Category: Outside the Box

Non-mainstream thoughts and musings

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Ain’t What I Used To Be

So finally, after years of fighting it, I’ve finally come to the conclusion that… oh geez, I don’t even know if I can say it…

I can’t physically do the things I used to do. My body is breaking down. What used to be a simple job now takes me twice as long, and I have to recover for a few days afterwards. My back muscles are shot, my joints are failing, my neck crunches like Rice Krispies when I move it in any direction, my hair is falling out, and I could go on. I’ll be 40 in a couple of weeks. I’m starting to get old, and I can feel it.

However, I’m holding on to the one last thing I still can keep from failing: my overall health. I’m eating better now than I ever have before. I’m exercising again (after a terrible accident which kept me off the bike for almost 3 years). I’m sleeping more, I’m listening to my body, and you know what? It’s making a difference.

There are some things I know I just won’t be able to do any more. But I’m going to fight to keep what I have left. And when it’s all said and done, I’ll still be able to do more than if I’d had just let myself go.

I refuse to go down quietly and without a fight.

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Don’t Give Up

Don’t give up.

How many times have you heard those words? I can’t remember how many times I’ve heard or said them, but I know it’s plenty. Usually people won’t say when you’re just trying to tie your shoes “Hey, don’t give up!” unless you really struggle with tying your shoes. So most of the time when you hear it, it’s because you’re trying to do something you don’t think you can do. If it were easy, there’d be no need to say it.

In contrast, the times we say “Don’t give up” are when we see someone going through something we’re pretty sure they can do, it’s just they don’t see it. Or believe it. Sometimes they’re not even trying to succeed, they’re just going through the motions in hopes that some day they will be able to just stop.

It really hurts me when I see people struggling, and I know what they’re going through. It hurts even more if they’re struggling with something I’ve already been through and conquered. Why must they struggle when really, the path they need to go is plain and simple, and will get them where they need to go if they stick with it long enough. Sometimes all it takes is someone telling them “Don’t give up, you’ll get there, you’re heading in the right direction.”

If you’ve heard me say this recently, please don’t see it as patronizing. You couldn’t imagine the pain and hardships I’ve gone through, and yet I’m not dismissing what you’re going through. I know it’s hard. I know it’s not the end of the world, and I know there are much harder things we could be dealing with.

It’s hard, yes. But it is finite. There is an end to it, if only you’ll look up and place one foot in front of the other. Don’t look back; keep moving forward.

And above all, don’t give up.

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Is It Friday Yet?

I’m sorry I haven’t been posting much content here, but the truth is, I just haven’t had time. Work, kids, projects, life gets in the way.

Okay, enough whining. The good news is, I’ve got a great project lined up for the blog- complete with a new domain name to go with it. But again, there’s not much time to work on it. It’s something I feel strongly needs to be done, but man… it’s just so hard to pull this stuff together. I’m also considering venturing into the “video blogging” world, which is both exciting and rather scary. I’m not very good in front of a camera, and I don’t have a lot of video equipment (i.e. none). I never have a quiet house, I don’t have a nice office with nice ergonomic office chairs for my by back and heck… it’s just not going to be easy.

I really feel strongly about it, though, so I’m going to keep trying to make it happen. I’m hoping that once I get some content recorded, things will go more smoothly, but I just don’t know how to start. I really am better at writing than talking.

Well… since you wanted to know… I’m going to be doing articles on using Linux and free software to do live guitar performance (and other instruments, too). The reason I want to do videos is that it’s much easier to show you how to do it. But it just takes time,.

Pray for me, I really want to make this happen. I believe it is something that could really take off, and be useful to a lot of people.

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Cateye Commuter CC-COM10W Review

 

If you’re like me, and you like to ride your bike to places, then you probably have some sort of device on your bike that lets you track miles, speed, time, and so forth. A lot of these bike computers are focused on tracking data for training rides- heart rate, cadence, power, etc.- so when my old Cateye Velo 2 died after 20 years of service, I was very eager to replace it. Plus, Cateye is very much supportive of Bike Commuters… they even run the website www.worldcommute.com which tracks commuting miles.

Commuter

Continue reading “Cateye Commuter CC-COM10W Review”

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Just One Of Those Days

You ever have a day when you just wanted to get on a bike and ride until you were far enough away from your problems that it didn’t matter? Yeah… today was one of those days. I can’t wait until I can retire and get on my bike, and ride across the country as fast or as slow as I want.

So, go to http://www.adventurecycling.org/ and check it out. I’m thinking one day I’ll try to do the Southern Tier– that’s cross country, coast to coast, along the southern border. I live on that route! So if you’re passing through southern Louisiana, get in touch and we can get some bengiets and coffee!

Just because you don’t have enemies, doesn’t mean everyone is your friend. I’m glad I have real friends in my life. I hope you can say the same, too.

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Strength To Continue On

So what happens when you just can’t go on? Do you keep pushing, and just hope you can pull through? Or do you take a step back, look at the situation, and figure out what the best course of action is?

