And... Done! (Day 30)

So here we are!  All done, I am glad it's kind of over, but sad at the same time.  I really enjoyed the new things I learned, the people I met, and things I learned about myself.  I finished my day by inviting friends over to my place and hosting a party.  I get nervous mostly just because I never host, I just attend.  So I had to make sure my place was clean, food served, etc.  Stressful!

But at the end, it all worked out great.  I made some sliders and they went over well.  I also made some guac, and fresh cookies I made that very day.  Cookies were pretty much gone by the end of the day, I believe that's a great sign.

A man  once said to me, "Javier, all you need is a great wine and great friends, the rest is all bonus!" He couldn't be more right, I feel I've learned alot about who I am, and the person I want to be.  I'm not going to stop doing this, I think I'll switch it to 1 new thing a week for a year, just so I can relax a bit.  It was a bit tough at times to keep up with tasks, planning things out, etc.  Money was also an issue, a lot of the time I couldn't do certain things just because at times it was incredibly expensive.

I thank you all for reading, and I'll leave you with a quote I read and it spoke to me.

"Fellow Warrior
May all your battles be brief
As you walk the path" 
-Anonymous

Critical Mass! (Day 29)

Today's task was suppose to be a bike ride with friends, just relax and take it easy.  However, my friends who organized the event ended up changing things around and we did Critical Mass.  Critical Mass is a group of cyclist, who take over the streets and bike around Vancouver together.

I loved every moment of it, I can't wait till the next one!  One of my friends told me that during the summer they bring a DJ table with them and set it up on the bridge and just party there.  I can't wait for that!  Here's the route we took:
http://runkeeper.com/user/javidiaz/activity/33737376

A nice ride around BC.

Thanks (Day 28)

Getting closer to being done, it has been a pretty cool journey so far.  I didn't get to do everything I wanted, due to money, time, etc. Today's task involved writing thank you notes to those who I did stuff with.  Felt good to write it all down.

Politics (Day 27)

Politics!  My dad has become more political lately, and that's trickled down to me.  As a kid I really didn't care about politics, I know what it was, but never really a desire to learn about the candidates, and the party platform.

The candidates were talking at a local community center, and were doing a Q&A session. We had the Green Party, NDP, and Liberal show up.  The Conservative candidate didn't show up, she said she was sick.  I won't go over all the points that were discussed, but I do commended them on showing up and  standing up for their views.  As well as respecting people's questions.

Some of the questions though were more statements, on how they are unable to trust anybody, how the Harper government has let people down, etc.  You can tell people are upset, but so long as you don't get really angry and start yelling at people, I think it's okay to be upset.

Overall, it was a very interesting forum, and I think I will participate and volunteer during the next election.  I agree more with the Green Party's platform, than any others.  That is the party I will be voting for. I think everybody should take the time to learn about the issues that concern them.  I know what did it for me was taxing corporations more, legalizing marijuana.

Vote for the change you want!

Day 26!

Oops forgot to post, I did take sometime to watch the game.  We ended up winning. Before the game started, there was a double rainbow over Vancouver.  I tried to get a shot of it, but I think it was a bit to faint from my point of view.  I did end up making a panorama of it!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/javidiaz/5659712635/

Pork with Apples and Almonds! (Day 25)

I ended up making some pork stuffed with mushed apples, breadcrumbs, and some almonds.  It turned out great.  I also added some apples on the side, as an experiment.  The result was amazing, the apples ended up becoming a sort of sauce that I could then eat with the pork.  The pork itself was still quite moist, and the stuffing had a nice crispness, without being tough.

Must make again!

Ahi Tuna Burger! (Day 24)

I've come to really love cooking, so I decided to try something a bit different for today. I ended up making something I just came up with, it allowed me to experiment a bit.  I've made a Ahi Tuna burger, with Mango salsa and a cilantro-lime mayo. With a side of yam fries!

My opinions on the end result, it tasted really great!  Next time I will have to make the bread.  I started looking up how to make my own bread, the ingredient amounts was a bit to much for me, as I'm just a single person.  I will do more research though.

