Chapter 2 - The Wave

So dude, I've decided to go ahead skip all the useless crap so that I can share the ways of the wise surfer right up front. (in case you stop reading this "book" because the surf is up for a while)

Check this simply analogy: Life = The Wave

Steps to catching a wave(and how surfing can apply to life)
1) paddle out - lay flat on the board with your weight centered, use long, slow, and smooth paddling strokes to get you out into the surf. Don't paddle OVER the big surf...simply push the nose of your board down and paddle under the crest of the wave. Don't fight it man, just torpedo right under it.

- Life application - when preparing for any new curve that life throws at you, keep your eyes on the eventual goal and take small, purposeful, effective steps at getting there. Don't beat yourself against the problem that you're facing, just use your head to help you think your way through it.

2) wait for "the" wave - At most beaches around the world, waves come in sets. Depending on the weather, tide, or lunar phase, these sets can vary. Sometimes the ocean will be completely flat, whereas ,on other days, every wave in a set will be "the" wave. Regardless, at some point, you're going to have to figure out how to sit and wait. Bra, you've seen the surfers at the beach...sitting out there in the waves on their boards...waiting for what seems like forever. You've got to pick the right wave carefully...even artfully. Waiting takes skill too dude...if you TRY and balance on your board while sitting, you'll most likely just tank and get a lungful of water. You've got to completely let go and, in that zen-like fashion, find a calm that will allow you to absorb all pitch and roll from the waves under your board...then you just sit in the flux and wait...there's no stress here, because you're just as calm as a chicken from cheboygan...chillin' out.


- Life application - So if "life = the wave" then you're already in the thick of it by the time that you're waiting for your set. Life is tossing you about as you're trying to stay calm so that you can choose the best path, dude. If I've told one chicken, I've told a thousand, you've got to stay calm when things get a little choppy out there. How else will you maintain your clear head to think through the situation and make the right choice on what to do? It's totally like being calm in the surf when you're sitting your board, bro. You've got to just chill and wait for life to present the right wave to you...then there will be no question of what to do...ride that sucker!


...more to come...

The Tao of Joe

Chapter 1 -

Life's not easy when you're a chicken living in a world of penguins. #1, you can't even fly very well. #2, you sure as heck can't swim. So dude, you've just gotta learn to surf.

Check it out...

The world as we know it can be broken down into a few crucial and gnarly units.

1 - friends
2 - food
3 - fun

Joining all of these things together?...a rest-easiness and laid-back mentality made possible by the understanding that there is something much bigger out there that flows through us all bro. What all that really means is that we don't have to be afraid of what we don't know. Things will all work out in the end just fine...like they're supposed to. The biggest thing is to enjoy the ride while you're on the wave.


______ check back often over the next week as I have some pretty high hopes for where the successive chapters in "The Tao of Joe" will take me.

Our House...in the middle of our street.

It's been a while since I've written and I feel guilty. So very sorry.

Today was spent doing some "staging" for our house to be sold quickly. A pregnant k-time and myself worked all day going through clothes, closets, rooms, and every other nook and cranny of our house to decide what items get trashed, get donated, or get ready to be sold so that we can make our house a bit more tidy. I've gotten a couple of inquiries about the sale of the house and we might even have a couple coming by tomorrow to check it out...so we needed to get ready.

I'm really bushed at the current moment, so I think this post will be brief. I'll only add that I've solicited the help of a street army to help me sell the house. Instead of going the route of a real estate agent, we've decided to sell "by owner" and I've posted an event on Facebook letting all my "friends" know that I'll pay one person $1000 who actually refers the eventual buyer of our house. I've gotten some pretty good response and so far about 69 people are keeping their eyes and ears open for anyone looking for housing in the northeast Columbia area.

Fun times. more later,

jeff

The light at the end of Columbia

Sorry for the cell phone image, but I think it's kind of fitting for this post.

The spring time is in full effect and the school year is winding down...and finishing up pretty quickly at that I might add.
My bio class is taking their EOC (end of course exam) this Thursday and that basically means that we have a whopping 2 weeks left in class before summer is official. In my anatomy classes, I'll have to turn in grades for seniors by THIS Friday. THIS FRIDAY! normally I'd be siked as all get out, but right now, I'm experiencing some mixed emotions. On one hand, these are my last 2-3 weeks at Spring Valley High School EVER! On the other hand, these are my last 2-3 weeks at Spring Valley High School...ever...you know what I mean. There's the wonderful excitement of heading to New Mexico that is intimately coupled with the fact that I'll miss all the wonderful people I've worked with.

