Check out my last Movember Musings of 2011! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahh52Rbr4L8
And if you still haven’t been able to donate to the cause, feel free to do so here 
Movember Musings Part IV, Offsitehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65W4zeOyBf8.
Also, donate here if the Movember guilt is becoming overwhelming!http://ca.movember.com/mospace/851398
Check out my latest post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aIvPxb6Pxs
If you want to donate, following this link, no amount is too small! http://www.movember.com/m/851398
Movember Musings Part II: The Mo’ Nod: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIGJGRMom9g
Donate to me here (any amount is welcome!): http://www.movember.com/m/851398
If you’re a supporter of the MO-vement, you can donate here: http://www.movember.com/m/851398. Hope you enjoy Movember Musings Part 1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IrIjC7bygk
After 6 months of planning and preparation, four friends (Linden, Mike, Thorben, and Noel) and I departed for Tanzania to take on one of the world’s seven summits, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Now that we have all transitioned to a world of a fixed number vacation days, we wanted to do something special, and I think the experience surpassed all of our expectations.
We began the trip by getting picked up by our trusted guide throughout the entire trip, Rob, who took us to our hotel to rest in preparation for our three-day safari starting the following day. In three days, we saw dozens of species of animals in three different national parks. Rob, or Wazi as we called him, was particularly interested in the sexual behaviour of the animals we saw, which, as you can imagine in a group of five extremely mature men, provided an additional level of entertainment. A few highlights were: having a lioness walk feet past our jeep, watching zebras, buffalos, and giraffes walk cautiously past a cheetah (much more excited than it sounds), seeing a herd of gazelle run frantically from two attacking lions, and watching two lions mate (albeit short-lived), while listening to an excited commentary from our guide. We were also lucky enough to stay at an incredible hill-top tented lodge run by a retired Dutch couple who employed a large number of the local people and dedicated a significant portion of their proceeds to improving schools in the surrounding area. We had a chance to chat with the husband who was an incredibly intelligent and kind man and certainly an inspiration for us in what’s possible in social business even after retirement.
After the safari, we had one night’s rest before beginning our seven-day trek of Kilimanjaro. After breakfast we were met by a small army of guides and porters, 24 to be exact. The first feeling I had after seeing all these people was “good lord are we that high maintenance?! To get me up this mountain it takes an additional five people!!” We quickly learned, however, that each person played a critical role and we would not have had the experience we did without each and every one of them. We had Rob, Saidi, and Ronny as our guides, Lulu as our cook, Steve as the water man, Allan and (Good) Luk as our meal and tea servers, about 15 porters to carry the tents, food, and equipment, and finally Babooni (aka Crazy Monkey) as our lead singer. Every morning begun with tea, water for washing, breakfast, then a 10 minute session singing and dancing lead by Babooni, arguably the coolest man in Tanzania.
Link to our morning routine with Babooni dancing on the left – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA_9xde9li4
To prevent altitude sickness and to ensure we had sufficient energy we were force-fed and encouraged to drink about five to seven litres of water per day. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t able to keep either of those in me for very long, being met with violent altitude sickness on our first night on the mountain. Believe me, stew and potatoes do not taste as good coming out of your nose. However, things got better from there with the expert medical advice from Wazi and Saidi.
An obvious implication of the obscene amount of water we were drinking was having to pee an inordinate amount. This, at first, was the most unpleasant part of the day, getting out of my warm sleeping bag, pulling on cold clothes and going out into the freezing cold to have my first of 25 pees for the day. However, when you looked around the setting was peaceful, serene, and often times awe-inspiring. One night, Linden and I went out for our regular 3am routine to see the dozens of tents filled with exhaustedly sleeping porters and trekkers beneath the clear sky peppered (or salted?) with stars. Beyond the camp in one direction was an ocean of clouds lit up a pale purple by the near full moon and on the other side the was the daunting face of the Kilimanjaro peak with its patchy section o snow and glacier equally as luminescent.
