All in Three Days Work

Two weekends ago, I spent the weekend home in Canada thinking that I couldn't possibly fit any more things into a single weekend. Then, this past weekend in Ann Arbor I proved myself very wrong.

Friday

After a long productive day at work in Romulus, Michigan...
4:30pm - Get accepted into the University of Michigan's MBA program!
4:45pm - Call my immediate family and somehow get everyone on the first try
5:00pm - Drive to Staples in Ann Arbor to see printers for an hour, decide to return Sunday for a sale
6:15pm - Drive to celebrate Sean's birthday at Belmark bowling alley. While there, connect with Sean, Anne, Megan and Dan too, buy Sean a pitcher, bowl a few spares (which is pretty good for me), and unfortunately leave early...
7:30pm - Drive north for David's birthday at Stillwater Grill in Brighton, and enjoy good times with Melissa, Tommy and others. Kabir shows up unexpectedly, on the way to Ann Arbor from Kettering
9:30pm - Head to Ann Arbor and pick up Shanna at Starbucks, a favorite swing dance partner (visiting from Colorado!), drive us to the local Swing Dance, where we dance our heart out until 'round midnight.
12:30am - Drive Shanna home, then over to David's house to join the after-party festivities
4:00am - After "encouraging the party to die down", I hit the pillow!

Saturday

9:00am - wake up to the sound of chainsaws cutting down the tree outside the window, try desperately to sleep through it, with little success
12:30pm - Kabir arrives and hacks my computer
1:00pm - Kabir and I spend time talking about hacking and he teaches me about Wordpresse too, then we order lunch from the classic Hello Faz Pizza
4:30pm - Allie and John arrive and I help them record the final touches on their "Mr. Michigan" Jewish rap/medley competition song. Being a combination of The Pursuit of Happiness (or "Jewishness") and Gangsta Love, it also won first prize in a competition at Hillel!
6:45pm - Kick Allie and John out after handing over the final cut, then bust into the shower, and jump into my suit and tie
7:30pm - pick up Jess for a 7:55pm dinner reservation at the incredibly amazing Cliff Bell's establishment in downtown Detroit. They don't take reservations after 8pm apparently.
8:10pm - Arrive late and still get seated at the prime table, front and centre, literally touching the stage. Get surprise-treated to a phenomenal dinner, including spontaneous surprise champagne to celebrate recent university acceptance.
9:30pm - The Dwight Adams Jazz Quartet plays two world class sets, completely blowing me away. I can't believe I had been deprived of real jazz for so long, and they even played a billiant version of the classic Round Midnight (despite it being only 10:30pm!)
12:30am - Talk with and thank the musicians personally, then speed back to Ann Arbor to drop off my sleeping passenger (I can drive very smoothly if necessary!)
2:00am - Finish procrastinating the onset of sleep and finally conk out to sleep

Sunday

7:30am - Jump out of bed to go drive a car-less friend to an early morning class
8:15am - Drive to David's house to wake up the excessively sleepy Kabir
8:30am - Load the car and drive Kabir back home to Kettering in Flint, who sleeps enroute.
9:30am - Wish Kabir goodbye, forget to stop to eat anything on the way back to Ann Arbor
10:30am - Arrive in Ann Arbor again, try to catch up on some emails
10:35am - Take an involuntary nap (involuntary but oh so refreshing)
12:30pm - Play guitar on the front step of David's torn-up house (he's repairing the foundation) as an unofficial part of the local Water Hill music festival. With no spectators (other than the bulldozer and mud mountain on the lawn), I pack up and get back to my emai
2:00pm - Drive to Erin's house to see her friends perform in the festival, enjoy much festival music and witness a maypole dance for the first time.
3:00pm - Drive back to Staples and buy the new printer and cartridge. Use crazy amounts of combination coupons to end up paying only $10 for $100 worth of paper. Realize a little late, that wait a second, do I really need $100 worth of paper?
4:00pm - Leor brings Liz over to say goodbye before her trip, and I help her pack and store extra stuff with some incredible suitcase tetris skills
5:30pm - Join Peggy, Caleb and other friends at the nearby tent city for the homeless, called Camp Take Notice, for the weekly potluck dinner and camp residents meeting. I play dinner guitar music with Lori and Randy for the group and they all sing along, christening us the Rocky Mountain Pine Trees. I then eat dinner with about 30 people, over half of them camp residents.
7:00pm - I observe the residents meeting proceedings, including democratic votes on whether to readmit certain previously expelled members (removal occurs automatically for any alcohol/drug posession with zero tolerance according to strict camp rules). One member is nearly banned with 7 votes against returning and 8 votes for, so the executive commitee agrees to admit him pending a drug test
8:00pm - I get asked to administer (with Peggy's assistance) the 15-minute home drug test as part of the readmission procedure (an outside-my-comfort-zone experience) and I report back to the campers' executive committee on the results - clean except for one category, which was explained through a prescription.
9:00pm - Drive to Emily's house to talk about many generative topics, and even learn some knitting. Cynthia avoids hugs because she is sick, but I hug her anyway... I don't get sick :)
11:30pm - Pick up some food at Jimmy John's and invite Erin over to share late-night food and commentary on Bin Laden's recent demise while we watch CNN.
1:30am - Erin leaves, and I talk to Dan about his incredible motorcycle accident story
2:30am - I reflect on the weekend, and realize I got even more done than what I had planned, and decided to write about it
2:45am - I go to sleep knowing I need to get up at 6:30am!

