After five weeks, I finally got my cast removed. My wrist feels cold and naked, sore and stiff, and looks like it has been on a no-carb diet. I found this video which is very representative of my experience getting my cast removed. That is not my arm, but the cast looks exactly the same, and the process was exactly the same. Just imagine you watching on from my eyes. Enjoy.
Now I just have to wear a wrist guard for a while and return for x-rays in six weeks. Over the next few weeks, I will be gently stretching my wrist so I can really use it once again. I am excited that I can now scratch when it itches. I can wash my arm and take a shower tonight without wrapping plastic around my arm. It is amazing the things we take for granted.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Tax Refunds Are Nice
Every year, I dread doing my taxes. It's not so much that it is a difficult task, but there are so many other things I would rather be doing. Just about every year I get a tax refund, and I think it is great! I know, I could be earning interest on that money, and I'm just giving that to the government. I would much rather have some money coming back to me than having to fork it out each tax season. Ramit Sethi wrote a great post about why you should be happy to get a tax refund, not guilty, so go check it out. To me, it just feels better to get money back.
So if you do happen to get a tax refund, what will you do with it? You have plenty of options. If you have any debt, paying it down is probably your best option. You could invest your return, or you could donate it to a good cause. You could buy someone a nice gift or buy yourself something that you've been wanting. Me? I think I will knock off some of my mortgage principle, which will save me a ton more in interest later.
Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
So if you do happen to get a tax refund, what will you do with it? You have plenty of options. If you have any debt, paying it down is probably your best option. You could invest your return, or you could donate it to a good cause. You could buy someone a nice gift or buy yourself something that you've been wanting. Me? I think I will knock off some of my mortgage principle, which will save me a ton more in interest later.
Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
A Broken Wrist is a Pain!
Sometimes life throws you a curve ball, and you just have to deal with it the best you can. I had an accident while snowboarding in Durango just a little over a week ago. I fell, landed wrong, and ended up with a broken wrist. Despite what one may think, it is very difficult to snowboard the rest of the way down a mountain when you have a broken wrist. Thanks to the help of my wife and friends, I was able to slowly make my way to the bottom of the run. Once there, I was assisted by the medical crew and carried away on a toboggan, first up one part of the mountain behind a snowmobile and then down another section of the mountain behind a medic skier to the base of the mountain where the urgent care was located. The staff at the urgent care (part of Mercy Regional Medical Center), including the medic that skied me there, were amazing. I couldn't have asked for a more friendly and helpful bunch of people. They took great care of me.
A broken wrist has a pretty big impact on you life when the majority of your job relies on you typing. I thought for sure that I would be out of work for several weeks or seriously slowed down due to the cast and pain, but it seems to have worked out alright this time. The injury was minor enough that I could still use my fingers so long as I didn't use a lot of pressure. The hard part was convincing the cast and keyboard to line up so that I could effectively use my fingers to type. I ended up buying a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (sounds like an infomercial). The contour of the keyboard is perfect for how my hand naturally sits in the cast. I am in luck! With a little bit of practice, I have managed to type just under my normal speed. Every now and then I have to stop and elevate my arm due to swelling. So what did I learn from all this? If you're going to snowboard, wear your safety gear, especially a helmet and wrist guards. Otherwise, you may end up worse off than me. Have fun and be safe!
A broken wrist has a pretty big impact on you life when the majority of your job relies on you typing. I thought for sure that I would be out of work for several weeks or seriously slowed down due to the cast and pain, but it seems to have worked out alright this time. The injury was minor enough that I could still use my fingers so long as I didn't use a lot of pressure. The hard part was convincing the cast and keyboard to line up so that I could effectively use my fingers to type. I ended up buying a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (sounds like an infomercial). The contour of the keyboard is perfect for how my hand naturally sits in the cast. I am in luck! With a little bit of practice, I have managed to type just under my normal speed. Every now and then I have to stop and elevate my arm due to swelling. So what did I learn from all this? If you're going to snowboard, wear your safety gear, especially a helmet and wrist guards. Otherwise, you may end up worse off than me. Have fun and be safe!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Your Voices
This is a call to all those out there who are intentionally silent or just don't know better.