Our final night before summit was spent at ~4,600 meters above sea level where we slept for a few hours and left for the summit at around 1:00am. Before dinner, we witnessed the most spectacular sunset I’ve ever seen. I feel constrained by my literary abilities describing it, so I’ll just show a couple of pictures that does it about 50% justice:
When we set out for the summit, we were all feeling great and, despite the lack of oxygen at that altitude, managed to pass a number of groups on the way up while singing Crazy Monkey’s mountain songs that we’d come to know from our morning routines. But, as the temperature dropped and our altitude rose, we became more and more quite. My world shrank to the four feet in front of me lit up by my head lamp, taking it one step and one corresponding breath at a time.
What I love about these types of experiences, the ones that test your will ability to push yourself (be it climbing a mountain, a 10 km race, or the last 30 seconds of a plank) is that it brings forth that little voice in your head that says: “Give up”, “Turn back”, “You can’t do this.” And every time you hear that voice and decide not to listen, it becomes more faint and the period of time that you consider its proposal becomes shorter. Knowing the guys that I was on this trip with, I don’t think any of us considered that option for very long despite the cold, the head ache, the stomach issues, and the slight feeling of narcosis that comes with high altitudes.
Finally, as we climbed, the horizon began to brighten behind us providing us with some welcome inspiration. Soon after, we had made it to the first (lower) peak and quickly after that, we were sitting watching the sun rise above the cloud horizon thousands of meters below. When we turned around to finish the final leg of our trek to the top of the tallest peak, or “kilele” in Africa, we could see the moon setting behind a brilliantly lit up glacier. Listening to Grapevine First by Death Cab for Cutie (one of my favourite songs – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu4qQKlyF7s), it was at about this time that I was overcome with emotion. A view has never made me teary-eyed before, but this was something special as well as the prize for five days of hard work and struggle (as well as a lot of fun and laughs).
Summit day sunrise
Summit day moonset
We eventually made it to the top and snapped the picture with the Kilimanjaro sign that we had seen many times before and although I wouldn’t at all say that reaching the summit was anti-climactic, my mind drifted to the cliché: “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” something I try to remind myself of in my day-to-day life. For this climb, however, I would change it slightly to: “It’s about the journey just as much as it’s about the destination” because let’s be honest, what’s a climb without the sense of accomplishment that comes along with getting to the top, a feeling we had all been dreaming about for more than half a year.
The crew
I recently took a week’s vacation to go home to Vancouver. After essentially six months of living and working in Toronto, it was a welcome time for rest and relaxation.
Among the all of the fun-filled activities I spent with friends and family, was a trip with a select group of friends to Tofino. If you haven’t been, Tofino is a small surf town on the west coast of Vancouver island filled with hippies and tourists. It’s an incredibly beautiful place that if I were to describe it in an advertisement it would read: “Tofino: the surfing will bring you here, but the scenery will keep you.”
While out on a walk with a group of best friends and new friends overlooking a bay, I was struck by the realization that this was the first time in a very long time that I was going for a walk for the sake of walking! The only reason we were out, was to enjoy and admire our surroundings. And this thought was all the more profound, given my… psychological state at the time. 
But in all seriousness, it was true. I couldn’t recall the last time I went for a walk (or a bike, or a run) without a destination or objective in mind. Although this thought didn’t overly upset me, it stuck in my mind as something I want to change.
A week later, I was back in Toronto and starting to get back into my busy routine. Very quickly I was back with the mobs of people hurrying toward their desks (or Starbucks) to begin on their morning To Do’s. For the record, this doesn’t depress me, but it is the truth.
Last night, I decided to leave work a bit early and go to a yoga class. As usual, I was running behind and like so many times before I had to rush to get there. But when I arrived I felt that similar feeling of reprieve; like “ok, everything can slow down now.” After setting my mat up at the back of the room, the instructor asked us to bring our mats together and closer to the front. Why do we always try to keep as much space from each other and, even more so, the people who teach or instruct us?
