The big race and coming full circle

Sunday, March 30.  A 7 am wake up call.  A 35 degree forecast with some cold Chicago wind.  Standing in line waiting for the race to start for an hour and 15 minutes in little clothing.  And extremely nervous and excited for my first race.

When I finally made it past the starting line (there were almost 23,000) runners, I felt good and a surge of adrenaline.  I decided to pace myself and ran the first mile in 10 minutes and 38 seconds.  A good start.  I was feeling pretty good and didn't want to burn out, so I kept the same type of pace for miles 2 and 3, and finished those in 10:37 and 10:35.  Very consistent and fractionally improving.  In mile 4, goals started to flash in my head and I wanted to finish the 5 mile race in under 50 minutes.  So I did the math and had to cut more than a minute and a half from my last two miles.  

Still feeling good, I picked up the pace.  Mile 4 was 9:45.  Faster by 45 seconds, but that meant I really had to push on the last mile.  So I did.  I started going faster.  And I think I would've been ok but there was a bridge right before the finish and it tired me out.  Last mile in 9:15.  Total time officially was 50 minutes and 52 seconds.  It did beat my personal best from the last two months of training by 6 minutes.  So I was very proud and happy.  It is an exhilarating feeling to cross the finish line.  It was awesome.

What is really important about today though was that I started to cry when I crossed the finish line.  Out of happiness.  For finishing the race, going faster as the race went along, and also doing something that scared me a little.  But most of all because if you go back, the first entry in this blog was me signing up for this race.  That was over two months ago, and the tears and the joy came from knowing how much progress I've made in that time.  Some of you know the full extent of my progress and some of you know through reading the blog that I've been doing better and better.  But only I really know how far I've come and how good I feel.  And it all started with forcing myself to move forward and take chances and try new things.

I am proud today.  I am moved.  I am emotional and I am happy inside.  Good things are happening to me and will continue to happen to me.  Life is great.  And today's finish represented an initial coming full circle for me in this first part of my 180 days.  It won't stop and I'll continue to keep trying new things, no worries.  But today was special and important and had deep meaning to me.  Thanks for believing in me and helping me everyone.  I love you all and wish you peace and happiness and joy.

And by the way, I finished in 14,600th place among almost 23,000 runners.  Not bad.  Next year will be better still!

Rental cars and races

Saturday, March 29.  The entries will become short and sweet for now as I am getting really busy as you might imagine.  Today I rented a car to drive to Chicago for the first time.  The rental car websites said that a compact rental would be $20 plus taxes and fees.  So I used Priceline and got the same car for $10 a day!  What a deal!

It made so much sense because it would have cost me $60 to fill up the tank on my car, plus I would add 600 miles to my car that would probably put me over my mileage limit for my lease, which is due in November.  So I save in several ways!

The drive went great.  No traffic and easy and safe driving.  A Hyundai Elantra.  A small car but easy to drive and great gas mileage.  And I got free XM Radio, which was cool.  What a great idea.

Chicago tonight was pretty chill, a late dinner with lots of pasta and early bedtime for the big race tomorrow!  I am excited to race and excited to tell you about it tomorrow.

An attempt at the gardens

Friday, March 28.  Hey all.  Great day today.  Calmer, more peaceful.  A few of my demons came back but again I was able to get back in the moment and spent most of my day in the moment, so cool!  It was my day off today, so I got a few errands done and just had a me day.  Decided that my new thing for the day would be to go to visit the Matthai Botanical Gardens on the north campus of U of M with Paula.  I've never been and it's supposed to be beautiful.

But alas, it just closed as we arrived, so we'll have to do it another day.  The effort was worth something though, and I will do it again soon and be able to write about it then.  At least the drive on to the property was great.  All nature and ponds and trees and geese coming back for the summer.  I'm sure the actual garden is even more beautiful.

Anyway, sorry for the slightly disappointing report for the day, but good news is that I leave tomorrow afternoon for Chicago to run my race on Sunday, and I'm very excited and nervous about.  Will probably arrive at 8 or 9 pm, have a carbolicious dinner with Rick, and head to bed.  I'll return Sunday evening after the race and maybe some dim sum as a celebratory feast for my accomplishment, then head home and be back my 6 or 7 pm hopefully.  Then off to Thailand on Tuesday.  Kind of a whirlwind but I like it!

Lastly as a sidenote, I want to congratulate my good friend Ryan and his partner Desiree and her son Jacoby for closing on their new house in Ann Arbor today.  I am very happy for him and good things couldn't be happening to a better guy.  Cheers Ryan!

Probably talk again in two days, until then be safe and enjoy my friends!

Meditation

Thursday, March 27.  Snow again in Michigan.  As I started my 6pm lesson, it started to snow and still hasn't stopped.  Maybe 4 inches or so.  But big pretty snowflakes, and unlike in years past, I realized how pretty it is when it snows, and the snow covers the tree branches.  But it is almost April and c'mon now, we're ready for some warm weather, sunshine, and golf!

