Performances

I just wanted to say that the festival of the trees performance in Stony Plain went really well.  This team always seems to be on their A game when needed.  Everyone's attitude was positive and pumped and we pulled off a pretty great looking lion dance, I Ho Chuan performance and dragon dance with limited preparation time.  It really shows that there are a lot of truly exceptional people involved in the I Ho Chuan (no matter that sometimes we disappoint ourselves) who are working hard and committed.  So when we are beating ourselves up about not meeting all our requirements just remember all the great moments we have had this year as a team and be proud of the synergy and skill set that this team has shown.

Very Bad Month

I haven't blogged in like a month, thanks to everyone who did blog, it kept me sane.  We had an incident at a job site on Oct 2.  An environmental consultant we hired came on site and collapsed after entering our containment, CPR was performed, ambulance called, rushed to hospital. Unfortunately a very nice 33 year old man died 4 days later in hospital.  Everyone on the project was traumatized including me ... we are getting trauma counseling which will help.  Of course there is an OH&S investigation that will go on for months and no quick answers as no one knows for sure what caused the collapse.  It could be 6 months to a year before the medical examiners report is completed.  Lots of questions and requests for paperwork still to come.   To say this knocked me off my game would be an understatement, as the safety coordinator I take the responsibility of making sure everyone is safe on our job sites very seriously.   So no I haven't been thinking I Ho Chuan and requirements very often in the last month.  Its kind of hard to be positive right now, but I will be blogging and working on my requirements again ... it makes me feel better.

Finally some progress

Added the 'exciting part' to my Tai Chi Sword Form and it is really a lovely sequence.  Now that work has settled to a steady hum instead of an out of control speed boat and the wedding has been successfully pulled off I have a few brain cells left for Kung Fu!   Despite my inability to add anything to the form this last while,  my practicing what I could remember has allowed me to move into the perfecting aspect rather than just struggling through the sequence mode.  Which for me is progress and the more enjoyable part of mastering a form.  I have neglected my hand form and am reapplying myself ... as I know the sequence ... to the perfecting aspect.  Still struggling with some transitions, the stances are narrow and deep ... I know I am doing SOMETHING incorrectly as I am not centered/balanced its frustrating and Sifu Beckett has gone over it with me yet again.  

Wanted to say thanks to everyone that contributed to the wedding day, and say also how wonderful it was to share with you all.  For anyone missing bowls or serving utensils they are the kwoon, top shelf in the store room.

Family Trees

I am not sure what to write about that is relevant to my Kung Fu journey ... right now its all about Melanie getting married.  Usually I would think this is a family thing, however Silent River Kung Fu and many people there have been part of our lives for a long time and as a result they have become another branch of the family tree.  So I am really looking forward to Sunday and us all getting together to celebrate.


I am excited for Melanie and Dan and yet a little bit sad because my youngest is getting on with her life and will not need 'Mommy' so much now that she has that special person in her life.    Its a weird place to be emotionally and I know I have a lot of leftover anxiety from when she got sick, so I am over protective and have become somewhat of a 'hover mother' (a dreaded condition for a parent that really annoys independently minded children).  I am working on it.

The no plastic challenge

This has been a very interesting challenge ... thank god I have a garden otherwise this would be even more difficult. Taking containers and where you shop seem to be the 2 key items.  Farmers markets & the bulk barn allow you to bring your own containers. Melanie has found a butcher in Spruce Grove called Grove City Meats that will wrap meat in paper, otherwise we would be eating vegetarian by now.  We are using the bread maker and making bread, so that's solved.   I personally have filled my cart with produce, not in plastic bags and although they look at you funny sometimes so far they have weighed and charged me and put all my stuff in my cloth grocery bags. The other night Dan made homemade tortilla's  (gluten free) and they turned out awesome, better than we get at the store wrapped in plastic.  This type of lifestyle choice definitely has you making things from scratch and buying locally - two great side benefits actually.  My husband Dean who often does the grocery shopping (and will do pretty much anything for Melanie, or Brandi for that matter) has been participating as well and the challenge has come up in many conversations at home and when visiting family.   For sure this will be on our minds every time we purchase anything for a long time to come.

