Josh

6/14/09 – Got the lumber prices for the small house we’re considering building. $6500 for the shell (finished exterior) not counting the concrete slab we’re building it on.

6/15/09 – I made some killer Tilapia for dinner, spiced cajun style with fried sweet potato medallions and couscous.

6/16/09 – A really good workout at my martial arts class.

6/17/09 – Our three day family reunion started. It was nice to see people I don’t get to see that often.

6/18/09 – I spent the day smoking two large turkeys for the family reunion dinner. Both turned out really well (moist and flavorful).

6/19/09 – I chilled with family.

6/20/09 – I started the day off with a breakfast with everyone at the reunion, but then I had to cut out for a few hours. I participated in a demonstration for the martial arts association that I belong to. Afterwards, I got to try food from five different countries (Haiti, Burundi, Korea, China, and Mongolia). Then I came home to the reunion and we had lasagna for dinner… and then I built a campfire for people to make smores and roast marshmellows… and then I played poker (with play money, I don’t gamble) till 1:00 am…. it’s was a long day.

6/21/09 – Everyone left… I was glad to see everyone… but I was glad they left so I could rest. :)

6/22/09 – I watched Harry Potter with my wife (it’s her favorite).

6/23/09 – I made some awesome tacos for dinner. :)

6/24/09 – I went to Grandmaster’s to work out, and I passed my Il-bo test. Afterwards I ate at Popeyes… Popeye’s biscuits are the shit. :)

6/25/09 – Another really good workout at my martial arts class.

6/26/09 – Got the septic tank price for the house we’re wanting to build… $5300, that’s not bad.

I’ve been thinking about this more and more lately, and I really think that what I want my life to be about is helping others. That’s a big step for me because, while I don’t think of myself as a selfish person, I haven’t taken a lot of steps to get into volunteering or the such in the past.

What I want to do is find the proper venue for my efforts. I have volunteered with soup kitchens and Habitat for Humanity in the past, and I’d like to do more with that. I also have always felt a desire to work with and help the homeless. There is an awesome organization in Atlanta called Mad Housers that does that.

I’d also like to find a way to volunteer overseas sometime, too. Another 43Thinger, who I greatly admire and consider a friend, is getting ready to go to Nepal for the summer to volunteer. I think that is awesome. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find a venue like that for myself (not yet anyways… I’m not giving up). It seems that most organizations only want volunteers who have backgrounds in education, healthcare, engineering, etc. I went to culinary school and have worked in either fine dinning or construction during my adult life (and I’m not ashamed of that).

I’m not going to go back to school just so that I can volunteer… so I need to do more research to find the proper venue for my efforts. That’s what this goal is going to represent for me now.

6/1/09 – Long hard workday, but it was productive. It was also a very simple day on a whole.

6/2/09 – I finished watching True Blood season one… I really enjoyed it.

6/3/09 – I finished working at the Holiday Inn job that I started back in December… I have officially re-done a hotel.

6/4/09 – Awesome Mexican food… :)

6/5/09 – I didn’t have to work… but I spent the day getting stuff done around the house. That evening, I left to go to the annual martial arts summer camp that the organization that I belong to puts on. I got a good workout in, and then when we got back to our campsite, I built a fire and we all roasted hotdogs, bratwurst, and marshmellows (and made smores).

6/6/09 – Started the day with a sunrise workout doing a few Tai Chi forms and a few similar Korean style exercies. Also did a lot of breathing exercises… we then meditated on the lawn for about 20 minutes. After that, we took seminars (each about 45 minutes long) on bonsai, Korean cooking, and reading/writing Korean (understand their “alphabet”). Then in the afternoon, I took a two hour seminar on Kumdo (Kendo in Japanese) from a world recognized sword master. I’ve never learned to use a real samurai sword before… I really enjoyed the way it felt. Later that evening, I volunteered to help serve the authentic Korean meal (made by a family of Korean natives, one of which is a Korean chef) to everyone else (there were about 200 of us attending camp, including about a dozen instructors and various masters). Afterwards, while eating my fill of the Korean food, I got to have a really interesting conversation with the Korean chef (I went to culinary school, so it was interesting to me). It was a good day. I built another fire when we (my school) got back to our campsite… we roasted more hotdogs, bratwursts, and marshmellows (and I think a few smores were made).

6/7/09 – After starting the day with another sunrise class, breathing exercises, and mediatation. After working out, summer camp was over with, and we cleaned up the grounds, our campsite, and I was home around noon. I spent the rest of the day being lazy and watching Rescue Me with my wife… and I made chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies (I’ve got a good recipe if anyone is interested).

6/8/09 – Made really good stir fry for dinner.

6/9/09 – I didn’t have to work (because of the way scheduling worked out), so I went to various lumber yards to get the material packages priced for a small house I’m thinking of starting in August or September (if the money works out right). I also had a really good workout at my martial arts class.

6/10/09 – A really long work day… but I had good chinese food for lunch, so it’s all good.

6/11/09 – I made chicken/veggie curry served over jasmine rice… one of my favorites.

6/12/09 – My wife and both had long, hard work days… so we went to a local cafe for dinner. I had very good calamari and fried shrimp (served with a tasty ginger plum sauce), and a manhattan (a bourbon whiskey cocktail)... and was lazy the rest of the day.

6/13/09 – I’ve spent the day being lazy and getting a few things caught up around the house… and watching Rescue Me intermittently on Hulu.