Little things

Have you ever noticed how much your work assists or hinders you physical health?

I've downloaded the moves app onto my phone and have it running in the background through out the day to see how far I walk.

The days that I work more at the restaurant, I'm averaging 5 kms of walking. The days I'm at the Town office more, I average 2.5 kms of walking per day.

Interesting to know, I'll have to adjust my eating habits to reflect this. Currently, I just eat what and whenever but I really should alter to eating to correlate with my working days.  2.5 kms extra of walking will affect the number of calories I burn so I should eat less/better on days that I'm working in the office more.

Just another little thing that could help you along you path to mastery. 

Missed opportunity

Another agenda package read and notes made for tomorrow's Council meeting.

Everyone who went down to Calgary for AUMA is back and they have a great time of meeting, learning, and sharing with other elected officials and levels of government. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to head down this year due to the Restaurant being short staffed. That's what happens you have other commitments.

I missed the opportunity to hear a keynote speaker that I really wanted to hear.  Which was Commander Hadfield, maybe I'll be able to catch him speak at another event.

Done for another year

Budget meetings are done for another year. The first night there was 9 people in the gallery, 5 the next night and only 4 on the final night where all the additions and subtractions were made to the budget.

After it was all the dust settled, it came to a 11.55% increase. It sounds like a big increase but it works out to be $18.55 per month for an average house ($400,000 is the average price in our area).  For the last six years Council have been slowing increasing tax rates to provide services for the community but it wasn't enough to offset the 9 consecutive years of 0% prior to 2008.

There is nothing wrong with that philosophy, it was the direction and vision of that Council. I wanted to address the issues that I've heard most often, the deterioration of service levels and policing and public safety.  I'm glad that the rest of Council have heard the same message and we were able to add personnel to address these issues.

My hope is that we continue to provide the services our residents expect and deserve. It takes a lot of planning and vision to set up a municipality that will be sustainable into the future.

Democracy?

As I finish preparing for budget meeting the next three evenings, I wonder how many people will come out and watch the proceedings?

Ever since I've been on Council, there has been no more the 5 people in the gallery during budget meetings.  I've never been to a budget meeting until I was elected onto Council, so I can guess that people are interested or just happy with whatever the decisions are of those we've elected.

Now that I've been involved for a few years, I see how important these decisions are and how the effect the residents and property owners of our community.  As a form of government, municipal officials are the closest to the people and the decisions made at the level have the most daily impact on the people.

After an election (only 20.8% of eligible voters voted in Stony Plain), are people happy to just let the elected officials make the choices for them? Do we place so much trust in our elected officials or the choices of a few voters to govern on our behalf.

Voter turnout in Federal, Provincial and Municipal elections on average are 55-70%, 45-65%, and 20-40% respectively. It should make one wonder if we really have a democracy?  At least we have the right to vote if we chose to exercise it.

Just random thoughts after a long week and preparing for another.

Go vote!

The election is 8 days ways and  I'm getting very excited to see the results and the new makeup of my Council team.  I mean "new" because regardless if your a veteran or rookie councillor, it's a new term, new focus, and new direction from Council.

I attended the candidates forum on Thursday. It was different sitting in the back and watching everything unfold. I found myself wanting to be in the thick of things. Sitting up front and answering questions posed by the residents.

All the candidates did very well and each one of them would be good representatives of the community. My job after the election is to evaluate the elected Councillors and determine what their best qualities are and how best they will fit into the team. With over 30 committees, boards and commission, it's not going to be an easy task.

October 21 from 9am to 8pm is Election Day. Make sure you go out and VOTE!!!!! This freedom is fought and died for all over the world and the majority of us take it for granted.  During the by-election last May when I won the Mayor seat, the voter turn out was only 20.5%.  Since I am acclaimed and there is no mayoralty race during this election, I'm not sure that the turnout will be any better.

GO VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Planning

Getting ready of another week.  I'm glad I don't have to prepare for the political forum. I've always been nervous about public speaking (kinda funny don't you think).

I've been doing a lot of planning for the next term since I'm not out campaigning. Who's going to be on my team? What are their strengths and weakness? What will their role in the team be? How are we going to functions as a team? What will my role be as the leader of the team? What do I want to accomplish in 4 years?