My last post on this sort of topic reminds me how much more sleep I used to get! Its been a great start to the month of May and I'm pretty happy. I'm also thankful that I made such good use of my time in Ann Arbor over the weekend, and grateful for all the people that made it a good one. Thanks everyone!

Daniel

PS This post will eventually get imported into Facebook, so comments can be made in either place.

Have a Relationship, With The Internet

~ This article appears on Where did My Neurons Go?, and imports directly into Facebook. Comments welcome in both locations. ~

I recently helped a single friend create her online dating profile. It was fun, and I remembered learning the hard way, many years ago. Back then, I would get depressed from lack of responses! I didn't know there was nothing wrong with me. I was simply uneducated about the realities of profile-making.

The amount of effort you put into your profile says a lot. If believe you are unattractive, or feel negatively about your chances, you could subconsciously sabotage your profile and then your worst fears will naturally be confirmed.

Making your profile as good as you can will not only make you feel good, but will generate better responses. A good profile reminds you that you are attractive in many ways. (You are!) At worst, spending the few hours it takes to set it up well is just a good exercise in self-knowledge. This is your marketing material, so don't shortchange yourself!

I thought I'd share some of the lessons I've learned. Feel free to share yours through comments!

• Lesson #1 - Get a great profile picture.
  Would you look at a profile with no picture? If so, stop being so naive! Some estimate that 75% of people ignore profiles without pictures. I estimate that it's closer to 105%. I wouldn't waste my time searching for people whom I may or may not find unattractive. Why waste yours?


• Lesson #2 - Use several great pictures.
  Everyone can find or take flattering pictures of themselves (read: your facebook photos). There is no excuse for pictures that aren't clear. Have at least one picture that has you smiling, one of you with others, one of you doing something fun/interesting/hilarious, and one with your entire body, with clothes of course! Your own photo collection has both good and bad photos. Do NOT use the bad ones. Its better to have fewer pictures than to have a bad one.


• Lesson #3 - Don't forget the pictures.


• Lesson #4 - DON'T FORGET THE PICTURES! Seriously!


• Lesson #5 - Be truthful.
  Making stuff up can cause trouble later on and also attract people who aren't into the real you. Its unwise to leave out important items, like the fact that you have children. Being upfront about big things is an opportunity to skip people who are uncomfortable with your life, and to encourage people for whom those things are irrelevant, or even actively sought. The internet is trying to help you filter people quickly. So help others filter you -- you already do it to them. Still, being truthful doesn't mean to avoid creating a little mystery since many details don't need to be shared. Just make sure that your true self is represented.


• Lesson #6 - Be interesting.
  Share some of your unique quirks and interests. If you are worried about being judged, then learn to accept yourself. Being comfortable with yourself is always attractive. Everyone has quirks -- if you don't, then maybe you are in denial. Sure, this lesson isn't really just about online dating, but it still applies.


• Lesson #7 - Be funny.
  Your unique sense of humour is important, so definitely toss some in. For example, when asked to describe herself with three adjectives, my friend's third adjective was "teal". Hilarious, and intriguing. Its a colour. What!? Exactly. Don't you want to know why? Of course you do. If you think you are too serious to have jokes in your profile, then lighten up. People enjoy laughing.


• Lesson #8 - Keep your profile the right length.
  A very short profile says little about you. It might suggest to others that you are afraid, or lazy, or possibly self-conscious. Provide some detail to create a fuller image of yourself. Conversely, a very long profile can suggest that you don't know where to stop, that you have poor judgement, or that you are trying too hard. People want to evaluate quickly, so don't tell your life story -- they will probaly gloss over it anyway. Its important to strike a balance. A friend in the demographic you are seeking is often a good source of feedback.