Total Cost: $12

Cooookies! (Day 23)

Cookies from scratch!  I've always wanted to make chewy cookies, the whole idea of the chocolate chip just melting in your mouth, is a feeling that brings me back to when I was a lad.  These cookies actually came out amazing!  I'm incredibly happy with their flavor and texture.

Now for the downside, they are horrible to be around, you just want to eat them.  I have a good dozen or so.  I'll bring them into work and share them with people there, I know they can't turn down cookies.

Sewing (Day 22)

Today's task involved sewing!  I ended up taking a class at "Spool of Thread", on how to build a "tote bag". I was the only guy in the class, but aside from that, I had a great time.  I never knew how much fun I'd have.  I remember as a kid, my mom had a sewing machine, I never knew how it worked.  I always wondered. I would play around with the knob that controls the needle, and try to figure out how the machine worked.

Once we got started, we got a good introduction on how the machine works. Then setup our machine, and setup the patterns for cutting!

After we had our pieces, we had to then sew them from the inside out.   It was a lot more involved than that, the instructor, Lilly (hope the spelling is right) ended up helping us out and would make sure we were on the right track.  Over all the process and instruction was great, they ended up telling me they are in the process of making more "manly" projects. I am pretty proud of this, and I came out of the class feeling pretty awesome with myself.

Also pigeons have invaded my neighbors balcony.  Here's a photo. Looks like they have made a nest, and in the process of having some eggs... I'll try to see if I can get some better photos.

Joel (Day 21)

Today's task wasn't suppose to be this, but this just happened.

A man outside of shoppers drug mart told me he needed my help to pick up some of his tent poles that ended up falling out of his bag.  His back was hurting after having the pack on his back all day. I offered to help him, so I collected the items and handed them to him.  It took us a while to get his pack in order, apparently he picked it up at the 4-20 event that went on downtown.  Somebody had just left it lying around. After helping him I ended up heading on home.

Something was on the back of my mind, maybe he needs a meal, doesn't hurt.  I needed food, and I was going that way anyways... figured it couldn't hurt.  So I ended up heading back to where I last left him, luckily he was still there. I called out to him, and asked him if he wanted to go for a burger.  I told him I would be paying for it, and he was excited.  We went to Vera's, and got the Baja burger. Once we sat down he told me he grew up in Calgary.  He has been in Vancouver for about a day now, and wants to hitchhike around the world.  He  has a time limit for doing this, 10 yrs.  He's 19 right now, and wants to go around and see the world.  He is also an artist, though when I asked him about it, he told me he lost his work and sold some of it that very day.

I don't know how much of his story is true, but he seemed like he was trying to impress somebody with his ideas.  He would tell me about his money making ideas.  How he wants to start a youtube channel, and blog about his adventures.  Then he'd make some money from the ad revenue.  It is a pretty good idea.  He also hopes that people will send him things for free, just because they will be fans.   He told me about his ability to control emotions with his mind.  He tells me he can orgasm just by thinking it, I made him promise not to do it while we were eating.

I ended up saying good bye to him, he didn't finish the burger, he kept the rest for later.  I wished him the best, and that was it.  He seemed like a nice guy, but I could tell he's been through some things.  His life was tough, right now I think he's in a good place.

Pizza (Day 20)

Pizza made in an iron skillet! I have never done this before, and it turned out amazing!  I will definitely be doing this again.  I didn't make the sauce though, I started looking and realized it would just take to long. Next time I will make the sauce from scratch.

It was nice and crispy, and took only minutes to make. I may have to buy a cover for my iron skillet though, and maybe re-season it.

Tortillas! (Day 19)

This was a simple task, but one that's changed things for the better! I am no longer going to buy premade tortillas, I ended up making my own and they turned out amazing!  It was a simple recipe too:

• 2 cups of flour
• 2/3 cup of water
• 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
• 1tsp of salt.

Mix the flour with the salt, then add the water and oil.  Mix it all up!  Then separate them out into 8-10pcs. Flatten them out and let them sit for about 30min. Afterwards toss them into a pan on medium heat, and wait until it gets a bit crisp.