A great cure for mixed emotions over the past couple of days has been the fact that my wife is increasingly pregnant. I've been really happy to help her out at home as she's been feeling pretty lousy with morning sickness. Interestingly enough though, she's seemed to be really happy through it all...I'm not sure if it's simply with the excitement of the baby to come...or with the excitement of the baby to come in a completely new and adventurous home for us in New Mexico. Either way, it's really cool to have her this upbeat through all the physical discomfort.

A second thing that has been helping my mixed emotions is the great motorcycle rides I've been on lately. The picture above is from a pretty short ride I took the other night into the northeast countryside of Columbia. Pretty cool. I also went out towards Boykin 2 days ago on the bike. Sunny...windy...and riding through fields of wheat on the back country roads was just amazing.

So the instant gratification of the bike rides and the life-changing anticipation of our child-to-be are carrying me through as I finish up what has been an amazing 4 years in Columbia.

Dreaming Big - also slack lining and Tai Chi

Ok...so this is NOT me...but maybe it will be one day. Over the past couple of days I've been practicing what seems to be a growing pass-time among an interesting culture of miscrients...called slack lining.

A good friend of mine (Scott) got me into it and I have to admit it's addicting. Essentially you take some 1-inch tubular webbing, string it up between some trees and "give it a go", meaning try and walk across that thin strip of seat belt material! I ended up putting up a "training rope" above my head that ran the length of the slack line just to help me get the technique down. It worked really well and I feel almost slightly confident on the slack line now.

The fun thing is how it is great training for Tai Chi. The other night when I was teaching a Tai Chi class I acutally took my slack line and we worked as a group helping people figure out how to keep their balance on the line. When we went back inside the studio to do some balancing drills and our forms, the improvement in the students was amazing.

Interestingly enough it is also very theraputic. For some reason the required focus on the line gives me a bit of clarity and relaxation that rivals my tai chi training. Maybe if I keep at it, I'll include it on my next excursion to Devil's Cellar in Linville Gorge,...or since we're heading out west, maybe I'll find a nice deep slot canyon to slack line over!

A Good Cry

"I wanna know where children would go
if they never learned to be cool
Cause nothin's achieved when pushed up a sleeve
so nobody thinks you're a fool" - Missy Higgins

I'm hoping the children go to the UWC in new mexico. I'm dreaming that they sacrifice self for knowledge and for the benefit of others. I'm honored that Kelley and I will get to be a part of that scene come August of 2008.

Last night K-time and I headed for Asheville for a Missy Higgins show at the Orange Peel. It was interesting because here's this HUGE artist in Australia that is made to open for some very good, but admittedly less popular artists...even here in America. Missy played about 7 or 8 songs...and I cried the whole time...seriously.

I think it was Art Garfunkel who once said that their goal (Simon and Garfunkel) was to make good music..and good music gives people goosebumps. Well last night my eyes had goosebumps. I don't know if the excitement of our move to New Mexico, now coupled with the possibility of a young one coming along next December for us, has gotten to me more than I realize or what, but I felt pure unadulterated catharsis last night through her songs. The whole venue...audience, room, and sound system combined truly provided an atmosphere where the sound stood a chance to cut deep into your heart and your mind. The lyrics came to life as Missy's crystal clear voice filled the room.

Kelley looked at me about half way through the show and noticed the tears. "Are you alright?", she asked and kind of laughed.

It was good to be affected in that way. To escape to such a hip town as Asheville on a Saturday night and to find yourself being reached at such a deep level.

There's nothing like a good cry.

Kel and the Fish

So yeah...it looks like the 4th year of our marriage has proven itself a year of amazing things to say the least...

Kelley truly learns how to sew and get great at it...
Jeff gets "teacher of the year" and then finds another job in New Mexico...talkabout a cosmic "peace out"!
...and then...Kelley gets pregnant!

That's right, you're looking at our new little 7-week-old...fish. It's funny because I always show this one picture (below) to my biology students during our unit on evolution. It's a 4-week-old human embryo compared to a fish embryo...the kids can never tell them apart. See for yourself....can you pick which one is the human? Evidently God was so satisfied with the early stages of embryological development that he made most "higher" organisms share developmental characteristics. He probably also figured: "One day, my humans will come up with a way to look inside a woman's belly and see the developing baby...I think I'll make them look like fish for a while just to make all those silly sheep-like humans have a good laugh!"




Anyway. It's WAY early into the whole process and we're definitely in that stage where miscarriage is possible. We even found out that there might be a little complication to the pregnancy with some genetic stuff going on with K-time. Nothing serious, but we're waiting on some tests to come back. So needless to say, we're extremely excited, but also a bit nervous at this point about everything coming out healthy for both Kel and the "fish".

God-willing, by December 17th of this year, we'll be the parents of a wonderful, healthy, and happy new baby...and we'll join the ranks of those trying desperately to bring new life into a world of turmoil...maybe our offspring will learn how to live peacefully with each other. :)