Trying a new thing

So I decided to try a new way of learning & retaining the sequence for part two of the tai chi sword form.  Its a focused meditation where I go through the sequence in my head visualizing the new moves in the form and reviewing this while meditating.  No this does not count for form reps as I am perfectly capable of physically doing them.  I started this process last evening and will keep reviewing and adding moves in addition to actually physically practicing the form.  Wish me luck :)
 

Being Canadian

So I was listening to CBC Radio again while I was driving all over the city today and they had this show come on about 'What it Means to be Canadian' they were interviewing 'new' canadians and it really made me appreciate how great it is to live here and be Canadian.   The show is on cbc.ca/now or never.   We take so much for granted;
We can speak our mind
We can protest against things we don't like
We can vote
We can travel safely
We can walk down the streets and not worry about gunfire
We can get married or not if we choose
We can practice any religion
We live in a beautiful, healthy country
We can experience different cultures in our Canadian 'salad bowl'
We can be who we want to be!
I would recommend that everyone listen to this show on Canada Day it will help you appreciate being Canadian.

Brain Freeze

I have been struggling with the tai chi sword form I am learning.  My brain is full and I can't see to successfully move forward with additional moves ... adding anything seems overwhelming and I just don't retain it.  I have tried tricking myself by saying ... hey brain that was part 1 and now we are going to learn part 2 but its not cooperating. So I have changed my focus to improving the performance of what I know (part 1) and giving myself a bit of a rest on adding new moves.  Its frustrating for me, I do not remember things as well as I would like and its frustrating for Sifu Beckett as she keeps showing me the same stuff over and over.  In my hand form I have been working on using my waist more in my Tai Hua form as Sifu suggested and it feels better, if I remember to move my feet as required by the Wudang style it is better balanced and flows nice.

The name of the book is 'Collaborating with the Enemy' tried chapters/indigo none of the stores in the area have it so I will ordered it on Amazon.ca.  I have to WAIT like 2 weeks!! 

Getting it Done!

So my daughter Melanie pointed out something about my behaviour that I was unaware of.  She told me that I am all about the task, getting it done, and I am not appreciating the fun/joyful aspects of the task ... just get the task done, tick it off the list.

Yes I am a type A get things done type of person.  However I did not realize that I was not participating very well in the sharing, visiting, quality time with people part of things, like I Ho Chuan events,  things around the house, work, and work events.  I go ... I do what I got to do ... mentally check it off the list and I am ready to move on to the next one.  Mel said she thinks I am addicted to the rush you get when you have completed a task (apparently there is such a thing, who knew) and I am not taking time to be in the moment, with the people, sharing the experience. 

I have spent the last month studying how I approach and do these types of things.  At the pandamonium in the morning I must admit I was all about the task, setting things up, making sure the things that needed to happen and get done did.  Did I have fun? I made myself take a deep breath and enjoyed my time on the mats at the kwoon, doing the dragon dances and hanging out with people.  But she does have a point, I am about completing the tasks,  the fundraising is a list of things to do with the money as a reward, did I take time to share/connect with people? Not really. 

At work this is my mode, lots of things to get done and check off the list because if you procrastinate it will come back to bite you. 

I think I have designated things like, gardening, vacations and some family get togethers (depends on the family members) as things that I am allowed to linger over and enjoy. If there is a goal or a deadline I am focused only on that and not enough on the journey/experience of getting there.  I have been working on being in the moment a lot more this past month but I keep getting distracted by the next thing on the mental lists that I keep that need to get done.  TV & books allow me to escape my busyness for awhile but again I am inside my head and not interacting with people and being in the moment with them as much as I probably should. 

This was kind of depressing revelation and I am not sure I am even evaluating this correctly.  I will continue to keep this in mind as I move forward. 

Pandamonium - Plants for Sale

So as most of you probably have realized based on my last blog I like to garden and be outdoors.  So after a few years of inattention to my yard, due to Mel being sick, and then my Mom having surgery, and the moles wreaking havoc in the yard, well lets just say the yard and garden were seriously damaged and overgrown.  So this year was the clean up and as a result I have many extra plants that I am planning to sell at the pandemonium as part of my fundraising.  So the list includes but is not limited to Delphiniums (blue), a mystery plant that has a tall spike with white flowers (can't remember the name), lots of strawberry plants, mini pansies (johnny jump ups) and then the extra veggies that we started from seed, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, collards,  thai basil, borage, cucumbers and so on ...   If this is successful then next year I will start lots of seeds in my new greenhouse (we just finished it on the long weekend) and I can have a greater selection / quantity for next year.  

Quack Grass 742

For the past couple of weeks I have been working diligently on getting my garden going and quack grass has been my biggest challenge.  It looked like a million were coming up all over the garden however it was only 742 so far that I have pulled or broken off ... I'm counting everything these days.  Maybe we could do a fundraiser based on the number of weeds we pull out of a garden or flower bed 😓.    

