Blog post

On route along hwy 2 south on Sunday I was passed by a fella about my age on a bike travelling around 150k.  He looked confident and in control, travelling between the slower traffic with certainty. T-shirt fluttering, tore jeans, beany helmet, pipes rattling.

Only five minutes further down the road, the bike was in a crumpled heap, flocks of cars pulled over, ill equipped bystanders offering whatever minimal aid they could contrive.

This accident follows another that occurred only a month prior. Along the Anthony Henday later at night the same scenario, however the speed was less and the young fella was standing at the time we came to find him.  Both accidents hit me very hard.

Seeing this reassures the finiteness of life.  Perhaps if we knew the length of time each of us had we would allocate our commitments differently, make our decisions with greater certainty, and come to realize what really is of most importance to us. Everyone say's, live your life to the fullest, but really hasn't defined what that is.

I really like to think back to the two questions of, where am I, and what am doing.  Taking this moment I have found so beneficial to staying aware and in the moment.  Staying in the moment forces the additional question of;  Why am I doing this?

When I tack this on I reassure myself that I am not just doing things for the sake of routine, but actually doing something for a purpose. 

I very much believe that my life has a purpose.  If you don't believe this, you at least have to believe that your life has an effect.  How can we expect to get fulfilment in our life if we do not keep ourselves accountable for wasted time?

Currently I am bouncing around through jobs this August, recently returning from a very long week in the Smoky Lake region, back down to Sylvan lake for a small job, then up to Athabasca. Continually posing the question, where am I, what am I doing, and why?  Had a chance to cheer my wife on at the Mud Hero for a couple hours on Sunday also.

Vince.

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

June 1 Update

Lately things are really turning into a struggle.  Seeing another demo opportunity fleet past is a bit discouraging.  I want to be involved in the demo’s, in Rotary runs, in park clean ups, and parades.  I want to raise my hand and volunteer for organizing and getting things moving, and it kills me to sit in silence at a meeting.  I know that I have something to offer to help the year of the Horse take off.

I haven’t figured it out.  It is truly a rock and hard place.  I have on occasion put the truck into warp drive from Vegreville country across to Stony Plain knowing that there is no chance of me making it for class, but still ever hoping and trying.  It ends up in a missed Kung Fu opportunity, falling behind in paperwork, and burning hours of time that could be used as sleep. I have to evaluate every minute where time is best spent.

Yesterday my wife pulled together an evening for my bday where I got a chance to throw a couple casts with the fly rod out with the family and a couple friends.  It was a reset and recharge that was much appreciated.  This week, it is back to Weyburn Saskatchewan.

vincekrebs@blogspot.com

How To Make Me Awesome

“Try surrounding yourself with friends who ask more of you than you do” It’s a part of the philosophy of mastery we are familiar with. For the last couple weeks I have been away for work, and as always the biggest adjustment is being away from the team atmosphere of the I Ho Chuan, the students, and Sifu’s of Silent River.

People who strive to be exceptional are addicting to be around.  This is probably because they produce a synergy that helps challenge, support, and holds us accountable in our development of mastery. But what do you do when circumstances are such that the support is vacant, or at least not at arm’s length?

Mostly I have been looking internally when approaching the I Ho Chuan this year.  Equally important, however, is to make everyone around me……Awesome. If everyone around me is awesome, than I have no other option but what to work towards awesomeness also! Forget about making lemonade out of lemons, I am talking about growing a lemon tree so I can produce a lemonade factory!

So, one thing I have been doing lately is getting pushy. Not in the negative sense however.  Rather, challenging the people I work with to stretch themselves beyond limits.  This has two results, it is somewhat self-serving in the fact that it has generated that missing energy that I am used to from training partners, and secondly it produces an exceptional work product.  Rather than making exceptions for my workers, I am trying to help my co-workers become exceptional so that I will have no excuses for being mediocre.

I figure this will help with my I Ho Chuan year, or I will have a mutiny.  Let’s see how this pans out.

vincekrebs@blogspot.com

 

May 9th

Friday was May 9^th. Which is a day of remembrance for our family.  A day for the past five years where we spend it together. Work and Kung Fu will have to wait until after we take in the sunshine of the mountains.  It will wait until after we walk the trails and explore the Maligne River gorge. It will wait until we balance on logs and climb boulders. It will wait until we throw rocks in the emerald green pools of the river. It will wait until trees are climbed and a boy falls up to his waist in the river.  For this day….it can all be put off until tomorrow.

                          Can you find the forester?