Camp Teepee Pole

Potato cannons, rifles, rockets, power boats, zip lines, and a real lack of supervision, pretty much sums up Camp Teepee pole.

This camp holds a lot of memories for me.  I attended this summer camp for boys from age 11 until I was about 17.  It is a high test youth camp that involved climbing and rappelling, white water rafting, shooting rifles and shotguns among other things. For eighteen years I thought of coming back as a counsellor to give back into something that was so influential in my life. 

Well this week I completed 6 days of counselling at Camp Teepee Pole and successfully achieved one of my I Ho Chuan goals.  There is so much to be said about this camp.  Right now though, I want to thank my wife Stephanie for her encouragement and sacrifice of her own time as camp cook to help make this possible for me and my son (he attended as well.)

Burnt fingers from fire starting, hundreds of bruises from field games, half drowned kids tubing down rivers, countless cuts from carving and pocket knives, tree climbing injuries, a broken toe, and the list went on and on.   It was a week where at any given moment there was something hazardous going on.  But that is what makes this camp one of a kind for boys turning to young men.  From the side of a counsellor I finally realize the sacrifice that went into providing this experience when I was a kid.  Something at the time I really took for granted.  As difficult a week as this was, it is something that I plan to continue to do.  In a way I think this camp needs people that under think safety, tend to have a lot of kid in them….people just like me.

 

vincekrebs@blogspot.com

Word to the Runner Haters

Whether it’s from the police, teeth and claws, or just for fun, whether you like it or not, running is essential.  For something so simple, people have sure made it complicated.  Super gels, and sport drinks, runners, trekking poles, fanny packs, heart monitors, timers and GPS locators, to rub sticks, and breathable clothing, the list goes on and on.  I think the reason for this is because running can be boring as dirt.

Some things that I find that really make running enjoyable:

-Have a meaningful purpose to your run.  I think this is the number one reason why people do not like running.  Take golf for example. Every golfer is attempting to achieve a hole in one.  If there wasn’t that goal or purpose, golf would be pointless and boring.  Same goes for running.  I think my next running goal will be to high five the Gretzky statue at the hockey rink. Another cool idea is to get involved in geo caching, and make the geo cache the destination for your run.  If you haven’t geocached before, have a look into it.  Kids love it too.

-Make your run an event.  Just because you can run anywhere, doesn’t mean that you should. Yes it is convenient to step out your front door and start running.  Let’s face it, unless you just moved to a nudist colony, you have probably seen the same old sites around your block a hundred times. Try travelling to the mountains for a trail run, or out to a local park (Chickakoo comes to mind).  Anthony Henday to Hawrelak park has some awesome single track trail running.

-The Outdoors Rock!. Winter, summer, rain, or shine. I find adversity really makes a run memorable.  Nobody thinks back and says, wow, that treadmill blew my mind!  Dress for the weather, what doesn’t kill you only makes you know better for next time. 

-Pavement is for Indy cars and sport bikes. I find it’s hard on the knees and generally boring.  Sorry to the Boston Marathoners, but they can keep it.  If you don’t like running, try running really challenging trails, including logs to jump, mud to avoid, hills rocks and roots.  I find if my mind is really engaged on foot placement it is more interesting.

-Join a race.  There is a reason runs like the Mud Hero, Color me Rad, and Zombie runs are blowing up in popularity.  It’s because they are darn fun. Competition makes running fun.

Add in a Kung Fu element.  It’s pretty fun to run to a destination and perform a hand form where you haven’t before.  If you can, bring your weapon along.  Sorry Sihing Chervenka, this might not apply to you.

Anyway, hope a couple of these ideas take out the monotony of running for some people.

Cheers.

VK.

 

P.S. Currently working east of Andrew and Vegreville up to July 20^th where I head to Sundre for a youth camp (Personal I Ho Chuan goal fulfillment) for a week. Likely won’t be at the Kwoon for a bit.

Rocks and hard places

Well this past week has been a trip.  A truck breakdown in Moose Jaw, a part that is backed up such that I am number 201 at the dealership for getting it repaired left me between a rock and a hard place.  A person that relies solely on my vehicle for completing my job, forced me into a midnight bus trip on Friday to Grande Prairie, 0.5hrs of sleep over 36 hours power driving to the kwoon for the I ho Chuan meeting on Saturday.  The meeting was good but really hit me fairly hard.  A combination of emotions from missing Canada Day because of waiting on a dealership in Moose Jaw to diagnose the truck problem, really left me out sorts.  Hearing about the awesomeness of the experience added fuel to the fire.  It’s good to hear and watch the video of the demos going on without you but it does leave a bit of a let down inside.  Especially when all intentions and planning were to hit the Canada day demo.

Understanding that things have not gone well for me in the past 4 weeks in terms of blogging really makes it tough for me to swallow.  Blogging is crucial, but more important is reading teammates blogs.  I haven’t read a teammates blog for several weeks now.  I haven’t posted in several weeks.  For the last three weeks it has been field work, a ton of driving, followed by a mountain of paperwork.  Every day, up at 5, field work, paperwork to very late, start again the next day.  On travel through Edmonton, stop say hi to the kids, drop the oil in the truck, reset for the next project, maybe weed whip the three foot high weeds in the back yard, and get moving to the next project.  I have been ground into a pile of dust the past couple of weeks, and the result has not been positive for me or my family.

As Master Brinker pointed out, there is always time, and excuses lead to missed opportunities.  What I can say though to people who may think my absence is voluntary, is that when I am at home, I am at the Kwoon.  I truly am trying my best to make every possible effort to be a positive member of the team.  I do apologize for my absence, and real lack of involvement in the projects, demo’s, classes, blog posting, and meetings.

Now, moving from the real drag of a read for blog followers, let’s shift gears.  I watched the demo posted, and it looked awesome guys!  It really is very inspiring to watch, especially seeing the improvement of the forms of the members of the team.  The bridge actually looked rehearsed, from a great video perspective as well (fountain and seagulls included).

I had a talk with Sifu Langner outside the kwoon and it led to an interesting conversation.  I realized that the past couple years in the I Ho Chuan, both of which I started off with intents to grade, I made the decision not to follow through because goals of the I Ho Chuan were falling out of reach.  While my effort to complete what I could did not change, my perspective did, which probably affected my performance for that year.  This year I have finally changed my perspective and am not allowing my failures of yesterday to affect my successes today.  Every day I am seeking to move forward.  When I fail, I reset.  This blog is proof of that. 

Oh ya, in case you are a techno geek, camp nowhere, located about 100k west of Manning.  GPS coordinates 57degrees, 18 minutes, 10.82 seconds N.  118degrees, 39 minutes, 9.34seconds W.

vincekrebs@blogspot.com