She opened with a story, an email she had recently been sent. It was an article from 2007 entitled “Pearls for Breakfast” where the Washington Post convinced a world-famous violinist, Joshua Bell, to play for 45 minutes at a subway station in Washington, DC during a Friday morning rush. During that time, over 1,000 people passed by the renowned musician on their way to work. And how many stopped to enjoy the music that would usually cost them $150 to listen to?
Seven.
Less than one percent of people felt like they had the time to stop for more than one minute to listen to Joshua play one of his favourite pieces.
After letting that story settle with us for a moment, the instructor asked us the question: “Do you take time to recognize beauty in your day?” I’ll admit that there are certainly days that I do not, and if I were one of those 1,097 people I probably wouldn’t have stopped, especially during my morning commute. I suppose that could mean a lot of different things to different people – recognizing beauty -, but given my recent experience on the west coast and this strange coincidence a few days later, I am certainly going to take the time to ‘stop and smell the roses’ a little more often.
My first attempt, this morning in the building that I work…
If you’re interested to read more. See the link below:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
About a week ago I arrived home to Vancouver for a two-week Christmas vacation. As I was walking off the plane I couldn’t help thinking about how excited I was to see my friends and family, thinking about how long it had been and how, at times, hard it was being away from them all.
Just as I was approaching the arrivals area, I saw a women running down the hallway. In the instant that I saw her face, I couldn’t decider whether she was happy, excited, or upset. However, when I looked back, her expression began to make perfect sense. Walking quickly toward this women was a young man in full army fatigues.
And as I turned the corner, there was a 30 person welcoming party that was waiting at the exit. The group was composed of both friends and family, and from elderly to children, all with equally excited expressions on their face. And as they came around the corner the group roared with a cheer and the immediate family quickly engulfed the young patriot. As this was happening I noticed an older women, presumably his grandmother, hanging back and waiting for her to turn to embrace her grandson. When she finally had her chance, she rushed (at the fastest pace she could muster) up to him with a look of joy and relief (perhaps even disbelief) on her face. Even as a passerby, I found myself almost brought to tears by the sheer emotion of the moment.
Now, I’m not going to provide my opinion on our national defense policy or war in general, but what one can’t deny is that a soldier coming home to his or her friends, family, and home is a beautiful thing. Being reunited with the people that he thought about when things got tough and perhaps the people who were the reason he wanted to join the army and protect our country and freedoms in the first place, is a very special moment. A moment that made me realize that I really didn’t have it that bad. Sure I live in a new city, away from my best friends and family, but I’m still able to communicate with them frequently, live in the same country with the same amenities, meet awesome new people and create new relationships.
It has been amazing being home and spending quality time with the people I love and that love me, but I would guess it doesn’t come close to the last week for that soldier.
If you haven’t heard of TED talks , well I don’t really know what to say.
It is basically a conference and website that bring together influential thought leaders in disciplines from humanitarianism to green energy, psychology to virtual reality. The site can be interesting, mind-boggling, disturbing, or hilarious depending on what you end up watching. And with more and more of us moving to watching TV on our computers, why not watch something that will educate you, instead of kill brain cells (ie. Jersey Shore). Beware though, this site does have the ability to steal a good amount of your life.
Here are a few of my favourites referred to me by a friend. Enjoy!
Sir Ken Robinson
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Dan Gilbert
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html
Barry Schwartz
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html
Tony Robins
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/tony_robbins_asks_why_we_do_what_we_do.html
Jill Taylor
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html
Bill Gates
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/bill_gates_unplugged.html
Majora Carter
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/majora_carter_s_tale_of_urban_renewal.html
As a kid, I was always very sporty. As such, I never really had the time to learn how to play an instrument (or should I say my parents never forced me to). But, that is not to say that I don’t love music.