Today's new thing was during an hour break I had in my schedule.  I had experienced something I hadn't in almost two months today, negative feelings.  Anger, jealousy, judgment, sadness.  And it made me feel awful inside.  I at first just tried to be with those feelings and let myself feel them.  i went to run and ran angry (which kind of helps, actually).  But the feelings kind of persisted through the day, not as intensely, but enough to keep me feeling not so great.  So during my hour break, I decided to go into my car, turn on the engine and heat, and just meditate.  I focused on my breathing, let the thoughts come as they wanted, knowing that sooner or later they would go away.  It calmed me down greatly.  I was proud of myself for not reacting the same old way...calling everybody with my drama and making it bigger than it was.

Nope, I handled it on my own and now feel the positive energy back in me.  And I'm very proud of myself for being aware enough to go there.  I didn't get lost in my head and thoughts.  I let myself feel what I felt, and breathed myself right back to the present moment.  I really have come a long way in a couple of months, haven't I?

Getting late, so I'll sign off for now and talk to you all tomorrow.  Love to you all.  Peace and wishes for a good day.  I'm excited for tomorrow and know that something good is gonna happen to me tomorrow!  Later.

Truly something unique

Wednesday, March 26.  Today's entry will be short and sweet, and hopefully be kind of funny and maybe a little weird.  The day was another great one, some personal work, 4 golf lessons, dinner downtown, and some American Idol on tv later on.

But I did something tonight that I've never done before and I'm pretty sure I'll never do again.  It was entirely unintentional (but that counts anyway, right?), but I felt a yawn coming on, started to yawn, then burped in the middle of the yawn.  It was so weird that I just started to laugh.  Please share with me if any of you still reading have ever experienced this unusual physical phenomenon before.  Hell, while we're at it, please feel free to share any strange combination of bodily noises or bodily functions.  It might prove to be an interesting discussion!  Funny as well I'm sure...

Anyway, off to bed, lots to do tomorrow!  Hope all is well with everyone, and know that I think of all of you everyday and wish you peace and smiles and happiness.  Later, dudes.

Asking an accomplished man for a favor

Tuesday, March 25.  Hi all.  It's seems to want to be spring here, but not quite yet.  The weather teases us with temperatures in the 40's then it dips down into the 30's and snows on us.  That's Michigan for you.  Soon enough it will be warm and I'll be giving more lessons than I could want.  Went for a run today.  Only half an hour, but faster.  It was good.  I'll do three more workouts and then take Saturday off for Sunday's race.  I also pricelined a rental car for $10 a day today!  Awesome deal.  It's better than putting all those miles on my car that I leased and have to return in November.  Cool.  It's all coming together.

Today's new thing was to ask an accomplished individual for a favor.  I've talked about Mike before, a student of mine and also my real estate mentor.  He's taught me a lot already, and today I thought I'd ask for a favor.  When he brought his son Brennan in for a lesson today, I asked if he would be willing to write me a letter of recommendation for the MBA program at the University of Michigan.  He said he would be happy to.  That pleased me very much because it means he thinks highly enough of me to write something positive!  If he didn't think much of me, there would be no reason to right one, right?

Anyway, it was a really nice thing for him to agree to and serves as another thing that I won't be as hesitant to do.  I am learning in this process of 180 things in 180 days that I am quite scared of some things that I never thought I'd be scared of.  And once you do them, they're not so bad.  That's the whole point, isn't it?  I think I'm getting it and really feeling some growth and positive energy happening.  It feels fantastic.

I wish you all a good day or night.  Enjoy and appreciate and be grateful of all that's around you.  We only get to live this life once, so go out there and do!  I'll talk to you all tomorrow with yet another new experience, hopefully a really fun one.  We'll see.

Trying the new guy on the block

Monday, March 24.  Hello all.  Today I decided to give the new guy on the block a chance to succeed.  Given that I will soon be a new entrepreneur, I thought that instead of going to the well established UPS store, or the the ever present Post Office, I'd go send mail at a local start up called "Goin' Postal."  I needed to send Scott (my former roommate) some of his mail, especially tax related stuff.

So I went in and asked to send my manila envelope first class.  The total was $1.93 I believe, and since I'm always out of cash, handed him my credit card.  The first difference was that the response was "Sorry sir, $5 minimum on credit card charges."  I smiled and said that I'd send it the next level up with delivery and still I only got to $4.96!  Still smiling, I said "Just send it first class and make up the rest in stamps then, ok?"  He charged my credit card $5.03 and I was off.

It felt good to help out someone in a business with lots of competition.  I hope they make it.  I also figure it would be good karma for me later.  I hope that others will give my fedoras a try and they'll all give the new guy on the block a chance.  Well, honestly, I hope LOTS of people give my hats a chance!  At least I don't have to go up against giants like the UPS store and the Post Office!

I hope you've all had a good day, I'm still doing great, working on the usual...hat stuff, MBA applications, a little golf teaching.  Off to dinner and maybe bowling now, talk to you tomorrow.  Til then, take it easy and enjoy.

Backing my stuff up

Sunday, March 23.  Spring is coming.  While it did dump on us the other day, the last two days have ended up warmer than forecasted and it just feels like warmer days are coming soon.  That'll mean more lessons and a healthier bottom line and that's good.  This next week coming up will be my busiest so far this year with teaching not to mention getting things in order for my trip and making a quick trip to Chicago to run my race.  Whew, lots of stuff going on.  But it's fun and invigorating!

