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2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 9,500 times in 2010. That’s about 23 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 113 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 465 posts. There were 102 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 74mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was December 19th with 201 views. The most popular post that day was Dating etiquette.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, twitter.com, mail.yahoo.com, websleuths.com, and google.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for chad bordes, kana@delta.com, drive by photographer, chadbordes.com, and darcy mandigo.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Dating etiquette December 2010
1 comment

2

To an amazing person I never got to meet… August 2010
4 comments

3

About Chad November 2009
1 comment

4

Delta Continued… May 2010
1 comment

5

Giving Thanks and acceptance December 2010
1 comment

Starting 2011

 

Lots of people are going to be making New Years Resolutions. I will be in that category also, however, I feel my list will be a bit smaller. I wrote on my wall yesterday some of the things I want to accomplish.
1. Drink more water
2. 2 Cups of coffee per day
3. Exercise on a daily basis

I made my list simple for a reason. Most people start the New Year with a list of things they want to accomplish, but somewhere along the line of going through the motions, they forget to keep a running tab. The list is so long that it becomes a chore and everyone knows that chores downright suck!

You see its my belief to keep things simple. Give yourself some attainable goals that are relatively easy to follow. Trust me we are all perfect in our own right, but for the sake of not becoming as stagnant as a pond in the middle of the swamp, we all strive to make small differences in ourselves, small but noticeable differences that are passably easy to follow.

By making large lists, you are saying that you are not comfortable with some part of you, whether that be an action or a physical part of your body, and in my humble opinion, just keep them small and don’t point out imperfections you may see in yourself. We are our worst critics.

May this year bring you more peace and prosperity, in whatever form that may need to take shape for you. May you learn to forgive and reconnect with someone that you lost touch with, whether that be a brother, sister or friend. Find the good in that person and stick to it, resoundingly. Stop letting your thoughts dictate why you can’t make room for someone in your life. May this year be more of a year of “yes” and less of a year of “no, or I can’t”.

Thank you to all of my family and friends and your amazing support this last year. Lets go forward in 2011 kicking ass and taking names. There is no better time than right now.

Another click in the combination of Life

“And it is said that the Princess returned to her father’s kingdom. That she reigned there with justice and a kind heart for many centuries. That she was loved by her people. And that she left behind small traces of her time on Earth, visible only to those who know where to look.”

This was the ending line in what I wasn’t sure was going to be a good movie. The movie I am referring to here is Pan’s Labyrinth. It came out in 2006 and was supposedly a child’s fantasy movie, although, I would be hard pressed to show this to any children I know. I think kids would be scared to watch such a film and may have nightmares, but who knows. I would give this movie 4 out of 5 stars and say that it definitely was a sleeper that may have been missed.

I felt compelled to write about this movie, in particular, because of the last line of the movie. You see I have been struggling with the idea of purpose. Lately my head has been running around with ideas that ,10 or 15 years of my passing, nothing I said or did will make a difference and that it will be forgotten. That all of my good work or deeds will forever go un-noticed after my eventual passing. It is not a great train of thought, but one that is often felt, I am sure, by many people in the world. “What will it matter?”

Enter perspective. I have been throwing this thought that I don’t matter or won’t matter around for quite sometime. In my tired, somber, wanting to sleep mode, last night I put the movie on only to fall asleep in several scenes of the movie. I would wake up and rewind and find that i did this several times in the night until sleep got the best of me towards the end of the movie.

When I awoke, I plugged my now dead laptop and gave it a few minutes to charge up before I resumed the film. I backed up a few chapters just to make sure I remembered where I fell asleep. I watched the ending with baited breath and looked for, hoped and waited for the all neccessary ending that makes or breaks a movie: the final line. You see to me, the ending scene should leave the audience with an impression or a thought to think about as they leave and go about their way. Guillermo was very succinct and timely with his message.