Most of the time, we instinctively buckle down and keep pushing through the bad situation until it’s over… if it ever gets “over”. Sadly, we allow these things to affect the people we love. Sometimes we need to change things, not just for our sake.

I think the hardest part of getting through tough times is being able to distance yourself enough from the problem to come up with a real solution. Not just survival… but being able to objectively look at where you are, and what happened to get you there.

Sometimes you may feel like you can’t get above water long enough to even catch a breath of air, but it is essential for you to be able to look at things apart from your feelings. You can’t come up with solutions if your emotions are running all over the place. I’m not saying it’s easy, I’m a pretty emotional person. But you can’t think through a problem using the same thought process that got you there in the first place.

At the end of the day, however, we’re not going to be able to keep everything together on our own. It’s so important to look for strength outside of yourself- and I’m not talking about another person.

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31

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New Years Devolution

First off: Happy New Years. Glad we made it another year! In an effort to grow closer to my loyal, rabid fan base (all 3 of you) I’ll start off the New Year by giving you a glimpse into my little slice of life.

Over the winter break (my work shuts down from Christmas to after New Years) my family all had the flu. Which means, we pretty much sat around the house watching Christmas movies and playing games. The time was well spent really, and it also gave me time to rest and think. Contrary to popular belief, thinking is one of my favorite pastimes. We laughed a lot, took a lot of cold medicine, took about a thousand temperatures, shivered, sweated, and generally acted like we had the flu. It was glorious.

During this time, I had the chance to experience my family in their natural habitat. I got to see my kids playing with each other, helping each other, aggravating each other. More importantly, I got to interact with them in ways I don’t normally get to as a working dad. They got to be comfortable around me, and we got to have some great conversations.

I’m generally not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. But sometimes, I catch myself breaking resolutions without realizing I had made them in the first place. Have you ever done that? It’s kind of scary, and it says a lot about how our minds work.

For instance: Unbeknownst to me, my brain resolved to ride my bike to work as much as possible. You know how many times I’ve ridden this year? That’s right, none. Zilch. Why does this upset me? Does it make a difference in the grand scheme of things? Not really. But I still feel like a failure.

I also started journaling over the Christmas break. After more than a week, I realized I missed a day… and I immediately felt like a failure again. Did I resolve to write every day? No! But since I had been writing every day, my brain grabbed a hold of that and declared it was something I just had to do. And when I didn’t, I felt failure and disappointment.

Faithful readers, I want you to remember, your brain can and will throw you under the bus for the sake of ego. I fight tremendously with this, because I’m so awesome all the time anyway. (See? There it goes again… sigh)

Seriously, don’t get caught up with New Years resolutions. Instead, you should have a “Year’s End” party, and look back on all the things you actually accomplished that year. Quit trying to sell yourself short… and quit trying to be something you’re not. Celebrate the things you’ve done, not the things you haven’t. There’s nothing wrong with setting goals, but when you tie your self-worth up in something you will eventually fail at, it makes your whole life feel like a failure.

And your life isn’t a failure. If you agree, post up some comments on what you have accomplished last year.

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Some Things Money Can’t Buy

I don’t rant very often, and most people who know me would say I’m a very laid-back guy (some people say if I were any more laid back, I wouldn’t have a pulse). But sometimes, my cynical side thinks bad things about expensive bikes, and snobbish cyclists… and I have to take a long, hard look at what I really enjoy about riding a bike.

I like real casual group rides, the kind where they might stop for donuts and coffee. I’m not interested in Snagging a Strava KOM. I like hanging with my buds, getting lost and finding new trails and roads. I’m the guy who shows up to group rides in baggy shorts and a 35 year old Raleigh, and proceeds to ride whenever, wherever. My jersey pockets aren’t stuffed with Blok Shots, probably just bananas, PB&J and some trail mix in my panniers.

I’ll admit it, I’m tempted to over-think cycling, and so are a lot of other people. But at the end of the day, I don’t need a bunch of stuff to enjoy cycling. That’s part of why I started riding to work. I didn’t want to just ride as a hobby. I wanted it to be a normal part of my life, like breathing, or eating. I wanted to make a difference in the world, and a change in my life.

And I think, overall, I’ve accomplished that. I’ll admit it, my bikes are heavy, mostly cheap, and cobbled together from spare parts. Even if I were concerned about weight, I couldn’t spend serious coin on a bicycle. And I’m here to tell you you don’t have to. I’ve been around long enough to know what you ride isn’t as important as how much you ride. And even that pales in comparison to how much you love to ride. I will always have respect for someone who puts down big miles, especially if they do it on a cheap/heavy bike. Bonus points if you built the bike yourself. Don’t think that you have to have to lay out a lot of money to have a decent commuter bike. Usually, you can use what you have already, and just add to it as you go.

This is how I got started, with a cheap bike. Continue reading “Some Things Money Can’t Buy”