Paddling to a New Perspective

Last weekend I was in North Carolina with my wife’s family at their lake house. It was a whirlwind adventure and even though it didn’t bring much sleep, I got a lot of ‘recharge’ time. I got to do a lot of things I don’t usually do like canoeing, swimming, tubing, BBQ’ing, eating Whataburger, sleeping in my ENO hammock… stuff like that.

But early on Sunday morning, I decided to go for a short canoe trip. The sun was just coming up and I thought I would paddle around the cove. Once I got out on the water, I changed my destination. I was going to paddle to the bridge my father in law said was exactly one mile away. In a flat bottom canoe. By myself.

Staying somewhat close to the shore, everything seemed to move pretty fast. Well, not fast but I could tell I was making progress. It was tedious to switch sides after every stroke but that’s all I could do to keep going in a straight line.

As I ventured away from the safety of the shore and into the open of the lake, everything changed. I couldn’t tell if I was getting any closer to the bridge and even thought maybe the current was pushing me backwards. I lost my point of reference.

After a few seconds of desperately trying to find a point to lock on to but finding none, I suddenly felt my arms weakening after each stroke. It truly felt as if I was no longer propelling my boat through the water but was attempting to move the entire Earth below me.

What saved me was focusing on these tiny little pulp looking things that were floating on the surface of the water. There weren’t many but when I saw them and ‘sped’ past them, it gave me much relief to know I was actually progressing.

Yeah it’s kinda silly to freak out about that but it was crazy at how different I felt when I just shifted my perspective.

If you are going through a difficult time at the moment, just try to look at it from another angle. You may be surprised at what you find and you may even find it not as bad as you thought.

I need to write more

Why?

I use Twitter as my main writing platform, there’s no getting around it. According to TweetDeck, I average 12 tweets a day. I really thought it would be more than that… Anyway, that’s potentially 12 different topics for me to choose from, and expand on.

Twitter can also feel a little too ‘short form’ to get big ideas across. And really, it’s called microblogging for a reason.

I want to have a more lasting impression. Both in a way for friends and family to follow along with my life and even just to create a more searchable archive (I love going back and reading past blog posts!).

Twitter and other microblogging services can give an ‘at a glance’ view of a person but to really get to know them, you need to hang out with them more. In this day and age, that space is usually online.

I also want to write more because I think I’m a horrible writer. Some of you may not think that but if you are any of my past English teachers, I apologize. So how does one get better at something? By doing more of it! Ultimately I need to do it [writing] correctly but I need to at least be in the motion of doing.

So that’s what I plan on doing.

Bonus Resources:

• Expand Your Social media Mix: Twitter Alone is Not Enough /via Web Strategist
• 19 Reasons You Blog and Not Just Tweet /via The Future Buzz
• Steak or Pepper /via Gary Vaynerchuk

Photo by Flickr user Irish Typepad

I am GORUCK Tough

On May 7th, I completed the GORUCK Challenge (class 031) in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and will be forever changed. If you aren’t familiar with the Challenge, it’s billed as a team event that lasts 15-20 miles and around 8-10 hours. Although, the cadre loves to under promise and over deliver.

Straight from their site, here is the Challenge in a nutshell:

You and your fellow Challenge takers all wear GORUCK backpacks throughout the Challenge.  Yes, your bags will be weighted down with bricks, but if the Challenge were easy you wouldn’t sign up. In fact, the greatest hurdle is signing up.  We are proud that the pass rate is over 98%.

You won’t know the route but it showcases the best of every city. Think of it as a guided tour.  The miles don’t disappear on their own, and 8 to 10 hours can feel like a lifetime.  Welcome to our version of good livin’.

To read my full story, click HERE.

Move with Purpose. Literally.

Dupont Circle Metro Station

Yes there are times to stop and smell the roses. Yes there are times to walk slowly and enjoy the sights. But those times aren't all the time.

I'm writing this as I'm on the Metro and should probably revise it before posting because I'm a little cranky. Thanks to all the Metro zombies.

[Metro zombies: slow walkers, tourists, dawdlers, inattentive commuters...]

When you see others that are trying to get somewhere, allow them to get there! Well, the biggest problem is that most of these people are oblivious.

Look, I'm going to end my rant now but if you want to be on my good side, just stay out of my way. That's really about it.

Tunes Tuesday

I've had this song consistently on repeat. Just good stuff. Don't pay too much attention to the video, it's just the best audio version on YouTube.

Does me liking this make me a hipster? 

Weekend Highlights

Can't remember the name of the dish...

Saturday:

- Slept in (much needed)
- Cleaned the house & computer (real life and digitally!)
- Went to Bertucci's (with gift card from Pop!)

Sunday:

- Dropped Jenni off in DC for her GRE test (she did amazingly well!)
- Made it to DC Metro Church in time for the 11:30 service
- Took a nap outside on the Potomac.

The wife and the pup in the ENO hammock.