The lessons I've learnt as part of the I Ho Chaun team over the past 2 years will serve me well into the future.

Whew!

Acclaimed.
What a sense of relief.
The stress and anxiety I've been carry around for last couple of weeks has been lifted.

When I ran for Council, I was never worried. I knew my chances of securing enough votes to be in the top 6 was extremely good and I would have a seat in Council.

Running for the Mayor's seat is a totally different story. It's for all the marbles, if you opponent has one more vote then you, you don't get nothing.  The stress factor is 1000 fold more.

I'm humbled that no one put their name forward to run against me. The residents must feel that I'm doing a good job and want to with my leadership of the Town.

That's one goal taken care of.

Where I'm at

Here's where I'm at. 

It's been a long year and Kung fu has not been a high priority, I think I blogged about that a while ago. 

I thought I'd be able to attend I Ho Chaun classes in the summer. Normally, I could step out for an hour because supper period is longer and not as intense as the other seasons. However that didn't happen, my uncle who has been with me for 18 years left in May to help his son and daughter in law who started a restaurant in Edmonton. So my ability to step out just disappeared. 

Now I'm short two people in the kitchen as my cousin just left for China last Sunday to get married and won't be back for 3 months.  My other uncle will be leaving for China in November for a couple of months. That's not going to be fun for me. 

I'm now juggling multiple shifts at the Restaurant, the Mayorship, and my family. I can not commit to making Kung Fu a higher priority in my life. 

The skills that I've learnt from trying to achieve mastery in Kung fu is serving me well in other areas of my life.  

I'm not a great father or husband but I'm doing my best and one day I'll get closer to mastery in those aspects. 

As well, it translate very well to my role a Mayor. I don't think I would be doing this without the things I've learnt as part of the I Ho Chaun team the past two years. 

I'm sorry to my teammates, I haven't been there to support you guys. Before everything practice, demo or event you guys are already a man short. In spite of my failure to be part of the team you guys excelled.  Thank you for making the school look good. 

I don't foresee my priorities changing anytime soon.  I will stay as connected as I can. 

Run for life

Another Run for Life is over. What a wonderful event that allows the families who have lost loved ones through suicide they ability to grieve opening with others. The more awareness and acceptance we can bring to mental issues the more we'll be able to prevent suicide.

Btw, great performance from the team, you guys do a great job representing the school. I'm proud to call you guys class mates and honored that you guys carry me so often. Thank you

2013 numbers part 2

Posted the numbers for 2013, I haven't done a very good job of accounting and filling it in.  I need to get a better handle of marking everything done.

I'm behind in all my goals, the only good side is the fact that I'm actually moving forward. Not at break neck speed but still progress none the less. 

Moving forward is probably the biggest obstacle for most people. Any time someone receives push back or some kind of road block we tend to give up. It's easier and I would have to say it's part of our nature.

My philosophy, just do it...if you fail....why did you.....and do it again. 

You only fail if you stop trying and ONLY YOU can make that determination.

2013 tracking

Be kind

Ahhh!    I hate mental illness. 

Make sure you're kind people, you don't know what battles they're dealing with. 

Everyone can see and understand a physical disability.  We tend to go out of our way to help them, such getting to door,  letting them go first, we feel sorry for their circumstance, etc. 

Not many people can see a mental disability, even fewer people understand it.  Hence we do very little or give two thoughts about why they are acting the way they are. Many times we pass judgement, they're a bad parent, why don't they discipline him, I wouldn't do that, if he can just control himself and so forth. 

Just because someone looks all right on the outside, it doesn't mean that they're alright on the inside. Make it a habit to be kind to everyone.  

Focus?

Another week has gone by, a little but of excitement this past week with Kurtis breaking his ankle and requiring surgery to fix it.  Nothing like more challenges to make life more interesting.

I'm finishing off some  reading for a couple of meetings this week. 

Training has slowed down, feel like I've hit a wall. The motivation to get engaged is lacking. Got to find some way o recharge the batteries. 

