I woke up this morning at 6:20. Why? My grandfather thought that we had school today.
Crazy thing is, as tired as I was, and believe me I was tired, I couldn't get back to sleep. At first I thought to myself, "no big deal, it's Monday and it's a holiday. I'll just sleep it off.
Haha. I couldn't.
Frustrated, I turned and smacked my hand against my alarm clock (not ringing at the time,) groped around for the on switch, and pushed it with my thumb.
Lincoln Brewster's rendition of "Today is the Day." This song was my favorite maybe two months ago, but it long since was replaced by the rambunctious music of August Burns Red, Notorious BIG, and Skillet.
The crazy thing is, on a Monday morning where I would have just rolled over and been lazy for another three hours, I couldn't help but sit up in my bed and think about the lyrics.
"Today is the day, you have made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."
Haha. Wow you know what, when you put it like that...
Considering the generation I live in, this is a pretty bold statement, but you know what? Forget doing nothing. Forget being lazy. Forget sleeping in. Forget whatever.
Thank you, God for waking me up. If you didn't do that I'd still be asleep, maybe dead right now. I think that's one of the things we take for granted. We see God almost as a US President times infinity, with just power and authority. But there is something totally obvious we have missed every morning and night.
He let's us go to sleep. He wakes us up.
I mean, if he didn't wake us up or allow us to wake up in the morning every day, how much would that suck? You'd still be asleep, dead or not it doesn't matter, what matters is that you would be technically dead.
It's those tiny things in life that we barely think about, like waking up, or breathing, or heart pumps.
If you need a reason to be thankful, bam. Start with that one.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
balance.
I was training on the playground about half a mile run from my house the other day, and the specific workout that I was doing was about balance.
You see, the playground was enclosed by a long series of wooden beams nailed together to encase the sea of woodchips that was the playground's... well, ground. The top of these beams rose just enough to be about three or four inches off the ground. Because of this, it was easy to determine whether or not you were balancing on the sucker or not.
I would traverse along the beam, do a two footed jump to a bench, turn around and land right on the three inch wide beam. I just kept doing this over and over again.
After a while, though when my legs were sore and my abdominals were about to give in to cramping, I laid on the bench and started thinking.
You see, every jump that I took, every placement of the foot that I made, every little strength calculation I did to ensure that I nailed each and every jump was all in the spirit of achieving a sense of freedom.
Playgrounds are dense areas, hard to get through and very limiting. Children playing on the structure can only do so much as their bodies and imagination can take them. When they see a playground, they think monkey bars. Slides.
When I see a playground, I think limitless possibilities.
I guess this is why I took up this sport. Every jump that I made, every little scary thing I got over, I was always one step closer to achieving freedom in movement. I was calm, mentally and physically capable, accurate, graceful, silent, and resilient.
I find freedom in the way I move, especially when I'm flying through the air and landing perfectly on a railing, or leaping off a bridge and rolling away.
People ask me a lot of questions about this sport. "Are you an adrenaline junkie?" No. In my two years of training never have I felt an adrenaline rush. "Have you ever been injured?" No, because through my practice I've drawn a distinct line between what I am capable of doing and what I am not.
PARKOUR develops a strong body, strong mind, and strong spirit. You develop self control, self awareness, and confidence in all aspects of your life.
Take it up now.
Monday, July 20, 2009
WorkCamp '09
Wow. What a week. Bridgeton was awesome, but it really gives anyone who wants to blog about it a headache of a massive degree. It's almost like there's a freakin earthquake in my head, and the earthquake is made out of bits and pieces of the week and...
Forget it. Thinking about that makes my head hurt.
We were one of the last groups to show up at the site on Sunday. It might have partly been because we followed the camp director for our church and got lost along with him. Word to the wise: There's a BIG difference between "111 Northwest Ave" and "111 North West Ave." We followed the GPS' directions exactly, and where did we end up? In the parking lot of a Walmart. After that, we had to rely on our map and our weak navigating skills to get to where we were supposed to spend the week.
Upon arriving, and finally entering into our room, 14 boys fought their way in through the narrow door to secure a comfy spot in that tiny classroom we were assigned to. It would be the first of the many 85+ degrees nights we'd spend throughout the camp.
One other thing I'd like to mention about that first afternoon is that we discovered the most amazing Mountain Dew ever. It was the blue new flavor. We were so happy because it tasted so good, but by the fourth day of one blue Mountain Dew every day, we got bored of it. Bye the last day, it was, needless to say, tastless.
But the water was GREAT!
My crew consisted of 5 other people. There was Enoch Ling, Cody Owens, Jenna Steele, Michal Rentschler, (yes, she was a woman,) and Brianna... brianna. Interestingly enough, it wasn't unlike my crew from last year. Everyone was nice, and right off the bat I knew that this week would be quite awesome.
The fact that we were at Jesus camp might also have contributed to my assumption.
