transitionpete

change | flux | shift | progress | evolve | move | transform | grow

a rainy AM commute

Posted on | June 4, 2009 | Comments   

just an AM commute | June 4, 2009 from pete kim on Vimeo.

just figured I’d record my morning commute into work using my Palm Centro.

Category: Just Blogging, Video, Work

inteGRITy

Posted on | April 19, 2009 | Comments   

I ran tonight.  I haven’t run in quite some time.  I ran… well, mostly ran with some walking — 30 minutes / 2.2 miles.  I feel alright but have a bit o’ tightness in my lungs. *wheeze*

integrity_post

My church just started a short series called INTEGRITY where we’ll take a look at the importance of taking care of our physical bodies.

in·teg·ri·ty (in-?te-gr?-t?)
function: noun
etymology: Middle English integrite, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French integrité, from Latin integritat-, integritas, from integr-, integer entire

(1) the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished;
(2) a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition

We have two *serious* athletes that are helping to spearhead this church-wide campaign — Neil K. is a cycling fiend, marathoner, and triathlete… and Kim O. is a running machine with a gazillion marathons under her belt and is a trainer for a Gold’s Gym in our area. As they shared the vision for this series, it was pretty powerful to hear how passionate they are about living a life that integrates their relationship with God, relationships with others, and health.

Both Kim and Neil have offered their expertise and time to our congregation as we begin to make choices that will improve our physical fitness, which will in turn begin to positively affect our whole being — moving toward integrity.

Part of this effort will also include a local community 4-mile run sometime in June(?).

I think I’m gonna train for it.  It will be the first time in my life where I will have run more than 3 miles.

I ran tonight… not because it’ll make me feel good. I ran tonight… not because I want to work off some extra weight.  I ran tonight… not to receive praise from anyone. (Although all of these are reasons that motivate me to some degree.)

I ran tonight… because my Creator, my God, made me. Being a good steward of what He’s given me is the least I can do for all that He’s done for me.

More to come in the following days and weeks with my thoughts and progress toward:

  1. right understanding of my body
  2. and moving toward overall better fitness.

Integrity.

Category: Accountability, Community, God & Spirituality, Health, church, exercise, resource, weightloss

preparing for the big event

Posted on | March 26, 2009 | Comments   

I’ve been commissioned, once again, to create the posters, postcards, and other collateral for my church’s 5th annual community service event — The Big Event.

tbe09_post

I believe that we’re gonna have a booth at the South Riding Expo and Yard Sale on May 2 to begin advertising it to the community, as well as send out postcards to drum up more awareness.

Category: Art & Creativity, Community, Connections, The Big Event, church, gateway
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winning “The Greatest Show on Earth”

Posted on | March 18, 2009 | Comments   

We’re going to the circus — “The Greatest Show on Earth!”

circus_post

I won 4 tickets to the opening night (Apr8) for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at my alma mater, George Mason University (Patriot Center).  I believe the show’s theme is “Over the Top.”

Am I on a roll?
The other day, I won a Fiber One Spa Basket.  Now, much to my surprise, I won the circus tickets from O’Joy of My Life by commenting to her blog post about the circus tickets giveaway she was offering courtesy of Mom Central. (Thanks for the chance to participate and win!)

Susanna is gonna be THRILLED!

Last summer, we went with a couple of families to the Cole Bros. Circus — “The World’s Largest Circus Under The Big Top.”  While the circus was entertaining, it definitely was a bit lackluster compared to what I recall of the 2 Ringling circuses I saw when I was a kid. Not to mention, that day, the rain and mud under a dark and damp big top detracted a bit from the “adult” experience, ya know?

I’m definitely looking forward to “the greatest show on Earth” and the large, indoor venue that the Patriot Center affords.

Category: Family, blog, blogvertize
Tags: > > > > > > > >

contests, blogvertizing and fiber

Posted on | March 17, 2009 | Comments   

blogvertize_post

I’ve been on a freebie/contest spree lately — just started a couple says ago, actually.  There are a bazillion and one different offers for contests, sweepstakes, giveaways, samples, etc, out there, but perusing different lists in little chunks and seeing which contests are “worthwhile” shots could prove to be beneficial.

What I want to know is how there are sooooo many bloggers out there that are receiving samples of products to blogvertize (blog + advertise + z) and/or offer up prizes sponsored by particular companies utilizing folks to blogvertize.

I WANT IN ON THAT ACTION! If you have FREE stuff to sample or promote or give away, I’ll be happy to blogvertize for you via my blog (must be clean and family friendly products, though)!

Case in point…

I visited the Is It Monday Already blog the other day to take a commenting-chance at winning a Fiber One Spa Basket.

Basically, I had to check out the Fiber One bars’ products site and then comment….

AND I WON — I was one of the three winners chosen at random!