One thing I admire about the darn stuff is how it grows ... wow you want to see a root system these plants have it in spades.  So while I am out there yanking out roots and plants it made me realize how a strong root system can make you indestructible.  No matter what it ... always comes up again!
there is a life lesson in this ... things like
having a good support (root) system, 
how a lot of what goes on with a person is hidden underground
under difficult conditions you can still see growth
it never quits


Not bad characteristics ... I just can't appreciate them right now.

Fundraising

So of course I asked some of the guys at work to sponsor me in my acts of kindness fund raising and several times I have gotten the following response ....

"so if I sponsor you can I get 'credit' for future acts of kindness?" 

And I am confused 😕 and ask 'what do you mean?'

and the response is "so like if in the future I do something that ticks you off, well then you will have to be kind to me and not chew me out".

Now how do I respond to that! 😮  And what does that say about my supervisory/communication skills?  😳

I know that I am blunt in my approach to things,  sometimes lacking in diplomacy,  however if the guys are trying to buy future 'acts of kindness' I may have to implement 'kindness/diplomacy/tact' into my future dealings with them.  Looking back through my notes I noticed my dealings with the guys at work are never in the acts of kindness that I record.  😔 So maybe I am NOT being kind to them?

I am going to have to fix this!

Fundraising for Acts of Kindness

So its been interesting with the new 'Acts of Kindness' sponsor sheet.  I talk to people about sponsoring me for this and I get some really baffled looks and questions. 

Like what IS an act of kindness?   Thank god we have talked about this alot at the I Ho Chuan Meetings ...

How many are you going to do in a week?  This is a tough one ... we record them and try to do at least five a day but it could go higher so its kind of hard to predict ...

Why are you doing this?  I really like this one ... because its so multifaceted. 

I am:
practicing being aware of whats going on around me
making an effort to interact with other people
taking the opportunity to be kind to someone
learning how to talk to people
practicing recording my numbers
practicing self discipline
contributing to the fundraising efforts of the school

sharing the stories about our charities
part of something that changes the world ... one on one, in the community that I live, and across the globe


sharing all of it with the other students at Silent River Kung Fu

Windows

This past couple of weeks has been really busy at work (quarterly bonuses & year end) so I have been sitting in front of the computer screen a lot, this sitting and computer work is harder on my body than anything else I do.  A lot of my family members think I'm crazy because I am still doing kungfu and running around in dragons and lions (at my age) ... and sure I get tired, and sometimes a little bruised, but I get serious neck and back pain from the computer work.  I spend more time at physio and massage because of my job than I ever have because of kungfu, dancing or gardening.  I should have to sign a waiver for work, not my fun activities   

So you can tell where this is going ... my neck and shoulders are giving me grief and as a result I have had a pretty grim headache for the last couple of days.  This really messes with my sword form, I have to really concentrate on breathing and relaxing my shoulders, they get tight and the neck is sore and I do the turtle thing which looks pretty bad when you are doing a tai chi form.   

I need a massage ... 💆 actually I need one every week just to keep the neck and shoulders healthy.   I know several, I just never make the time.  Its like my pain is  not a priority to myself?

 💭 I have thought a lot about the belief systems that make many of us put ourselves last.  Do we think we are selfish if we take time to care of our own health, physical, mental and emotional?  Is it a self esteem issue?  Is it a female thing?  A parent thing?  Oldest child syndrome?

Someone once described these belief systems as a piece of glass or window that we view the world through.   The glass is created by what we have been taught/learned (either by example or by experience) and each one is unique. And all of them have warps and imperfections, none are really clear.  There is no one that can claim to be objective, we all live subjectively veiwing the world through our windows.

Apology to the I Ho Chuan Members

I would like to apologize for using a swear word at the last I Ho Chuan meeting.  I never realized I said it until Sifu Melanie Beckett called me on it a couple of days later.  I don't have an excuse this word has been in my vocabulary for a long time ... 

I am embarrassed and sorry!

I Ho Chuan Class - Beta Version of Forms

All I can say is WOW!  It was an awesome class, everybody brought something great to the weapons and hand forms review ... I was impressed with how hard everyone has been working, it showed in really great performances.  Congrats to everyone! I am excited about all the demos to come and how awesome they are going to be.

I am going to get back into perfecting mode and continue polishing and adding to my Tai Chi Sword form, and remembering all of Tai He (hand form) in the right order,  both of them are having moments of feeling 'right'.  Still need to fine tune the wudang style stances and get better hip alignments, sometimes (especially with a sword in my hand) I am too open on the free hand side, I notice because it really messes with the flow.  And as always there is the left/arm hand and what it is doing ... good grief what is it doing???

