Holiday training

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In less than a month I’ll be ‘Everesting the Crunch’, (follow @EverestTheCrunch on Instagram). We travelled to Kelowna yesterday, and it was a no workout day, so in keeping with my commitment to ‘never miss two days in a row’, I had to get a workout in. I decided a brisk walk up a nearby hill (x4) with pushups at the top and bottom would suffice.

Unfortunately once my heart rate was up, I could taste the smoke from nearby fires, but at least it wasn’t as bad as yesterday, when Kelowna had the worst air quality in the world. And admittedly, I was still feeling the affects of some afternoon drinks at the campsite… but off I went anyway.

Well it turned out to be a full-on 46 minute workout with my heart rate peaking above 150 at the top of the hill all 4 times, while never going faster than a brisk walk. What matters is not missing 2 days in a row, and going up hill to keep the training going for Everesting the Crunch.

~

Dave Sands and I will be going up the Coquitlam Crunch 37 times in less than 48 hours, August 21st & 22nd. That’s 9km vertical, the distance walked (mostly up hill) will be 2 marathons, and it will take over 19 hours of walking time.

If you are local, you can join us for a crunch or two and/or donate to support local mental health initiatives. You can donate here.

So Smokey

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I remember when forest fires were not a factor that disrupted summer holiday plans. However for a few years now smoke has wreaked havoc on our summer vacations. The worst for my wife and I was in Nelson, BC back in 2021, when it seemed the whole province was on fire. I actually tried to do a morning run and learned later that on that morning Nelson had one of the worst air quality indexes in the world, due to nearby forest fires. My breathing felt like I was jogging inside a plastic bag, and I could taste the smoke. I struggled.

Today we drove to Kelowna. We charged our car in Merritt where the air quality was awful. You could see the smoke in the air between you and anything 8-10 feet away or more. And while there were a couple clear patches beyond Merritt, as we entered Kelowna the smoke returned.

So our holiday now starts, and will probably end, in smoke. Exercise might be curtailed, and so too might beach time. We’ll make the most of our time here… but I’m not sure we’ll do this trip again next year if we have to book it months in advance and won’t know the smoke conditions.

We are fortunate that the smoke seldom heads to the lower mainland, where we live. I have a lot of empathy for people who deal with this all summer long, and also face the threat of fires affecting their lives more personally. It’s one thing to be upset about smoke filled air on your holidays and a whole other thing when it affects your everyday life.

We went for the EV

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Just yesterday we went looking for a car and we were told  that there was about a 6-month wait for the car we wanted. It was closer to 3 months (October) before the next shipment was going to arrive, but a wait nonetheless… Until my wife contacted one of the managers of the dealership, who had sold her a car at another dealership. He offered up the floor model, saying they could use the demo car as their floor model until October.

So, about 24 hours after walking into the dealership last night we walked out with our brand new Electric Vehicle. We chose the Subaru Trailseeker. The mileage per full charge is 444km, and it has all the features we were looking for in an EV.

We still have to buy a charger for our home, but we were smart enough to set up the wiring for it when we did our last renovation. So, it won’t cost more than basic installation once we choose our brand. I’m interested to see how this will affect our electricity bill, but I’m sure it will cost a lot less than the gas for my gas van we just got rid of.

It has been a good 20 years or more since we bought a new car as opposed to a used one, and so it feels like a real treat. We figured the advancements recently have been too great to choose a used EV. I feel good about moving to a fully electric car, and I’m also specifically a fan of the car we just bought.

Kaput car

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Recently, my car died one hour south of the border. We had to have it towed to a shop while my family was picked up by my sister-in-law, who drove us home. This was a very kind act, which involved her driving for over two hours to help us out.

Then I had to get back to my car the following weekend… and pay a hefty repair bill. My car is old and I was considering getting rid of it this year, but decided to wait until next year. My car has a different agenda.

Recently the power steering has been acting up and so we took it to our usual mechanic to have it checked out. The news wasn’t great. The repairs needed were going to be as much as I just spent a few months ago again. The only good news is that our mechanic didn’t charge us for the inspection. They also told me it was too much to spend on a 19 year old car, and I agreed. They also said it would be fine to drive around town but didn’t recommend long highway drives like the one we have coming up in a few days.

I have to say that my current car has served our family well. It’s a 2007 that we purchased, with very low mileage, in 2011. 15 years of good service from a 19 year old car is definitely a purchase we got a lot of value from.

So, it’s time to buy a new car. Except, the one we want has about a 6-month wait for arrival. Will my car hold out that long? I really don’t know, but it’s only going to be used for small in-city trips from now on, and hopefully it won’t go kaput before we get a replacement. 🤞

My first phone

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It’s hard to believe that I’ve never owned my own phone. I’ve been an administrator since the mid 2000’s, and the job came with a phone. Before that my wife and I shared a phone… Why would we have needed our own phones?

