Time Management

What is this?  A blog post?  You don't say...

Well I do say.  And I say it has been awhile since I sat down and wrote in my blog.  So I decided tonight seemed like a good night to do so.  Where have I been you might ask?  Well I have been working second shift since this past August when I switched jobs and ultimately employers as well.  Second shift of course leaves me feeling like my days and nights are sometimes mixed up.  Having me stay up until the we hours of the morning and falling asleep just as the sun shows its brilliant face.  Which leaves me with the question of time management.  There is so much I want to do.  I'm trying to read The Hobbit.  I want to work on my MG God Gundam model.  I'm trying to play Assassins Creed III.  I'm going to the gym.  I have doctor's appointments.  I have to work.  I need time with my Wife.  I want to start work on my novels.  Baseball season is starting which means I'm going to be umpiring here shortly.  Yikes!  Along with all this my job requires me to be flexible about when I work.  I have a lot going on.

What is the answer?

Well honestly I am not sure, but I can tell you what has been working to a certain degree and that would be the fact I put myself on a schedule.  I devote a certain amount of time each day to what I want to accomplish or what needs to be done.  Chores, work outs, appointments, etc.  This coupled with a sort of "Do It Now" attitude I've been finding there is more time in the day then one might think or feel for that matter. Still there are times when I feel myself getting bogged down.  Tonight is such an example.  I worked a 12 hour shift yesterday and 8 hours today and I find myself out of steam and taking tonight to just relax.  Which I think is acceptable.  Relaxation I think is key to any healthy life style.  Whatever form it may take, its important to relax.  Overall I have to say I am feeling both accomplished and relaxed on this schedule.  A bit of order to my chaotic life.

What else has been going on?

Well I did pick up a few new toys these past two months or so.  I got my hands on a Nintendo 3DS.  Which is really a nice handheld gaming device.  Although its Netflixs application could use some work.  And yes I did get the 3DS primarily because there is a new Castlevania game coming out for it.  One week from today in fact.  Although I was reading not to long ago that a HD port of this 3DS game might find its way onto PSN sometime in the future.  Which would be cool too.  I also got a new Cell phone.  The HTC Droid DNA.  By far and away the best cell phone I have owned.  I'm not sure calling it a phone is really accurate.  More like a small tablet that happens to make phone calls.  All this new technology rolling out really is incredible and a testament to human ingenuity   Although it is also scary.  My phone knows when I leave for work and automatically gives me directions and a traffic report.

Trust Me, I'm the Doctor.

A friend introduced me to the world of Doctor Who and I can say I'm a huge fan now and managed to watch all six season and all the 10th Doctor specials.  Amazing show.  Great writing.  A testament to the human imagination.

Until next time,
Brandt

A milestone, politics, and something new

Greetings.  I know I have not updated since August or so.  I really do try to keep up, but sometimes life gets in the way.  Since our last meeting I turned 30 years old.  Yes 30 years old.  Do I feel 30?  No, but what I do feel like is that I'm starting to really come into my own.  I'm finally starting to  get a handle on my weight.  I'm done about 55-60 lbs since the start of the year, but really that is just the tip of the ice burg of what needs to be done.  I plan on finishing what I started this time around.  Yet for now I'm confined to the couch, because of some slight surgery I had yesterday.  It was nothing major, but requires about a 3 day recovery period which gives me an excuse to sit and play video games.  Speaking of which I've decided to not buy games when they first come out any longer.  Its crazy to spend $60 on a game when 3-6 months later you can find them used for $20.  The exception to this rule might be the new Castlevania when it arrives next year, but I did cancel my Assassins Creed 3 pre-order to stay in line with this new rule of mine.

Last night Emily and I did something we have never done together before.  We watched the Presidential Debate.  Historically I identify myself as a republican/moderate while Emily is a democrat.  In years past I had much more political vigor.  In recent years I've kind of mellowed out mostly do to the fact I've realized just intricate our political system is or has become.  There is just so much to consider.  I tend to just keep my thoughts to myself and listen and discern as much as I can.  I can tell you one thing I can not stand is the demonizing of people during political races.  Growing up it seemed a bit tongue and cheek to me, but anymore it has just got down right ugly.  What that says to me is that you do not have enough faith in yourself and your ideas,  because instead of furthering your own cause you have to attack your opponent instead.

I think I found a new hobby.  That would be gunpla.  Rather the building of model robots, more specifically Gundams.  I did my first one last week.  The Shining Gundam from Mobile Fighter G Gundam.

I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I did add some panel lining to it after this picture was taken.  I want to keep building them.  I really enjoyed it making this one, but also Emily is into making crafts and when she is doing that I can spend time with her by doing this.

Well friends that is all for now.  Hope everyone is doing well.

-Brandt

Still here

Yes I'm still here.  I know it has been longer than I would have liked.  My new work schedule and I are still getting acquainted with one another.  Working 1400-2200 hours is a nice refreshing change of pace and I enjoy the fact I can stay up late and sleep in, however there are things I need to be doing/get back to doing.  That requires discipline which something I have often lacked in my life.  I start out hard and strong and anything I set out to do and usually within a few weeks or months I burn out and fade away with only half or partial results.  It is something I have been trying to instill into myself for a very long time.  Which I think is way I have always been fascinated by the Samurai life style or perhaps the life style of martial artist in general.  They have a level of discipline I would love to instill in myself.  Musashi said to "Never stray from the way" in that in whatever way we choose to live we should devote ourselves to that life style fully or not at all.  Which suits me well as I am a person of extremes or perhaps a better description would be that I have a one tracked mind.  Once I get started on something I go as hard as I can until I either complete what I set out to do or become burned out while trying to achieve whatever goal I am after.  It really is a vicious cycle with me.  I am perhaps my own greatest enemy, but I assume that many of us often are.  In any case I've got to pick up where I left off before I changed employment and get myself back into a routine to follow.  On one side note I am considering making this blog my blog on all things, not just my blog on Samurai precepts.  I've enjoyed getting back into writing and I think I'll be doing it here.  So if you see unrelated post that is whats going on.

