Semester Wrap up

As the end of the semester draws to a close, I figured it would be nice to look back and see what exactly I learned.

I learned some valuable information about my topic. I was following Human rights and Abortion during the election season. I learned how some people reference any material possible for their side. The Bible is referenced both for gay marriage and against marriage. I also witnessed four states approve gay marriages in their states. This is a huge step for the United States to approve this topic nation wide.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/03/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage_n_2231389.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-marriage

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/chick-fil-a-anti-gay-organizations-funding-ceased_n_1896580.html

Supreme court and others still remain silent of topics about gay marriage. This country still has steps to fully accept this type of marriage.

http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/will-the-new-focus-on-abortion-help-democrats-in-the-2012-election

Abortion was another important issue in this election. Both sides felt very passionate about this topic.

In general I learned about the presidential election process. I knew some about it before entering this class but not enough to carry on an intelligent about the topic. Now I feel like I could talk about the topic in a fair maner.

The most important this I learned about myself is how to accept others opinions and listen others. I have been working on this, but this class has really made me think about it. Listening is very important in a conversation sometimes when the conversation is heated people dont listen and just yell. I have learned how to take a step back and listen to others.

I did not have part in our twitter. I was stuck to facebook and the blog.

I honestly do not watch much of the political entertainment. The only time I would watch it would be in class or when someone referenced something that I would have to go back and watch. Most of the time I forget about turning the TV on and watching it.  I do read some of the articles on the Onion. I find it nice to have a humor side of the news. It lightens it up some and makes it bearable.

Personally I feel like I am more inclined to be involved in politics in the future. I feel like I cannot complain about something unless I am active in the voting or a president and political news. Because of this class I feel like I know more about politics and should educate others about the process and key issues. 

What have I done?

So to go along with the other post I put up, I kinda want to look at the whole situation from start to finish. A few days before I came home from school I called my dad to talk about riding bikes, I told him I wanted to try somewhere different. He seemed a little hesitant but willing to try something different. I suggested the buttermilk trail and all by the James River, it was a little more technical that what we were used to but we gave it a try. While on the trail we got beautiful views of the skyline and all types of views of Richmond. We were a half a mile from being done and we run into this bit obstacle. I get through it, but dad obviously did not.

While I was running to dad I was expecting the worst but hoping for the best. My first aid kicked in and I immediately stabilized his neck. He kept telling me he was fine but I knew down inside that he was not. It is a neck injury, he has to go to the hospital was words going through my mind. My dad kept telling me "I am fine, I will walk back." My gut was telling me he was not fine. I listened to my dad and let him walk out of the trail and up to the road, when we got to the road I told dad I was calling EMS and he would be fine. The problem is dad is very stubborn and refused the EMS, so, we took dad to the emergency room. After getting there and telling them what happened, they called this special code and everyone come to assist dad. The doctors kept telling dad that he was blessed, we kept thinking well that was very nice of them. Finally the doctor came in and told him what the injury was and how lucky he is to be alive. Normally people with this injury end up dead on the spot. After hearing that I kept thinking to myself, wow I could have ran to my dad and him be dead. That is something that you do not want to think about. Seeing your father dead. I am happy that he is not and that somebody was watching over him that day.

My dad just had surgery (matter of fact, I am writing this from his bed side) and doctors say he will make a full recovery (praise God!) It is going to be a long hard recovery but he is going to be ok. I have to stay strong for him!

After seeing what happened to dad, I realized that I have to live life to its fullest. I cant wait around and wonder what is happening, just go for it. I also learned that you have to be happy and strong, trust in the good Lord and he will get you through. Praise God dad is ok and will be able to live a normal life.

(a side note, I am sorry there are no hyperlinks, really couldn't find anything for this post! Sorry!)

What a misadventure!

Ok, so this post is going to be really hard for me to write but I am gonna do it.... On friday my dad and I went mountain biking in the James River Park System. We were almost done and I look back and see dad laying on the ground. He had taken a 10 ft. fall and landed on his neck an head. Because of his adrenaline pumping so much he walked off the trail and up to the road. We rushed him to the hospital where he could get taken care of. Little did we know that he was in really rough shape! After many tests including: X-rays, CT scans, MRI, and other tests we found out that dad shattered his C7 vertebrae and fractured his C6 vertebrae. Many doctors and people came in and told us that he was blessed to be alive and not paralyzed. The only thing besides the pain is numbness in 2 fingers. The C6 and C7 control the movement of the neck and hands. He was rushed to the Neuroscience wing of the hospital where he is getting special attention.