Today's new thing is pretty mundane, but absolutely necessary and a long time coming.  Back a few weeks ago I told you all I bought an external hard drive.  Well today I finally backed up some of my more important documents, ones I just cannot lose, plus all my pictures (all 3500 of them) and all of my songs on iTunes.  Pretty easy process overall.  Took some time to do it all and I'm not quite finished but almost there.  I bought the western digital Mybook hard drive.  Very cool and elegant.  Goes nicely with all of my Apple gear.

An update on the fedora company.  The name will be "gabaan" and what I'm thinking currently is a simple font style or just a handwritten name to go on tags, labels, etc.  I'm sketching some of the hand drawn stuff and it looks pretty good.  Rick is gonna give me some effort doodling and maybe something cool will come out of that too.  The "g" part of the name may end up being the logo, but I may keep it simple and not have a logo at all.  We'll see, but it's coming together.

Off to do a few more pre-bedtime things and then off to sleep.  I'm gonna get an early start tomorrow, so gotta get some sleep.  Love and peace to all of you.  Have a great day!  Later

5 miles and Bar Louie

Saturday, March 22.  Today I managed to do two things I haven't before.  Given my increased business with golf, it was nice to be able to do a couple of never before experienced things.  Otherwise, my day was great.  The sun was shining, and it was warmer than they said it would be, and I was in a positive, light, and good mood all day.

The first thing I did after work was go to the gym and run a full 5 miles on the treadmill.  It took me 56 minutes and 50 seconds.  It felt great to run the distance that I know I'll have to run on the 30th.  The race is also just a week away so the timing is working out great.  I think that I'll take a day off tomorrow, and run the same 5 miles (hopefully faster each time, but whatever) Monday through Friday of next week.  I'll take Saturday off to rest my body, and run a good race on Sunday.  Excellent!

The second new thing today was eating dinner at a place called Bar Louie downtown.  I've known about the place for probably a year now but never made it over.  I really liked it.  Rick said that the original is in Chicago and very popular and I can see why.  Kind of a sports bar but a little nicer.  Slightly more mature crowd and good atmosphere.  Not too loud, not too stuffy.  We shared a Philly burger, which was really very good, and mac and cheese.  A perfect dinner.  Not the healthiest, but very tasty.  I will be back, that's for sure.

I hope you are all doing well.  I have all of you in my thoughts everyday and wish that you all are happy, healthy, and living your dreams.  Until tomorrow, good night.  I am sleepy!

Good Friday

Friday, March 21.  What a second day of spring!  We got about 6 inches of snow in a hurry today.  Driving was very touchy, but as usual it's very pretty when it snows this much.  I think this might be the last of the season, so we might as well enjoy it before it's summer.  

Otherwise, today was a day of getting some things done.  I delivered meals again, went to work for a few minutes, and delivered my transcript and resume to the MBA office at the University of Michigan Business School.  

What was new today was going to a Catholic Church on Good Friday.  Now of course I'm not a Catholic, nor do I think I'm anything really, except spiritual.  But Paula invited me to just go sit in church and spend a little time there.  It was nice.  Quiet and beautiful.  There was no service going on, just some people there to worship on a holy day for Catholics.  I decided to meditate and feel my breathing.  Being in a church helped my ability to focus on my breath, I think, and my mind felt quite quiet.  Now of course our minds are never totally quiet, but today I felt moments where there was not much going on in there, and that felt good.

In the end, I think all religions are very similar, or at least point us in similar directions.  My experience today wasn't moving in any sort of religious way, but did give me some feelings that were similar to when I've been in a Buddhist Wat.  Peace.  Calm.  Quiet.  Faith.  All good things.  All in all, I'm glad for the experience and of course it does fall into the category of something I've never done before.

A side note on posts.  You notice that my posts are getting sometimes late or short or different that others in the past.  This too I suppose is part of the process.  My change, in many ways.  I will try to keep as current and as interesting as I can, but as I get closer to my trip to Thailand, there may be gaps.  But not to worry, this will continue.  There WILL BE 180 things in 180 days!  Later all.  Have a good day or night and we'll talk later.

One thing at a time, all morning

Thursday, March 20.  Hey all!  How is everyone?  I hope doing well.  I am doing great.  I am very excited about many things.  The fedora company, the real estate deal in the works, getting in my applications to MBA programs, and a chance to maybe write for the Ann Arbor News among other things.  Life is flowing nicely right now.

One of the main reasons that I think that things feel good right now is my increased ability to stay present.  Today's new thing has to do with being in the moment, and happened this morning.  My normal late winter/early spring morning is usually spent at home as not too many people want early golf lessons at this time of year.  I work on some things, relax, have coffee, make calls and just have some time to myself.