Here's how mine turned out.

Yes I'm well aware that they aren't circular, however... they tasted amazing!

Earth Day (Day 18)

The environment, according to one of the founders of Greenpeace, we take it for granted.  I ended up going to a discussion today about Earth Day and what it is.  The discussion was held at the public library. The talk started with a man by the name of  Philip Van Huizen, he talked about the history of earth day and how it originated.  How it started in the states, and made it's way to Vancouver, opening up and starting groups like SPEC and Don't Make Waves.  How a lot of BC environmental groups started in the early 1900s, with a Mountaineering society and a few others.

How parks were setup and land developed.  How the Social Credit Party ended up developing a lot of the land in BC with hydro electric plants/dams, natural gas explorations, etc.  It was a cool talk, I didn't know that much about the history of the environmental movement here, but it's good to know a bit of history.

The second talk was by Dr. Terry Simmons, he was one of the original members of Greenpeace, which was known as "Don't Make Waves". The meaning behind that name was that originally there was nuclear testing just off of Alaska, and they thought that one explosion could send a tsunami to the western coast of BC/WA.  The Greenpeace was their first ship.  Anyways the Dr. started talking about how we can't really trust people who call themselves environmentalists, or even trust the word organic.  He also told us that we don't appreciate the world around us enough, and that there are a lot of loop holes in the current enviro policy.

An interesting talk, he left me wondering what they would change.  I asked, but they just told me a more environmental friendly way to get energy.  I personally agree we need that, however we do need something a bit more feasible. Glad to have learned a bit more about this province!

Sun Run (Day 17)

Running.  I have never done a race or even an event like this before.  So now was a perfect time to do it.  I ended up running with a friend of mine, who I luckily saw, before the mass of people enveloped us. Starting off was a bit weird, as there was a lot of people. But I was set!

The blue zone ended up going right at 9, and we ended up starting around 9:30ish... we hit the starting line by 9:50 or so.

The run wasn't to bad, a lot of people, and we had to dodge a few.  It never really thinned out, but it was a tad easier near the end.  Although getting onto the Cambie bridge was a bit of a bottleneck. Overall though, I'm glad I did this, I really needed to do it for myself.  I think it took me between an hour and ... 20-30min.

It also made the meal afterwards a lot easier and way more satisfying!  I ended up joining Lindsay and his family at a restaurant for brunch.  It was awesome.
Thanks to Brian for joining me!  I know he could have zoomed past everybody but he stayed with me (excluding that part where I lost him)!

Without computer/phone/mp3 player! (Day 16)

Today's task was to unplug.  I unplugged for 12hrs.  No computer, no phone, and no ipod/music.  Man this was tough, even for just 12hrs.  I got up, made my breakfast then I started to knit.  I have been focusing on that a bit more, trying to fix the problems that I first had when I started a few days ago.  I spent a good amount of time on this, and I'm pretty happy about it.  I also ended up borrowing a friend of mine's knitting needles.  They are smaller than my previous ones.

The first one is my first pass on it, then my second one is spending a bit more time with it.

After doing a bit of knitting I ended up going off to draw, I ended up sitting inside a cafe and just drew people as they came by.  I also wanted to research a bit more on different pies to make.  I feel like experimenting a bit more with them, maybe combine some chocolate... maybe some different fruits.  I do have ideas.

After that, I ended up grabbing some food.  I really didn't know the time, as my phone acts as my clock. It was off to really have no concept of time other than the sun.  I tried to calculate the time using the sun and shadows, 11am by my calculation... boy was I wrong.  It was 2:15 pm according to the giant clock at the restaurant.  Good to know I can rely on my survival skills.

I then headed on home after eating, and started reading the religious material Ryan had given to me.  The experience with Islam, was very interesting to me, and I really wanted to know more about other religions.  So Ryan had lent me his Qur'an, Bible and a pamphlet that Jehovah Witnesses handout.  Now... I will start with the JW's,  I understand what they are saying however a lot of their articles sort of avoid any real answers.  I felt very confused after reading their material.  They don't provide you real answers, more just quotes and passages to look up in the bible.  I just don't get it, it is difficult to understand.

