When I was a kid, I loved watching the original Star Trek series (ST:TOS to die-hard fans). Many a Saturday afternoon was spent watching re-runs in syndication, to the point where I knew the episodes, the plots, the twists…and even the dialogue. So…when I found out that Star Trek: The Motion Picture (ST:TMP) was coming…
As part of my ‘anniversary’ year, I’ve been trying all sorts of new things. 2014 started off with a (indoor, thankfully) rowing competition. Following that, came the Empire State Building Run-Up, then the Toastmasters International Speech Contest, and recently, the Assault on Mt. Mitchell. It’s been a busy year. One of my other bucket list items…
Have you ever failed at something? Pretty much everyone has at one time or another. We’ve all heard stories about famous ‘failures’ like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Abraham Lincoln. Those stories have been told so often they sometimes lose their impact. What we sometimes miss are the opportunities to learn from smaller mistakes, or…
This past weekend, I got to ride in The Assault on Mt. Mitchell. It’s a 102-mile ride, with over 11,000 feet of climbing, rated as one of the most difficult rides in the country, according to Bicycling Magazine. It had long been a bucket list item of mine, even more so since I had attempted…
This July, 2014, will mark the 10-year ‘anniversary’ of my motorcycle accident. I’ll spare the details here, but suffice to say, it was a ‘major life event’, and recovery, at times, was in doubt. Fast-forward to November, 2012….I was overweight, stiff, sore, and sick and tired of being sick and tired. I had to make…
Do you have a fear or phobia? I have to confess….I’m afraid of heights. Not so much of heights…but of long, rapid descents followed by sudden deceleration. I have a fear. I also have friends. Friends that like adventure. Friends that like……skydiving. There’s an old saying about skydiving, that nobody should jump out of a perfectly good…
It’s been said that the most common fear among adults is the fear of public speaking. Death comes in second. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, most people would rather be in the casket, than delivering the eulogy. This weekend, I worked on making that fear a bit smaller. I attended the Lady and the Champs speaking…
This past week, I ran with the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation’s (MMRF) Power Team in the annual Empire State Building Run-Up. It was quite an exciting event, from the training and fundraising leading up to the climb….to the event itself. Brushes with Celebrity: Got up at 6AM to meet the MMRF crew on the set…
…”Well, happy birthday to you!” goes the Beatles song. Every year, it reliably shows up, and I work through the inevitable jokes, comments and (welcome) birthday wishes. I try not to make a big deal out of my birthday….not because I mind getting older (I don’t), but I try to take the time to do…
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been posting about the Empire State Building Run-Up. I got ‘drafted’ into the cause by mentioning it as a bucket list item, but since then, I’ve been active in training and increasing awareness to meet both the physical and fundraising challenge. The physical part hasn’t been easy. Training for…