I’m not sure when I’ll receive the package, but I have been contacted to provide my address so they can send the prize out to me. The prize?

  • a coupon for a free box (Chocolate Mocha bars?)
  • a bath pillow
  • chocolate scented soap
  • chocolate scented lotion
  • chocolate scented bath salts
  • a coffee scented candle

I’ll be sharing the prizes with my lovely wife! ;-)

I like the Fiber One cereal, but I’ve not tried the bars as of yet. I don’t don’t see why I wouldn’t like them, but I actually debate with myself every time I visit Costco and see the box of Fiber One Bars right by the checkout lines. Now I can give these bars a shot and not feel guilty about spending any extra cash to see if I really like them or not!

Category: blog, blogvertize, deals, resource, sharing, what I want
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bango, bongo, BLINGO!

Posted on | March 10, 2009 | Comments   

Do you use search engines online?  How many times a day (an hour?) do you type in a search on your toolbar or on a search site? Have you ever thought, “Gee, it sure would be nice if I could win a prize or be rewarded for all the searching I do”?

Well… me neither.  But wouldn’t that be keen?
Enter BLINGO…

“the search engine with a twist. Each search on Blingo is also a chance to win prizes instantly. Enter your search in any Blingo search box and click the search button. Each search (up to 25 per day) is a chance to win great prizes instantly. To date Blingo has given away 93,512 prizes, and new prizes are announced on the site every day! If your search is a winner, you’ll see a new “congratulations” page instead of your search results. Just tell us where to send your prize, whether it’s a movie ticket or a new car! It’s that simple.”

Would you, could you, humor me?  i’d like to try a little social experiment (keep reading) by inviting you to click THIS LINK and sign up to use BLINGO.  C’mon… humor me…

I am skeptical, as I have just signed-up. BUT, supposedly, if I invite all my pals to join (that’s you), and one of you wins by searching on Blingo, I’ll win the same prize! So, the more of you that join increases my chances at “winning” something.  So, let’s try this together and see if we can’t all increase our chances of a freebie or two or more!

There seems to be no catch.  And it can’t hurt to use Blingo as your search engine (add Blingo to your toolbar), right? Actually, I would suspect that this is a competative ploy to get people using the Yahoo/Live Search/Ask engines… but it ain’t no big thang, right?

Are you in? Are you gonna Blingo with me?

(fyi:  every link in this post is my referral link — except the add toolbar link — just so you’re not confused that I really do want you to play along and humor me… wink-wink, nudge-nudge)

Category: Just Blogging, deals, idea, resource, sharing
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gnats, gnats, everywhere gnats!

Posted on | March 8, 2009 | Comments   

gnats_post2

we’ve got a gnat problem in our home. it’s been going on for several weeks now.  we can’t seem to get rid of them with any of the typically suggested methods. we’ve set out bowls of vinegar and other things to lure them but NONE of them have attracted ANY gnats.

ashleigh found a bazillion dead gnats on each of the 8 windows we have in our sun room/solarium — they were all along the sills and in the folds of all our roman shades!

whenever ashleigh and i sit down to hangout and watch TV/work on our laptops in the evenings, we are constantly swatting at the gnats.  i think i can safely say that i, personally, average about 10 gnats a night.

we’ve been apologizing in advance to guests that visit our home — particularly to our church’s LIFE Group that meets here every week.

i took the “gnat in wax” picture (below) as i was setting up yet another vinegar trap. the little booger flew around my head… bzzz-bzzzzzzz… landed on the tabletop… scurried this way and that… and then i blinked.

the next thing i realized as i was looking to see where the little guy went, i saw him struggling to get out of the wax.

gnat_post

this gnat quickly perished as the wax overtook him and pulled him under.

over the weeks we’ve been trying to find the source of these gnats. lots of folks say they — the gnats — like the garbage disposal, but we think they might be in the soil of one or two of our newer plants in the solarium.

i suppose we need to set them outside, eh?

if any of you have any ideas to help rid our home of gnats, please share… we’re rapidly approaching wit’s end with these gnats!

Category: Gripes, Photos
Tags:

Testing PixelPipe

Posted on | March 7, 2009 | Comments   

test test test blah blah blah

Posted via Pixelpipe.
Category: .

due diligence and other scattered reasons…

Posted on | March 3, 2009 | Comments   

croach_thI received this book yesterday. Tony Morgan… or someone working for the super cool insightful and strategic dude… sent this out to me.  I am really grateful and glad this is in my hands, but, to be honest, I am surprised he sent me a copy!

You see, Tony has written this book: Killing Cockroaches, and it was published just the other day on March 1, 2009.  But prior to the publish date, he had blogged that he was providing a free downloadable PDF version of his new book, AND for the first 200 people who would read it and post an online review of it would receive a FREE copy of the actual book.