The Qur'an and Bible was also a bit different, I could understand a lot of the passages, and teachings.  Ryan suggested I just read the stuff Jesus said, and a few of the other books. Such as Revelations, and Ezekiel.  Revelations was just really depressing, and Ezekiel was like tripping on acid.  I couldn't read through all of the passages Jesus is in, or read all his teachings, but what I did read I sort of agree with.  As for the Qur'an, I had to look up at specific areas to read. I found a lot of it, like the Bible, stuff I agree with.  Way's on treating your fellow human beings, way's on living your life.

I can say being without a phone/computer or even music, is a bit odd.  I never realized how much I check my phone/facebook/internet, I would miss the feeling of it in my pants pocket.  Even walking around the city with no headphones in, listening to podcasts, didn't feel normal. I will need to unplug more on weekends.  Leave the phone at home.

Python (Day 15)

Programming/Scripting. I haven't done this in a long time, I used to do PHP back in the day, but that was about 8-9 yrs ago. Oh how time flies. Today's task was originally suppose to be something else entirely. However as I began working on this, I decided that I need to make this today's task.

Lindsay has been trying to get me to use python for about a year now, and for some reason, I decided to give in today and just try it. I needed a script that would replace many pieces of geometry with one single piece. I will say that starting off I really had to break it down, and simplify. I wanted to do to much, to quickly, which really doesn't work. So Lindsay had to sort of work it out with me. I was really happy once I got it to work! So here's the script!

import maya.cmds as cmds
import random as rand

listOfShapes = cmds.ls("*Cube*",transforms=True)
duplicateSphere = cmds.ls("master",transforms=True)

for pli in listOfShapes:

#random variables
r_numb_r = [rand.randint(1,20),rand.randint(1,90),0]
r_numb_s = [rand.uniform(1,3),rand.uniform(1,4),rand.uniform(1,3)]

#constant vars
xstr = cmds.xform(pli,q=True,t=True,ws=True,a=True)
xform_rotate = cmds.xform(pli,q=True,ro=True,ws=True,r=True)

#get stuff done
new_obj_array = cmds.duplicate(duplicateSphere,n="NewShape_")
cmds.xform(new_obj_array,ro=r_numb_r,os=True,a=True)
cmds.xform(new_obj_array,t=xstr,ws=True,a=True)

print("Task Complete. Commence Celebration")

And there it is! I actually came home and started scripting a bit more, I may start playing around with gimp and finding out how that all works. I may also reinstall Ubuntu, and boot up some Linux!

Positive outlook and friendly! (Day 14)

Today was all about positivity!  If I felt in a funk, I had to pull myself out of it, and be super friendly towards anybody and everybody.  I  try not to be nagative or mean to people around me.  The difference with today is that no matter what, I'll just let it roll off and smile back.

It pays off to smile to people, it really does.  It "unlocks" a lot of doors.  Even just starting a conversation with a complete stranger is pretty great.  You really don't need to pry, a lot of the time people just open up with a few words. I went the local grocery store and just had a short conversation with one of the ladies who works there.  She told me she was a big fan of Big Bang Theory, and really likes non-political correct humor.  I can relate, it is funny.

A few people don't want to have a conversation, on the bus for instance.  I'd try to initiate a conversation, but it didn't work.  I suppose some people just want to be left a lone after work.  That's fine, I'll just smile right back.  I also walked around with a smile on my face.  Each time I would catch somebody's eye, they would smile back at me.  People like to be around happy people.

Dodgeball was also tonight, and really I don't want to ever be negative there, everybody does try their hardest. I would say that sports are a different thing, nobody wants to be considered unsportsmanlike like, we all want to win.

Either way it was a great day to just be positive around people, and really be friendly.

Palming a Coin/Trick (Day 13)

I wanted to learn a bit of magic today, a friend of mine suggested I look at learning how to palm a coin.  It provides a good basis for other magical tricks.  So I began with the basics.. palming a coin.  Started off by watching some youtube video's on palming a coin.  Pretty simple and straight forward. After wards a few more ways to hide the coin, then moving on to tricks.