Originally our group was assigned a few tasks we should have gotten done by Thursday. Cleaning out gutters, painting a small room inside, and replacing the top of the deck seemed quite feasible.
It wasn't.
When we peeled away the top part of the dilapidated deck, we found that the wood underneath was so rotten, you could literally break the 2 by 6 in half just by gripping it extra tightly. (I know it sounds awesome, right?) So what did we end up doing? Assigning ourselves to the task of completely rebuilding the whole 13' by 10' deck in under a week. Demolition took one and a half days.
We were just about to "screw it" when Thursday came around, in which we arrived at the worksite and found the foundations and posts put neatly into place by the red shirt staff, otherwise known as the ones running the camp. That was a huge help, and we finished half the deck on that day alone. It was close, but when Friday came around, we all gave that extra push and finished the job. and quite a job it was.
I would have a picture right here, but hey. I didn't take a camera.
Poker played a big role in the guy's room. Since we were at a school, the gym was closed up, it was extremely hot outside, and there was no a/c, we sat in the room with a giant fan blowing full on us, everyone shirtless, playing poker. The room stunk after about two days, because with the mixture of the summer heat wave and ...cough... humidity in the room, even good circulation with the fans was fairly useless.
The guy's showers were fine, but I heard that the girl's showers were quite different. My counselor spoke about how it was just a little trickle, and made it impossible to get a good scrubbing down. Sorry girls. Looks like we one upped you. In terms of cleanliness, anyway. Actually screw that you guys... nevermind.
After service most of the nights, when it was considerably cooler, Kang, Kai and I would go outside and play a little game of Dead of Alive with the soccer ball. Now, I can't play soccer, but I can punt. And what we did was I would punt it, and the two would run after it. Whoever could get the ball back to me would win a point. It was a pretty fun game. Exhausting, but pretty fun.
Man I am really craving some smoked salmon right now. Anyone up for that?
Funny story about one of our nighttime activites before lights out. A couple of the guys and I went to go on an expedition into the dark woods behind the school. We were totally psyched about it until we saw the entrance. It loomed in front of us and to be honest, it was totally scary. No doubt about it. We would go twenty steps in, and then bail and run all the way back to where the floodlights were. We were terrified, I mean, it was 10 20 at night and we were out there alone in unknown territory.
So what did we do? We called for help.
We actually ended up calling out two of the girls to egg us on and make us feel like it was our duty to act tough in the woods. And well, it worked. But then one of the girls in our little expedition crew lost her phone...
............................................................... dang.
BACK INTO THE FOREST! It took us some time but we were finally able to find it. HORAY.
Wednesday was our off day. After getting back from the campsite right after 1, our youth group left for the beach. We went to Wildwood, and spent most of our time diving into waves. The boardwalk actually wasn't all that great, everything was too expensive, and it just all wasn't worth it.
Kang and I decided to go into the arcade to find some kind of shooting game, Time Crisis, anything. We ended up spending about 10 dollars sitting in a little box with guns shooting at a screen for around 20 minutes. Game was called "Let's Go Jungle!" or something gay like that. But it was just good fun.
Zach won a big Pokemon plush. It was a Piplup, as Kang told me. There was a big fight between the girls and the guys as to who were the real owners of what we now called "PP." The guys ended up trading two Mountain Dews for one night with it, and well, we still have it. So we're a bit confused about that too.
Oh goodness Vivian is going to kill Kang and Kai over Piplup after they read this. Vivian, you really don't want it anymore. It's... it's gross. The things they did to it during that night...
To kind of wrap up this entry, I'll end with a few questions and my answers to them.
Resident?
Vernoica Surrency and family.
Favorite food?
Lucky Charms every morning.
Favorite Care Card?
"Your manley But Im' even manleyer" -Kai
Meet anyone interesting?
You all know who she be.
To Enoch, Sam, *cough* and everyone who went to Bridgeton July 12th - 18th, it was a great week, God be with you and I hope to see you all next year!
Forget it. Thinking about that makes my head hurt.
We were one of the last groups to show up at the site on Sunday. It might have partly been because we followed the camp director for our church and got lost along with him. Word to the wise: There's a BIG difference between "111 Northwest Ave" and "111 North West Ave." We followed the GPS' directions exactly, and where did we end up? In the parking lot of a Walmart. After that, we had to rely on our map and our weak navigating skills to get to where we were supposed to spend the week.
Upon arriving, and finally entering into our room, 14 boys fought their way in through the narrow door to secure a comfy spot in that tiny classroom we were assigned to. It would be the first of the many 85+ degrees nights we'd spend throughout the camp.
One other thing I'd like to mention about that first afternoon is that we discovered the most amazing Mountain Dew ever. It was the blue new flavor. We were so happy because it tasted so good, but by the fourth day of one blue Mountain Dew every day, we got bored of it. Bye the last day, it was, needless to say, tastless.
