Adrian Anantawan: You should have seen him play baseball!

This young man is supremely gifted. It was apparent early on when we first heard him play.

He and my twin sons, Andrew and Court went through grade school at St. Christopher's in Clarkson together. All three played on the same baseball team. He was very, very good at first base.

My strongest memory Adrian was his optimism. And his infectious smile. He never made excuses, never made a fuss. He just ran out on the field with the same enthusiasm and great big smile for every practice and every game. He was glad to be playing with his friends.

I haven't seen Adrian in years. I have followed his amazing career. He is an inspiration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IxaNyVjDKU

Sunrise over Southern Georgian Bay...Moving On

Sunrise over Southern Georgian Bay. Taken from the top of Blue Mountain just outside of Collingwood. The craziest coincidence: I posted a story a few months ago about my inspiration for running the Reggae Marathon. (Original post here: http://mykalsreport.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-we-conquered-jacobs-ladder-jamaica.html).
It recalled my hike up to the top of Blue Mountain Peak in Jamaica nearly 40 years ago.

Hmmm...

I had fun taking this picture. Other than getting up at 4:30 am...I am an early riser but that really was ridiculous!

But it was worth it! The air was fresh and still; the cloud and rain of the past few days a distant memory.

And not to beat a dead horse about this, but it represented a turning point for me. Someone moved my cheese, I don't care, time to move forward...the Parmesan is just around the next corner. (Thanks Andrew in Wasaga Beach for your comment on the last post)

Now lets move on...

I received some really good news regarding my run in the Reggae Marathon this December 5 in Negril, Jamaica: I have received the support of the Canadian Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.ca/

Yipee!

Now I can officially say that my fund raising efforts are "in support of the Canadian Diabetes Association”. Over the next few weeks I'll announce how you can make donations directly, easily and securely to the CDA. I want to raise a lot of money to help find a cure for this disease and I will need your help. Please consider my request and be as generous as you can. I can promise that I will work my butt off to get through the 42 kilometres in Negril this December.

A lot of people have supported and encouraged me so far:

• Marguerite Orane of the JamDammers Group http://www.jamdammers.com/ in Jamaica for moral support. I will need all the water stations on December 5...and the music as loud as you can play it.
• Mike McCluskey and the Wasaga Beach Road Runers http://sites.google.com/site/wasagabeachroadrunners/. While I have only managed a couple of runs so far, the support and encouragement has been great. "I'll get over this bum knee soon".
• My kids...all 4 of them for humouring the 'old man'. Thanks Andrew, Court, Holden and Michael.
• All of you, my friends who have put up with me as I have droned on so far about this project.
• And most importantly, Sally for putting up with this. Without her this would not be happening. I truly am blessed.

I plan to share some more of the sunrise pictures I took from the top of Blue Mountain. Here is another one.

Until next time...

Move on!

Easy advice to give. A little more challenging to receive.

I was asked recently if I had gotten over the challenges of the past year which have included job loss to my Father's passing to trying to eke out a living through this global recession. The follow-up question was next: “Are you ready to move on?”

Where to begin?

My best attempt at an answer is the picture I chose to illustrate this post: a sunset. I have taken a lot of sunset photos recently and have used a number of them in various recent posts. And I have received some complements (it helps to have a really great camera and some spectacular scenery here at Wasaga Beach).

Sunsets of course are about endings. And that's where I am. Ending a bunch of things while experimenting with new opportunities. 'Transition time' the experts say. "Exciting times" they all parrot. Over these past 12 months I have knocked on a lot of doors and kissed a lot of frogs. I have a lot of T shirts.

Moving on from job loss. I had a meeting recently with a Toronto-based advertising agency executive. Somehow we got onto the topic of job transition. He related his story to me but the line that has stuck with me is, “I got up one morning and felt like the most unsuccessful successful person I knew”. Those of us who have been restructured will understand that. Don't blame yourself...self flagellation hurts too much.

Can you ever move on from the death of a loved one? The sad truth is you do. They fade away. You learn to live without them. In some cases, to stand on your own two feet. For me, I don't have to seek approval anymore. I feel like I have just been released from jail and just want to inhale the scent of freedom for a while.

And finally now that the job in the 'downtown high-rise office with the paid-for underground parking' is a distant memory, its time to move on from 'job' to 'work'. My 'job' moving forward is to put my 25 years of experience in marketing and advertising to work: help others grow their business. Actively seeking opportunities!

I could rattle on about moving but the way I will be best able to demonstrate that I have 'moved on' is with a picture. Stay tuned.

Until next time...

Running on Wasaga Beach Summer 2009

Busted! Sally caught Tia and I recently on Wasaga Beach after a short run to test the recovery of my knees. Unfortunately my knees did not past the test. Staying with easy cycling for now. And no, I do not run with Tia even though she loves to gallop along the beach.

It is hard to be down when we have this to enjoy every day. Sunsets at Wasaga Beach tend to be magnificent even on bad days. That is Collingwood and Blue Mountain in the distance.

Whew! I am going to have to loose a few pounds. Where did that spare tire around my waist come from? Probably contributed to the knee problems...that and staying with running flats too long back in April.

The Wasaga Beach Road Runners club is now officially up and running now. You can check out the site at http://sites.google.com/site/wasagabeachroadrunners/.

I am also pleased to announce that Sally and I have put our money where our mouth is and have signed up as sponsors to promote our Identity Theft Restoration business. You can check us out at www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/spennock.

Until next time...