I was one of the lucky ones who signed up.

The trouble was, I downloaded the PDF and started to read it… and quickly got distracted with the other stuff of life… and consequently, left the manuscript by the wayside. And because I figured that surely, with the massive online following that Tony has, I’d never catchup and get a review before 200 others posted theirs. So, I never picked it back up to read.

That was a mistake…

———-

Gratefully, Tony has graciously sent me a free copy of his book anyway, and it is good. Like I said, I received the book yesterday, started reading it last night in bed, and an hour later my head was swimming with ideas and visions and challeneges and questions and excitement… not to mention some frustrations — good frustrations — about how things are currently and how to engage others into talking about how to continue to push the envelop with my church community, as well as in my personal ministry.

So, here’s my quick REVIEW of Tony Morgan’s book, Killing Cockroaches.

It’s not you’re typical read, but it’s simple and clean with no chapters (what?!??!).  Rather, it’s like a collection of ideas and experiences that serve as jumping off points. If you’re a fan of Tony’s blog, or even if you’re not a blog reader, you’ll find that the topics and ideas are in digestable snippets — it’s like reading his blog in paperback format!

If you have any part in being authentic with others, in the name of Jesus Christ, and love to *ideate* ways to clearly and creatively communicate the great news and truth about Jesus Christ against the backdrop of ever-shifting culture, then Tony’s insights, anecdotes, humor, sarcasm, experience, ideas, challenges and questions will provide the spark to fuel the potential that is yet to be tapped in your ministry.

Go grab you a copy! (There’s even a Kindle version!)

You can read up on what others are saying about Tony and his book HERE.

———

As a side-note (for Tony)…
Whenever I read, I have a tendency to add a voice to whomever’s work I am reading.  For example, if it’s Bob’s blog, then in my head, Bob is reading his post to me; if it’s Nancy’s news article, then she’s reading it back to me… in my head.

And when I don’t have a source or recall for a voice to match what I’m reading, I either make it up or just read it with my voice.

In the case of reading Tony’s stuff — be it blog posts or his book — I *know* what his voice sounds like.  I’ve listened to his podcasts enough to recognize his voice… AND YET, I have this odd tendency to put Jeffrey Donovon’s voice to Tony’s words (from USA Network’s TV show Burn Notice).

I suppose they have some similarities, but they really are different voices… and I can’t seem to not read Tony’s stuff with Donovon’s voice inside my head.

Weird.

Category: blog, books, church, culture, resource, sharing

snow, uncertainty, and a mountain

Posted on | March 2, 2009 | Comments   

snowmar09_1

^ shovelin' the driveway and playin' in the morning snow!

snowmar09_2

^ he doesn't quite know what to make of snow... he showed no excitement or curiosity -- none!

snowmar09_3

^ helping to heap onto the pile o' snow

snowmar09_4

^ on top of Mt. Susanna... elevation 5'6".

snowmar09_5

^ cuteness.

snowmar09_6

^ sliding down the side of the "mountain."

Category: Family, Fun, Just Blogging, Photos, Susanna, sam

fast ‘09

Posted on | February 25, 2009 | Comments   

this is not any big news.  i desire nothing more than for any of you out there to join me and spur me on as i take this Lenten season to fast.  i started today (Feb25) and i’ll go through to Easter, so technically i’ll be fasting for 46 days.

i will NOT do a full fast.  i will fast at breakfast and lunch with water and juice only.  after 2pm i will take in a snack as needed (nuts or fruit) and eat a small dinner.

a friend of mine just did this with his church, and i was also inspired by the following passage from Colossians 2:20 – 3:17 — one of my goals during this time is to address the things i need to be “killing off” and work on the things to “put on”…

20 So, then, if with Christ you’ve put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? 21 “Don’t touch this! Don’t taste that! Don’t go near this!” 22 Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? 23 Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they’re just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important. He Is Your Life

1 So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. 2 Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. 3 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. 4 When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. 5 And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. 6 It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. 7 It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. 8 But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. 9 Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. 10 Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. 11 Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ. 12 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. 13 Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. 14 And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. 15 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. 16 Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! 17 Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

will ya join me?

Category: 40 Day Fast, Accountability, Faith, God & Spirituality

updated :: turn your old contact lens case into…

Posted on | February 23, 2009 | Comments   

2009-02-22_203307

i saw this at LifeHacker… and i think i’m gonna do this as a quick little personal project this evening — what a clever idea!

If you’re a contact lens wearer with a cluttered stockpile of extra lens cases, don’t toss them out. Use them to protect your bud-style headphones.