This was a great adventure that turned bad... We were having a blast but in a matter of seconds it wend down hill (literally.) His helmet that he was wearing is totally destroyed and sitting next to him in the hospital to remind him how lucky he actually is. It is really hard t0 see you dad sitting in that hospital bed suffering. I have to stay positive for my dad and stay strong. It is just hard to think that I could have walked up to my dad on that trail and he could have been dead. That is something that you dont wanna think about. This morning we learned that he is going to have to have surgery on Tuesday, he will get a cadaver C6 and C7 vertebre and some medal plates. Hopefully he will come out of the surgery feeling better and be on the way to recovery. It is going to be a hard long recovery but he will get better, positive thoughts only!! My dad is alive and talking to me. He is going to be ok!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

Rejoice always, Pray continually,

The Long Lost Post

So I admit it I cannot do this whole blog thing. I always make time in my week to post, but within the past few weeks my life has been CRAZY!!! I have been all over the place, some of it has been fun but other stuff has not!

I have been really adventurous within these pase few weeks. For spring break I went to Homosassa Spring Florida with SU Outdoors. We camped in tents the whole spring break and did a lot of fun stuff. We went kayaking, Standup Paddle-boarding, and snorkeling; I have kayaked before but nothing like where we did it in Florida. We kayaked in spring fed rivers so it was crystal clear and we could see everything in the water. I made a video about it, you should check it out!

While I was away from Blogger, I also took part in a bike race in Richmond VA. The race is called the Urban Assault. It was a 20 mile race with fun obstacles in between there. There was no specific route for this race, the objective was to go to all the obstacles as fast as you could and get back to the finish line. It took my group a little under 2 hours to complete this race. Once again I made a video about the race and it is on youtube. You should also check it out. I will be partaking in the race again next year that is sure!

So I guess one may say that I have an excuse for not posting, but I dont think so. Making a post only takes a half an hour, there is no reason that I cannot take the time to make one. So that being said I am going to make every effort possible to post more and have some fun with this. The weather is going to nice again this week so I will probably be going mountain biking somewhere back home. I will keep you all in the loop with what I am doing.

"We're not afraid of risking what was our success yesterday in order to explore some new field. We're adventurous. We like the challenge of unknown territory, unknown artistic field, and that's what stimulates us."
-Guy Laliberte

Ready.... Set..... Go Australia!

So a year ago around this time I was gearing up to go to Australia with the GCP. For those of you who do not know what the GCP or Global Citizenship Project is, well let me enlighten you. The GCP is a spring break trip that is paid in full by the University. The only thing that you have to pay for is your passport. There are five different destinations each year, you do not get to choose your destination. I was chosen to be on Team Australia.

While we were there we traveled to three different cities: Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne. These three cities were absolutely amazing, not only were they cleaner and more colorful, but the people were more friendly. Australia in general had much nicer people than Americans, when we asked about the city or directions they would always answer it.

There was one major down fall about this trip. The U.S. dollar compared to the Australian dollar. Our dollar is actually weaker than theirs, this ment that everything was more expensive. For an example I went to McDonalds for a late night snack, it cost me $8.50 for just a big mac. I was amazed at the cost but hey when you are hungary you stomach makes the decisions.

We did many adventures while in Australia. We toured the Sydney Opera House and got to see what happens behind the scenes. We got to travel on a boat at sunset and see the beautiful skies of Australia. One of my favorite things that we did was visit The Three Sisters and the Blue Mountains. These were both breath taking and an amazing sight. The final adventure that we did, was we went to an animal sanctuary. Here we got to pet wild Dingos, Kangaroos, and Kolas. This was so fun and something that I will remember for a while.

All in all this was a great trip and many adventures that I cannot share for different proposes. I met many people here had really gained new friends here at the school. Because of this trip I am planning on traveling more and more out of the country and hopefully bring friends along for the adventures.

The Perfect Interview

So when I was trying to figure out who exactly I would interview I had tons of people in mind. It ranged from Jesus all the way to a little kid. Why a little kid you ask? Well if you fought and over came Cancer at a young age that is something to be interviewed about. After really thinking about who I wanted to interview I can up with someone who has done some amazing things Nick Woodman. If you opened up the hyperlink you can probably guess who he is, if not I will tell you; he is the founder and inventer of the GoPro corporation and the hero camera. In my previous posts I talked about my GoPro experiences, matter a fact as I am writing this post I am doing a time lapse with my camera.