Tough week

http://vimeo.com/72023544?utm_source=email&utm_medium=clip-transcode_complete-finished-20120100&utm_campaign=7701&email_id=Y2xpcF90cmFuc2NvZGVkfDkzM2Y2MzkwZDYwNDdkZWRjNmUwYzRjZjUyNWRmZTRmNDA3fDE2MjM1NjE4fDEzNzYwMzQ0MDY%3D

Nothing day

Finally had a relaxing day. Didn't have anything to read for meetings, no work, no Kung fu. To bad the weather wasn't very nice. It was windy and cold so I didn't get to go for a swim or a kayak. Now for an early bedtime as the grind starts early in the morning.  

Another first

Another first for me this weekend. I threw out the first pitch for the 2013 Provincial Baseball Championships. 

It was also a first for Baseball Alberta to have 3 Championships in one community.  This just shows how strong and dedicated our local organizations are. 

The Stony Plain Amateur Minor Ball Association (SPAMBA) has spent countless hours working to make sure this weekend would be a great success. I dropped in a few times and was elated that everything was going well.  These type of events (the preparation of) builds character in the community

http://youtu.be/FUEXtBfOa1M

Little steps

Training has been inconsistent, getting a few reps here and there but 

I'm in track to meet my I Ho Chaun goals.  

After half a year of doing sit up and push ups and a little training, I'm in the best physical shape I've been in.  Doing the little repetitive things goes a long way to reaching your goals. 

Sometimes your goals seem so fat away and maybe even impossible but if you take tiny steps towards that everyday you'll eventually reach your goal. 

Think about where you're today, how long has it taken you to get here? It didn't happen over night, so make sure you keep your eye on your goals and keep up with the little stuff that'll get you there. 

Oh Canada

Another great Canada day celebrations this year.   It was another great event that showcased what is Stony Plain and what it means to be Canadian. 

This year we had the added excitement with a Citizenship ceremony. This is a huge thing for us. It's been over two decades since there was a Citizenship ceremony outside of Edmonton on Canada Day.  

With my comments about having one last year and how much pride I had when I took my oath in 1991.  The hard work of the Town and Multicultural staff we were able to convince Citizenship and Immigration Canada to have another ceremony on Canada day.  It was a very touching day for the new Canadians and myself. 

There were 58 new Canadians sworn in from 36 different countries.  Only in Canada can you have this much diversity added to the country where we embrace our unique heritage and culture and celebrate them not to set us apart but to unite us as a collective whole.  We are a land of immigrants united as Canadians working towards a common goal of a better life for ourselves and our families. 

I'm a proud Canadian with a Chinese hertiage. 

Improving by the mundane

Here's my logs of my jogging this month:
6/1, 2.21km - 10:42min

6/7, 4.39 - 37:05

6/14, 2.76 - 15:50

6/16, 1.94 - 8:31

6/18, 2.22 - 10:08

6/25, 2.88 - 13.28

6/30, 3.07 - 17.02

As you can see, I'm not you would call a runner. Inconsistent at the best of times but I'm able to improve my preformance from when I started jogging last year. I would contribute this to my overall pyshical fitness through making sure I do the mundane push ups and sit-ups every day towards my 50,000 for the year. 

Each I Ho Chaun journey is different but if we follow the path laid out for us, we will eventfully get there. 

Here's a photo of the map my run app that I'm using to track my progress. 

It works well for me. 

Still going

Been working hard on my goals and towards mastery.  Kung fu has taken a back burner for now but keeping up with push ups and sit ups.

Good but busy day.

Had a very busy Father's Day. 

Went to work this morning, then to a breakfast meeting with the other two mayors at 8:30am. After that I  came home to take the family to Cirque du Soliel  and checked out the new Lego store after the show.  Then back to work when we came back to Town.  Busy but very rewarding. 

The performers from the Cirque are amazing. It's anther example of mastery. These individuals have chosen a discipline and mastered it. The technique,  speed, strength, and accuracy of their performance displays the level of mastery. 

Just WOW, if you've never seen a Cirque performance, you should. 

Another week

Can't believe that another week has already gone by. The days and nights seem to flow into one and another this week, especially with the Relay for Life on Friday night/Saturday morning. 

I taped myself practicing Da Mu Shing at the relay. It was kind of fun but it would have been way better with more people. 

I've been keeping up with the push ups and sit ups but that all I've been doing for Kung Fu. Hadn't had much time to practice forms and techniques. I will need to find a way to get some of that in. 

Parade

What a wonderful Farmers Day weekend. There were so many activities that were planned in the community by a lot of community groups. That's a good gauge of how strong our Town is.  