"If you walk, just walk.  If you sit, just sit.  But whatever you do, don't wobble." - Master Ummon

-Brandt

To Serve

The word samurai literally means "to serve".  For the historical samurai this was service to a feudal lord.  For the modern person it could  be any variety of things or people.  We could find ourselves in service to the public, to our families, to our friends, to gods or goddesses, to our employers, and to ourselves.  All of us will serve in some capacity or function in our lives.  In order to serve our best we must try and seek out the various relationships between the people and functions we serve, better yet once we identify those relationships we need to understand them.  For example I'm in service to my employer, because I need money in order to be in service to my wife i.e. I need money to pay the bills and support my family.  That is a simple example no doubt.  Still there is more to it.  I try to serve my employer the best I can in hopes of obtaining a raise or a promotion which cycles back to the fact that I have a family to support and more money would help that cause.  Even more so in the course of my job I am in service to the public order.  I chose this line of work (public safety), because I enjoy being in the service of others.  It is a cycle really.  One service impacts another.  I realize this is really nothing new to many of you and you might be thinking where I'm going with this and what I'm getting at is the "service" aspect.  Many of us just get up and do what needs to be in order to survive.  I don't think the goal is to just survive, but to try and thrive.  We should get up each morning and be eager to serve.  What is wisdom, talent, or ability without a driving purpose behind it?  Find that purpose, that passion, and go out there and lay it all on the line.

"For a warrior there is nothing other than thinking of his master." - Hagakure.

Brandt

On the issue of homosexuality

I figured I would be writing about this topic sooner or later and with all the uproar over Chick-Fil-A in the recent days now seems to be the time to do it.  Now the purpose of this blog was to highlight parts of the Bushido code  and how I might apply it to my own personal life to make myself a better person.  So you might be wondering what the chicken peddler and the homosexual life style have anything to do with me and this blog.  To explain this I need to dive some years into the past.

There is no real easy way to say this nor do I have any desire (or right) to sugar coat it, but as a younger man I hated homosexuality, more so I hated the homosexual.  Why you ask?  Well most likely an error in my own thinking on the idea of what is good and evil which was fueled by this Bible verse:

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

At the time this seemed pretty cut and dry to me.  If you're gay well then have a good time in hell.  Really that line of thought is to my everlasting shame and more than likely may have coast me some friendships.  Still life is full of surprises and we are given chances to grow and learn and I feel that as I grew older and learned more about critical thinking and became interested in forging my owns ideas and beliefs I did gradually become a better person.  I realized that rudeness and impolite behavior only demonstrated my own insecurities and weakness.   Still the matter of homosexuality was something I struggled with for many years.   I had become friends with some homosexuals, I learned that some people I knew for many years were in fact homosexuals, and they were all excellent people of good character and I just could not just simply accept that fire was all that was awaiting these people.  

So what conclusion did I arrive at?

Simply this.  Jesus said to love our neighbor as yourself.  I want to be treated with dignity and respect.  I want to treat myself with dignity and respect.  I will extend that to all who cross my path.  I have no reason to be rude or disrespectful.  More so I have no right to be hateful.  Hate is a poison the will slowly choke the life out of us all if we allow it a place within ourselves.  Furthermore I've come to believe that the door to heaven is open to all who believe in Jesus Christ.

So the common theme here is one of

RESPECT

Now more than ever I think we need to seek to understand each other.  Even if we do not agree, we can at least agree to disagree and give each other the measure of respect we all deserve.

"Come now, let us reason together," Says the Lord. - Isaiah 1:18.

Brandt

Change

This past week I accepted a new job which would take me from my current place of employment for the past 5 years and move me to a new location in a supervisory position.  I am excited to start this new position and chapter of life, but I would be lying if I said that I would not miss the people I spent so many years with. However this opportunity is well timed, considering what I'm trying to accomplish. 

At my old job I perhaps said or did somethings that were out of character or unbecoming.  Things said in frustration and anger.  One should not allow this to happen.  Miyamoto Musashi wrote that we should not regret what we have done.  In order to accomplish this we must think about what we do or say before we do it.  We have to seek to better understand ourselves and the actions we take.  If we find that they make us angry or bitter we must seek to understand why and then change ourselves. 

There is a second part to this piece of advice.  Samurai sought to be masters of themselves and in doing so became masters of others.  Yamamoto Tsunetomo wrote in Hagakure that “To give a person an opinion one must first judge well whether that person is of the disposition to receive it or not.”   Our words are powerful agents and not only must we watch what we say we must carefully judge when, where, how, and to whom they are spoken.

"Act like a man of thought - Think like a man of action." - Thomas Mann 

Brandt

A fresh new take on life

I've always been fascinated by Bushido or The Way of the Warrior. The philosophy which governed Japan's warrior class. While the historical samurai is now a legend of generations past, that spirit, that philosophy lives on today and my plan is to embrace it and hopefully become a better person because of it. So it will be here in my new blog that I will chronicle my attempt at the way of the warrior. While I certainly realize that I do not consider myself a "Warrior" as in the fact I am not a soldier, I do believe we all battle against something and that makes us all warriors in some sense. So with all that being said...lets get to it.