Mr. Woodman started this company by selling products out of his VW Van but eventually made it big. I think it would be awesome to interview someone who came up with a great idea and had dreams to make it big. His story just show you that you can start from nothing and it can turn into something just amazing; because Mr. Woodman did not give up or throw in the towel he made it big. Due to his invention of the Hero camera we can now see what thrill seekers really see when they are doing their sport. This camera is also used in TV shows like Dirty Jobs, as well as motion pictures like Red Tails.

When thinking about questions I would ask him I had a little trouble. After reading this interview with Nick Woodman, I thought about asking him some of those questions. I would also ask him some questions about which mount is his his favorite, possibly ask him about the best fan video, or even ask him what is the craziest video he has shot with his GoPro. I would also ask him questions about how it all got started and where he sees his company going. My final question to him would be: Where do I apply to get a job with GoPro? Yes some of the questions were a little off the norm, but I think with his personality he would answer with pride.

I personally think it would be an honor to interview Mr. Woodman. He seems like a nice guy and is always down for some adventure. Nick Woodman in with my blog and all the adventures yet to come within my life.

The White Castle Adventure

Ok like I said in the very first post, I am going to use this blog to write about some adventures that I would like to do as well as some I have done. This is an example of something that I would like to do in the near future.

So a few of my friends and I were sitting around watching "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" when all of the sudden we all started about the burgers that they were eating. All but one of my friends have never had a White Castle Burger including myself. I have been told that these are the best burgers and that once you have one you will never stop eating them. We all agreed that we would love to make road trip to try these famous burgers. The only problem is, that the closest White Castle to Winchester is in New Jersey about 211.16 miles away (yes I have mapped it out and everything.) The sad thing is we all have agreed that before this semester is over we will be going on a road trip to White Castle.

I would consider this an adventure, but I would hope it is nothing like Harold and Kumar's adventure. If it is like theirs I would probably be scared for my life and have to pass on the opportunity. Yes I know they met NPH but still they went through Hell and back for those burgers. I dont know if my life is worth trying some burgers, but hey might as well go for it.

I hope that this dream adventure will actually become true and I can blog about in the future. After all if I have a blog about adventures that means that I actually have to go out and be adventurous.

Is perfect really possible?

This past weekend January 27th through the 29th the winter X-Games were in Aspen. At the games there are many events ranging from snowmobile best trick to the Superpipe. Within the Superpipe the athlete to watch was Shaun White. He has won the competition four times in a row and was looking for his fifth at this X-Games. The only thing that was holding him back was an ankle injury that prevented him from doing other competitions. During the qualification round Shaun White completed the Superpipe with a first place score that gave him a place in the final. Here is where the perfect score part come into play, Shaun White went for his third run down the superpipe completing the run with no mistakes. The judges gave Shaun a perfect score; with a run like that I would think about giving him a perfect score as well, but in my opinion I don't think that a perfect score is even possible. Yes, call me a loser because I dont think there is such a thing as perfect in this world. Because of that perfect score, it is going to hold Shaun at a higher level and it is going to be harder for anyone to do new tricks and get a good score. He deserved that score but I feel like there is no way that someone could be perfect. Shaun White is a very well know snowboarder and I think that the judges had some envy and pretty much just gave him the score. Don't get me wrong, I think it is awesome that he got that score but did he really deserve it?

So what is this blog all about?

For my blog I decided that I will blog about adventures that happen throughout my life. These adventures or misadventures can be something as small as a scavenger hunt around Walmart to going mountain biking. (Yes that is me that the camera is strapped to.) Ever since I was young I always wanted to be outside and exploring. Because of that I was introduced to kayaking, skiing, mountain biking, and a lot of other activities. All of the things listed can be considered extreme sports. Extreme Sports are something that gets your adrenaline going, or your heart pumping. Another thing that I enjoy doing is filming myself doing these sports; last year I purchased a GoPro camera that helps me film myself and others having fun doing what we love. With this blog I will share adventures and misadventures that happened to me as well as share my input on different extreme sports happening around the world. For example the winter X-games will be in Aspen in the upcoming week so be on the look out for a blog about that event. I hope that you all will enjoy my posts and feel free to comment on them and tell me what you think.

-"If you want to experience all of the success and pleasure in life, you have to be willing to accept all the pain and failure that come with it." - A famous quote by Mat Hoffman