Well today I did something that I've never done before: spend all morning (from about 9:30 to about 1 pm) doing one thing at a time.  If I was checking email, I just checked email.  If I was looking at my work schedule online, I just did that.  And if I drank coffee, I just drank coffee.  This allowed me to further see just how not in the moment I usually am even during my private time at home.  I noticed that on other mornings,  I would drink coffee, check email, and be on the phone with someone.  Or I'd be thinking about names for the company and also checking out my schedule.  Never one thing at a time.  And the funny thing about it is that I think I accomplished as much if not more.  

And maybe most importantly, enjoyed things more and was able to focus better on things.  Hmm.  Not a bad way to live every waking moment, I think.  Why I try to do so much at once, I don't know.  Why I can't be present to enjoy the present because I'm somewhere far off in my head, I don't know.  But I'm gonna keep trying this one thing at a time thing.  I liked it.

Running fast, uphill

Wednesday, March 19.  Today's new thing is unlike how life feels for me right now.  As my perspective has changed over the last two months, life feels like I'm running fast, but downhill.  Almost like I've gotten on a big wave that's pushing me forward.  Anyway, it's cool.

At the gym today I was a little bored of the long, slowly speeding up run, so I thought that I'd do my interval training drill.  I run slowly for a few minutes, then run very fast up an inclined treadmill for a minute.  And in total, I do 5 different uphill sprints.  I find this to be much harder than just running at a steady pace and more realistic to running outside.  So while I've done this before in my training, today I did and incline, 9 degrees, at a pace, 7.5 miles per hour, that I've never done before.

For those of you who work out, try it.  It's hard!  Anyway, some variety in the workout.  The race is coming up in two weeks and I think I'm about ready.  I'm also going to continue to workout because it's been a big part of feeling better overall.

As for the company name search, I am 99% sure that the name will be "gabaan, inc."  I could think and ask and search forever but sooner or later I'll have to decide, right?  This shouldn't discourage anyone reading to throw out ideas though.  You never know, a great name might just pop up out of thin air!

Take care and talk to you tomorrow all.  Peace and love.  C ya!

Trademarks

Tuesday, March 18.  Hello everyone.  How are you?  Well I hope.  Today was an interesting day.  I had my normal items...teaching golf, working out (ran 50 minutes today, 4.25 miles!), a meeting at work, some American Idol (yes, I watch and it's awesome).  But today's new thing for the day happened this morning, as I was researching the name for my fedora company.

Now you all know that I had chosen "Melonhead, Inc." for the name, but today I talked to the trademark/copyright attorney, and he did a quick search and found that someone had already trademarked the name.  That could mean potential legal issues later if I were to make it big (which I am, of course).  He suggested that before I pay him a lot of money to dig further, I should try to see if the trademark owner would want to sell me the trademark.

So I did a search for the guy, Thomas Francis Oquendo, and found his phone number in California.  Turns out he has been working on products, mostly glasses and t-shirts, with the Melonhead name and logo for a few years.  Even though he is currently out of money he made it clear that he still is pursuing his business.

I cut to the chase and told him what I was trying to do and asked him if he would sell me the trademark.  After asking me to consult with his attorney, he told me that he did have interest.  So I asked him what range of money he was thinking for the trademark to the name.  He said he wasn't going to ask me for $500,000 or anything, but that $5,000 would not do it.  He talked more and more about it and went on to say that he didn't want to actually sell it but lease the name to me.  And wanted a cut of all of my sales of my fedoras.

He went on talking some more but I stopped listening after those suggestions.  Just said "uh-huh" and "yeah" and "right."  Melonhead is a cool name, but not THAT great.  So looking for new names again.  "Gabaan, Inc." (Nana, I know this is your favorite), "Five Under," "Bluegill," "Bluebeak," and "Tiptop" are all new candidates.  The search goes on!

Enjoy your day everyone, the name will come soon, as will everything else.  No worries.

Truly a new thing today

Monday, March 17.  Hey all, had another good day today.  Woke up a little late, but got lots of things done for tax season and some corporate stuff for the hat company.  Had a nice meeting with Dr. Bob in which I filled him in on my goings on over the last three weeks and how I'm doing.  He seemed to feel like I was doing quite well, and what was really nice was that I really didn't care what he thought.  I'm doing what I'm doing, I am excited about it, and I'm going to live up to my potential and goals and beyond.

My new thing for the day happened before my daily run (only 30 minutes today) and dinner and a movie with Paula.  Yes, we are spending time together again and it's good.  And that's really all I have to say about it.  Haha, so there!

Anyway, I decided I would call the Ann Arbor News and see if they wanted me to write a weekly column on golf.  Specifically, to help golfers get ready for the new season.  I told them that I wasn't looking to be paid for it, just thought I'd enjoy doing it and their readers might enjoy reading my column.  I don't know what the response will be.  I unfortunately just had to leave a message.  But we will see.  I think it would be fun and I think that readers would look forward to my articles and have fun with it.

Oh and before I forget, I also did another thing I'd never done today too.  I called a copyright/trademark attorney to talk about the name of my company, Melonhead, Inc., to make sure that I protect myself and there aren't any other companies that are called that.  So I made some more necessary steps to make the fedora company happen.  It's coming, baby, so watch out!

Otherwise, I am happy and calm and feeling good.  I'm going to go to bed soon and will check in again tomorrow, hopefully with responses from the paper and the lawyer.  Until then, be good, enjoy life, and have fun all!