I am still appreciating my improved health and as a result my improved memory ... I can actually remember things.  The past few years (like 4 of them) have been a real challenge because I just could not remember things.  I went from multitasking and getting things done, to writing everything down (and I mean everything) and struggling to cope with simple tasks.  Its amazing what a chemical soup the human body is ... hormones change and it totally can mess up your life.

Back from Vacation

So we had a GREAT time in Roatan with my daughters, their significant others and my niece.  Came back with a tan and totally de-stressed except for a run in with a customs agent in Houston.  One of these days I am going to get arrested because my first reaction is always to dish back any additude that comes at me, and she was a real piece of work.

It was really great how 7 adults managed to share a kitchen and two bathrooms, most of us cook so there was really great food, alot of great stories told and experiences shared.  Did my numbers stay on track while I was on holidays ... not really, and I don't think snorkeling, diving, ziplining and bumming around on the beach can really be worked into any of my requirements.  Still I think my doctor would be pleased with the reduction in my stress levels and my improved state of mind.  That's the thing ... I don't mind working hard or playing hard either.  Life should be experienced to the max and the vacation was loaded with quality time with all my favorite people, no complaints here.

On vacation ...

this is from Roatan, Honduras.  Slightly sun burnt, but having fun.  Learned something about balance while trying to paddleboard yesterday, it made me very aware of my foot position,  and weight distribution across my board, whether I was leaning in one direction or the other, making minute adjustments to adjust for waves and swells.  I fell several times before I got it, so to speak, Brandi & Dan both got up on the board and stayed up the entire time ... Of course they did🙄  

Feb 9th, 2017

I have finally unwound from Chinese New Year and settled in to the year of the rooster.  Its always a bit of a crash after all the excitement but kind of nice as well.  So far the numbers are good,  I am slowly adding move by move to both my forms and starting to feel some flow.  Because these forms are slower its easier to feel the good and bad that's happening when you are learning something new.  I might not know why this particular move is feeling awkward ... lots of times its the timing ... or my shoulders are up but I am taking the time to discover how each sequence should feel when its right.  I have the advantage of Sifu Melanie Beckett (daughter who studied in china for five years) to clarify for me when I can't figure it out on my own.  So I have my own expectations that these forms are going to be stellar ... no excuse when I have access to that much knowledge.  I can hardly wait for the  warm weather that is coming next week ... I can practice on the back deck without worrying about damaging light fixtures, cats or drywall.

We need a house/cat sitter Feb 28th to March 12th, however I live out on an acreage about 20 mins south east from Spruce Grove (ten minutes from Devon).  If you know of anyone who would be interested in making a few extra dollars and hanging out with a couple of cats please let me know.

Rooster Year

First I would like to say thank you to everyone who helped with the dirty tasks at the Chinese New Year Banquet, clearing tables, scraping dishes and repacking, loading and cleaning.  It went like silk and that is thanks to all of you!

I have started my new forms and its pretty exciting, a sword in my hand is a good feeling.  Not sure why I like them so much but I do.   Youngest Sifu Beckett is teaching me the Tai Chi Straight Sword form. So far doing 5 to 10 reps of what I know is pretty easy but this is a pretty long form so the learning curve is going to be lengthy.  Watching the video I must say its beautiful and I hope I can do it justice.  As usual for the first week my tracking and numbers are looking good, every year I get better at this part of the process ... journaling, writing things down, keeping up on my numbers.  Maintaining this is the key and my goal for this year (again)!

last post as a monkey

So I am sort of on a holding pattern with an anxious knot in my stomach, waiting for Saturday to start and looking forward to it being over all at the same time.  Everything is arranged, 3 more sleeps and its a go!  So I am practicing my form alot and trying to not think about all the things that could go wrong.  Dreaming about dragon dancing.

I am grateful for;

frost its been so beautiful the past few days
all the positive people on the I Ho Chuan Team
surgeons, our operations manager had to go in for surgery and we hear it went well
dance class which is about the only time I'm not stressing about chinese new year
my family who are awesome! 

the last mile

I watched the video of our dragon/lion dance and must say its looking pretty good.  This is one of the best things about the I Ho Chuan ... the practices, the teamwork, the sharing, the performance anxiety. I love the getting ready part ... the actual performance is over in a couple of minutes but its the journey getting there that makes it all worth it.  I went back and read some old blogs and I can say that this was not the way I felt about it 5 years ago.  I was mostly terrified and overwhelmed, definitely NOT enjoying the journey/process.  And although I am slow, even reluctant to change, just sticking with it and failing over and over and over again to achieve my numbers and/or document my journey its still had a huge impact on my life.  Bit by bit I have been a little bit more successful each year.  My self discipline muscles are growing stronger and my attitude is more consistently positive, my life is just better!