But the water was GREAT!
My crew consisted of 5 other people. There was Enoch Ling, Cody Owens, Jenna Steele, Michal Rentschler, (yes, she was a woman,) and Brianna... brianna. Interestingly enough, it wasn't unlike my crew from last year. Everyone was nice, and right off the bat I knew that this week would be quite awesome.
The fact that we were at Jesus camp might also have contributed to my assumption.
Originally our group was assigned a few tasks we should have gotten done by Thursday. Cleaning out gutters, painting a small room inside, and replacing the top of the deck seemed quite feasible.
It wasn't.
When we peeled away the top part of the dilapidated deck, we found that the wood underneath was so rotten, you could literally break the 2 by 6 in half just by gripping it extra tightly. (I know it sounds awesome, right?) So what did we end up doing? Assigning ourselves to the task of completely rebuilding the whole 13' by 10' deck in under a week. Demolition took one and a half days.
We were just about to "screw it" when Thursday came around, in which we arrived at the worksite and found the foundations and posts put neatly into place by the red shirt staff, otherwise known as the ones running the camp. That was a huge help, and we finished half the deck on that day alone. It was close, but when Friday came around, we all gave that extra push and finished the job. and quite a job it was.
I would have a picture right here, but hey. I didn't take a camera.
Poker played a big role in the guy's room. Since we were at a school, the gym was closed up, it was extremely hot outside, and there was no a/c, we sat in the room with a giant fan blowing full on us, everyone shirtless, playing poker. The room stunk after about two days, because with the mixture of the summer heat wave and ...cough... humidity in the room, even good circulation with the fans was fairly useless.
The guy's showers were fine, but I heard that the girl's showers were quite different. My counselor spoke about how it was just a little trickle, and made it impossible to get a good scrubbing down. Sorry girls. Looks like we one upped you. In terms of cleanliness, anyway. Actually screw that you guys... nevermind.
After service most of the nights, when it was considerably cooler, Kang, Kai and I would go outside and play a little game of Dead of Alive with the soccer ball. Now, I can't play soccer, but I can punt. And what we did was I would punt it, and the two would run after it. Whoever could get the ball back to me would win a point. It was a pretty fun game. Exhausting, but pretty fun.
Man I am really craving some smoked salmon right now. Anyone up for that?
Funny story about one of our nighttime activites before lights out. A couple of the guys and I went to go on an expedition into the dark woods behind the school. We were totally psyched about it until we saw the entrance. It loomed in front of us and to be honest, it was totally scary. No doubt about it. We would go twenty steps in, and then bail and run all the way back to where the floodlights were. We were terrified, I mean, it was 10 20 at night and we were out there alone in unknown territory.
So what did we do? We called for help.
We actually ended up calling out two of the girls to egg us on and make us feel like it was our duty to act tough in the woods. And well, it worked. But then one of the girls in our little expedition crew lost her phone...
............................................................... dang.
BACK INTO THE FOREST! It took us some time but we were finally able to find it. HORAY.
Wednesday was our off day. After getting back from the campsite right after 1, our youth group left for the beach. We went to Wildwood, and spent most of our time diving into waves. The boardwalk actually wasn't all that great, everything was too expensive, and it just all wasn't worth it.
Kang and I decided to go into the arcade to find some kind of shooting game, Time Crisis, anything. We ended up spending about 10 dollars sitting in a little box with guns shooting at a screen for around 20 minutes. Game was called "Let's Go Jungle!" or something gay like that. But it was just good fun.
Zach won a big Pokemon plush. It was a Piplup, as Kang told me. There was a big fight between the girls and the guys as to who were the real owners of what we now called "PP." The guys ended up trading two Mountain Dews for one night with it, and well, we still have it. So we're a bit confused about that too.
Oh goodness Vivian is going to kill Kang and Kai over Piplup after they read this. Vivian, you really don't want it anymore. It's... it's gross. The things they did to it during that night...
To kind of wrap up this entry, I'll end with a few questions and my answers to them.
Resident?
Vernoica Surrency and family.
Favorite food?
Lucky Charms every morning.
Favorite Care Card?
"Your manley But Im' even manleyer" -Kai
Meet anyone interesting?
You all know who she be.
To Enoch, Sam, *cough* and everyone who went to Bridgeton July 12th - 18th, it was a great week, God be with you and I hope to see you all next year!
Friday, January 30, 2009
My Blog
Hey... what's going on? This is my first post... to anyone who is just browsing around randomly, move on. This site has nothing interesting in store. If you do know me, and actually want to read stuff about me, read on.
My name is Jon Lo and I live in Central Jersey. I don't do any sports, but I am relatively active. I listen to music, play the guitar and violin, and I love snowboarding.
My name is Jon Lo and I live in Central Jersey. I don't do any sports, but I am relatively active. I listen to music, play the guitar and violin, and I love snowboarding.
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