Suddenly -- DecemebersteemCreated with Sketch.

in #blog5 years ago

A Quick Trip to Vancouver Last Weekend

To Celebrate the Upcoming Holidays

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This is how me and Helo celebrate anything

Returning back to the island and suddenly it's cold. Suddenly I'm running out of time for almost everything. Suddenly it's December. The hours of daylight are pretty steadily decreasing -- and it's wearing on me. Slowing me down, wearing me down, and making me tired.

The year is running out of time. The work keeps piling up with no end in sight. But, it also means that the sunshine is slowly coming around the corner again. Every now and then, through the over-cast winter months here, we get a few peeks of the sunshine.... Travelling back and forth between Vancouver this weekend was a glorious opportunity for some vitamin D.

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This Van certainly makes taking the ferry a little more bearable. Queen size bed and a couple pups! What more could you ask for!?

Just remember. If today is December 3rd, and the days are extra short -- we're only 18 days away from the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and the turnaround point to some more sunny days! So raise your glass and lift your spirits, for we're almost out of it.

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Not a Creature was Stirring...

It's awfully quiet here on Steem these days. I imagine that has a whole lot to do with the low prices of everything -- which I find strange. People keep using Instagram and Facebook, despite the fact that they get nothing in return, and are actually themselves the ones being monetized. Their private information is sold to the highest bidder, and their social networks are manipulated for political purposes (though, the same thing could almost certainly happen here).

I've powered up a bit of Steem over the last month, and I have to say -- it's definitely a nice change getting higher curation rewards. An extra STEEM or two each week for finding stuff that I think is interesting? Yes please, don't mind if I do!

I see a lot of potential with STEEM coming up -- it's an easy way for people to dabble with "entrepreneurial spirit". Got a cool idea that you think you can put together? Take a shot! Snag a domain name / do some coding for an app / play around a bit, and see what you can't come up with. Network with people and try to make some friends. It's a low bar for entry (which may be both good and bad), and it's enabling some pretty creative people. I'm excited to see what 2019 brings to the ecosystem around here for projects.

Most of all, I'm looking forward to a little bit of time to rest and recharge at the end of December, and hopefully gain some of the momentum that I've misplaced along the way. Those of you that know me a little bit probably understand that I don't care much for "traditions" or "traditional ways of doing things". I'm working on a project called Exhaust... I don't particular care about seeking out delegators (though, if people wish, they're more than welcome), or writing out a business plan / whitepaper. I'm excited about building a tool that I want to use, and using it to carve out a cool community.

In line with things that I don't care for, are "New Years Resolutions". While it's true that I think NYR's are stupid, I should clarify a bit:

  • I think that GOALS and TARGETS are great and everyone should probably set some realistic goals for themselves in the near, medium, and long-terms; but
  • Arbitrarily deciding to do something because it's a new calendar year is stupid.

Do something because you want or need to do it -- not because it's a new year. That's like starting somethign because it's a Tuesday, or a 21st.... It's just another day.

So with that in mind, here are a few of my goals -- inclusive of near, medium, and long-term time frames:

Near Term (1 to 8 weeks):

  • Get back into doing some daily bodyweight workouts and a regular yoga practice;
  • Start climbing 2~3x / week at the gym again;
  • Look into OpenProject software package for better time management allocation at work;
  • Develop Calendars, Achievements, and Events for @EXHAUST;
  • Develop my Consultancy Contribution Plan for work;

Medium Term (8 weeks to 6 months):

  • First Exhaust decentralized race;
  • 10k race in Vancouver;
  • Get P.Eng designation for work;
  • Pick and train for next half marathon;
  • Develop VR workflow for work presentations;
  • Lead a project at work;

Long Term (6 months to 1 year):

  • Run half marathon described above;
  • Run Okanagan Half marathon 2019. Aim for PB of under 1:45:00;
  • Bigass camping trip / van convoy w/ Friends and Family summer 2019;
  • Build a drone because I don't want to pay $1200 for one;
  • Climb 2 new 5.11 routes;
  • Seal my first engineering project as a P.Eng.

That's probably enough for now, and I could go on forever probably.. I have a hard time not getting excited about new stuff -- though not all of this is old. Most of it is just repeats from older, missed targets that I'm still excited about. It's important to remember that while setting goals is important, you're bound to not hit some of them -- the journey / practice / training is what is gained in these adventures. It's not explicitly about ticking off one little box saying you've accomplished something. It's about what you pick up along the way.

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

What are some of your goals coming up?

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Duuuuuuude! You're so good at the blogs! The little dog snuggled in the doona is the best thing ever!

I'm so bad at goals... or to clarify, I'm so bad at meeting my goals. If it's something external and immovable, like a ninja comp, then I'm actually pretty disciplined and excellent.... but anything else, and I'm just rubbish.

Personally, I've found that I have to make it part of my regular routine to get any traction... so running every lunchtime on Mon, Wed, Fri works better than, say, aiming to run 30km in Dec or something... or doing an hour of coding practise every day between work and exercise works better than having X project completed by Q1 2019.

Totally agree with the NYRs, I'm sure they lead mainly to disappointment.
Don't stress too much on the sluggishness though, I'm sure we've got a lot of DNA/history in us that suggests winter is for resting/hibernating/expending low amounts of energy... I'm sure you're pretty balanced over a whole year though.

Hahaha. "Good at the blogs" is a huge stretch.. I just sat down, shared a couple photos from the weekend, and did some quick word vomit. I'm hoping to get a bit better and find some interesting things to write about one of these days -- but thanks for the kind words.

If it's something external and immovable, like a ninja comp, then I'm actually pretty disciplined and excellent...

I'm pretty similar. I've always found that hard deadlines for work or race-dates are a great motivator to sticking to a goal.

Personally, I've found that I have to make it part of my regular routine to get any traction..

Agree again! And I think this is why I'm struggling lately. My routine is all over the place, and it's hard to get into a rhythm. I guess it's kinda how life goes, and I"m being a bit of a baby -- but it's tough.

Winter times are tough (though, it's a beautiful day outside today... going for a walk in a moment, actually).

Here's hoping that a little bit of sunshine can clear up my mood and rejuvinate my spirit a bit. It doesn't help much that I've started a mental countdown in my head until my winter vacation starts and I can take a break from work. I need to stop looking at calendars for the next 3 or 4 weeks, I think.

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