• Lesson #9 - Don't take anything personally.
  Most people don't even know you. There may not be the best matches for you on your particular site. There can be many reasons for not getting the results you want. Blaming yourself is illogical, because you typically have no idea what the true reasons are. Imagine some plausible reasons for any disappointments, and you will eventually stop being so disappointed. The only thing you can control is your profile, and sometimes even that gets censored by the system!


• Lesson #10 - Make sure you stand out.
  Your pictures, your profile and your messages should be uniquely you. But you also need to make sure its not the same drivel everyone else uses. Ways to get educated: (a) Do some recon on the competition - browse your own demographic (b) Get feedback from a friend (c) Sign up a second account as someone who is your ideal match, use a very attractive picture, and a sparse profile, then sit back and read all the stupid mail you get from others -- it will be enlightening. Think of it as an experiment, which isn't misleading if you don't contact anyone. Be careful not to fall in love with the person you just created.

To go a little farther, many people try to explain the same things: They're a nice person. They are fun to hang out with. They like long walks on the beach. They enjoy hanging out with friends. They like watching movies. That describes everyone!

Set yourself apart and don't write boring words. Think about how your ideal match filters most profiles because they are all so similar. That's only because the others haven't read this article yet. Now use your advantage and get out there!

:Daniel

Reflections On Another Year #4

Why do we blog? Well, more specifically, why does Daniel blog? (And why does he speak about himself in the third person!?)

My blog's recent sparseness has made me question its reason for being. Here's what I came up with: It tells me about myself, and how I've grown. It helps me understand where I've come from. The writing makes it concrete somehow, while making it public makes it motivational for me, and possibly informative for others. Also, the aspect of creating a discussion forum strikes a chord with me.

Realising that my yearly review is six months overdue has helped me refocus, despite the deadline being self-imposed. I've only written two entries for 2008, correctly concluding that I am too "busy", so I've tried to slow it down by booking vacation time, and making more time for family and friends (some of whom have commented that I occasionally disappear). Also, I've obviously decided to write my yearly review, which admittedly usually takes a few days (or weeks in this case) anyway.

So let me get right to some of the significant happenings I've had this year (okay, year and a half).

• I got a new job with GM as a manager, recently celebrating my one-year anniversary, and received a great performance review (we still went bankrupt)
• I opened a US bank account and got a US credit card (difficult for a Canadian with no US credit history)
• I conducted a 13-person orchestra for a succesful musical, and composed a clarinet part for Catherine
• I visited Mexico for the first time, work-related
• I vacationed back to Mexico, and visited Chichen Itza (Mayan ruins), and also had my fourth and best scuba dive off the coast of Playa del Carmen, with David, Katie, Megan and Tyler
• I visited Australia for the first time, for World Youth Day and saw the Pope from a few feet away, with Scott, Jessica, Todd and others and pumped up the statistics: Countries visited: 17. Popes seen at arms length: 2
• I saw the Dalai Lama in person at a talk he gave with Laura, Emily and others
• I got an Apple laptop in a flash of bravery (must learn shortcut keys!)
• I authored two and a half new songs that are album material
• I recorded another original song in the recording studio with Chris
• I helped to organise a retreat with Sean, Anne, Lauren,Tom, Claudia and Mike and spoke about my thoughts on prayer life
• I played a lot of soccer, and added trail biking to my sports (thanks Sean!)
• I participated in an Engineering competition to help the deaf experience music with Sean and Chris, resurrecting my digital signals processing skills
• I helped build and care for an organic garden with Josh and (almost) Kabir
• I met several American dignitaries during a tour and press conference at work, including: Jennifer Granholm (Governor of Michigan), John Dingell (US Congressman), Hilda Solis (US Secretary of Labor), Ed Montgomery (an Obama Auto Task Force Director), Alan Lambert (Mayor of Romulus, Michigan)
• I performed a bunch of consulting work in Toronto for Pearl
• I cleared out most of my belongings in Toronto (through recycling and donation, I generated only half a bag of trash)
• My long-term relationship ended with sadness after many wonderful memories

But I don't want to just list all the important happenings in my life. I'm trying to fully internalise the idea that what I'm learning and how I grow matters most. So here are some of the things I think I've been learning:

• Money can be seen as the ability to do what you want with your time
• Reluctance to burden others can be unhealthy, allowing others to help is often needed
• People generally can't fundamentally change, nor should they, and we must learn to accept others and ourselves as we are
• It is often incorrect yet easy to feel responsible for others' actions and feelings
• The only person who takes care of one's best interests is oneself
• Sustainability, diversification and balance can be applied to everything in life
• Everyone wants to be listened to, understood and acknowledged
• What we believe about ourselves, we often create in our lives, positive or negative
• Our conscious and subconscious mind should agree for maximum strength of purpose
• Making time for oneself is a powerful step toward appropriately making time for others

That brings me back to the concept of the blog itself. Writing seems to be something I do primarily for myself and that I can be proud of. If I have so few entries this year, perhaps I'm not making enough time for myself. So, I have about six months before my next entry is "due", and I plan on writing at least four quality blog entries. Please suggest an interesting topic that you'd like me to break down!

:Daniel

P.S. This entry will be imported into Facebook automatically, but comments are welcome in both places.

Reflections On Another Year #3

As a general rule, I try to do my yearly reflection within a month after each birthday, and I feel late on this one. I didn't really plan anything special at all for my birthday this year. In fact I was so busy worrying about all the things that needed doing for my upcoming musical that I didn't really plan any celebration time. I did attempt to merge a quasi-celebration with my friend Jolene at a restaurant, but as it turns out none of her people could make it, so I cancelled it... actually she cancelled it first, and I cancelled the process of inviting my people to a cancelled event.

I spent the whole day at church and in rehearsals. Now it may sound like I'm complaining, but in fact rehearsing was still fun, because I enjoy all that time with music and the people involved (the Joseph family), even working on it on my birthday. After that, though, what actually made it feel like a birthday was that Laura actually baked me a surprise birthday cake, and this was no ordinary cake -- it simply dwarfed the word delicious, and though it seems crazy, it tasted even better than that because of the caring that I knew went into it -- in fact it might be the best cake I've ever tasted in my life. So I spent the evening with her and we just talked and hung out together, which made it a fantastic day. I even got a few phone calls from various people which was nice. Overall I think I fared pretty well!

But the thing that surprised me most was how many messages I got on Facebook (this might just be my first birthday after being pressured to sign up by my now facebook-friends). Even people I haven't heard from in a while send me a birthday greeting, and I'm now starting to appreciate how convenient facebook is, because when we see so many people writing on someone's wall, then we're more likely to realise it might be their birthday, for example, and many things like this can strengthen a community of people... almost like a support network, except in electronic form. As much as I was against facebook at one time, I'm starting to realise some of its benefits... although I still worry about privacy concerns, as I did before being coerced into signing up.

Again I feel like I've had tremendous personal and professional development this year (again!), so I will try to recap some things, but I'm not going to categorise anything as good or bad or hard like I did last time. Most of the time experiences are there to learn from, regardless of whether you call them good or bad.

• I finally became a fully licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario, and you can look me up!
• Recorded one of my original songs in a recording studio (waiting on post-production still), for a friend's project dealine, which is something I've been dying to do for a long time, and I'm thinking I could do more recording to produce my album eventually
• Broke up on really good terms from my longest relationship
• I briefly broke my land speed record again (229 km/h) on a trip on the German Autobahn (but this is getting old in a way)
• Conducted a musical for the first time working with a fantastic orchestra and cast to create our own version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
• I went to Goa, India for Christmas for the second time, and spent a week with my parents and friends (who just happened to be there!)
• I took my first real vacation in about 5 years without my cel phone or work email
• Went scuba diving in the ocean for my second time (with swimming-pool training!)
• Achieved Platinum Status on Northwest Airlines, but lost Platinum Status at the Marriott
• I didn't publish very many blog entries
• Started a great new relationship with a lot of potential
• Wrote some new songs on the guitar
• Designed a website for a condominium complex

Again I feel like I've had tremendous personal and professional development this year (again!), so I will try to recap some things, but I'm not going to categorise anything as good or bad or hard like I did last time. Most of the time experiences are there to learn from, regardless of whether you call them good or bad.

• Ideas and thoughts seem less and less absolute, as I am starting to see the multitude of interpretations and perceptions that form reality for everyone
• I feel more able to access my feeling at times of difficulty and am learning to understand them better
• I trust myself much more than I did only a few years ago
• Stepping in to help solve others' problems doesn't necessarily make things better, it is better to ask what they need rather than make assumptions
• When someone hurts you, there can often be a vast complexity of reasons, and initially it is very easy to react without understanding that complexity
• Important relationships can end, but this isn't something that is automatically negative
• It is wrong to believe that everything has a simple easy solution - in fact most difficult problems don't, and it is often unrealistic to expect to find one, so it is a waste of energy to be confused, upset or disappointed about being unable to 'solve' a problem
• Feelings are very important, and the value of understanding your feelings and being able to communicate them clearly and appropriately cannot be overestimated
• Spending money on good healthy food is well worth it
• Cooking is not a mystery once you get a few ideas, it is actually an art form
• Beauty occurs during quiet moments
• It is not our achievements, but it is our choices that tell us who we are

I await what is in store for me this coming year, and if the pattern holds, it will be even better than the previous one.