46 minutes, not just 45

Sunday, March 16.  Hey all.  Another good day.  Taught 5 lessons again, and had lots of good encounters with people.  It's amazing the reaction you get when you smile and engage people.  They generally respond.  Got a few more compliments on the had I was wearing today and it continues to make me feel very positive about my hat venture.  Fell asleep for a half an hour after work, then decided that it would be a good time to go for a run.  I hadn't run in 6 days, which is the longest break I've taken so far.

So I went to the gym and watched the end of the Bay Hill golf tournament.  Tiger won on the last hole.  Nothing new there.  I really admire his mind, and the unwavering positivity and belief in himself.  He wins because his mind is stronger than anyone else.  And he has this amazing ability to come through and execute when he really needs to.  If you are golf fans or not, we are seeing something truly amazing in what Tiger is doing.  I am not a hater.  He is one of a kind and a once in a lifetime golfer.

During the last part of my run, I listened to Joel Osteen's latest sermon podcast.  I know it's kind of corny and his message is always the same-positive and good for the soul.  It is inspirational and I enjoy listening to him.  

In my focus on the sermon and the message, I looked down and noticed that I had already run for 44 minutes.  So for today's new thing, I decided to add a minute and run 46 minutes.  Not anything revolutionary but symbolically it meant a lot and hopefully in the last two weeks of training I hope to be able to run for an hour.  That'll get me in pretty good shape for my race on March 30 in Chicago.  I'd like to finish in 45 minutes, but really anything under 55 minutes will make me happy.  We'll see.  I plan to run everyday until the race to get into race shape.  Maybe tomorrow I can extend the run to 50 minutes.  We'll see!

Until tomorrow my friends.  Smile and laugh a lot and enjoy life, okay?

Peace and stillness in the storm

Saturday, March 15.  Today was another great day.  Woke up a little late, but managed to get to work on time, and taught 5 lessons.  By the way, each of our lessons are 50 minutes long, for those of you who think I work very little.  Maybe I do work very little, now that I think about it!

Today's new thing was to react in a totally peaceful, calm, and non-offended manner in an awkward situation.  I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say that today something was said to me that would have normally made me upset, defensive, and caused me to lash back.  I would normally feel my blood pressure rise and my heart pound as I fought back and let my adversary have it.

But today, I was able to take a few deep breaths and choose to react differently.  It felt very powerful to make that choice.  I responded with kindness and a calm voice and didn't get argumentative.  I didn't react like an insecure, offended child.  I just let it go.  And what's best about it all is that I felt peace and calm inside too, not just outside.  No heart racing, no blood pressure through the roof.  I was very proud.  I felt like a dignified, graceful man.  It was nice!

We will talk again, my friends.  For all of you in Thailand, I hope to see you soon!  Tor, maybe you can come along on my quest for a hat manufacturer, ok brother?  For all my American based peeps, I hope you are happy and living life the way you want!  Later.

Tom doesn't teach golf on Fridays...wait

Friday, March 14.  As you can see by my non-daily posts now, I'm getting busy.  No excuses actually.  It's quite nice.  The weather is warming up, so I'm teaching more, and I have to get things ready for the fedora company and my trip to Thailand.  But not to worry loyal readers, I will keep my promise and do something new everyday even though I may not post everyday.

Today's item was to teach golf on a Friday.  Because of my little mini vacation to Florida, I missed a few days so I thought I'd teach on Friday.  You see, I have always taken Friday off from golf because it seemed to be the least busy day.  But today, I taught a full load (for March at least) of 5 lessons in a row.  I was the last teacher there at 7 pm.  It felt kind of weird, but hey, another new experience.  One I hope to not do again, however.  I like Friday's off!

Until tomorrow friends.  Sleep well if you're sleeping and have a great day if you're just starting one.

Matching it up

Thursday, March 13. Getting closer to my trip to Thailand. Lots to do to get ready. Nervous and excited about the hat idea. Feel good about it overall. I returned to Michigan this morning, to much cooler temperatures obviously. But by midday, it actually warmed up to the mid 40's, which is not bad at all. I'll take it.

Today's thing I've never done is wear an outfit with my pants and hat matching. Black charcoal pinstriped pants with a black charcoal pinstriped fedora. Big pimpin' as they say. Looked cool and I truly have never thought about matching hat to pants before. Always just put a baseball cap on and went to teach golf.

So I guess today was putting it up a notch in terms of hat quality and outfit quality. I guess the fashion world is a place I belong, huh? Anyway, got to get to work so I'll check in again tomorrow. Wishes for peace and stillness for all of you...I clearly feel much more of it myself these days. And I like it that way.

Letting it all hang out

Wednesday, March 12. Hi again from the FL. Weather's the same as yesterday, warm but not quite vacation feeling warm. Got up later today and listened to a presentation on a time share. Somewhat interesting and they gave me $125 off my hotel bill, so definitely worth it! Spent the rest of the day just lounging on the beach before heading off to Naples for a nice dinner. But the beach is where today's adventure was.