The last numbers I heard from the Rotary, who was organizing the parade, was that there was over 1100 people participating in the parade.  WOW! That's a lot of people. I was close to the front of the parade and by the time we finished the route and turned onto 49th Ave the EMS, Ladder 3, and the street sweeper was just starting. 

The route is about 5km, that's amazing in our Town we can get that many involved. Way to go everything.  

Thanks to all those who represented Silent River in the parade, you guys are awesome. 

Pyramid

How fast the days pass by, Kurtis has been at the hospital for 4 months and he's was release on Friday. Hopefully his new cocktail of meditation will help him. Fingers and toes crossed. It's been hard on him and us.  He's doing really well this weekend. 

We've talked about kung fu training as a pyramid, build the biggest base you can so you can reach the highest pinnacle.  We're trying to build the biggest base for him so he excel and flourish. It's hard, sometimes your base crumbs and you have to rebuild. It's difficult when you have to rebuild that base again and again. 

For those that can take what you've learnt from Silent River and apply to other areas of your life you'll see how your training has prepared you not only for Kung fu but for life as well. 

Runner........not yet

I'm a runner......not.  Just came back from a run and I'm sucking some wind. I've always been a sprinter, during my days in junior high when track and field was a mandate, I ran the 100m, 200m, 4x100, 4x200, long jump and triple jump. As you can see, a sprinter not a runner.

I've posted my times for the 11 times (twice ran to store and back) I've been out this year. The last time I ran was June 20, 2012.

I would like to better my times so I'm open to any advise from the runners in the group.

5/19, 3.57km - 21:34min
5/17, 3.77 - 20:49
5/17, 2.39 - 12:47
5/15, 5.6 - 31:44
5/14, 2.42 - 15:08
5/12, 3.12 - 16.41
5/8, 1.06  - 4:49
5/8, 3.48 - 19:48
5/6, 3.45 - 18:48
5/5, 2.79 - 15:14
4/1, 2.13 - 10:23
3/29, 1.55 - 8:42
3/28, 1.58  - 8:96

Events

What a busy week with meetings, interviews, big apartment fire, family and work. 

The cause of the big apartment fire that displaced 64 individuals was 100% preventable.  This is very sad to me. Knowing that if someone had done something a little bit differently or paid a little more attention to detail, this whole tragic event could have been prevented. 

The cause was the non proper disposal of smoking materials on the second floor balcony. This was the same cause that burnt down 4 units in Silverstone last September. 

If it wasn't for the dedication of our volunteer firefighters and the assistance from the fire departments from PC and SG the whole building would have been burnt and maybe some of the surrounding house would have been lost too.

I think it's time to review our building coded for multifamily dwellings.  The materials used in construction is flammable and with our dry climate they become dangerous. 

It's was a tragic event for many people and I'm proud of how our community has responded to help them. We can't change what happened but we can made sure that those effected know that the we are behind them, helping them rebuild their lives. 

www.wchoy74.blogspot.ca

Food journally done

It's been an interesting month of tracking my food intake.

Looking back at what I've eaten, you can see certain trends. I'm usually pretty good about eating when I'm in Town either working at the Restaurant of the office. 

What really gets me is the food when I'm out and about at meetings and functions. That's something I'm going to have to work on so I can eat more consciously.  These foods tend to taste good and have lots of calories. 

I will have to think of a strategy to limit the amount and types of food I eat when I'm out. 

When you're aware of what you're putting in your mouth (journaling), I've noticed that I do make better decisions. I'll continue mentally note everything I eat to make sure I continue eat better. 

I also weighed myself the other day after the month of journalling and I've broken the 160 mark. I don't remember when the last time I was below 160. I'm guessing probably in high school and that was along time ago.  Regardless of when I was this weight, it gets me closer to one of my I Ho Chaun goals. I wanted to get to 155lbs within the year. 

Harmonized

Spent 10 mins at the driving range yesterday. Didn't want to over do it since it been roughly 7 months since last swung the clubs. It's good to be out there.

This is where I find the most correlation between my Kung fu training and my hobbies.  I've written about this in the past so I won't bore you again. 

With golf, when I can synchronize the six harmonies, I generate a lot of power and accuracy. I golfed 7 times last year, they we all scrambled tournaments where you go out and have a good time and try to hit every shot as hard as you can. 