Daniel

Godspell, Godspeed

Now I will answer the questions that I've been asked in the past few weeks: "Is Daniel alive?" and "Why can't I get ahold of him?". The answers are "Yes" and "Godspell". Godspell is a musical all about the life and teachings of Jesus, framed in a theatrical setting, with comedy, dancing, and music, and a whole lotta awesome!

My involvement was as the director of music. It was written for just rhythm section, i.e. piano/drums/bass/guitar. However, we had a couple of trumpets that wanted to be involved, so I somewhat foolishly decided that I had enough time to write parts for them. In the end, I was pretty happy with it, but perhaps could have been a little easier on them, even though they performed well for the difficulty! I also was responsible for rehearsing the "orchestra", and helping the singers learn their parts, and playing at rehearsals, although there was another rehearsal pianist who filled in for me, when I was having pasta in Italia, or stuck at work overnight.

So how did this experience affect me? Well I think I can categorise it:

• Management experience: I learned more about how to manage people effectively, how to provide leadership, how to encourage people and motivate them. Scheduling 6 people to attend rehearsals, making sure they are informed about where they have to be when (not that I was exceedingly clear on this!), and ensuring that I knew what to tell them took a lot more energy than I originally anticipated.
  
• Musical knowledge: I feel my knowledge of music, and conducting was greatly enhanced. I remember the last time I did this for Anything Goes in 1996, and it was natural for me, but this time even more so. I felt totally at home in the Director of Music role. I even was surprised at my ability to write parts for both trumpets, and at the fact that I did this at a table, without a piano for most of it. The music seemed to flow out of my hands! Yes there were a couple of errors here and there, but for the most part, I surprised myself. The ability to make musical decisions was deepened, as in "should I take this out" or "should I change that part of the music" were questions that I started being able to answer more readily about midway through. All of my musical talents were tested and improved, and it was great! I'm still waking up with songs from the musical endlessly bouncing aroudn my head.
  
• Spiritual development: Not that I ever got to really see the show from the audience's point of view, but I feel that hearing the script over and over again, while not being able to get the music out of my head has really forced me to think about what the show is about: Jesus, discipleship and growth. It brought me new perspectives that I had either forgotten I had or not thought of, and really helped me focus on how I live out my faith life. I resurrected (no pun intended) question like "Am I really focused on any of the things that Jesus taught us or am I simply following doctrines?" It was definitely a re-orienting of my spiritual compass, which I'm thankful for.
  
• Community: I made a lot of great friends, and forged a really cool bond with the other two directors, Kristen and Brian. Their energy and passion is where this idea came from, and flowed forth. I was just happy to be a part of it. I feel I got to know the whole cast, and chorus, which was very much a friendship-building experience. The Orchestra was composed of Paul on bass (not the fish!), Kristin on percussion (yeah slide whistle!), DeVeaux on guitar (18 strings of goodness!), and Alex and Franco on trumpets (quit fighting over the parts!). These people made my life so much easier, thanks to their passion and dedication, and flexibility. Thanks a million to everbody!
  
• Nostalgia: I found myself thinking back to my days in high school, playing the Euphonium, and I really wanted to be part of the Guys and Dolls pit orchestra. My teacher Ms. Evered, actually wrote an entire part just for me, which I really never fully appreciated until now, having now had to finally try it myself. That dedication of hers came back to me over and over again as I composed the trumpet music. I realised also that a significant source of my inspiration really came through her teaching and encouragement, which says a lot about her ability as a teacher.

Overall, this has been the most gruelling and rewarding experience of late, and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Thanks to everyone who attended and made it possible. Here's a picture from our dress rehearsal. Check out the band in the top left corner! You can also take a look at the rest of the pictures too!