Before coming down, I bought a speedo bathing suit. Nothing crazy...not a true ball bag, but pretty showy nonetheless. And today's new thing was to hang out at the beach in a speedo, definitely something I've never done. And you know, I just have to laugh because after a while, I didn't care (I really looked all right). And I realized that I became the guy that I would always make fun of at the beach. You know, the guy in the speedo.

So that either means I'm getting older or getting braver. Or both. But today I stretched myself a little more and got over the self-consciousness. Is there really anything to be ashamed of? It's amazing what happens when you can learn to laugh at something instead of make it dramatic. Life becomes much more enjoyable!

Cheers to all and have a good night or day, wherever you may be. Later gators.

P.S. I was going to post a picture of me in the speedo, but I refrained, and some of you may thank me for that at some point!

She sell sea shells on the seashore

Tuesday, March 11. Hey from Ft. Myers all. Here for just a few days for some warm weather and some water and some sand. Not really all that warm though. 78 degree highs and cool in the evening. The top is down on the convertible because we got it, but the heat's on at the same time. We're obviously tourists. Haha.

Anyway, today's new adventure was shelling on Sanibel Island. Some of you may know that the island is famous for it's shells. I believe that all the sand on the beaches around the island are from the shells breaking down eventually (or maybe I'm an idiot and all sand is formed this way!). Some beautiful shells, big and small, clams and swirlies. Pretty cool experience. What is really amazing is the number of shells given that everyone goes there to shell. They are everywhere.

The vacation is perfect with the timing. Just before the golf season heats up and just when the weather in Michigan is still freezing at times. By the way, I am going to Thailand April 1-8 to talk to hat manufacturers and get things started! I am stoked and looking forward to seeing where things go! Hope all is well with all of you and sorry for the lazy postings. Again, I'm getting busy so I guess that's a good thing...

Yes, I want the upgrade!

Monday, February 10.  Hi everyone!  After a pretty normal morning of one golf lesson, a workout, and a very average lunch, I got on a plane to Florida.  I got one of those $8 tickets on Spirit Airlines so I thought, what the heck.  So I'll be here in Fort Myers Beach until Thursday morning.  

The flight went smoothly and I did some reading and some relaxing.  Sat in first class too.  On these cheap flights when you check in, they'll ask if you want to go to first class for $50.  Well since I only paid $8 for the flight, it was a pretty easy answer!  Yes!  Arriving at Fort Myers was when the idea for today's new thing came to me.  

As I went to the Budget Rental Car counter to get my already reserved, Priceline special rate mid-sized boring car, the same thing that always enters my head entered my head.  "I won't let them screw me with all the extras...insurance, pre-paying for gas, etc"  But this time the question from the sales person was "Would you like to upgrade to a convertible for $15 extra dollars a day?"

My usual answer for these types of questions are, as I pointed out earlier, "NO!!!!!"  After all, I will not let them screw me over.  But this time, I thought for a second and said, "Sure!"  It felt good to say what the hell.  It's only two days.  I don't want to be silly extravagant with living, but once in a while, why not.  I felt good about it and went outside to pick up my Mitsubishi Spyder.  I popped the top, and drove off into the warm Florida night with a big smile on my face.

Until tomorrow friends!  Have fun, enjoy each moment 'cause it'll pass if you don't!

Doing one thing at a time

Sunday, March 9.  Hey all.  I had a normal Sunday for me today.  Taught from 10am to 2pm (my 9am cancelled).  Came home and relaxed for a bit.  I'm leaving for Florida tomorrow, so I needed to do some things and get some things in order before I leave.  This is when my idea for the new thing for the day hit me.

Whenever I feel like I have a lot of things to do, a big list, I tend to get a little crazed and try to do more than one thing at once.  So I do two things and think about the next three things on the list.  So today I decided that I would do one thing at a time, and focus only on that one thing for one full hour. 

In that hour, I cut my hair, did a load of laundry, collected the garbage, watered the plants, changed into workout clothes, put on my Crest Whitestrips, made my bed (woke up late today!), read aloud my life goals, ate an apple, and did some preliminary packing for my trip.  For the most part, I was able to stay focused.  It was pretty easy to do one thing at a time, but more challenging to stay focused on that one thing.  

Just like this blog is a pretty good way to live life, doing and focusing one one thing at a time is a pretty good way to spend each minute and hour of each day.  It seems strange now that I've done it to be doing something but thinking about the next thing to do.  I don't really ever experience what I'm doing.  So it's like I'm not really living at all, just thinking my way into the future, even if it's just a few minutes forward.

Staying present, friends.  A lifelong challenge.  But pretty worthwhile I think.  The apple sure tasted better when all I did or thought about was eating it!

I will speak to you again from sunny and hopefully warm Florida.  Enjoy and later!

A power drink at the club

Saturday, March 8.  Hey again, I'm almost caught up.  As I write, it's actually Sunday, but again I've been busy which is a good thing.  I taught in the morning into the early afternoon today.  Very cold.  Snowing and wind blowing.  For all of you who know cold climates, wind chill is a very real thing.  But I had fun teaching and then went home and fell asleep for an hour and a half watching golf on tv.  I find that the weather channel and the golf channel are excellent for mellowing you out.

