Well, it’s time for something new. 2013 was a year of very interesting and unexpected changes. I hope 2014 will be one of great changes. One of my many goals for the upcoming year is to overhaul my digital life. This is no small undertaking! I’ve already been addressing this task since the clock hit midnight and it’s proving to be a nightmare. It started with an email migration gone wrong. At some point, my photos will be imported to Lightroom instead of iPhoto. I want to tackle online security with a complete update of my passwords and and exploration of data encryption. I know, it all sounds fun!
And then there’s my blog, which has becoming an important part of my life and my digital online presence. I write to recount the adventures and misadventures in my life. I set goals, create lists, track fitness, and write about distant places. Beyonce has received several shot-outs on here, so obviously I treat this blog as gold. Writing keeps my thoughts focused and oftentimes I find the process cathartic.
I’ve come a long way in my personal blogging. I remember wanting to find a way to tell my family about my adventures when I lived in London in 2006. At that time, Yahoo 360 was available and accessible. I really enjoyed writing while I was over there, especially since there were many days of solitude outside of work. I wrote about how I set off the fire alarm at the School of Pharmacy where I worked, and was caught on camera in a mad panic. My adventures took me to Leeds Castle, the Cotswolds, and on a Harry Potter tour across England. I travelled to Alicante, Spain to visit a friend who was there attending a conference and that’s where I developed a love for mojitos. I spent a lovely day with a Korean girl exploring great altitudes near Interlaken, Switzerland, and studied French in Montreaux. I’m writing a brief account here because unfortunately I lost that blog. Yahoo 360 shut down and with it, my blog posts vanished. Back in Canada, I decided to restart another blog, this time with Blogger, which eventually became part of Google. Blogger has been a great platform to discuss the amazing experiences I’ve had in Alberta: Hiking. Friendships. Travel. The Big Mountain Challenge. The list goes on.
And now, third time’s a charm. For a while I’ve considered taking my blogging even further. I have no idea what that means, really, but I’m convinced that a self-hosted blog is the way to go. As 2014 was approaching, I figured: this is the year. I’ll learn to build a website, host it, and explore blogging using WordPress. At the time of writing this, the new blog is in rough shape as the migration of my posts didn’t go as planned. It’ll be a project in progress for the next little while, but I’m excited about it! The new website is:
So why InspirationRick? It’s been my Twitter handle and Instagram profile name for quite some time. The name actually came about as a joke one day. A few years ago, I was hardcore into the fitness program P90X to the point where a few friends thought I put them to shame. This was not true, but alas, they remarked that I somehow inspired them to step it up. I sent them a photo with two thumbs up, a rainbow, and a magic star. From then on, the InspirationRick nickname was born.
Here we are years later, and to me, InspirationRick means something different, yet personal. It’s a reminder to keep my eyes and heart open for the people, opportunities, experiences, and adventures that inspire me to face this world head-on with the finite time I have. It’s a reminder that I need to slow down and smell the proverbial roses, and the world will give back in kind for the soul. It’s a reminder that even though the world is large, there’s never a shortage of inspiration around me, whether an arm’s length away or a far off destination. It’s a reminder to appreciate the friends and family who I love. Their love is the most inspiring of all.
We’re all faced with amazing things around us. We just need to pay attention.
And if something I experience results in a glimmer of inspiration for someone else, then that’s not a bad thing either :).
Rick
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 
That photo with the rainbow is the best. THE BEST!
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