Reflections On Another Year #2

This year on my birthday I was having a birthday dinner with some of my friends, including a surprise appearance from my best friend John all the way from Dashwood! And since I recently resurrected my blog, I had the presence of mind to check out last year's review and think about how I felt around this time a year ago. Well, the feelings are similar, namely that I've done a lot of things. But this year I feel like I've developed as a person more than I did last year. Part of that has been by going through difficult experiences too. And that's one part of me that has developed -- the ability to admit my issues more readily and also to learn from my so-called negative experiences. I think one often grows more through things that hurt than through those clear successes in life. So this year, I'll review not just the good stuff.

Good stuff:

• Submitted my final Professional Engineers Ontario licensing application to PEO (the processing begins in February)
  
• Undertook significant new projects and more management responsibilities at GM
  
• Bought my first major non-mobile purchase: my house (I am now renting my house to a family, and they're really nice!)
  
• Broke my land speed-driving record (yes, 227 km/hour on the Autobahn is faster than last year) in a Mercedes E-Class
  
• Wrote 2 more pretty good songs
  
• Organised a small but successful campaign to raise money for orphans in India
  
• Started dating someone really cool who lives near me
  
• Started playing live jazz with my duo/trio at swing dancing nights
  
• Became the Musical Director for the musical Godspell, which my church is putting on

Hard stuff:

• I broke the heart of someone I really cared about
  
• My best friend, John, was in a major accident
  
• I witnessed my extended and immediate family enter into conflicts that strained our relationships and caused a lot of hurt
  
• I learned to accept that I have issues

Things that I've learned:

• Although difficult to admit to yourself, sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is to remove yourself from their life
  
• You can be completely financially organised by spending 2 hours a month on it
  
• In many arguments, you can be right or you can be happy, its up to you
  
• You can love someone even if you disagree with them or don't understand them
  
• If you are offended by something, it is often because you are insecure about something
  
• Love does not always conquer practicality
  
• Not deciding something is a decision in itself, and usually its a bad decision (I'm relearning this one again and again)
  
• Seeing a counsellor/therapist is great way to improve yourself (I'm planning to do this)
  
• Your self is made up of your feelings more than your thoughts
  
• The drive from Windsor to Toronto feels a lot longer than I used to remember

Procrastinators Unite! Just not quite yet!

Took me long enough to get another entry out. Fittingly, lets talk about procrastination. I saw the best headline in a newspaper yesterday at work. (No I wasn't reading the newspaper at work... it was someone else's and I stopped to take a look, okay?) Anyway, the headline read "Procrastination Study Complete -- 5 years late", and since it was an apparently reputable newspaper, I thought it deserved another look, as I've been making jokes along those lines for years. As it turns out, more and more people are considering themselves to be "chronic procrastinators", and the basic reason is there are too many distractions and things to help you procrastinate along the way. I did find another article about the same study too.

I don't see myself as a chronic procrastinator, although you may disagree. When I do procrastinate, I find that I have a different reason, though. After having thought about it, the desire to complete the task perfectly prevents me from starting it because there isn't enough time. Of course, I realise that not starting it also prevents me from perfecting the result, so it must be some sort of mental block.

The perfect example of me not procrastinating is this particular blog entry, since I only read the article yesterday and am writing this a day later (and posting it the next day). However, a perfect counterexample is the length of time since my last post, but I can just blame it on the desire for a really good post. Personally I don't think it was worth the wait, but at least I'm back on the blog again! So leave a comment... whenever.
Daniel

Two Different Ways To Travel And a Brush With Death

This morning, I made the trek out to Ann Arbor's "Arb", or "Arboretum", which is a gigantic forested area with lots of trails and a river for a public running event. Today's run took place in the Arb itself, in the form of a 5-km race (3.13 miles, but yay metric!) to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy research and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my time was a respectable 28:51, which, averaging 9 minutes 13 seconds per mile, was much better than my original expectation which was to not be able to finish. It helped that I was running with and motivated by Sarah, who almost outdid me, although I luckily overtook her in the last 20 seconds of the race with a sprint to the finish! Ann and Scott were also running and everyone had very respectable times, so we all had lunch at Panera to celebrate.

As if that wasn't enough of an adrenaline rush, we both decided to go skydiving, something which I had never done. We learned all about how you have to sign away any and all rights to legal recourse before you start, and that beginners are supposed to jump in tandem, i.e. attached to the instructor via a harness. We were also told there's only a 1 in 3500 chance of your chute failing to open, but my instructor said in all his nearly a thousand tandem jumps, it has never happened to him. Sarah was first to go up and she had a great tandem jump (her second jump ever). Unfortunately we were not able to go up together because the plane was too small to include my videographer, as I sure wasn't going to miss the chance to prove that I did this. So I taped her jump on my little camera, and then the videographer taped my whole experience, including the ascent in the small propeller plane.