I then started trying out some card tricks, I don't know if I have the finesse just yet.  I have to keep working on it, seems a bit rough.  When flipping the cards, I have to make the move quicker and more subtle. I'm going to keep at it, it's pretty interesting, and great at parties.

The Tortoise and the Hare (Day 12)

Here is my task, draw something "cool" and get it silk screened.  Well, I don't exactly know how to draw "cool", other than having a t-shirt with some giant sunglasses on it.  However, I do have this one idea.  Involving the story of the tortoise and the hare.  Here is my idea:
Front

Back

I will be refining this in the future, I like the idea, though I may tweak the shape and positioning of the hare.   I was calling around to get silk screened shirts, however it did appear to be pretty costly.  So maybe threadless is the answer. 

The Islamic Faith! (Day 11)

I just want to start by stating that I am an Atheist, I don't believe in a God at all.
I ended up going to the Islamic Information Center, http://www.islamicinfocenter.org/  I met a man by the name of Ahmed, I told him why I was there, that I'm doing this 30 day thing.  I told him what my personal belief is, and that I am just going in with an open mind.

I started off by asking him what is the Islamic religion about, what makes it different than the other.  What he told me was this, that the Islamic religion is no different than Christianity and Judaism.  They are all about peace, and even pray to the same God.  They even make reference to Jesus and Moses, how Moses freed the slaves from Egypt.  Where it differs is what Jesus is, they believe he is just a man, not the son of God.  He told me that Muslims will pray 5 times a day, sometimes more, and that prayer takes 5-10min.

I asked him about Mecca, the giant stone, etc.  What he told me was that it is just a symbol, that the whole idea is that they are all facing a point, united together.  It was beautiful to hear, that  a group of people can come together for this.

We went on to discuss a few more controversial things, I asked him what his opinions are on how his religion is portrayed in the media.  How it makes him feel to see people wanting to get rid of mosques in their area.  What he told me kind of took me by surprise.  He said that it was their own fault, that they just let the louder voices speak, and the moderate ones didn't answer back.  He told me that Muslims are going through an crisis, and that they feel vulnerable, because they are also under attack.

A few of the people i work with wanted me to ask a question, what is the head scarf about?  How come women have to cover up.  What he told me was that women have the exact same rights as men, if a man and woman do a good deed, they get the same reward. If they both do something wrong, they both will receive the same punishment.  The headscarf is part of the religion, it is a way to show modesty.  Men have to respect women. As for the level that they cover up, that is based on tribal laws. Mostly around Afghanistan/Pakistan.  It isn't something that is normally practiced.

We actually discussed extremists, and what we can do to get away from that. It really sucks, because I'm sure Bin Laden wants nothing but the best for his family.  Just like anybody else.  I'm also sure that the common Muslim man can totally relate with an average American man.

It was a really good talk, he told me how he was searching for something. That he started off in a non-practicing Muslim family, he didn't know how to pray or anything.  After researching and looking at different religions, he settled back on Islam. He didn't mind my questions, and was very patient with me.  I thanked him for speaking with me, and wished him the best!

Knitting! (Day 10)

I never thought knitting would take such skill. I went off to Dressew in Vancouver, to get some knitting needles.  A lady there introduced to me to what I needed, and what to avoid.  Youtube would be my teacher for this.  Here's what I ended up leaving with:

• Ball of Yarn
• Knitting Needles
• How to make a scarf booklet!

Once I got home, I started with the "Cast On" knot to get started. I understood how the cast on worked, however... things started to breakdown after.  The "knit stitch", this one was tough, it involves some crazy movements.  I ended up getting it once or twice, however it wasn't consistent enough.  I had to redo my cast on a few times to get it working properly.  I want to pursue this more, as it will get easier with practice.  It was an interesting experience.

The mess that was my attempt! Some of them work.

Dive Pub Crawl (Day 9)

This was night set up for just drinking with people I've never met before and also just partaking in a different atmosphere.  The whole night started pretty nice, we ended up meeting up at the Cambie, there was about 25-30ppl.  Here's the list of places we hit up.

