As For Me and My House...

Vulnerability is a trait frowned upon by many and yet it is characteristic to human existence. Compared to even some of God’s other earthly creations the human form in all its glory, is pretty pathetic. Rhino, Elephant, and an Eagle with issues… Yeah not hard predict who’d win these matchups.

If anything it is human ego that stands in our way of seeing this truth. Sometimes we can be so full of it that we blinded to how a very thin line forms the border between us and harm. On the other hand, those of us who are aware, also run from this truth by hiding behind pretense and false bravado. Ah, the human condition. Can we truly say that we can improve ourselves through focused effort? Thoughts to ponder…

As for me and my house. A house of 1. A single point has been driven time and time again during my stay here: I am out of element. And that is more to do with life on this planet rather than location. I am out of my element and I need constant guidance, mercy, and care from my Heavenly Father to navigate through the fog.

They say you’re future unfolds as you lay dreaming about it…

Quite a number of years ago a dear friend of mine introduced me to the concept of writing out my top 10 goals for my future. Don’t know if I followed through on that but I figure now is a good time to list them out anew. So here are my top ten goals for the next 2 years beginning with the first five in this entry.

-Experience God’s will and love in my life in a tangible way.
-Finish my Master’s Degree.
-Obtain my Adobe Photoshop & InDesign ACE exams.
-Reach “cycling ready” fitness level.
-Clear all debt and restore credit rating.

Anyway still a bit under the weather so I’mma take a break and sleep for a bit. Back to the grind… er pressure washer tomorrow!!!

Me and My Porsche...

I am so dog gone tired. I’m also a bit under the weather. I guess that is because I wasn’t very healthy this week. Let us see I had 3 Ice Caps from Timmy’s and horrors an upsized McDonald’s Quarter Pounder Meal in the midweek. Horrors! So no surprise that I got the sore throat and chills going on…

The highlight of my week, other than get phone calls and emails from my T-dot friends, certainly had to be finally getting replacement glasses from my parents. As you know, they got me a set for my birthday but we were not happy with the final results and had to return the product back to the vendors. We took a full refund and I decided to wait to consult my personal optician, Christine regarding the nuances of eyewear choice. Armed with that information I approached the vendors at Hauck located in the Parkland Mall here in Red Deer.

I had glanced through their selection at an earlier date and fell in love with the Porsche frame line. I quickly picked out a pair of P8000 series titanium frames and opted for Nikon 1.74 high-index lenses which are currently the most cutting edge of all lens designs. The optician told me that my lenses would take about a month to arrive from Japan since they were a specialty item. I told them I had waited over a year to replace my Perry Ellis frames and one month would not hurt especially if I liked the end results.

Surprisingly, due to an early shipment of lenses, my eyewear was ready yesterday evening and I had my glasses on my face sooner than I thought. I am stoked about that development and I love my new eyewear. They definitely take my look into a new direction while keeping the same general vibe. And gosh are they light!!!

Anyway I had better go eat supper and hit the sack early. I don’t feel very well and I good long sleep with will do me good. Before go I’d like the thank Andrea for keeping my company this week and for the book. I hope find time to read it and explore what appears to be a fascinating world!

The Journey...

So I’m totally enjoying my day off and figured it has been a while since I wrote anything in my blog. Well, here goes…

I’m really grateful that I got the job at Budget mainly because I think that even while I’m in school I can work on my financial future. I really don’t want to come out on the other hand with nothing in savings and having debt. I also see it as an opportunity to work on replacing my bike and invest in some digital imaging equipment.

I must confess that I am a bit intimidated by the being completely out of realm when it comes to customer service, but I guess it is something worth exploring especially within the relative safety of living with my parental units for the moment. After all isn’t the history of my family based on dealing with challenging situations?

This past weekend saw the close of the 2008 Alberta Campmeeting and I must confess that I have mixed feelings about the whole affair. While there were some really nice moments where I was reminded that I was loved by God, I still feel disconnected from the SDA church.

I was reminded that I couldn’t look to anyone else as perfect Christian examples and so much plays into a person’s spirituality more so than what religion they belong too. Moments like that made me feel lonely but I realize the loneliness stems from the fact that I need to spend more time with God and concentrate on where He is leading me. Otherwise I will be overwhelmed by the choices and options out there.

For now I am content to focus on my goals and dreams with the understanding that modification, setback, and re-evaluation are all part of the journey.

Reflections on The Way...

I’m glad this Sunday is off to a relatively low key start. I have a lot to accomplish this week including gauging how long it will take me to cover the material for my InDesign ACE exam. There is a ton of material to cover and for the next two weeks I’ll be focusing on the layout review which will be 16% (the largest portion) of the exam according to the reviewer.

I went with Mom and Dad to the African Association Campmeeting yesterday and it all went ok. I enjoyed the song services because they put an African spin on practically every song and they did so singing acapella! (Come to think of it, are there any African inspired songs that don’t do well acapella?) But the service dragged on long and I snuck out of the Canadian University College (CUC) gym (or was it the high school gym? Not sure.) where the camp meeting was being held, and headed for the College Heights SDA church to see if I could catch the sermon of Bill Santos (who was the keynote speaker for the day).

I was only going to catch a few minutes of his sermon but I was drawn in by his message. Although his exact words escape me, the gist of the sermon was grounded in the concept of finding our purpose through self-denial and a commitment to God. This spoke to me because I’ve experienced many upheavals during the past year or so where I’ve lost sight of any sense of purpose. And even though I have new goals now the seeds of doubt and fear do sprout and I often still wonder if I can do this. Also, more importantly, am I intended to do this?