Music can highten your emotions, entertain you, inspire you, pump you up, make you think, make you dance, and a whole host of other things. W henever I’m asked: “Jordan, what kind of music do you listen to?” My usual answer is “everything.” It really depends on what I feel like. One of my favourite things to do is to find new musics from friends, the radio, and online.
So with that in mind, I decided to put together a list of my favourites. Everything from house to indy, rock to rap. I’ve been pretty honest on this blog and readers have been able to get a pretty good sense of who I am. So if you think music says a lot about a person, prepare to learn a lot about me. I’ve tried to organize them by the mood that I might be in or be put in if I were listening to them. I hope you enjoy.
Also I’ve put two stars (**) by the songs that I feel are must listens. These are the songs, that almost everytime I listen to them, I get an instant emotional response. I don’t really know how else to describe it, but maybe you’ll have a similar experience when you listen to them (If I had more time I would have put the youtube links beside them… Sorry!)
Ponder Life
- Hometown Glory – Adele**
- Skinny Love – Bon Iver**
- Colorblind – Counting Crows**
- Upward over the Mountain – Iron and Wine**
- Grapevine Fires – Deathcab for Cutie**
- Your Hand in Mine – Explosions in the Sky**
- Talk Show Host – Radiohead**
- Hide and Seek – Imogen Heap**
- Porcelain – Moby** (Despite how cliché, it gets me every time)
- Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead
- High and Dry – Radiohead
- The Light – Album Leaf
- Build a Home – Cinematic Orchestra
- Let the drummer kick – Citizen Cope
- Yellow – Coldplay
- England – The National
- How it Ends – DeVotchka
- Never Say Never – The Fray
- The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead – Final Fantasy
- Broken me – Glen Hansard (From one of my favourite movies “Once”)
- Motorcycle Drive By – Third Eye Blind (reminds me of grade 7 every time)
Romantic
- Come Away with Me – Norah Jones**
- If only – Fink**
- Sparks – Coldplay (I can’t believe I only have one Coldplay song on here)
- My Favorite Book – The Stars
- Will follow you into the dark – Deathcab for Cutie
- The Year’s Love – David Gray (Absolutely love Mr. Gray)
- Golden Train – Justin Nozuka
Road tripping with friends (I this category seems a bit random, but when I’m not on a road tri p and I hear these songs, I picture myself driving up the Sea to Sky highway on a beautiful day with my arm out the window and good friends in the car.)
- The Cave – Mumford & Sons**
- Bridge to Nowhere – Sam Roberts**
- Love Lost – The Temper Trap
- Lies – Arcade Fire
- Animal – Miike Snow
- Rome – Phoenix
- Home – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
- Cosmic Love – Florence and The Machine
- Paper Aeroplane – Angus and Julia Stone
- The City’s a Mess – Said the Whale
- Time – Hootie & the Blowfish (Yeah, remember them? Amazing!)
- Milk – Kings of Leon
- Ragoo – Kings of Leon
- Hard Sun – Eddie Vedder
Dance
- You used to hold me – Calvin Harris
- Show Me Love (Extended Remix) – Steve Angello
- When Love Takes Over – David Guetta
- P.Y.T. – Michael Jackson
- Only Girl – Rihanna (no I’m not kidding)
- Sweet Disposition Remix – Morgan Page
- Sexy Bitch – Akon
House Party
- Superstar – Lupe Fiasco**
- Half Mast – Empire of the Sun
- Great DJ – The Ting Tings
- We are the People (Burns Remix) – Empire of the Sun
- Homecoming – Kanye West
- The Seed 2.0 – The Roots
- Paper Plane – M.I.A.
- Little L – Jamiroquai
- What’s your Fantasy – Ludacris (You know Luda has to be on this list!)
So that’s a list of about 60 of my top 100. Hope you get a chance to listen, find something new, and pass it along!