Instructables user Mowdish shows how to modify an old contact case to both stash your ear buds and keep the wires from getting tangled up. You simply cut away enough material from the side of the case to accommodate the stem of the ear bud when the cap is screwed back on. As shown in the photo above, you can cut away the plastic to make a perfectly sized slot for your particular style of ear buds. Not a contact wearer, or not sure where to drum up a contact case you can mod? Try asking real friendly-like at an optical store, or check out some previously posted methods for keeping your headphones tangle free—the DIY ear bud cord caddy or old credit card methods should net you some non-knotted buds. For more details and pictures, check out Mowdish’s full tutorial below. Thanks Adam!

Ear Bud Case from a Contact Lens Case [Instructables]

——————–
UPDATED:
i spent about half-an-hour with my wife’s trusty Black and Decker Wizard grindin’ and shavin’ away at plastic… and here is the result!

Category: Art & Creativity, diy, idea, resource
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the first of many (i’m sure of it)

Posted on | February 21, 2009 | Comments   

gash_post

this is Sam’s *first* injury.

little dude fell and whacked his noggin on his exer-saucer.

i just know there are more — and far worse — to come.

boys… tsk tsk tsk…

———

what was the most serious injury you’ve ever had?

mine was when i was in the 5th grade. i was rambunctiously running around in our church’s fellowship hall… i slipped… slid way too fast along the waxed floor and… BAM!!!

i ran into a wall with my left knee and tore 2 ligaments. i couldn’t put any weight on my foot/leg without feeling excruciating pain.  upon visiting the Dr. i hobbled away with a full leg cast and crutches that i had for nearly 3 months.

my left knee still ain’t right.

your turn… what’s your major injury?

Category: Family, Photos, sam, you chime in, your turn
Tags: >

fitness FAIL (but not just me)

Posted on | February 18, 2009 | Comments   

On Jan.19, 2009 I signed up to be a part of a 21-day fitness study with Anytime Fitness. There’s one in the Dulles area fairly close to me, so I signed-up with a $20 refundable deposit upon completion of the program.

In a nutshell, they take some metrics and tests and then set up a plan for you to follow for the next 21 days — the next 3-weeks with a least 3 visits to the gym a week.  (You don’t get your $20 back if you don’t go at least 3 times a week).

Here were the metrics/tests (results):

  • weighed in (204lbs — I told the dude what I was going to be and was spot on when I stepped on the scale)
  • body fat measurement (said I was FAT .. 24%)
  • do as many pushups I can do in 1 minute (17)
  • do as many full situps I can do in 1 minute (14)
  • VO2 max test (target heart rates: 114bpm / 140bpm)

So, the point of the study (other than to get you to sign up at their gym) is to get you to do 20 or more minutes of cardio switching at regular intervals to get as close to the “fat burn” target heart rate (lo intensity intended to be most efficient) and the “cardio” target heart rate (hi intensity intended to increase overall cardiovascular health).

I wanted to be sure I “got my money’s worth” and get my $20 back.  I knew that it was going to be tough as busy as I am in the evenings — most of my trips to the gym were going to have to be after 9:30pm. Here’s how the FAIL happens…

I started the program and did well the first 2 weeks — I went in 3 times the 1st week and 4 times the 2nd week.  I felt good about the results and felt like progress was being made. But the 3rd week turned into a busy and snowy mess — lots of evening obligations, and that week was when it snowed and iced up the roads.  I made into the gym 1 time during that 3rd week, thus effectively losing my $20.

The second FAIL was getting back in to do the followup metrics and tests to complete the study. The dude calls me to set up an appointment.  We set one up for Feb.12 — a couple days after the study’s completion date.  Dude calls me TWICE to confirm.  He never shows.  He calls me 4 days later to reschedule and we meet on Feb.17 — a whole week after the test is done and I’ve not been to the gym or worked out in 10 or so days!

I walked in at 8pm… gabbed about the overall experience… and then took some metrics:

  • weighed in (207lbs — but I had eaten earlier)
  • body fat measurement (said I was FATTER .. 27% — of course that handheld device is far from perfect)
  • do as many pushups I can do in 1 minute ( — )
  • do as many full situps I can do in 1 minute ( — )
  • VO2 max test ( — )

The results?

I ended up weighing more than when I started… me FAIL.

My body fat percentage was higher than when I started… me FAIL.

Dunno why he didn’t have me do the pushups and situps… And I don’t know why he didn’t have me do the VO2 test.  He mumbled while he was scribbling stuff down that he didn’t give me the VO2 test when I started (which he did)… he FAIL.

And then, as expected, he gave me the “so, how’s about signing up?” sell.

I politely declined… a bazillion times… turned in my access fob… and left.

If I had the extra $30/month, I *might* join… but I don’t… so, I can’t.

————

Now that the 21-day test is over, I will jump back in and resume the Hundred Pushups regimen that I put on hold for this test.  I will start again with WEEK 2 to get back into the groove.

Why is keeping up with your own health and exercising so hard?

Category: 100, Health, confession, exercise
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