I would like to say that I had a Hollywood moment and the answer just appeared miraculously on the wall. But this was not so. I just had profound sense of lack and that I indeed needed help. Not the kind of help that you look inwards to find (a route or belief system that seems so popular these days). Rather there was a sense that Devine intervention was an option I truly needed to give a chance.

One of the aspects of self-denial is reliance and or dependence on a greater power. This dependence runs through every aspect of living so much so that even the power to let go and trust is even provided through this dependence. Whether you ascribe to this concept or not, you have to admit that it is indeed deep. I, for one, would really like to give it a try.

To those of a Christian background this may all seem cliché, but how many of us have actually given the fundamental core of our belief system a chance? And by chance I mean a wholehearted effort grounded in the understanding that even the ability to stick to that effort is provided for if we reach out in faith and trust?

Lookin' For The ACE Up My Sleeve...

Hello kids! I know I usually fill out an extensive blog pretty much every day of a “normal” week but this week I’m streamlining things a bit. This is because, after working on my Master’s Degree for the past 3 months and making that my sole focus, I’m adding a few more goals to the mix.

Of equal priority to my degree are the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) exams. These exams were instituted by Adobe [the premiere graphics software manufacturer and creator of Photoshop] in 1995 of means of setting a standard for graphic’s professionals. In short, they are the equivalent of board exams for other professions like nursing and physical therapy. (And believe me the sample questions appear just as hard as an MCAT sample! Of course I'm biased and my view is slanted.)

While becoming an “ACE” is not currently a prerequisite to working most jobs in the industry, the field is dynamically changing and they soon could be. I am focusing on these exams for two reasons: 1. Prepping for and passing them would solidify my confidence in my software skills. 2. The ACE exams are prerequisites to the Adobe Certified Instructor (ACI) exams which, after I take those, would solidify my confidence to instruct software at the university level.

Hence the cutback in extracurricular activity, including my daily blogging, because the review material for my first ACE exam is quite extensive. While I am familiar with the material, I know I have to bump up my sharpness a few notches before I would be ready to take my first exam. I have allowed myself a 9 week prep window commencing fully this coming week.

In other news I have an interview tomorrow afternoon with Vector Marketing. I’ve been considering working for while now because I’d like to start saving some money and replace my bike. (Note: Aren't the lines on the Specialized Tarmac SL2 below simply lovely?) However I’ve been skeptical because I know the exams and school are the priority and they certainly cannot suffer because of work. I also don’t want it mess with my workout schedule which is producing such good results in my health progress. I’m still a bit nawt sure as I read through their website but I figure I’ll give them a shot and any interview can be a source of training for future opportunities... so bring it!

Tomorrow Dad and I will be going to the Ponoka Stampede. Yee Haw! He figures I’ve been cooped out in the house for a bit so he figures we’ll go watch some cows! I’ll be sure and post pictures!

Anyway I’ll write more on Sabbath afternoon. For now have a great Friday ya’ll!

Hungry...

As this week winds down to its close, I laugh to myself because I kind of slacked off in general. I didn’t even resume working out till Wednesday which was 2 days since the last session on Sunday. Bad bad bad bad bad!

But I’d have to say that several good things happened this week. I now have my Alberta’s Driver’s Licence after working through some hurdles to get all the associated paperwork done, my latest grad program class has an outstanding grade, and I finally replaced defective eyewear that I’m been using for a year. I’ll debut them in a week or so. So things are looking positive and I am truly grateful, humbled, and feel blessed.

There are still obstacles ahead and I have 20 more credits before I get that Master’s Degree so the fight isn’t over yet. But for now I know I can rest head off to Edmonton with my Dad and chill for at least one more day.

Its back to the grind on Sunday and I look forward to it.

The Grades Be In!

After a few days of nervous waiting, I finally got my final grade from my latest grad degree class and I have to say I’m thrilled with it!! I am particularly happy with my performance over last two weeks. It was a hard class, the first class that I truly felt was a real graduate level course and I’m glad I rocked it! God is definitely good and carries me through my struggles.

Mom and I just got back from eyewear shopping; yes I’m finally replacing my old worn and busted frames with a new set (courtesy of the parental units for my birthday). My prescription has not changed much over the past 5 years so that’s a good thing. I originally picked out a pair of Porsche Titanium frames that have a really cutting edge shape and design to them, but they were a bit pricy so I relented. I figure I’m back in school and I can splurge on that stuff when I’m doing and working again. So I settled on some nice Ray-Ban rimless frames which also allowed me to pick up a pair of Ray-Ban semi-aviator style sunglasses as well for a reasonable price. No need to be pretentious at this stage in the game but no need to be out of style neither!

In a weird, universes colliding, and Twilight Zone twist, my new optician’s name is Christina. (All of you who know my eyewear history know that my Toronto optician’s name is Christine!) Christina was really nice and friendly but I have to say that I miss Christine [thats her with the mic, she sings] a whole lot. It’s nice when your service providers are also your good friends. And to be honest Christine… is a lot more fun and gorgeous! When I get back to the T dot, I’ll be sure to get those Porsche frames from her.

Anyway my arms, chest, and stomach are still tingling a bit from yesterday’s successful workout. I’m always adjusting to try new things to stress my muscles in a new way. I’m still not sure how far I can push myself and without any one to spot me I’d rather err on the side of caution. There is also the matter of proper technique and training my mind to constantly focus on quality over quantity. But we’re getting there and December is fast approaching!

Well that’s it for now. The new eyewear should be in within the next week or so and I’m looking forward to having frames I don’t constantly have to tape up to keep on my face! (Aint that totally geeky?!)

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