The last few months I’ve been working hard on catching up on a lot of design things. There been many projects, but probably the biggest is that my book is almost done. I’m guessing that in a few days I’ll look around for a publisher. That sounds so formal, the truth is, is that I expect to self publish.

The other thing that I’ve been working on is getting some of my travel experiences into movies. It’s been a while since I’ve worked so hard at video editing and I’m really having a fun time. I’ve finished 9 videos in the last couple of months. Some were more or less ‘warm up’ videos just to get started, but I’m starting to feel more comfortable now. Check them out on my youtube channel…. remember to comment, like, subscribe, and don’t forget to hit the notifications. :)

Here’s the latest video just uploaded a few hours ago:

I wrote this very fast so I apologize in advance for any problems with readability, grammar, or structure.

So it’s the middle of April and this is first entry that I’ve made in about four months. What makes it even worse is that I probably wouldn’t even be putting this up now if I hadn’t had someone ask if I was ever going to update my blog. I guess the answer is yes, but only to update it and not necessarily to give any interesting insight to my life right now.

So my operation went very well and a week afterwards the doctor told me that I was cleared for anything that didn’t put stress on my muscles. I don’t know how I would explain the experience, but I guess I can say that it went well enough that it wasn’t a negative experience. I did get very bored for the total six weeks that I wasn’t one hundred percent though.

While I was recovering in the hostel I did do a few good things. First I stopped smoking (again). I had quit about a year ago but the slow draw of the nicotine and my old lifestyle eventually drew me back.  So I quit again and although there’s no assurance that I will stay ‘quit’ each time seems to get a little bit easier. It’s been more than two months now.

I also have managed to keep the weight that I have lost over the last year off. When I left Dubai my weight was about 205lbs., now it’s about 157lbs. To me this is huge feat, and one that I am very proud of. I am almost skinny. J

About the end of February I left KL to join Sofiya in Thailand. The last time I had seen her was two months earlier and although we stayed in touch over the two months it was kind of tough go. We met up in Krabi, Thailand and hung out for the length of my visa. Although we kind of traveled around the area a little, we didn’t really do much sightseeing.

A couple of weeks before I left KL for Krabi a friend showed me a place where I could run. I had been telling him that I wanted to start running and wanted to know where a good spot was. So he took me to a pretty cool park with a running track that is situated under the Petronas Towers.  I could barely go around a quarter of the 1.3km track without having to walk, but I loved the experience though. I went back on my own at least four more times before I left for Thailand.

When I got to Thailand I actually started to run even more. In KL it was kind of a novelty, something that I hadn’t done in a very long time, but in Thailand I was a ‘runner’ kind of. I would get up at 6 or 630 in the morning and run nearly every day. This continued until in Koh Lanta I rolled my ankle/heel. The injury sidelined me for about three weeks and at times not only couldn’t I run, but I couldn’t even walk without a huge limp. It took some time but eventually I was able to run a little each day.

About two weeks ago I got back to Malaysia and jumped right into running nearly every day. I also found another very cool track around a lake in the botanical gardens very close to where I’m staying. So I split my running between the two tracks and sometimes run at night as well. I am having a lot of fun running and I have managed to go 4km without resting, and about 10km with breaks. This is huge and has inspired me to start doing some small races. I think I could only do a 10k at the most, but will probably start with a 5k just so I actually finish it.

So now I’m sitting in the Kuala Lumpur Airport getting ready for my flight to Taipei. It leaves in about 90 minutes. I plan on being in Taipei for up to a year while I get back into my designing… oh, and running too.

So that’s my update and I hope that it doesn’t take me three months to do another. Hopefully I’ll have a lot to write about while I’m in Taipei.

As I sit here in my hostel in Kuala Lumpur I feel like it’s time that I do an update to the blog. There are two significant things that have happened in the last two weeks since I’ve actually added a ‘real’ entry. The first is that I got a new computer and the second is that I am going in for surgery on Wednesday. Both are big to me, but maybe not that big for other people.

Somewhere during our stay in Mui Ne, Vietnam the screen on my computer was broken. Up until a few days ago I didn’t know what I was going to do, buy a new computer or have the old one fixed. The old computer has issues other than the screen so it was a real possibility that I would purchase a new one. I took the computer to a service center and they immediately told me that it was going to be very expensive, probably more than the computer was worth. I still waited for an estimate though, which came up to about $650. They were right. If the computer didn’t have all the other problems I probably would have had it fixed, but the headphone jack sometimes didn’t work, the power cord had to be replaced, and the battery only held about half a charge. There were other problems too, but those were the biggest.

After the news of how much it was going to cost I decided to buy a new computer. As luck would have it, there was a place that sold macs downstairs in the mall, so within a few minutes I was walking home with a new Mac. It’s nice but I wish that I wasn’t forced to buy it.

The first full day after arriving in KL I went to a clinic to get my problem looked at. (Normally, I’d mention the problem here, but it’s kind of personal, nothing really embarrassing, just personal, so forgive me for not telling what it is.) Anyway, I went to the clinic to verify my self-diagnosis and to hopefully get the wheels started on getting it fixed. The consultation went as I expected and I was indeed correct. The doctor gave me some options and more importantly, gave me the number of a specialist that I could talk to. I made the appointment for Saturday.

The specialist I saw was a nice guy and verified everything that the other doctor had said although he went into much more detail. The only real fix for my problem is to have corrective surgery and since I have been preparing myself for this since I first noticed the problem three weeks ago, I agreed to have surgery.

I go in on Wednesday morning for the outpatient procedure. They will administer a general anesthesia and I’ll be stuck primarily in bed for about two weeks, and be limited physically for six weeks.

One of the side benefits of this is that I had to go through some pre operation tests and although there were only three, I seem to be healthy. I also found out that I weigh only 160lbs. The last month or two I’ve would have sworn that I gained weight, but it appears that I lost about five pounds.

I just saw this on my FB feed and to be honest, I think it’s pretty accurate. To the point of being ‘way to accurate.’ For as long as I can remember I have always tended to see my self as a lone wolf, and my brother constantly tells me, ‘you’re too sensitive.’ :)

http://earthweareone.com/native-american-zodiac-signs-their-meaning/

Wolf: Feb 19 – Mar 20

Deeply emotional, and wholly passionate, the Wolf is the lover of the zodiac in both the physical and philosophical sense of the word. The Wolf understands that all we need is love, and is fully capable of providing it.

Juxtaposed with his/her fierce independence – this Native American animal symbol is a bit of a contradiction in terms. Needing his/her freedom, yet still being quite gentle and compassionate – we get the picture of the “lone wolf” with this sign.

In a nurturing environment the Wolf is intensely passionate, generous, deeply affectionate, and gentle. Left to his/her own devices the Wolf can become impractical, recalcitrant, obsessive, and vindictive.