The Start of something good.

Being focused on doing one particular thing will bring about the greatest end goal. A great quote I've heard is, "When washing dishes, just wash dishes." Meaning that by focusing on washing the dishes and not anything else you will become absorbed in doing the dishes and wash them to your very best ability. By doing your very best in that seemingly monotomous, boring task of washing dishes you will be happy and satisfied. Whatever the task might be if you get absorbed and involved in that task the task will begin to matter. That being said its also important to switch your mind to the next task and not still have a dish washing mindset after all the dishes have been washed. Don't live in the past.

That being said, january tends to be a good month to start planning your goals for the year. Ill write my physical one on this blog to try and help keep me accountable and not back out of them. Some races that I have signed up for already include;

* Wilderness 101 MTB Race--July 28

* NYC Marathon-- November 4 ( Thats right. Finally got in it.)

Some personal goals include

* Swim 120 miles (which just happens to be approximately the length of Lake Champlain)

I encourage you all to write down some goals and tell others about them. It doesn't matter what type of goal it is. I also have a goal of finishing the painting I started along with a bunch of other goals. Don't worry if you cant accomplish them. Failure is a way to learn.
Dont keep dwelling on a matter. Think, Decide and forget. Think about the best course of action. Decide to follow through with the action, even if there may be a better way to do it, you will learn from your mistakes. Then Forget about it, just do it as the phrase goes. Don’t overthink it.

-Be the positive in a world of negativity and your world will be positive-

December 2011

Ah the cold, dark, season of winter. Change has arrived and another snowboard season is upon all of us up here in the northern hemisphere. You know when a girl likes a guy and gets all those giddy feelings… that’s how I feel. It’s going to be a good winter.
Change is unavoidable as we all know. Sometimes its for the good and sometimes its for the, "not so good". But it is important to remember to look on the bright side of things. Everything no matter how, “not so good” they are has something you can take away from it to make you better. Let’s take a physical injury for example. Right now as I am typing this I have a painful right ankle and a messed up left quadricep. I am unable to run and also unable to bike, talk about depression. But looking on the bright side it allows me to focus on things I normally miss out on. Reading, movies, and especially just relaxing is a new change.
The season of winter can be depressing for some cause of the days seemingly getting shorter and there being less light. Its important to look on the bright side. The winter can be a beautiful season depending on the way we view it. Sled riding, snowman making, baking cookies and the frequent snowball fights bring us back to our youth and remind us of being a kid. All experiences in life take time, never rush the moment. There is a particular moment when you are snowboarding that you feel free, reborn in a sense. The moment everything is effortless and you feel like you are flying. Embracing the change of seasons and making the best of the situation is the best way to view things. We cant control the weather or the seasons but what we can control is the way we view it. Are perspective.
-Viewing the positive-
-Barton-


P.S. I’m sorry to inform the few people who actually read these things that my goal for 12 essays in 2011 has be accomplished.

Cadence (November 2011)

So this is a special month for me. Not going to give the reason why but just wanted to share. That being said I try to go for a long bike ride each November. It has usually been on the fixed gear bike Kevin gave me who I named Cadence. I usually get everything ready the night before especially my brain for a long ride out to the east end of Long Island. No real time to beat its just for the enjoyment and repetitious nonstop movement of the pedals.
Speaking of Cadence, I recently saved a new kitten that I deemed the name Cadence. Yes, the man cave is almost complete and the two men that inhabit it are well… the men. Besides the cold sore I got from all the initial stress of taking him to the vet and realizing that I now have responsibility, so far so good. It feels like I adopted a little child. Guy cats are much easier… from what I hear to raise. It’s a fact that guys are more easy going in all species. :)
I’ve never really had a real pet so I finally decided to stop thinking about it and just do it. I always wanted a Tabby cat since I was little. I figured it would be a good test of my patience and teach me to think more about love and responsibility. So far he is the man and no regrets, hopefully none to come. Also he is a babe magnet. I never realized the cuteness power of a kitten. I brought him to the vet and it was apparently hot single girl day. Everyone had the same expression… awe. If only I would have gotten a cat a long time ago.
Animals have always been a big part of my life as far back as I can remember. I still have mental images of discovery channel programs burned into my brain from long ago. I remember taping (Yes VHS) and watching shows on spiders, cats, and sharks over and over again. Movies like Milo and Otis, Homeward Bound, and Lady and the Tramp were among my top favorite movies. I can see why some people love there pets more than other humans. Animals have and always will play a big part in my life and surely in everyone that is reading this can concur. Well time to go find my Cadence.
-Never Stop Pedaling-
-Barton-

