New Music, new demo, new Lion/Dragon dance

I can’t believe it is going to be Canada Day already. We are at the half way mark for our I Ho Chuan year of the Snake and for most this demo will mark our third performance of the year. One of the requirements of the I Ho Chuan is to perform in at least 3 demos throughout the year and be part of Canada Day. Now we all know that life has its ways to interfere and disrupt even the best thought out plans. Those of you that on Monday July 1st will have completed your third demo of the year congratulations, but it’s not over yet, so keep working hard and make sure to be at all practices. Those of us that have had the misfortune to have life get in the way. Don’t give up, this is not the end. We still are guaranteed to have at least one more opportunity to perform in another demo that is at our Chinese New Year’s banquet. And if you are still short on your count why not organize another demo at a different event or place; it will also give you a great opportunity to develop your leadership skills.

Happy Canada everyone.

Schedule (it is all in the schedule)

Juggling family, Kung Fu and life in general can be an art at times. My family must think I am nuts, (some do) I am always running from one thing to the next, never having an evening off. Most time I am able to make it work without allot of conflict due to proper scheduling. I put everything into a calendar on the computer which is linked to my phone; this has helped me keep everything straight. I always have to refer to my calendar before I can commit to doing anything new and often than not, I do have to decline an invitation for a get together. Yet it is not flawless, life tends to throw the occasional curve ball at me (I think it does that just to let me know that life still goes on out there and it is not going to be controlled by my schedule) and I must be the one to adapt.

At the beginning of this I Ho Chuan year I committed to attend every I Ho Chuan Team meeting and to date I have attended three and miss two of the meetings. Now that is not a very good track record and as far as I am concerned, it is unacceptable for me.

I have learned two things from missing those meetings;

     1. Don’t volunteer for something if there is no date set. (first meeting missed)

     2. Family or care facilities do not consult my calendar when they schedule activities. (second meeting missed)

Sorry guys for missing the last two team meetings.

28 Hour Day

Would it not be great to have a 28 hour day? That would give most of us 4 hours each day that we could spend with our families. Quality time spent with the kids or significant other, not time spent preparing meals, doing house work or yard work while the kids are trying to finish the 6 hours of homework the teacher feels they have to send home each day because they also seem not to have enough time in their day to teach the lesson plans that are required for our children’s education. I am finding that each day I am running out of time to get everything accomplished. Every day there is something left undone or not even started, something neglected or even just ignored simply because as an individual we are unable to find the time to put towards it.
Or maybe it has nothing to do with the number of hours in a day? Since a far as time is concerned there has always been 24 hours in a day. Maybe is has everything to do with as to how much we try to cram or schedule into our daily lives. I think that is something a person needs to think about and consider.

Pets need Pets

This week was my turn to choose a challenge for the I Ho Chuan team to participate in. The challenge that I can up with though seemingly very simple and easy to accomplish every day, was not designed to challenge a person in a physical or mental way. It was to help develop an awareness and appreciation to all of the animals we as humans keep as pets. There are some pets that go through life unappreciated or even unwanted. There are also some people that go through their life without even knowing the joy of having a pet in their life. My hopes are that at the end of this week that more people will develop a greater appreciation towards their pets, and for those that don’t or are unable to have a pet in their lives are able to share in the enjoy and warmth that a pet owner knows.