Category Archives: Life Journal

And so it begins, Maverick’s agility journey

Maverick waiting his turn at an agility trial

I remember it like it was yesterday. The pet store clerk looked me dead in the eyes and matter-of-factly stated, “You had better find that dog a job.”

Maverick was barely 6 months old at the time and dragging me around the pet store. In other words, he was being his typical energetic self. I told her that he was a Labrador Retriever – Queensland Heeler mix. I kind of laughed off the suggestion, but little did I know at the time how valuable the advice would be.

It took another year and a half, November 2020, before Abbey and I started taking him to agility class. He was a quick study and appeared to enjoy negotiating all the obstacles (well, almost all the obstacles – we’ll talk about the weave poles and the A-frame mishap some other time). More importantly, he was exhausted both physically and mentally after class. That’s when we knew we were on to something. We had found Maverick’s calling, his occupation, his job.

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One week with the Pixel 6a

The back cover of the Google Pixel 6a

After almost four years using the Pixel 3, I decided to pull the trigger and upgrade to the Pixel 6a. It was a tough decision. I’ve really liked the Pixel 3. It has been, by far, the best phone that I’ve ever owned. Unfortunately, it’s not scheduled to get any more Android updates, so I figured it was time to move on.

Here are my thoughts after one week with the Pixel 6a. Given how much I liked my Pixel 3, the new phone has some big shoes to fill.

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Words Matter

Our choice of words, spoken or written, imbues meaning. It determines what we communicate. It affects our ability to solve problems. The way we describe, or frame, a problem can make all the difference in our ability to resolve it.

Here are three mistakes that I commonly make that demonstrate why carefully and properly choosing words matter.

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The Gas Station of the Future

Tesla Charging station - Kettleman City, CA

On our recent trip to Bandon Dunes, Brad and I chose to make the drive in his Tesla. Two reasons factored into our decision. The first was $6 gas prices. Second was trying out the charging experience on a long distance road trip. Kettleman City was our first charging stop, and I’m here to tell you that I’ve seen the future, the future of what a gas station (aka charging station) will be.

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Half Moon Bay: Old Course vs Ocean Course

18th hole at the Half Moon Bay Old Course

On the way back from our epic Bandon Dunes experience, Brad and I stopped off at Half Moon Bay to play a round. I’d been wanting to play Half Moon Bay for years, and this was perfect way to end the trip.

Originally, we had only planned on playing the Old Course. However, after completing our round in a tidy 3 hours, I twisted Brad’s arm and convinced him to play the Ocean Course. It was a treat since I wasn’t sure when I would get a chance to return to Half Moon Bay.

Below are my thoughts on the two courses, including which I liked best.

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Bandon Dunes: A True Golf Experience

Brad and Gregg Borodaty on the 13th tee at Pacific Dunes Golf Course  Bandon Dunes, OR

A few years ago, a good friend asked if I had golfed at Bandon Dunes. I told him that I had heard of the place but didn’t know much about it. He attempted to explain his experience. While he struggled to find the right words, he used a lot of superlatives. Exasperated, he finally gave up trying to describe it and said, ” You have to go. You just have to go.”

Having just returned from Bandon Dunes, I can finally understand and appreciate his fascination with the resort. Words cannot adequately describe the experience, nor will I do it justice in this post. However, I’m going to give it my best shot and will tell you in advance – if you are a golfer and have a true passion, love, and appreciation for the game, it’s a place you have to go.

Wait, let me rephrase that – Bandon Dunes is a place you MUST go.

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The Stories We Tell Ourselves

For years, I assumed I was a bit crazy. I thought I was the only one who had constant, on-going discussions with myself. I did my best to suppress it, to ignore the voice inside my head.

Imagine my surprise when I became aware that we all have this “inner voice.” Some refer to it as “inner chatter.” I like calling it “the stories we tell ourselves.”

As it turns out, the stories we tell ourselves are important, extremely important.

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Disconnecting – one way to improve focus and being present

Being present and living in the moment is one of the key principles I’ve learned through my meditation practice over the past few years. Meditation reinforces the principle by having you sit quietly and observe your thoughts. It’s an interesting process, and one that can be unsettling and sometimes a bit scary when you have a mind as active as mine.

Anyways, my meditation practice has encouraged me to look for ways to improve being present when I’m not sitting alone with my thoughts. There are so many things that vie for our attention during the day that it’s easy to get distracted. If I were to list the biggest offenders, the internet and my phone would be near the top of the list, if not at the top.

While I’d like to experiment with disconnecting for multiple days, it’s not something that’s easy to do given my work. So I find it interesting to read (and learn) about others’ experiences. The latest experience came courtesy of David McCain, who runs the blog Raptitude.com. You can read about his full experience here – https://www.raptitude.com/2022/02/what-i-learned-during-my-three-days-offline/

I really enjoyed the post and figured I’d share the things I learned from it.

(Not lost on me is the irony of having to be online to read a post about what I learned about someone else being offline, but that’s a topic for another time.)

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2022 Fitness goals

Every year I like to do a review of the past year’s fitness goals and set new ones for the next year. This year is no different, even if I’m publishing them over a month into the year.

If you’ve followed my goals from years past, I usually focus on three areas – working out, physical activity, and diet. This year is going to be more of the same.

First, we’ll start by reviewing last year’s goals. Then we’ll move on to the goals for 2022.

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