After my power nap, I thought it would be a good idea to run, so I went to the club.  Did a 4 mile run in 45 minutes.  My endurance is building and I feel great about it.  Afterwards I did my usual stretching and crunch routine, went into the tanning booth, then did my new thing for the day.

I went to the front counter and ordered myself a power smoothie.  Passion fruit and mango flavored with some milk and ice and other stuff that's supposed to give me energy or make me bigger or whatever.  It was tasty.  And given that at that point in my day I had eaten two hard boiled eggs and 10 walnuts, it was good to get something in my stomach.  Maybe I'll make a semi-habit of it, as there are other drinks that sound really good.

Hope you all are doing well, thanks for reading.  Have a good day or night and we'll talk soon!

Nothing

Friday, March 7.  Hi everyone!  Doing great, just been busy so I have to catch up on a few days.  Hope you all are doing well and feeling good!  For Friday, I have to admit that I did nothing that I'd never done before.  I tried, but couldn't come up with anything that was new.  Part of it was that I was busy and doing things.  So if I can't do something new because I was engaged in living life, I guess that is a good thing!  So I guess the thing I haven't done before, at least for the time of the blog, is NOT do anything new!

The unfortunate thing is that now I can't use that one anymore and have to actually come up with new things!  Haha.

We will talk soon, cheers to all.

Being friendly for no reason

Thursday, March 6.  I had 6 lessons scheduled today!  That's a lot for how cold and snowy it is.  It was fun though, and I gave good ones.  I dropped off some dry cleaning and also had a session with Judy in which she was very happy with my progress in all areas of my life.  The next goal is to keep the presence in more challenging moments.  And I will.  I also had to look around for some new tires for my car.  They are balder than my head!

That search lead me to today's new thing.  I decided to engage people at the different places I went, the dry cleaner and two tire stores, in conversation.  I just decided to be nice and talkative.  So I talked to Adam at the dry cleaner about the weather and Michigan....and is there any more that needs to be said about the weather?  Haha.  At Belle tire, I talked to Sean and joked around a little with him and talked tires (I pretended a little because I don't know anything about tires of course).  At Discount Tires, I connected with Dave, who I found out was a really nice guy and had nice manners, and did a nice job of explaining what they did and what charges were for what services.

All in all though, I feel like I made enough of a connection with each of those guys, and in the event I go back, I'll be able to engage more.  And that is nice.  Not to mention it may pay off in that they do me a favor some time!  It's pretty amazing what happens if you're just approachable and friendly.  People reach out and try to help and want to be your friend.  

I guess this is a simple and obvious lesson for most of you, but, like with many things, it's taken me 37 years to figure out!  Better late than never though.

And btw, I am liking "Melonhead, Inc." or "Melonhead Hats and Accessories" or "Gabaan Headwear" or "Gabaan Headwear and Accessories" or "Gabaan, Inc." so far for company names.  Feel free to post your thoughts.

Gonna go run now, see ya!  Like the new fedoras?

Being a little silly, a little stupid

Wednesday, March 5.  Hey everyone!  Hope all is well.  Another good day, it's getting boring!  Just kidding.  Today I got some good work and thinking done with the fedora stuff.  I've got to get some sketches, design lines, a company name, and a logo before I go to Thailand.  Bit by bit it's coming together.  Having fun with it.  Lots of excitement.  

I also went to the University to get a couple of official transcripts for my MBA applications that I'm completing.  I will be applying to U of Michigan, Eastern Michigan U, and Walsh College.  I've already finished the one for Walsh and am about halfway through the other two.  In April I'll take the GMAT again and then I'll be good to go.  I hope that I get into UM but I'll take whatever I get.  It should be something that helps in some way with the businesses that I'll be running!

The new thing for the day today happened at the mall.  I actually went shopping with Paula today (no jeers, no comments, no worries, ok everyone?), and decided to ask the sales girl if it would be ok if I could smoke in the GAP.  It was actually kind of funny because I tried to be serious as long as I could and she, being a young girl, didn't quite know what to say.  After I told her I was just kidding, she loosened up and said that she wished she could have one too!

Anyway, big or small, I'm beginning to feel differently in trying to do all the things I'm doing.  I'm much more confident and much less scared and embarrassed.  I think that as time goes on, I'll do bolder things from this base of confidence and not caring that I'm building up right now.  I will keep it up!  It's been a month and a half now, so 18 more weeks of new things.  I'll have to get more and more creative, but I'll get it done!

Good day, good night all.  Til we talk tomorrow!

And keep sending ideas for things to do and for names of my fedora company!  I welcome them all and will actually do stuff if you suggest something reasonable for me to do!  Later.

Being my own man

Tuesday, March 4.  Today was fun.  I will keep it short and not get too personal and not bore you with details.  But today, with peace and stillness in my heart, I made a decision to make bold decisions, move forward with my dreams and desires, have personal responsibility for them, and go forward with no fear.

This applies to my personal, professional, and life dreams and goals.  I feel good and strong.  I feel like I could do anything right now!  And I promise I'm not on drugs!  Haha.  It's all coming from deep inside of me and it true and real.  I'm gonna do some great things and I know I have all of your support behind me, and it's gonna happen for me brothers and sisters!  It took me 37 years of being a boy to see what it means to be a man.