• The Cambie - 300 Cambie St.
• PUB - 425 Caral St.
• The Grand union - 74 Hastings St.
• Funky Winker Beans- 35 Hastings St.
• The Balmoral - 159 E Hastings St
• The Empress - 235 Hastings St.
• The Ovaltine Cafe - 251 E. Hastings St.
• The Savoy - 254 E. Hastings St
• Pat’s Pub aka. The Patricia aka. The Budget Inn - 403 E Hastings St. (it’s a “brewhouse”! Aka. they make their own swill!)
• The Waldorf - 769 E. Hastings St.

Best part of the night was the super cheap pints, nothing over 3.25, and a few places sold for 2.75.  It rocked!

It was a crazy night, met some amazing people, and had a lot of fun.  I've never done that before, and it was quite nice to just sit/relax and have a beer with some people.

Sunrise. Sunset. (Day 8)

Today I got up early to watch the sun rise over Vancouver.  I was up at around 5:30 for that to happen.  The sky was clear, the colours that appeared where incredibly rich, the pinks and purples are always great to look at.

After work I headed to grab some sushi, then headed to the beach.  I ate my dinner there, and just watched the sunset.  From there I ended up heading to Starbucks and just spent the night drawing.  Felt great, I ended up reflecting a bit on the stuff I ended up doing in the last week.  Looking forward to what tomorrow brings!

Dodgeball (Day 7)

This one isn't as exciting as yesterdays task.  However today my task was joining a competitive team, I haven't played on a team since I was in high school.  I was on the football team, it was fun for a bit, but I got lazy and didn't feel like doing it after some time.  This was the first time I have played on a team since then.  I missed it, it was nice to be on a team.  We were suppose to play against Pixar tonight, but they didn't show up.  So we basically split our team, and played one another.  Hit a few people, got a few people out, and a lot of fun!

Met some great people tonight, and I look forward to the next bunch of weeks when we play other teams!

Take a homeless person out for dinner! (Day 6)

Lyle was his name.  I have seen him outside my apartment, when I head on home after work.  He would be there with his tin cup out in front of him, and people would drop some money into it. I approached him and asked him if he wanted to go grab some dinner, he told me that "I don't think I've gotten enough."  While looking into his cup.

I told him it's perfectly fine, and that it's on me.  We headed off to Denny's, were seated at a table.  He was afraid of ordering something a bit too expensive. I told him not to worry about it, to instead just have a great meal.  He went for the T-Bone steak with shrimp, I went for the breakfast omelette.  I heard about his life, how he ended up joining the army and went off to Vietnam, all because he got into a fight with an officer.  He ended up flying a helicopter, and would pilot the wounded in and out of combat.

He told me how he has 2 kids, who now have kids themselves, they live up north in the Prince George area.  He has been in Vancouver for about 2 yrs now, he moved here after his mom died.  He has also had a bypass done, so his strength hasn't been the greatest. Which is why work has been tough for him to find.  He tells me that he used to repair radio's and tv's, since his army training involved doing some of that.  Sadly that business closed, and he was then out of work.

Right now he is waiting to get his pension check, so he can then relax a lot easier, and get off of begging for money on the street.  He has made mistakes in the past, alcohol issues, fights, etc.  He is trying his best to live his life right, right now.  Because of his heart bypass, he has to watch his cholesterol, as well he is very close to becoming diabetic.  He seems to be in good spirits, and enjoying his life.  He hadn't eaten all day, so he was happy to finally get something in his stomach.  Overall it was great dinner, I do wish Lyle all the best!

Total Cost = $40.00

Apple Pie (Day 5)

So this task was a lot of fun!  My goal was to make an apple pie from scratch, I'd make the dough, and  filling.  After asking around at work, about the type of pie I should make.  I ended up settling on a traditional apple pie, I kind of wanted to make a fancy one, but the people at work convinced me that I should just keep it simple.  I ended up going to Choices and bought all the ingredients I needed, then afterwards headed to Canadian Tire to get a pie dish.  A friend of mine also lent me a mixer, which turned out to be really helpful.