Everything was going great until we got to 10000 feet, at which the view is amazing of course. Strapped to my instructor, the guy next to me, who finally got fully certified today opened the door all of a sudden and then did some sort of backflip maneuver out of the plane. At this point my instructor is shimmying toward the door, with me attached to his stomach facing out of the plane, and then my foot is on the step just OUTSIDE the door in the wind, something I don't find enough time to get used to because then we are flying without the plane, twisting and turning in the freefall! The stabilising mini chute pops open and we settle into a fast fall, with the wind flapping my cheeks back and forth at the speed of craziness. Then the instructor deploys the main chute and we get sucked upward relative to the videographer who plummets even further while filming. But something's wrong, and the resistance from the chute disappears as the instructor performs a cut away - the main chute had a line over! This means that the chute deployed and tangled and didn't work! Now we're accelerating downward like before, and I start to sense something is wrong, and before I can really register any of this, the instructor pulls the cord on the emergency chute, and I instinctively reach upward to grab anything to prevent me from falling (not that this would work of course as there's only air everywhere), and then get jerked skyward as the second parachute slows us down to a nice floating gliding descent towards earth (I have harness burns on my shoulders!)

In the distance the videographer films my descent from the ground. It's possible to tell from the video what happened but it is clear that my first chute was green and when I land its all of a sudden yellow. This, of course, is no camera trick... I was just the first ever chute failure for this instructor in a tandem jump. He of course, loved it and couldn't stop yelling about it! I immediately became a hit with the people at the club and we all sat around to have a beer and talk about it, while we waited for the video to be completed. By the time everything was said and done, I spent nearly $300, but it really was worth it, and its something that I've always wanted to say I've done, and now I can! And I can prove it!

Daniel

My Vacation

Its time to take a vacation when you are getting slowly burned out, getting sick, and are becoming a bit less productive at work. In fact, I experienced all those things recently, and so I'm now home in Toronto, working on recuperating... And since I've really only had two weeks off in 4 years, I figure I should just do it!

In any case, I will be spending half of my 1-week vacation in Toronto, and the other half back home in Windsor, and probably catch up on everything my life has been slacking on, like emails and blogging and so forth. I'm also planning to set up my will and power of attorney. Did you know that if you don't have a power of attorney set up, and you get into an accident and are in a coma, then the goverment can decide your fate? I'd prefer someone who knows my wishes to make the decisisons.

So overall, my vacation probably won't be all that relaxing, but it will give me a chance to catch up on everything including sleep, so that when I go back to work, I'll be able to focus on work, and when I'm off work, I'll be able to not go insane. Although according to some, the threshhold between sanity and insanity isn't well defined for me.

And one other thing, there are some otters I know that have started a weblog, which you can see at http://theadventuresofpipandpop.blogspot.com because as everyone knows, otters are people too!

Daniel

I'm Back

I know. I haven't posted anything recently. This is because a lot has happened, and I was very busy and distracted. But now that I've had a few moments rest, it's a good time to say that I haven't fallen off the Earth. And I also think it's about time to make a more personal blog entry.

Over the course of the last couple of months, I broke up with my girlfriend, was the best man at a wedding, and found out that my best friend was in a car accident. All of these things, and others, have been really teaching me a lot about life, and its not an easy process. I feel highly challenged in my personal growth as a person and as a Christian.

One of the things I'm really trying to figure out is a concept that everyone else seems to understand fairly well, but I continually struggle with. And that is the concept of love. Well, the concept isn't so difficult, but the definition can be. What I mean is, how do you know that you love someone? I'm referring to anyone, be it your parents, your friends, your spouse, your relatives. What makes you sure that you love them? And for that matter, can you ever be sure? Is believing you love somebody enough to make it true?

I believe that I do love my parents, for example, but I don't say that to them very much (I'm trying to do it more). I believe that I love my friends, but I never say it. And why? I don't even know why. The only explanations that I have seem to be that either I am afraid, uncertain or unqualified to make such a statement. The reading in church today (which prompted this post) was the one in which Jesus says "No one has greater love than to lay down his own life for his friends" (John 15:13), and although that seems like a good starting point, it isn't easily applicable in everyday life.

I often remind myself of that scene in the movie Ghost where Demi Moore's character tells Patrick Swayze's character that she loves him. He can't say it back since he knows that people everywhere say it and don't mean it all the time. Even though it's very obvious from the rest of the movie that he really does love her, it seems like he is stuck on the same concept as me, which prevents him from telling her that he loves her. This makes me think its more a psychological issue than an intellectual one both in the movie and in my life.