It is surprising just how many people do not understand what a blog is or how easy it is to start one. It is not surprising, however, the number of blogs popping up everywhere. You can start a blog for free, using any number of tools: Blogger, WordPress, Tumbler, LiveJournal, and the list goes on. They each have their limitations and benefits at the free level, but for starting out, most of them will easily do the job.
Ok, so about this Blog thing. What exactly is a blog? The short answer goes something like this: it's a place for you to speak to the world. I know that is pretty broad. Think of it as your personal newspaper column, your very own magazine, or maybe your public diary. It really is anything you want it to be. On your blog, you can share your thoughts, your knowledge, and your ideas. You can speak your opinions or share your faith. You can share pictures, website links, music, software code, recipes, videos, or whatever else you can think of. The neat thing is you don't have to answer to a boss. Your blog posts can be daily, weekly, monthly, or anything in-between. They can be short one-liners or book length(although I would discourage extremely lengthy blog posts). Think of all the things you could be sharing with the world.
So what are the benefits of blogging? The greatest benefit is networking. By blogging, you attract people with similar interests. You build a community of people who want to talk about the things you are interested in. You get ideas from other people. You contribute to the knowledge of others. Simply put, you make your mark on the world. After a while, blogging can even become an earning opportunity. If you have a product to sell, a blog would be a good way to promote your product through community involvement. Or, you can sell advertisement space on your blog. Either way, it takes some time to get to that point.
I'll discuss more about blogs in later posts, but in the mean time, get out there and get started blogging. Please share your experiences below in the comments.
It is surprising just how many people do not understand what a blog is or how easy it is to start one. It is not surprising, however, the number of blogs popping up everywhere. You can start a blog for free, using any number of tools: Blogger, WordPress, Tumbler, LiveJournal, and the list goes on. They each have their limitations and benefits at the free level, but for starting out, most of them will easily do the job.
Ok, so about this Blog thing. What exactly is a blog? The short answer goes something like this: it's a place for you to speak to the world. I know that is pretty broad. Think of it as your personal newspaper column, your very own magazine, or maybe your public diary. It really is anything you want it to be. On your blog, you can share your thoughts, your knowledge, and your ideas. You can speak your opinions or share your faith. You can share pictures, website links, music, software code, recipes, videos, or whatever else you can think of. The neat thing is you don't have to answer to a boss. Your blog posts can be daily, weekly, monthly, or anything in-between. They can be short one-liners or book length(although I would discourage extremely lengthy blog posts). Think of all the things you could be sharing with the world.
So what are the benefits of blogging? The greatest benefit is networking. By blogging, you attract people with similar interests. You build a community of people who want to talk about the things you are interested in. You get ideas from other people. You contribute to the knowledge of others. Simply put, you make your mark on the world. After a while, blogging can even become an earning opportunity. If you have a product to sell, a blog would be a good way to promote your product through community involvement. Or, you can sell advertisement space on your blog. Either way, it takes some time to get to that point.
I'll discuss more about blogs in later posts, but in the mean time, get out there and get started blogging. Please share your experiences below in the comments.
Monday, February 1, 2010
REWORK by 37signals
I have thoroughly enjoyed, on multiple occasions, reading Getting Real by 37signals as well as following their blog, Signal vs. Noise. Their simplistic views on business and life in general are easy to understand and just plain make sense. I am certain that their new book, REWORK
, will match and exceed the simplicity and usefulness of their other works.
If you haven't already, go reserve your copy today!
UPDATE: I haven't been deserving enough to receive an advanced copy of REWORK, but Tim Ferriss has, so go check out his writeup and excerpts from the book.
