tree.

"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home and ask God to take care of them. Then in the morning I pick them up again." Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

*Taken from Beliefnet.com*

Posting Under the Influence (of ADD)

Well, here's my ADD post for this month, that means of course that you could have another one as soon as tomorrow. As you may have guessed this post is going to hop around a little. . . hang on!

I'm okay

I've been carrying a lot of stuff around with my lately in a mental or spiritual sense and it's been weighing on me. While driving home from the gym today I saw a licence plate that said "UL B OK" on a truck in front of me. Wow! The Universe sure decided to make sure I didn't miss that message didn't it? I'm glad to get it as it came at a very opportune time as the last week has been pretty rough on me for a variety of reasons. Thanks Universe, and of course all of you out there who are contributing your consciousness to it!

Best Ad Ever

I saw the single best advertisement of all time today on the Internet, it's sad and it's got an "Engrish" translation so it's a little rough. It's also one of the most touching things I've ever seen and again, comes at a very opportune time. It reminded me what's important in life is what you love, and for what you love you'll do anything. It also reminded me that nothing done out of love, with faith in the Universe will backfire on you in the long run. You just need love and faith.


Here it is:

Saddest Commercial Ever

*Edit* Originally I embedded this but I really dislike the way that site embeds, it forces it to play and forces the sizing so there's a link instead.

Training

I managed to get off my butt and make it to the gym again today. I'm back! Now I just have to keep at it but I'm sure I will. I actually was prompted because last night I had an arm wrestle with someone I should easily beat. . . and we tied it up after a few minutes so I'm getting my butt back in action! Sometimes all we need is that kick! I'm also eating right again. 250lbs here I come but it's going to be a much leaner 250lbs than I was last time!

Motorcycle

Well, she's almost ready for touring! Still missing a few parts but except for the seat they're not the important ones so I'm happy! If the weather is nice enough I'm going to Calgary this weekend!


That's it for now folks.

Till next we meet. . .

Walking the Walk

I went to see a performance last night at the Arden Theater in St.Albert. It was a production by Decidedly Jazz Danceworks that featured Jackie Richardson singing and the DJD folks performing.

All in all I would call the performance nothing less than amazing. Those who know me know how hard it is to get a standing ovation out of me as I feel that a standing ovation should really only occur when a performer comes out and "turns it up to 11" so to speak, well last night it happened.

I'm not going to review the performance as I'm certain there are other people who will do so and if you're interested you'll be able to read about it there but I will say that if you have the opportunity you really need to get out and see this show. It was about love, and loss, and everything that goes along with those two and it was inspired.

On the topic of walking the walk, you all know that in recent months I've been working to make myself into a better person. Perhaps that's not right, I've been working to allow myself to be the person that I know I'm capable of being, the person I want to be. Part of that has been working on choosing better behaviours for myself in certain situations and last night was one of them.

Again I'm not going into details but I will say that I found myself falling into some older and less-desirable behaviours last night. Certainly not the end of the world but I was disappointed in myself at first, then I calmed down and let the universe speak to me. . . in this case via the show. I remembered the decisions I have made and I remembered how it is that I want to react in situations like that so I went back and corrected my behaviour.

I'm not perfect, nor will I ever be but last night I took a big step in the right direction. I was tested and while it looked like I was going to falter I managed to turn and step in the right direction, I stayed on beat and on track and pulled myself through.

This of course thrills me because while I didn't do it as quickly last night as I would have liked I'm well aware that every time it gets a little quicker and a little easier and every time I'll have less trouble with it.

I love you.
I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you.
Please forgive me for that part of me that has supported those things and these feelings within you.
Thank you.

Till next we meet. . .