With the end of the month retirement deadline looming, and a holiday to the interior on our agenda, it was time for me to head to the store and buy a phone in my own name. It’s seems rather odd to be saying that for the first time in 2026. Just think of all the changes that have occurred since I shared a flip phone with my wife.

How different are our lives? How much more focused on our phones are we? How much more do we rely on them for information, banking, entertainment, direction, and of course, communication?

I couldn’t imagine sharing a phone today… I’m having a hard time remembering how I did it 20 years ago!?!

Teamwork exemplified

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I’m not a huge soccer fan, but I have to say that it was a pleasure to watch Spain’s offence in the final today. It was one of the beast examples of teamwork I’ve seen on any sports field. The team moved together, the players understood their roles, and yet they were fluid, not robotic.

They played an elite team game. They demonstrated their skills, and their ability to work together. They understood the assignment and everyone played their part.

That game wasn’t won just today. It was won through the building of a team culture, countless hours of skills training, and a strategy that relied on everyone being part of what they built. The level of domination they demonstrated on the pitch, when it comes to control of the play, probably sits so far above the statistical norm that I’d question if a final will ever be so one-sided again.

It truly was a pleasure to watch them.

_____

Update: Check out these stats!

Ultimate game

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My youngest daughter is dating an Ultimate (frisbee) athlete who plays for the Seattle Cascades Ultimate team. He’s a defensive specialist currently leading the league in blocks, heading into his final game of the year… which is fantastic for his rookie year as a professional.

Today we drove down to Seattle to see the game. Ultimate is a great game to watch, it’s high scoring and fast paced. The athleticism shown by these top players really makes the game a joy to watch. 

((Video: Great defence!))

If they can

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I think the first time I heard this term was from Ross Greene,

“Kids do well if they can.”

It stuck with me. Kids want to behave well, but they don’t always have the skill, resources, or know-how to do so. Give them the skills, rather than punishing or trying to reward the good behaviour they don’t have the skills to achieve.

So often we equate behaviour with intent. We see a kid labelled as bad instead of a kid making a bad choice or demonstrating poor behaviour.

We don’t see the underlying trauma, or the lack of appropriate role models, or the negative attention being better than being invisible.

The behaviour is where the attention falls, not the unmet needs of the kid. What’s really challenging about this is that even when the needs and supports are provided, improvements aren’t always immediately seen. They can be slow to show, because the kid doing the best they can doesn’t always change as fast as you’d want.

If you start with a belief that kids are always doing the best they can with the resources they have, then the behaviours become more understandable, and it becomes easier to be firm with high expectations and still treat a kid with the dignity and respect they deserve… even when their behaviour is less than ideal.

On the move

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I feel like my last month has been nothing but packing up and moving:

  1. Retirement and leaving a building that was my work home for 13 years.
  2. Moving everything out of my bedroom and two upstairs bathrooms for a renovation/upgrade.
  3. Hopping on a ferry (this morning) and packing up my daughter. She’s heading back to the mainland next month to do her Masters.

Putting life’s ‘stuff’ in boxes, weeding out the unwanted, and still holding on to more than we should.

Moves are healthy. They are the times we actually do reminisce and recall the memories we cherish. They are also the times we let go of things that we should have long ago. That said, the unpacking is not nearly as much fun. It’s one of those things you’ve got to slog through, but it sure feels good when it’s all done!

Quantifying the day

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Summer days can be tricky. The routine of work is gone and schedules are made up on the fly. Today I had a great workout then spent the next 2 hours in the kitchen doing meal prep. Then I had a doctor’s appointment and decided to drop some food off at a friend’s house.

I had forgotten that there was a World Cup semifinal game and was lucky enough to join my friend for the second half, where all 3 goals were scored. As exciting as that was, I didn’t have a lot of sleep last night and was practically falling asleep on the couch. I came home and had a 20 minute nap before a massage therapy appointment this afternoon.

Now I’m home and heading out in a bit for dinner at a restaurant with my wife and our niece. Yesterday at noon, the only thing scheduled for today was my workout and the massage, everything else sort of came up after that. Looking back on the day now, it has been quite busy, which sounds ridiculous to say when a nap was part of the day.

I guess this is good preparation for retirement. What will constitute a busy day will be so much different than what the work day usually entails. I think I’ve had practice with summers off, but I do believe it’s going to feel quite weird when I see my wife heading off to work in September and my summer mode will continue.

I know my mindset, and I think I will need to figure out how I will quantify my days when retired. I have no desire to just make myself busy, but I also know that I can completely waste a day away if I’m not careful. I don’t yet know what my measurements or scales will be, but I will find a way to ensure that I feel good about how I spend my days.

I spent my day very well today.