My reflection today on the verse led me toward the thought that if the greatest love is when you lay down your life for a friend, then this would imply that there are different degrees of love for another person. If what Jesus is talking about is the greatest love, then maybe there is such a thing as great love, or even good love, or just simply love, and its all just different kinds or different degrees, or different amounts. So I have a few friends where maybe I would hesitate to actually take a bullet for them. But I'm thinking now, as I write this, that it does not therefore mean that I don't love them. And this seems to be what I'm trying to internalise and believe, but I haven't been able to fully do that yet.

Anyway, I would "LOVE" to hear what other people's concepts of knowledge of love are in the above context. And please don't start talking about the three kinds of love using Latin terminology okay? I'm talking about real love for another person with with whom you have a relationship, love in its most general and basic kernel, whatever that means.

Daniel

Reflections On Another Year

To be honest I couldn't remember where I was on my birthday last year until I dug into my records and realised that the reason was probably because I was alone in Germany for work. The night was an uneventful one, spent at a hotel in Coburg. I guess the company bought me dinner though. But its always better to spend a birthday with at least one person that is truly important to you. This time I spent the evening with my friends John and Mel in Dashwood, so it was time well spent. Actually this birthday turned out really good, as I got a wonderful surprise in an email. Anyway, this seems like a good time to be introspective, and to ask how I've bettered myself.

Some good things I've done:

• Took my Professional Practice Exam with PEO, for my engineering license in Canada (no result yet, but I'm pretty sure I passed)
• Undertook significant new projects and management responsibilities at GM
• Bought my first major purchase: my car (which I have named "Ruby")
• Travelled so much my that I've almost been refused entry to some countries because of my tattered passport (my stats: 27 stamps, 10 of 20 pages used so far)
• Been to 2 new countries: Netherlands (I drove across the entire country), and Italy, to bring my count to 15, if I'm not missing any: Canada, USA, Dominican Republic, N.Ireland, England, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, India, Japan
• Learned to speak German (understanding German is still difficult!)
• Drove a car the fastest I have ever personally driven anything (this was on the Autobahn)
• Became a Platinum member at the Marriott
• Started my blog
• Officially moved out of Toronto -- I'm now residing in Windsor
• Started swing dancing -- I'm no longer a beginner
• Joined my Jazz Quartet
• Finally wrote my first really good song
• Took my first real vacation in 3 years
• Visited my grandparents in my ancestral home
• Spent my first Christmas without any of the following: snow, cold weather, being in Canada, my parents

Important lessons I've learned:

• Don't forget to talk with the people you care about regularly
• Not deciding something is a decision in itself, and usually its a bad decision
• Work is important, but not the most important (I only put the second half of this into action recently)
• Accept your feelings, and don't suppress them
• Recognise when you've received a gift - It's too easy to fail to see the ones that are not wrapped
• Don't be afraid of love
• Confidence will greatly enhance your life

Now, to establish goals for the next year!

Daniel

Yanksgiving

Last year, I got the short end of the holiday stick. In 2004, Canadian Thanksgiving was in October, and of course, I was in the U.S.A., and inevitably in Canada during American Thanksgiving (aptly named Yanksgiving by Sarah) in November. This year, on the other hand, I was in the right countries for both, and celebrated with my family in Canada, and with friends of friends in the USA. So I guess I'm on par again, averaging about 1 Thanksgiving per year.

I'll take this opportunity to give thanks to those who have been reading my weblog. If you're one of those silent readers, please leave a comment every now and then so I know you're there!

Daniel

A Nomad No More? No Madness?

I've been a nomad for a long time, travelling on planes trains and automobiles, mostly for work, although I have met some very wonderful people through my travels. However, it has kept me so busy, I haven't had time to think. I also haven't had a car, or a place to live until very recently. And that's what this post is about. I was finally forced by work to get a place to live locally. I'm still returning home and maintaining my resident status in Toronto, but will be staying in Michigan to work at GM, thanks to my friend Ann, who is renting me a spare room in her gigantic house (with a sweet sound system). The cool thing about having a roommate is that you come home, and even if no one is around, there are signs of life, and things have moved around magically! I went grocery shopping for the first time in years and it was kind of exciting! Yes its amazing: red, orange and yellow bell peppers are 1.5 times more expensive than green ones.

Will I still move to Windsor (which was the original 30-minute commute plan)? I don't know... I do hate the 1 hour commute. For now I'm liking the non-nomadic style of having a nice place, so time will tell.

Daniel