, will match and exceed the simplicity and usefulness of their other works.If you haven't already, go reserve your copy
today!UPDATE: I haven't been deserving enough to receive an advanced copy of REWORK, but Tim Ferriss has, so go check out his writeup and excerpts from the book.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Tough Decisions
Today, more than ever, we are faced with challenges that severely alter the directions of our lives. There are a lot of temptations in this world. If we don't make the right decisions, then we are stuck with the consequences of our actions. For many of our mistakes, we can get over them and move on, but there are some which we must live with for the rest of our lives. Our decisions affect everything in our lives: relationships, jobs, finances, faith, health, and more. Don't make your decisions in haste. Choose wisely. Ask yourself a few questions:
- Does it conflict with my beliefs?
If so, most likely it is not the right thing to do. - Would I be ashamed to tell my family, friends, boss, children, or church about this?
If so, chances are it is not the right decision. - Is what I'm doing right now getting me closer to where I want to be in the future?
If not, then you may be wasting your time on pointless things that are getting you nowhere.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Daily Challenges for Self Improvement
Many times we become comfortable in our daily routines. Like many others, I have a goal of constantly improving myself in all aspects of my life. In order to improve yourself, you have to challenge yourself daily. I have realized that our ordinary daily routines can sometimes stand in the way. It doesn't have to work that way!
If you want to constantly improve yourself, you must challenge yourself daily, whether it be large or small. Make it part of your daily routine. As your day ends, decided what your next day's challenge will be, and hold yourself to it. If it is a habit that you would like to develop, set a reminder to remind you each day. For your larger challenges, schedule time to plan, and break the challenge up into smaller stages if possible. If your challenge is small, JUST DO IT! Most of all, if you have difficulty motivating yourself to start or complete a challenge, write it down on your list of goals, and tell your friends and family that you are going to do it. Not only will it put you on the spot, but it will give others a chance to help you or even join you in your challenge. If you want even more motivation, give yourself a deadline and tell everyone about that as well. It's amazing what peer pressure does for your motivation.
So what kinds of things can you challenge yourself with? Well, think of all of your goals. Write them down, and choose one or two at a time. Do you want to exercise daily, wake up earlier, eat healthier, or learn a new language? Do you want to improve your relationship with your wife, your children, or with Jesus? Do you want to start a new habit or break an old habit? Daily challenges will get you started in the right direction.
In future posts, I will talk more about my past and future challenges. Hopefully, you can learn from my past experiences, and you can help hold me to my future challenges. Until then, get started on your daily challenges! At the least, pick a small challenge an run with it. Have fun with it, and please share your progress and ideas below in the comments.
If you want to constantly improve yourself, you must challenge yourself daily, whether it be large or small. Make it part of your daily routine. As your day ends, decided what your next day's challenge will be, and hold yourself to it. If it is a habit that you would like to develop, set a reminder to remind you each day. For your larger challenges, schedule time to plan, and break the challenge up into smaller stages if possible. If your challenge is small, JUST DO IT! Most of all, if you have difficulty motivating yourself to start or complete a challenge, write it down on your list of goals, and tell your friends and family that you are going to do it. Not only will it put you on the spot, but it will give others a chance to help you or even join you in your challenge. If you want even more motivation, give yourself a deadline and tell everyone about that as well. It's amazing what peer pressure does for your motivation.
So what kinds of things can you challenge yourself with? Well, think of all of your goals. Write them down, and choose one or two at a time. Do you want to exercise daily, wake up earlier, eat healthier, or learn a new language? Do you want to improve your relationship with your wife, your children, or with Jesus? Do you want to start a new habit or break an old habit? Daily challenges will get you started in the right direction.
In future posts, I will talk more about my past and future challenges. Hopefully, you can learn from my past experiences, and you can help hold me to my future challenges. Until then, get started on your daily challenges! At the least, pick a small challenge an run with it. Have fun with it, and please share your progress and ideas below in the comments.
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