After I made the connection between the harmonies and my golf late in the season but when I did it really showed.  I golfed my last 2 tournaments after this realization and I won the longest drive in both of them. That's right, a 5'5" guy winning the long drive over some bigger guys (just everyone is bigger than me). 

I'm trying to continue and develop that connection this year. You have to golf a lot to get good scores but you can be a good ball striker with playing a lot. 

My goals with golf this year is to golf at least 10 times and one round under 90. 

www.wchoy74.blogspot.ca

Just a thought

What a hectic week it's been.  The third week of the month always seems busier with functions, events, meetings, etc.  I wonder why that is.  

Why not the first week? Is it too close to end of last month and everything that wasn't done last month get carried over the first week of next month?  Maybe that week is used the plan for the month. 

Why not the second week? Maybe there isn't enough time to get everything arranged because you were busy get last months stuff done last week.  

What about the fourth week of the month? Could it be that you're busy making a list of the things that you haven't completed that needs to done now. 

It kinda makes sense why the third week of the month is the busiest. 

I really enjoy the months that have a fifth week. Those weeks seem the least busiest of all but they don't come along very often. 

New partner

On Tuesday we (town and SG) our first joint meeting of the two Councils to discussion things that affect each of our municipalities.

Can't believe that we have never had a meeting. We've had many Tri-Council (SP, SG, PC) in the past but never one with just the two urbans.

We have my issues in common and it was nice to be able to discuss them with each other and share how each municipality views them.

We need to be fiscally responsible and sustainable for the future so we have to work together to provide services and amenities that will benefit both communities without duplicated them and spending unnecessary dollars.

Our communities are a few minutes apart and our residents don't care where they get the services just as long as they receive them. In larger communities resident drive further than that to get service or reach an amenity.

Working closely with our neighbors will benefit everyone in the region. We are going to have to bring down some of the protective walls built up and move forward in a spirit of collaboration and good will.

Toenail healing

Last year I wrote about hurting my big toe when I was running. Some how it was impacted in my shoe. I managed to relive the pressure under the nail and it didn't fall off.  

Now the nail has grown the past few months and you can see a huge ridge from when the injury occurred. I'm amazed by the bodies ability to adapt and heal itself when we're not very good to it. 

I took a picture of the nail so you can see the ridge.

www.wchoy74.blogspot.ca

Still going

Nice to get in 1000 p/u and s/u exercises today to pad my totals. That part is going well but I'm having trouble putting together a form for the kama's. I suppose not many forms get created in a week but I'm sure they committed more time on it.  I'll have to put more time and effect into it since I have some leeway with my numberes.

Something's are going well and others are still a chanllenge. I'm not looking forward to bringing K back to the hospital again tomorrow   He's not a good place and his meds are right. The Dr. wanted him out for a bit since he's already two months. Sometimes I wish they would spends a portion of the money use for war and preventing war on research for Tourette's syndrome. We spend so much on defence because we can't live in mutual respect and honor one and other.

www.wchoy74.blogspot.ca

Parallel?

Just watched the last couple holes and highlights of Tiger Woods win at Bay Hill. His eighth win at that tournament and giving him enough points to regain the #1 world golf ranking.   Like him or not, he demonstrates what it takes to be a "black belt" in golf or I would even go a bit further and say  "mastery". He continues to train upgrading his skills and surrounding himself with individuals that would make him better.

If you compare his golf to our Kung fu (my journey), you can see some similarities. His first swing was very much dominated by strength and natural ability. Think back to your days as a white belt and compare that.  After a few years of that, he realized you can't keep muscling through the swing, it damages the body as you age. He changed his swing to have less power but kept the ability and added more skill (not like he didn't have enough skill before).  This swing was more durable and flowed but not perfect. To me this compares to being a blue, brown and Sihing. At this stage we know that power isn't everything but technique plays an important roll. Tiger's latest swing has dialed down the power a little bit more and increased the technique.  Similar to a black belt, the focus is understanding the technique and flow to gain power not powering through the technique to gain flow.   I look forward to seeing his swing change again as he ages and as he chases "mastery".

I'm not sure if anyone sees parallels, I'm open for discussion.