I first started up by making the crust, and I screwed up the first batch, by not adding enough water.  I tossed it, simply because I didn't know that all it needed was more water, I should have read the reviews online.  Ah well, second time through it went a lot better.  I rolled out the dough, and placed it in the dish.  Then it was time to deal with the apples.  I pealed, cored and diced 8 large granny smith apples.  Got a bit hungry while doing it, so I ended up snacking on a couple.

Once I placed the apples in the pie dish with the crust, I then made the sauce that will be covering the pie.  I then did a laced pattern for the top, and covered the top with the sauce I made. After that, all that was left was to place the pie in the oven, and wait for the results!  And here is!  Tasting is today, my test subjects are the people I work with!

Things learned:

• You can go off recipe, if it works!
• Pie's take a while to make, this one about 3hrs or so, since I did have to restart.
• Your place will smell amazing when making one.

Total Cost = $40.00

Meditation (Day 4)

This is one I never thought I'd ever do, my father in the past has told me that I should do it as a stress reliever, especially when I lost my job in the past. I always sort of believed it was a bit weird, and not my cup of tea.  However, my opinion has changed.

I ended up turning off my computer, turning off the lights, and just sat on the floor looking out onto the balcony.  I just started concentrating on my breathing, and just focusing on that.  It was a bit tough, as the sounds of street would pull me away.  However, I also started to block it out and just focused more and more on my breathing, then I just relaxed.  It was an odd feeling, but it just felt mellow.

It took me about an hour or so to get to that stage.  I think I will start doing it daily, I really enjoyed it!  I would recommend it to anybody!

Woodworking! (Day 3)

Here is something I haven't done since shop class in high school.  I believe it was in grade 10, when I last worked with wood, I built a clock.  You only new it was a clock because of the clock components that were provided to me.

For today's task, I asked Mike to help me out.  I was looking to build something a bit simple, and useful.  I ended up settling on an end table that would sit next to my couch.

He drew up the blue prints and got the wood needed.  At 10am, we arrived at his place and got started!  My first task involved using the miter saw, I was to divide up the wood. After that involved using the table saw to make the legs and aprons.  We then used the brad nailer to keep the legs together as we used a miter joint, on them. I will just personally add, that the brad nailer is pretty bad ass, I was a bit afraid that I'd end up nailing my jacket to a piece of wood.

Once we did that, Mike then tapered the legs, he had created a jig for use on the table saw.  After that we drilled holes into the aprons and legs.  Once that was completed, we ended up using one of Mike's many sanders (8!) to sand down the legs, and take out some of the corners.  This will help prevent the wood from splintering. After that, now was the time to glue it together, we placed some dowling into holes a long with some carpenter's glue.

Then, we had to keep it together.  Luckily Mike had plenty of clamps, he also had some amazing framing clamps that helped retain the shape we wanted.  While that happened, I got a chance to use the router for the top of the table.  The result's were pretty awesome.

We did run into some problems when we placed the aprons around the legs.  They didn't line up, Mike had a solution, sand it down!  Mike was able to use his belt sander to smooth it out and make it flush.  Sadly we couldn't finish the table, as we could fix a few things as the glue was still a bit wet.  All that was left was to sand a few of the bits to make it flush, then attach top to the legs.

Overall it was an awesome experience, felt good to make something with my hands.  I still have all my fingers, so it was a success. I felt very much like a kid, making something with Lego, I really liked it.  I would like to love to make something else next time.

I learned a lot today, too much to list really.  Mike has taught me a lot, learned all kinds of things about how to get the wood to do what you want. Way's to fix mistakes. Way's to use different machines.  One rule seemed to follow a lot of jobs I've worked in such as:

• Let the blade do the work, don't force it.  This reminds me of when I was working as a cook, how you never force the blade to cut, you just let the weight of the blade follow through.  

My tip!

• Don't wear black when working with wood, my jacket was covered in saw dust by the end of it.

I want to thank Mike and Sam for putting up with me for 7hrs while we worked on the table and feeding me!  Also to Lexi for showing me how gross her outside toys are.

Total Cost = $30