Have a great night or day, smile and enjoy, and take advantage of all the opportunities that are in front of us every minute of every day!  Until tomorrow my friends.

Asking for a discount like dad

Monday, March 3.  Hey all!  Another great day.  I decided that I would go shopping today, one to look for a new suit (who couldn't use a new suit, especially if you teach golf, right?), and two to take a look at what's out there as far as fedoras.  So off I went to Twelve Oaks Mall, specifically Nordstrom's because it's the best department store for sure.

Found some nice fabric to make suits but so expensive!  $1400 and up!  I better go to Thailand to cut one.  Cheaper and better fitting!  By the way, I think I'm going to make a trip to Thailand so that I can get more hands on with the hat business.  I gotta get it going.  I'll keep you posted as to when I might go.  It'll be soon because I want to go before golf gets too busy.

Bought two COOL fedoras though, and they'll be arriving by mail on Wednesday hopefully.  They are exactly what I'm looking for as far as shape and design.  I'll post pictures when I get them.  I'm getting super amped about it!

Lastly, for the new thing today, I thought I'd ask for a discount at a store I have no business asking for one, Banana Republic.  I found a nice sport coat on sale.  After trying it on and asking two sales people if it fit right, I just outright asked for more money off on it.  I tried to negotiate and say the right things.  A little more diplomatically than my dad would be.  Alas they said no, but I did get them to think about it!  Maybe my next task will be to actually get a discount on something for no reason, or to get them to throw some free stuff with it.  Anyway, it was fun trying and I got a nice sport coat anyway!

Peace to all of you.  Have a good night or day wherever you are, I'm going bowling!  See ya!

The guitar and frustration

Sunday, March 2.  Today was an interesting day.  Had lessons in the morning and afternoon.  Great students again, and good energy from me again.  Those are good things.  I am fortunate to have the job I have.  There are surely worse things I could be doing!  Later on I went running and was able to run 3 and a half miles in 40 minutes, well on my way to 5 miles in 45 minutes, which is my goal for the race at the end of the month.  Chilled out later on my own, had dinner and some tv time.

Today was also interesting because I had the first relapse of sorts into some negative thoughts and emotions.  But unlike in the recent past, I was able to handle the frustration and emotions, which were quite strong, all on my own and get to a good place.  Attachment and resistance are persistent things.  They are what they are though, and I'll let them be when they come.

My new thing for the day was to bring out the guitar.  Seven or eight years ago I taught myself to play "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton without any lessons or previous guitar experience.  Couldn't even read music.  Then I stopped.  Today I actually brought out the book and learned three chords, A, D and E.  Strummed them each a few times then stopped because it rips the crap out of your fingertips if you don't play often.  The goal is to learn some more chords, learn to read music, then play songs that I like.  That's all.  I'm excited about it.

Lastly for all my readers, I need a name for my hat/fedora/apparel company.  I am taking suggestions.  I got one yesterday from an anonymous reader....Coop.  Yes, that is the nickname I was given yesterday.  Not bad.  It is definitely on the list.  So please send all ideas for cool names and post them.  The more the better.  I've been thinking about it constantly too and we'll have a name soon.

Thanks all.  Peace, enjoy life, smile and laugh and love those you love!

A nickname and new experiences

Saturday, March 1.  Hello everyone.  I hope you are all doing well and happy today!  I have had another good day.  I taught a lot today, and had lots of positive energy all day.  I also started the golf flexibility exercise program in earnest.  Not difficult, but good and took a lot longer than I thought.  I'm going to commit to trying to do it 3 times a week in addition to my running.  That way in 3 weeks or so I'll get a new set of exercises to do.  I'm really going to see if I can get my numbers to be better and if that improves my golf.

I've been asking all around me for quite a while for a cool nickname.  No one could ever come up with one (that wasn't stupid), but today Jeff at work called me "Coop" because of my fedora.  I kinda liked it, so I proceeded to tell everyone at work that I would no longer answer to "Tom" and needed to be called "Coop."  We'll see how long that lasts.  So that's my new thing for the day.  Getting a nickname.  Not the most exciting thing, but new nonetheless.

Otherwise I'm doing all right.  Still writing quite a bit, drawing some (or at least getting some good ideas for drawings), and just sitting quietly with myself.  Kelly did come over to watch a movie with me tonight, which was nice.  Rosemary's Baby.  Weird.  Never saw it before, which I guess is another first!

It is a strange, magical thing to be able to sit and watch all of the thoughts and emotions that arise from them from a distance outside of my head.  I'm getting more skilled at it, and more skilled at facing those thoughts and emotions like a parent watching over a child.  The thoughts and emotions, like the child, don't know any better sometimes, and just go a little nutty.  Being able to watch them, and even smile at them, creates peace and stillness in me.  That is the magic.  I'm acknowledging my spirit, and letting the noise be the noise.

Smiles to all and a nice night or day to you!  I'm excited tomorrow and all the good things that will happen for me, and for you all.  Peace til then.