Author: Melih O.

New Year Resolutions, Uncategorized 0 comments on Thank you Live to Fail!

Thank you Live to Fail!

Today is the last day of my 12-week LTF program.

Back in January, I saw on Hulu that DailyBurn were doing a month free. I thought, why not. Let’s go for it. They took me through an awesome on boarding flow, and then suggested that I do LTF with Ben Booker for the next 12 weeks.

Holy smokes it’s been fantastic. Weight training 4 days per week. Cardio 2 days per week. A box. 2 sets of dumb bells. And I’ve lost weight, gained muscle mass. Gotten stronger. Feel more fit.

The jokes were cheesy the first time, but hearing them every week for 12-weeks almost made them funny. The cast of characters got into with the lead trainer which was encouraging, and actually helped come back daily. It was quick. High impact.

It’s a truly awesome program.

If you’re disciplined enough to work out on your own, then I would highly encourage you try out DailyBurn. And if your profile gives you the chance to choose Live To Fail (LTF), do it. You’ll enjoy the ride!

Adventures in beekeeping, Uncategorized 0 comments on ‘Twas the night before Bee-mas 

‘Twas the night before Bee-mas 

and all through the night. I’m slaving away on one last project. I started it last weekend, and I’m inches away from finished. Over the course of the week I’ve learned that:

  1. I’m so glad that Davis Drive Middle School had wood shop, and I spent 3 years there with Mr. Boyle
  2. I can’t cut anything in a straight line
  3. It’s as expensive to rent as it is to buy a circular saw
  4. The kids love DIY

However, my drill has run out of power, and so it will wait til morning. 

Pictures below of the bee stand. It turns out that you need to add elevation to a bee hive. Otherwise skunks, raccoons, and mice will get in too easily. 

This way when they try, the angry daughters will come out and sting!

And the girls all show up tomorrow. I’ll have them all in and setup by the late afternoon. 

And the great experiment will officially commence. 

Here goes nothing!

So far on the list of honey receivers in order are:

  • Amelia and Luka 
  • My mom and brother
  • Fabienne (I need your address)

If anyone else wants some (assuming I don’t mess it all up), then let me know. They told us to expect honey by July. It will be a Independence Day treat for all!

I don’t know if it’s legal to ship internationally. I’ll find out. If so, throw my dad, uncle, aunt, and Aydin as line 4. 

   

  

           

Fatherhood, Uncategorized 0 comments on First fake sick day

First fake sick day

Amelia got us good today. She coughed herself sick, and then had a slight fever. She acted very whiny and tired. And then as soon as we said she didn’t have to go to school she was back to 95% (she is a tiny bit under the weather), and we knew we’d been played. 

Damn those 3.5 year olds are good. 

Check out the play dough sculpture we made: 

Lesson learned. You may have gamed us this time my darling, but just you wait 🙂 

New Year Resolutions, Uncategorized 6 comments on It’s all about perspective 

It’s all about perspective 

Three graphs, and three very different stories. 

Here is graph #1:  

It’s not bad. The highest weight is 199. The lowest weight is 187. And I feel really good that heading into April that I’ll solidly be in the 180s. That downward slope feels wonderful, and looks ok I’m the mirror too. This graph makes me smile. 

And then there’s graph #2: 

Now there’s a bigger gap. The slope isn’t as steep. But there’s a goal there, and one that can be reached. Generally neutral from an emotional point of view. 

But then there’s graph #3: 

There’s almost no slope. The goal doesn’t feel good enough. And the emotions clearly drop to frustrated and demotivated. 

It’s all about perspective…

 

Adventures in beekeeping, Uncategorized 2 comments on Beekeeping update

Beekeeping update

The bees are ordered!

They arrive on April 11. There will be a queen, and her newly adopted family of 10k bees. 

I have 2 more frames to paint. I have an entire stand to build. And then the infrastructure to support the bees will be finished. 

This weekend, I got to go to a local community garden, and actually open a box. It’s amazing. This box had, according to the beekeeper, 40k bees. They’re everywhere, and yet 10 feet away you wouldn’t even know a hive existed. I think that’s evolution at its best. It behooves the bees to disappear into the background, and they’re good at it.

When I saw this army of bees though tending to the brood, eggs laid, new bees eating their way out (e.g. Being born), it was just awesome.

I’m glad I got a suit for the kids because getting them involved is going to be a blast!

It will be 3 – 6 weeks for the bees to acclimate. Then a few weeks more until we have a full honey box. So by 4th of July I’m hoping we can celebrate with some great honey based dishes. 

It’s all very exciting!

Fatherhood, Uncategorized 0 comments on It’s ok to be afraid… Why not?

It’s ok to be afraid… Why not?

Amelia had the preschool bungalow assembly today. It consisted of each class singing a song, and then the whole preschool singing one song together.

Check out the video here: Amelia’s PS3 assembly song

At Pizza Friday that evening (where we went to Delfina – #mickyfail), I asked Amelia about the performance, and she said,

Well. I was scared, but I kept singing, and everything was ok

and I thought to myself how grown up that analysis sounded.
It was spot on to what happened where in the first song she looked at her older friend Naomi to help her, and then did really wonderfully by herself on the second song.

That was just a lovely moment.

Amelia's PS3 assembly group song
Amelia’s PS3 assembly group song
just thinking out loud, Uncategorized 3 comments on Hitting emotional bankruptcy

Hitting emotional bankruptcy

I’m in a bad place.

Ian used to tell me all of the time how I’d get stuck in ruts, and it was my job as a leader in the company to get out, and help move people forward. But I’m in one of those ruts where it just feels like it’s too hard to do.

It’s really coming from every direction too.

Luka tells me he doesn’t want me. He doesn’t like me. He only likes his mom. (Amelia does the opposite to Micky. It’s just purely mean).

My dad busted his tooth, and I found out because I’m on a WhatsApp group with a bunch of students working on a project he and I are brainstorming together. If I weren’t on that group, then I’d never have found out.

The family is sick. I’m allergic to the backyard for the next month until all of this pollen goes away.

I’ve lost 40% capacity on the PM side at work, and that’s just plain hard. There’s a bunch of other stuff here too, but I’ll publish those another day.

I don’t know where to win. I don’t know where the next win is coming from. And most of all, and actually scariest of all, I don’t know if it will be enough. But damn do I need a win right now 🙁