Long time since my last update. Day to day it's been pretty same ole. Typical life of Ike I guess with a few new very good developments in there :)

Yesterday I made the drive to Buffalo to watch the Bills vs. Packers game. It was a great time. I went with my boss and couple of my co-workers but it was a long day. It started with me waking up at 5AM, thanks to my clutch roommate for driving me to my boss's up at Ave. and Lawrence at 6AM. From there we picked up two other co-workers and away we went in my boss's mini van. We arrived at the Stadium parking lot about 8AM where proceeded to set up our grill and chairs. We were one of the first to arrive at the parking lot, but an hour later there were about 100 other cars with many more to follow all setting up their grills and starting bonfires. That's right bonfires on the ground in a parking lot. Pick-up trucks litterally filled up with trees were everywhere. It was seriously sureal, at least 15 thousand people all bbqing in anticipation of a football game. Such a cultural phenomenon, one would never see this in Canada. Americans always take a bad rap from the rest of the world, but they know how to have a good time. The people were so friendly, I made some new friends, even though they were a little trashy or a lot trashy, and I'll probably never see them again, but they'd be too drunk to remember me anways :) The game was fun, a great sunny afternoon in Buffalo. Got home around 8PM and when I got home I seriously felt I had run a marathon or had gone 12 rounds in a boxing ring  with Sugar Shane Mosely. I was beat and passed out by 9.

It was a great day, and I got to get to know my co-workers even better. Another observation I made, is that when married men get to hang out with the boys, it's like they have all this stored up guy energy. I seriously couldn't keep up with the married guys in our group. They were all over the place and showed me how to live it up for sure. I hope I have that energy when I'm in my 40s.

So that was my Sunday, good times all around. I missed my kids in CD Team but I'll be spending lots of time with them over the next couple of weeks leading into the holidays. Christmas is only about 6 weeks away now. Woo Hoo 

As summer winds down, it seems that this time of year is always a time of self reflection. Like always, my summer's been action packed. A different type of action packed I'd say though. I've gotten to know a  lot of new people and have been stretched out in many different ways. Different priorities are starting to come into full effect. Change isn't always easy but I know it's good. We all have a purpose on this Earth, and to reach that I know I have to embrace different things along the way.

As I sit here before 7AM looking out on the Toronto Skyline, again I realize how blessed I am. God's really taking care of me. It sounds so lame, but I love my life. I look forward to everyday. Waking up in the morning, although tough, it's something I look forward to because I'm just so excited for what the day's going to bring. Now it's my job to make a difference in some way or anyway.

Let's just say David Chappelle is as good as advertised. Definitely worth the cash to go see him tonight. I don't know how to describe him, he's just got game. He owns the crowd, which was obnoxious and pretty annoying at times. The stage is just his playground. And to go with that, he's really smart and educated.

To top the night off, we saw Samuel L Jackson, and he sat behind us. We had better seats than Samuel L Jackson. So dope.

Life is good

Summer's soon coming to an end. For many people this will mean the beginning of something new. New school, higher year, new program, new city, new life. For myself Sept is pretty much another month.  In school there's always something to look ahead to, exams, Christmas break, reading break, a new year, a new class. With a job, it kind of blurs together a little more.

I guess one of the biggest challenges of being in the workforce in life after school is to stay motivated to keep things fresh.With that I really strive to continue to lay out as many challenges for myself as possible. I do not want to be one of those people who start working and then that's it. I still have so much I want to accomplish in so many areas. Physically, mentally, and spiritually. It's important to continue to grow, I think the term grow or die is so true. The minute one stops growing, what's the point? Going through the motions is not my gig. With all the blessings in my life I feel obligated to really do something with myself. So whether it's hitting the gym or coaching sports, continuing to read, helping with new ministries, jamming on the guitar, or just being there for my friends and family continuing to be an instigator of fun. 

This is going to be more of a challenge as more and more friends move on to bigger and better things outside of Toronto. It's so weird that I ended up here and everybody who grew up here is taking off. I was once the Toronto hater, but now I'm the one embracing the city and everybody else has left or is leaving.

I can't predict the future, but I can guarantee I won't be half fasting anything. Go big or go home, I'm going to make the most of this one life I have.