What I pulled from this and it is the question that I have been wrestling with for so many years, is that will my time here make a difference. I have been looking too broadly for that answer thinking, “This planet is too big and I can’t make that big a difference.” But the truth, to me now, is that I leave behind small traces of my time here to significant people who know where to look for the paintings and art I have left. It was so blatantly obvious but it took universal timing and a fantastic story to get me to see this.

So I will leave you with this, If you are feeling like you don’t make a difference, ask yourself “Are you doing anything for anyone else?” If the answer is yes and you feel like you have accomplished something worthwhile, then you are leaving your mark. Hopefully that person will see what you did and pay it forward to a friend, neighbor, loved one or even their own child. Logically the good work you did can be traced back and it becomes the circle of life. Your life directly affected another and that put events in motion. That is what we are all here for… Think small…grow big….

Until next time…

Giving Thanks and acceptance

Many of you know that I have been having a rough time for the past three (to six months depending on who you ask ) months. Life has thrown questions my way and made me question everything.

It wasn’t until recently that I began to realize that life is not certain, and it is not fair. We see this everyday in everything around us, someone dies unexpectedly or some executive makes off with millions of hard working peoples money. Last night I went to see Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Some think its a kids movie, but truth is the series is about believing in yourself and understanding as you move forward, your worst fears will step into your path. Its our jobs to move past those fears and step into who we are destined to become…daily. See life is a journey, not a destination. We continually grow and sometimes way beyond what we ever thought we could possible do. C.S. Lewis, in my humbled opinion, was teaching us to love ourselves and accept who we are at this moment and to have faith that things will work out in the long run.

When I arrived home, I had a christmas package from my friend Chris Zatarain. In the package was 2 1-lb packs of dunkin doughnuts coffee (my favorite), a postcard with a picture of new york and a $50 dollar check. The postcard said, “Keep the faith buddy, you’ll see that next year will be better for you and you will be remembering this moment and laughing about it. Good luck and may the new year bring you lots of work.” As I read it, tears filled my eyes. You see Chris is a good friend from Mexico and had lots of struggles to get where he is today. He learned English on his own, worked 2 jobs in San Diego to save up to go to Boston, where he felt he was supposed to be and set up shop there before even having a job. Courage and faith are the two things that stand out and for him to send me the gift he did, was amazing and perfectly timed to get to me exactly when it was supposed to, not a minute more.

Just two days ago, another friend from Alabama, called a local restaurant to have lunch and delivered to my house and sent me a message saying “Sorry I couldn’t be there to join you and I know this will go to good use” Again, I was brought to tears. I am reminded that we are surrounded by great people every day, its just a matter of if we are able to take our pride away for a minute and see who the angels in our life are, because they are all around us.

I come back to a favorite that a good friend shared with me. Many of you have seen this, maybe some have not. It was written by Max Ehrmann and it is called Desiderata.

Here it is:
“Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love – for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.”

So as you go today, seek out the good in the world, not that which is wrong. Know that the sun still shines on you even in the midst of the clouds and that there are angels that love you. You are exactly where you need to be in your life…appreciate it.

Until next time.

Monday Humor

This is from my mom. I love her so much. These are old but good

Collie + Lhasa apso = Collapso, a dog that folds up for easy transport.

Spitz + Chow Chow = Spitzchow, a dog that throws up a lot.

Pointer + Setter = Poinsetter, a traditional Christmas pet.

Great Pyrenees + Dachshund = Pyradachs, a puzzling breed.

Pekingese + Lhasa Apso = Peekasso, an abstract dog.

Irish Water Spaniel + English Springer Spaniel = Irish Springer, a dog fresh and clean as a whistle.

Labrador Retriever + Curly Coated Retriever = Lab Coat Retriever, the preferred dog of medical and science professionals.

Newfoundland + Basset Hound = Newfound Asset Hound, the dog of choice for financial advisers.

Terrier + Bulldog = Terribull, a bad dog, bad, bad dog.

Bloodhound + Labrador = Blabador, a dog that can’t keep a secret.

Malamute + Pointer = Moot Point, a dog that…..well, it doesn’t really matter.

Collie + Malamute = Commute, a dog that travels to work.

