Check it out and donate!

www.operationsecondchance.org

While it is nearly impossible to create a soundtrack that fits on a regular length CD that can truly encapsulate your life equally for each stage, but give it a try and see what you find.  Try not to focus on just one area of your life.  (It would have been easy for me to make everything fitness related).  Branch out and see what you come up with!

Here’s a first round version of mine.  I think it’s pretty close to the final version, but I will make sure to post an updated version if there happens to be one.

Childhood: Trouble by Elvis, Shining Time Station theme, Gummi Bears theme
Tween years: Love Me Do by The Beatles, Nothing Ever Changes by Donna Lewis, Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah by James Baskett
Middle school: Ironic by Alanis Morrisette, Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper, Barely Breathing by Duncan Sheik
High school: Photograph by Def Leppard, Gotta Love It by Aerosmith, #1 by Nelly
College years: Famous by Vertical Horizon, Peaceful World by John Mellancamp, Gonna Fly Now (The John X Remix) - Rocky
Life after college: Move Along by All-American Rejects, Come On Get Higher by Matt Nathanson, Wish For by Deleware


Have a great day and happy reminiscing!

I spent my weekend filtering through search results for agents in various cities across the US.  I have two pages worth of links to sort through, finding what each agent is looking for (whether it is a query letter, sample chapters or full proposal) and then discerning what details I need to add to each letter.  It’s definitely going to take a focused, extended effort to sort through the list of agents I found to see who I can logically send it to and who I should omit.  My birthday is on Saturday, so this weekend is most likely out.  At least I have the information searched and saved.  The hard work, in that sense, is done, but the fun, hard work, which is even more time consuming, has just begun.  I definitely haven’t given up on my dream.  I’m just trying to find the time to pursue it properly, and hopefully the momentum from starting it next weekend (or whenever I can) will carry me through the entire, unedited list I gathered over the weekend.

It’s been an interesting month.  Last year this time I was in full training mode for a marathon and now running is the last thing on my mind really.  Since the Boston run last year I have been completely involved with strength training at the gym and getting this book published, which is getting a new, revamped push very soon.

I know that I’m a motivated individual, but looking back on everything, it amazes me how many different adventures I have undertaken in isolated environments.  Marathon training obviously, but a large portion of my baseball training was solo, along with my latest round of adventures in the gym.  Thinking in more depth about this, I think I realized why I am drawn to doing things alone and how it impacted my life growing up.

I had to push myself in order to get anywhere.  The obstacles I had to overcome were my own, and I wasn’t ready enough to explain to others how my disability affects me the way that I can verbalize it now.  All I knew was what hurt and what was difficult.  It was up to me to take that and strengthen it.

That started my isolation.  I started pushing myself on my own and loved the feeling so much that I got completely involved with it, pushing myself to the point that I was struggling and straining in the gym.  Everyone around saw me as a guy who just pushed himself in the gym, but if they could visibly see my disability, there would have been a whole new round of admiration and affection towards me.

If people could visibly see my disability, I would have more friends.  The reason I say this is based off of certain observations I have had.  I had a sling on in college at one time, but had it on my left arm.  No one tried to help me out in the dining hall or across campus, yet people volunteered left and right the one day I put the sling on my right arm.  They visually saw that I needed help and assumed that since my “dominant” arm was in a sling that they would offer to help.

Not being able to see what I was living with cemented my internal motivation and probably determined why and how I carry myself the way I do.  It’s why I’m more aware about what happens around me and analyzing observations I see.  It may lead me to come off as cocky or cold, but that’s just my self-assuredness that I have gained after overcoming my limitations for 23 years now.

All of this being said, I would not change anything.  I have loving and dear friends and feel stronger and more secure in myself than ever before with each new day that I live.  It’s just interesting to be able to look around, observing people in their environments and finding reasons for why they are the way they are and logical reasons for why and how they have been brought up as they have.

Today was my workout day where I isolate my right side.  After starting the workout, I decided that I would make this a true isolation workout and focused on doing everything with my right side…moving pins, operating the water fountain, etc.  It’s tough because, for one, I never do it, but my mind is so focused on the workout that I have to have a concentrated focus on not reverting to performing everything the way I’m used to doing: with my left hand.

As important as strength building is for my right side, isolating and improving my motor control is essential to increasing my strength gains even more.  If I can improve the nerves that fire during the simplest, everyday motions, that can only improve how other actions are performed.

It definitely took an effort this morning, and I’m sure I faltered with my plan across the morning after coming up with the development, but it felt good and I surprised myself with how well my right hand was moving and functioning.  I’m sure I will encounter situations where I struggle with my right hand, but instead of surrendering and executing with my left hand, I’m going to remind myself that however I do perform with my right hand is better than it ever could have been years ago.  There has been progress and how can I possibly feel bad when I’m making gains?