Well as Summer winds down and the weather shifts I am reflecting not only this Summer but the year. This year started off by burying my Grandmother which was sad, but no one lives forever even if you think they will. That showed me upfront the finality of life. This Summer has been one of the best so far and have gained a lot of insight into myself and other things.
TRAVEL
Road Trip!
Fast forward to July when school broke for the Summer. I decided to go on a up north trip and visit some of my old stomping grounds, such as SUNY Canton and Fort Drum. Before I left I planned on staying in Syracuse which is a good middle point for NY state, from there I was able to venture out in any of the four cardinal directions. I started by taking a drive out to Niagara Falls. That was an awesome experience watching nature do its thing. The New York side is cool as you can really walk around the park; but the Canadian side is where the view will show you the true glory of the falls. You can walk across the bridge into Canada. There you buy some liquor from the Duty Free. Try “Ice Wine” champagne; it’s like candy flavored Champagne! The next day I visited Fort Drum where I met up with my old boss and mentor from the Army Ed Malinowski. Visiting Fort Drum was cool seeing the place where I learned to Soldier was awesome. The place has changed but is still the same. We ate at the DFAC (Dining Facility) and talked about benefits of Army life and the even better life as a Veteran.From Fort Drum I visited SUNY Canton was about a hour drive from Ft. Drum. Canton looked the same, but I strolled through the park and stuff. Was a good way to set the Summer off and break from school.
Niagara Falls from the Bridge to Canada
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Dan Akykroyd’s quirky Vodka Bottles
Visiting Fort Drum
LondonTown!
London aka The Motherland!
Going to London was a blast! Last time I went I was a bit of a tourist this time I chilled out and immersed myself in London Pub culture. I still have family out there and as always they made me feel at home and welcome. During this time the Olympics was going on and I got a one in a lifetime chance to hold the Olympic Torch and the medals being used for the events. My Uncle lives close to the Olympic Stadium so we went by there on the day of the opening ceremony. Seeing people from all over the world gathered in one place was amazing. You could feel the energy of excitement and felt the pride of London in the air. That day was another highlight of my trip.
Holding The Olympic Torch!
The Stadium where the Games where played.
Back to the Pub culture though, I don’t know how the British do it!(even though I am a pseudo Brit) I thought my Army peoples drank a lot but every night is a party night there. The weather was awesome and only rained when I was leaving. I guess London was sad I was departing! Was a great vacation and nothing beats coming home to New York. I like traveling as it takes you out of your “zone” and lets you see the world from out outside of your bubble. Got some inspiration and renewed energy from my “Motherland” while I was gone also.
Always a Party in London.
Good Peoples and good drinks..
HEALTH & FITNESS
Health
Okay, this is a real personal, if you read “Some Healthy Things To Think About” you know about my path on personal fitness. Some may think I am a little obsessed which is probably true but anyway, but I do things that my future self will thank me for. Also I haven’t mentioned my food allergy. Since I was a child I have had eczema, it comes and goes and is a nuisance to say the least. But the Fall of 2011 I had a really bad outbreak of it. A month out of work bad. At first it was all about treatments. But I thought about this and decided to find the cause and not just keep putting a Band Aid on it. I mean something must be causing this right? So I went to an Allergist and had my blood analyzed. Well here is the shortlist of the things I can’t eat anymore:
- Soy
- Wheat
- Dairy
- Nut Products
- Scallops
Yeah! Sucks right? No more of my Baked BBQ Ziti with Three Cheeses. No more Ice Cream! Chocolate Cake! But I survived and just find foods that are allergen free. Eczema is a hassle and to parents with children look to what they are eating if they have this condition. Adults you too could have an allergic reaction too food in the form of Eczema.
Fitness
This Summer I was dedicated my fitness routine to Yoga. I put Yoga as the base from which everything else fitness wise branches from. Personally it has made all other exercises and movements I do much more fluid, focused and finally powerful. Yoga will make you aware of your body and how use it. I think that Yoga makes your body strength more resilient and lets you control and manipulate the weights better. Let me add that Yoga is a good way of harnessing your energy and focusing it properly. I concentrated on Body Weight exercises more as this develops more body control. This added with weight training and Aerobics and I am enjoying the benefits of a healthy body.
This is a hobby and what I call “Playtime”, exercise is when I go have fun to work on my skill and learn my craft. There are many tools that I use to perfect my craft. I have exercises that i do more than some and even have favorites. Also I make a list of exercises to do so I stay on track and don’t forget what to do. So when I am at the gym I am in the zone and can stay on track. This way also I have exercises that get results . In the future I will share exercises and other things to help you stay healthly and fit.
Here is a list of some of the things I don’t go to the Gym without:
- Jump Rope
- Yoga Mat
- Vibram Five Fingers
- Interval Timer
- Chalk
- Mp3 Player
With these items here I can do the impossible!
Motivation
As I mentioned my Grandmother is gone and when I seen her get buried I told myself that all my negative aspects and thoughts would be “buried” as well. That I will live my life freely and without regrets. Then I stumbled upon this word:
Arete
This word means excellence in any kind. This is how I have decided to live my life from now on. Now you may think that its a pretty daunting task but if you think about it, its not. From this I give 100% to what ever i do, there will be days when I may feel down or low but in the long run this word will keep me focused and driven to succeed and move forward. This is why I decided to start a Blog. Not only to keep myself focused and accountable,but too also share what I know with others and they can share with me as well. As time goes I will expound on this principle more.
‘It’s manifested, the Gods work like appliances
Dealin in my cypher I revolve around sciences’ (GhostFace,Criminology 1995)
CONCLUSION
So this is where we are at right now. Looking forward to the future and still living in present. I hope everyone else out there had a great Summer and will share some stories with us as well.
Peace,
Dean Joseph
Dean Joseph 