Deerhound + Terrier = Derriere, a dot that’s true to the end.

Bull Terrier + Shitzu = Bullshitzu, a dog that’s not to be believed.

Insomnia or something else…


Lately I seem to find myself fallin asleep rather quickly (when I do go to bed). The problem is that I wake up after several hours of sleep. For example last night, I went to bed at 11:30 and woke up this morning at 3:57am. I am of course very tired when i wake up, but after turning on a light and reading and brushing my teeth, I wake up.

I have to admit that having cats is not helping the situation. My beautiful pepper loves to wake me up at about 4:00 to 4:15 every morning, mostly to let me know she loves me, but in other cases is is to let me know she is hungry. After I feed her and give her some loving, she normally finds a place in the living room to curl up to and falls asleep. My problem is that I can’t go back to sleep.

Maybe it is a sign of old age. I know that exercise helps me sleep, however, it doesn’t keep me asleep. Some mornings I will sleep to 7 or 8, but for the most part early is the new black in my house.

The good news is that it hasn’t happened for a month straight so clinically its not insomnia. Maybe its a good thing that I am up so early. I often feel that when i am awakened at that hour, it is for a reason. Either I need to be up and doing something or maybe contacting someone. After all it is 6:57 east coast time. I will sleep when I am dead…

Until next time

San Clemente and back by chadbordes at Garmin Connect – Details

San Clemente and back by chadbordes at Garmin Connect – Details.

Great ride today with Eileen and Tylyer.  Started off a little chilly but eventually the sun came out and warmed our spirits.  Eileen, forgot her water bottles, but it was not biggie.  We stopped back at my place and grabbed two water bottles for her.  She was forever grateful.

Riding up there was a slight headwind, which made for a great ride back home ie tailwind.  Our turn around point was the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.  We chilled for about 30 minutes and watched the rain pass by and the sun come out.  It warmed up about 5-10 degrees on the ride home.

We were all pretty spent on the way back.  I kept stopping every 4-5 miles to allow Eileen to catch up.  Tyler booked right along and was pretty close the entire time.

It was a great day and a great ride.

Until next time…

Fitness facts

Okay so I am going back to my personal training roots a bit here. I wake up pretty early every morning, well almost. I am privy to the endless barrage of fitness commercials and the claims that they seem to be purporting. Its amazing what advertising can convince people to do or to buy. Part of the reason that I got my bachelors degree in Exercise Science was to debunk the myths that exist and to get people exercising. I agree there is power in advertising in that it is visually appealing and can get you motivated, however, there are misconceptions that exist out there. One of them being that one particular exercise form is better than another.

I watched 3 different commercials this morning and they all use the same catch phrases. One of the big ones is “Burns up to 1000 calories an hour,” Really? I am a cyclist and ride hard core, moderate and relatively easy rides on an almost daily basis. I can tell you that I burn 1000 calories an hour whether my heart rate is 190 or 160. You may burn a little more or less based on your muscle density and amount of fat on your body. The more fat you have on your body, of course the less calories you will burn in a day. Fat is not as metabolically active as muscle is. Fat is pretty much boring and doesn’t do much. “In contrast, the resting metabolic rate of skeletal muscle clocks in at just 6 calories per pound, with fat burning just 2 calories per pound, ” (www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/cals.htm)

So as you can see having more muscle mass makes you more of a calorie burning machine. Getting back to the claim that you can burn up to 1000 calories an hour. It really depends on the activity, however things like running and cycling and intense hiking will get you close to that 1000 calorie burn. Here is a chart from the Mayo clinic showing an approximation of calories burned based on different exercises. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/SM00109

***Note: This chart shows the estimated number of calories burned while doing various exercises for one hour. Specific calorie expenditures vary widely depending on the exercise, intensity level and your individual situation.

My point behind this is don’t believe everything you see or read. Even this…:-) Question everything. We need more skeptics and less followers in the world. Have a great day. I am off for an 80 mile ride up to san Clemente. Need to burn some calories. I will post my results on here later.

Until next time.