20 years ago

Had a great time visiting with friends and classmates on Saturday for our 20th year high school anniversary. That right 20 years, can't believe it's been that long since we graduated. Back then, being 20yrs old was still a couple/few years away.  Now we're all in our late 30's raising family and being productive members of society. 

Always interesting to see how things unfold for people. The choices they made in past and how they effect their here and now. Cause and effect or just karma, however you look at it, you are responsible for own density. How you approach your life plays down to all other aspects. 

I'm glad that the choices I've made in the past has gotten me to this spot now. Would I like to change that? Maybe, maybe not. Your past is just that the past, you can change it but you can change the your future with the choices you make today.

http://wchoy74.blogspot.ca/?m=1

Training

Training has been pretty good. I'm keeping up with my numbers and also able to pad the numbers when I can. 

I think I've got the opening 4-5 moves to my Kama form. I'll need to have a few people attack me with difference weapons to see what my natural moves are with them and how I react. 

We have been practicing forms in class and that's helping me out immensely. I find practicing forms the most difficult part of my training. 

http://wchoy74.blogspot.ca/?m=1

Getting started

Just finished inputting my numbers for the week. It's looking good for the time being, nice not having an injury to deal with and my shoulder is doing well. 

Trying to bank a little extra push ups and sit ups when I can because I know there will be a couple of weeks when I'm not able to do very much. 

Looking forward to playing with my new weapon (kama) and creating a form that is functional and looks good. 

http://wchoy74.blogspot.ca

Align goals

Today we had a boys day, we went fishing with my dad, brother, and nephew. The weather was pretty decent but it was a little cold when we where packing up.  

The fish won, didn't manage to catch lunch but it was a nice time together. I haven't gone ice fishing for a few years now, I really enjoyed it when I was a teenager way back when. 

Nice to align my I Ho Chaun goals with my family.  It worked out well today. 

Multi-tasking

Another busy week, where does the time go?

I'm trying to get everything done before the evening is over and have a little time for myself.
So I'm muilti-tasking. Finding time and maximizing the time you have is a skill that I've learnt form I Ho Chaun ( still working to ingrain this skill into life) . We're all busy with work, family, and other commitments, it's a delicate balance but it can be done if we keep the focus in front of us.

I'm riding the bike and working on my iPad. Prepping for two meeting and Council meeting tomorrow plus writing and reading blogs. It looks like I'll get everything done but the iPad doesn't respond as well when you're sweating like crazy :)

Enjoy the week.

http://wchoy74.blogspot.ca

Year 1....done

How do you like me now..........(I think that's the lyrics of a song I've heard). 

It's been a busy and very interesting year of the Dragon.  I've learnt a lot from this journey.  

I've met some of my goals and fell flat on my face on others. The ones that I didn't do well at where the ones that dealt with my family.  I seem to push them off if things get busy because they are my family. Which isn't right.  One of my goals this year is not to do that. I'll schedule in time for them. For all the things they put up with, that's the least I can do for them.  I will succeed on this goal this year!

I've enjoyed getting to know the members of the team.  You guys rock and I'm sorry that I wasn't there very often. Thank you for carry me through the year.  I don't think I'll ever be able to be there consistently. 

I'm physically and mentally in better shape than when I started last February.  I've attached a picture of myself the kids took when I started and one yesterday. Do you see a difference? I thought I was fit before but I know (even after a year) I'm not really fit. There's so much more I can achieve in this area. 

http://www.wchoy74.blogspot.ca

Shocked

I'm still shocked with an email I recorded yesterday.  Just read it again and I'm still shocked.  

I've been chosen to be a recipient of The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal "for your exemplary efforts to make your community a great place to live. It recognizes the important role municipalities – and their elected leaders – play in ensuring our prosperity and high quality of life."   

WOW! Is right. I would have never dreamt of receiving this award, not now and not in a million years. 

Of the millions of nominations across Canada, I was one of 60,000 individuals that was chosen to receive the medal.  I don't think what I've done as remarkable and warrants the recognition of this medal. I'm  sure that there must be other nominees that have done considerably more then I.  

I'm at a lost for words to describe how I'm feeling.   Shocked.... elated.... stunned.... disbelief.... humbled.... honored.... proud.... all these feelings swirling inside me.  

It's going to a little while before this sets in. 

www.wchoy74.blogspot.ca