October 2011

Enter the Kraken

It is well known that heat makes people tired. Well at least in my experience. I one time went to go swimming and figured I would warm up my muscles in the hot tub by the side of the pool. That was not my brightest idea. I was so drained after it and had no energy to swim that I just showered up and drove my relaxed butt to work. It’s hard to go from relaxed to jumping in the refreshing pool and swimming laps. So now I only go in the hot tub after my swim. Call it a reward.
I accomplished my goal of swimming 100 miles this year on September 14, 2011. “Open the Kraken.” One thing I learned from all this training is the blue line at the bottom of the pool does not change color no matter how much I wanted it to at times. As monotonous as lap swimming may appear to be you would be surprised how quickly it goes when you get lost in your own thoughts.
My mind jumps around a lot. Some examples of what it goes through are; what lap number is this?, what am I going to eat after this?, what do I need to get done today?, among many other things. I’ve learned to designate certain one hundred meters as pure focus intervals where I try not to think about anything except the act of swimming. I usually repeat a montra or count my strokes. One, two, three, breath, one, two, three, breath. I would be good at giving birth… on second thought maybe I would rather just teach lamas class. Another thing I discovered in the pool is flow. That feeling of effortless, flawless swimming where it feels like it could be a dream. It doesn’t happen to often but when it does, it is unmistakable. All in all I feel this personal swim goal of mine was a positive, rejunvinating, revitalizing, and refreshing (especially on those cold winter mornings when I almost literally had to have Ed the lifeguard throw me in the pool) experience. The Kraken rum I have been saving didn’t carry as much weight as it did in the beginning. The reward seems to have been the journey and personal learning experience that came from the effort involved. The journey was the goal as well as the reward and I will hopefully reach or dare I try exceed the length next year. Maybe try the breast, back or butterfly a bit more. Maybe 125 – 150 miles. Just going to have to see.
Taking things one stroke at a time-
-Barton-

September 2011 essay

Think back for a second. When we were young everything was new to us. Each day with unexpected events that were going to unfold. I remember being fascinated by even the smallest of things. Every detail of the event of the moment.
Sometimes however, life can seem monotonous. Go to work, eat, sleep, do what your use to, see the same people, blah blah blah. When we were little everything and everyday was exciting, different and new (unless they showed reruns of Saturday morning cartoons, then there was a little monotony but still exciting, again). My Goal is to have a child’s mindset. Sounds rather funny but by looking at each day as a new, exciting adventure, boredom and “getting into a funk” is impossible. Don’t get me wrong I love some of the routine things I do. Routine however does not lead to change and if there is no change, nothing changes. There is no room to grow, expand, and learn if you don’t get outside your comfort zone. I hate yet love that comfort zone. It’s good at times but it takes reminders (at least for me) to get out of it. When I was little I had one goal, to have fun every day, no matter what. Even now the goal is the same. Guess I’m just a big kid. I think it’s important to take each day this way. Right now, writing this is my fun for the moment that I’m writing it. Big geek what can I say. Play every day. It doesn’t always have to be what your use to. We are all use to walking the way we walk. Step outside your comfort zone and walk differently on occasions. Never change who you are, but remember to always experiment. Do your very best at whatever the change of play is and the effort you put forth is a reward in itself. Immerse yourself and get involved in the activity. View the change as a chance to grow. Find fun in the moment. Now that’s a good motto to live by.

Focusing on the details
-Barton-

Waves and Training

I recently went to the beach for some r and r only to realize that you don’t always get what you want. In this case it was a good thing. I wound up battling the surf and sun. Fighting as it was to get into the water to ride the waves. It was a great workout in a surprising way. It brought me back to the days of my young childhood that was spent at the beach. Such fond memories flooded into my brain. Play is all we seem to want to do when we are little but as we age we need to remember to keep things in balance and show humility and modesty to the best of our abilities. Of course always having fun and looking on the bright side of things is always in order. Play however, can be rather exhausting.
Tiring myself out till I passed out under the umbrella was great. Instead of an internal , mental battle that is usually accompanied with running, this is external, just you verse the sun and the waves. Waves always seem to win, never giving up, never tiring and I thought running was tiring.
I also did a beach run for the first time and found it to be very easy compared to the epic battle with the waves. Very relaxing and rejuvenating. It may have been the sound of the waves, or the softness of the sand or maybe the heat of the sun. But in my opinion the beach is a cure all of all types of illness, from mental to physical. The sun, sound of the waves and the taste of salt on the palate reminds me of a sense of freedom and completeness. It’s a place where two worlds collide into each other causing an orderly, consistent disorder. But once you get past the disorder, past the waves, the open water stretches for what seems forever. A real endless pool for you to swim and lose yourself.
-Barton-

July 2011

Experiment in your Lab

You are a scientist! Whether you enjoy it or not is up to you. You can continue to learn, experiment, and love your work and life. Or you could just go into your own lab, punch in some data and leave without showing any real interest. It’s your chose. Like an ameba we all get absorbed in things that interest us. One of my interests happens to be sharks. It by chance also happens to be shark week the week I got off from work…sweet!
Its interesting to try and learn new things. Initially we may say and convince ourselves that we don’t like a particular activity without even giving it a real chance. The Truth is that if we give that activity more time, tough it out so to speak, we will start to develop a love for it. The more we involve ourselves in something the more we come to love it. Of course we will migrate back to the things we love the most but you will learn more about that particular activity and more importantly about yourself. Another benefit is that you wont get burned out on the things that you do love. Rest and take a break from them once in a while. Don’t be lazy but reasonable with yourself. Try something new today.
-Barton-
“Remember to forget”