Blogging – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

A New Year. A New Blog.

Time to forge ahead with something new... — Time to forge ahead with something new…

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:

http://www.inspirationrick.ca

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

http://www.inspirationrick.ca

A Blogger’s End. A New Beginning

So it’s the last day of 2013. At the beginning of the year I set a goal for myself. (After all, I do like goals). The plan was to write 100 blog posts during the year. I peaked at 88 posts last year, so I figured 100 would be no problem.

Yikes! The task ended up being more difficult than I anticipated. See, I have always enjoyed blogging for the sake of blogging: to recount stories, reflect on significant events in my life, and track fitness and hiking goals. With each mountain peak came a synopsis. But once I committed to writing 100 blog posts, writing suddenly felt like a chore. Even though it forced me to jot down my thoughts and ideas, oftentimes I would write for the sole purpose of ticking another entry off the list. For many posts, my heart wasn’t in it, and I don’t like that. Am I glad I did the challenge? Absolutely. But will I do it again? Most likely not.

Looking back, it’s interesting to see that I blogged the most in October. I wrote about random stuff like Heritage Park and toasted coconut ice cream, but I also wrote my most heart-felt post of the year on the anniversary of my grandmother’s passing.

It’s no surprise that the least blogged month was March. I never really wrote about what happened in March. To recall, I accepted a new position at the beginning of December 2012 as a senior analyst. I would only last 4 months. Honestly, the job did not go as planned. I will be no means play a victim in this post, but I felt that I was lead to believe the position would be something different. I also didn’t see eye to eye with management on certain issues. In the end, I acknowledged that the job was not a good fit for me, and resigned. Unfortunately, I didn’t have another position lined up, and would spend the following 3 months in a state of anxiety with the volatility of many highs and lows. It wasn’t until I began working in June when my writing would pick up momentum once again. As a positive, during my unemployment, I did manage to travel to Ireland, spend a week with my family at home, road-trip to Ottawa, and watch hours upon hours of How I Met Your Mother and Spartacus. Time well spent I say.

2013 was also a very interesting year for reflection. I assessed who I want in my life and the direction I want to take my life. This was not without emotional strain and sadness. I’ve pulled away from some connections, yet formed stronger bonds with others. I’ve looked at my career path and realized that maybe it’s time to work toward something different. I’ve grown attached to Calgary, and yet I feel ready for a big adventure. It’s been a year of dichotomies, and while they provide interesting forks in the proverbial road, they’ve kept the year unpredictable and exciting.

And so I conclude 2013 in a much different frame of mind than its commencement. My vision statement for the past year included points around: taking action, financial control, health and fitness, the outdoors, ownership of my choices, and finding some level of peace. I didn’t realize it until writing this post, but I really feel these focus areas characterize my journey over the last year. It’s been interesting to say the least, and I’m looking forward to what 2014 will bring. Oh, and why will it be a new beginning? Well, I plan to revamp the blog yet again, but this time, I’ll be transitioning over to WordPress. Yes, I think it’s about time. Exciting things ahead!

Dear 2010… Welcome!

So I figured that after not blogging for quite some time, I would start getting back into the swing of things. In fact, I remember when I used to do a lot more blogging (while living abroad, for example), that I really felt that typing the words was very therapeutic. Maybe it’s because I have my new MacBook Pro, with the fast sounding ‘clicks’ of the keyboard, that just makes me want to write again. The most significant change to the blog- I’ve changed my blog title to: “SMOKES is OUT and ABOUT!”, for this signifies that things have changed a bit for me personally (not that it ever really changed, but I’m starting this new decade with the support of family and friends :D); I’m proud of the way things have gone up until this point in my life, but I’m ready for a little more that will focus on the personal side; and I am up for the new and exciting opportunities that may present themselves, either here in Calgary, or wherever my travels may take me. Random interruption photo: Me ice skating at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto on January 2, 2010. This is probably my first really photogenic photo of the new decade, so I feel that it’s appropriate to post it. It was bitterly cold, yes, and although hot chocolate was free, the answer is no, all three of them weren’t for me.

So what does 2010 hold for me? I hope to make new friends and work on the ones I’ve already established. I hope to be a little bit ‘selfish’ in a way, focusing on my health and the opportunities that cross my path. I want to be in control of my finances and more in control of my emotions. I tend to dish some logical black/white advice when need be which can come across as pretty cold-hearted sometimes, lol. It turns out, however, that when the emotional tables are turned, I cannot follow this advice at all! This cold-hearted Leo ain’t so cold-hearted anymore. So although there will be many emotional ups and downs, I hope to embrace those feelings, but remain the optimistic and positive person I try to be, and ride through the turmoil with my head held high barf to the cheese…. But it’s true. And as most years include a trip of some sort, this one is no different, and I hope to take at least one vacation to somewhere new in the coming year.

So in my opinion, this year should shape up to be quite an interesting one. Already starting the year is a brilliant idea entitled ‘theDOTproject’ (see link at the side for my bro’s blog), and my decision to ‘BRING IT’, courtesy of Tony Horton and the P90X Beachbody team. Damn you Tony Horton for making your 90 day boot camp so intense!!!! But hey, no pain, no gain. Barf on the cliche. But if you don’t know me by now, I love my cheese and cliches, and never like to let a good joke die prematurely, WOOT!