Welcome to Adventures with Phil v2.0

So what is/was Adventures with Phil and where did "Step it up a notch" come from? Well, I used to do Adventures with Phil e-mail updates to let everyone know about the happenings in my life. If you're wondering, I originally got the name idea from the Red Green show, where there's a segment called Adventures with Bill.
Now, where did "Step it up a notch" come from? Before I go into that, there's something else I want to say. Even though "Step it up a notch" was hilariously funny in its original context, and the 20 or so of us who were there will definitely remember it as such, I am finding it is becoming more than just something I say; it's like a life motto, like the one the Three Musketeers had.
As I think about the words "step it up a notch", what comes to mind is the idea of doing more/going the extra mile, which also brings to mind Jesus' teaching in Matt 5:38-42. For me, applying step it up a notch means going deeper with God, building stronger family relationships and recognizing that I have the ability to reach out to help someone in need, no matter what the need is.
This section is getting too long so please make your way to the sidebar to find the origin of the phrase "step it up a notch".

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Used cows for sale

I am a terrible student. I find no motivation to study. Granted the last 2 weeks, er make that 5 have not been the greatest and so my studying has pretty much been non-existent. I'm pretty sure I have ADD. Or it is more than likely, as Leeland Klassen put it: "I have a learning disability; the technical term for my disability is called lazy."

How is it that I have survived the last 4 months? The only answer I can give you is: only by the grace of God. There really are no words that can adequately express how great my Jesus is. But I am reminded of the lyrics to a song by Relient K, the chorus goes like this:
Never underestimate my Jesus.
You're telling me that there's no hope.
I'm telling you you're wrong.
Never underestimate my Jesus
When the world around you crumbles
He will be strong, He will be strong

Finishing off my practicum was physically draining and unfortunately doing it as quickly as I did provided me no benefit. Moreover, by my calculations I should have been flat broke at the end of February. My part-time income came in around $700, my fixed expenses totalled close to $600 and variable expenses between $50-100. But then I found myself having to cover for one of my roommates as he lost his job and had difficulties paying rent and utilities. Where did that money come from? I don't know but somehow I was never short.

By now you can see that the title of this blog has nothing to do with its content. But you have to admit that you probably read this because you were curious as to what I had to say about used cows for sale :P Well I don't have anything to say except apparently it was an actual sign somebody put up :D

Posted by Phil at 7:27 AM 0 comments  

Friday, April 23, 2010

What's for dinner?

How about a BBQ burger? And BBQ chicken! And BBQ Pork Chop! All with rice :) It rained today, but not enough, we need more rain. Now we can tell that it's spring, the flowers are starting to grow, the trees are budding and the grass is green, no longer brown! The sun was out for the better part of the day so I decided to throw some meat on the BBQ for dinner. There was no wind, or at least very little when I lit the BBQ and the sky above me was clear. 10 minutes later, the wind whipped up, blew the fire out and it started to rain very lightly. As I'm relighting the BBQ, my roommate Andrew comes home and says "Philip! Crazy chinaman... BBQing in the rain!" Well it wasn't raining when I started, lol.

Now I'm stuffed, that was a lot of meat.

Posted by Phil at 8:14 PM 0 comments  

Saturday, April 10, 2010

First ride of the season/Training Day 1

Well, I pulled out the bike today and completed the first ride of the season/training day for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. It was not a very pleasant day for riding but I had to do it. High of +1C and winds up to 60km/hr. I rode from my house to the University, where I stopped to check out my friend's group project for his computer engineering course. Then I rode home again, but took a different route to stretch out the total distance travelled, which ended up being about 16 kms. The ride to the University had an uphill, but the trip back was harder because I was riding into the wind. I made up a tentative training schedule for myself last night and it will be quite intense, no easing into it. I'm hoping to do 3 days of riding per week with increasing distances each week. Once I get into May, I think I'll have trouble finding the time to ride the distances I am wanting to. Here's hoping I figure something out! Hmm, I should probably do weight training on the off days.... Another thing I'm wondering, should I implement some kind of dietary program to go along with this training? Can't say I've ever watched my diet; I normally eat whatever I want when I want. Oh well, something to think about another day!

Posted by Phil at 9:40 PM 0 comments  

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Lead me

So I bought the new Sanctus Real CD yesterday and I am really enjoying it. I don't own very many CD's mostly because I find that most of the time there's only 1 or 2 songs that I like and so I don't think it's worth buying the whole CD. Fortunately Sanctus Real has in my eyes, produced very good CD's. The last 2 albums of theirs I have purchased after only hearing 1 song, well actually this last one I didn't even really listen to any songs; once I found out they had a new CD out, I pretty much already knew that I was going to buy it, it was just a matter of time.
Anyways I cried when I heard the song Lead Me. It's just that lately I'm noticing that with the (older) people that I come into contact with, there's so much brokenness in their family lives. It pains me to see that but it breaks my heart because it's a reality in my own family. I know that it is a result of a fallen world, and it is absolutely devastating. The way I see it, man (as a gender) EPIC FAILed in the Garden of Eden, not for eating the fruit but for DOING NOTHING when Eve took it. At that point he gave up/lost everything he was supposed to be. Ever since, men have been failing to be the leaders they need to be, especially in the home and the result is the screwed up society that we have today. It is disheartening but the great thing is it doesn't have to be that way. As the latter part of this song states, we need to rely on God to help us. It is the hope and prayer I have for myself, for my dad, and for my friends.

Posted by Phil at 6:23 PM 0 comments  

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Freedom!

Hooray, as of today I have officially completed my power engineering practicum at the Glenrose Hospital! So in that sense the craziness has ended, but I still have 5 more days before I really get a day off as I am going to work at my paying job this week. I actually managed to knock a week off the "no day off" marathon by doing some extra shifts and I am glad I did otherwise I'd still have another week to go. The last 3 weeks have been rough, my studying has gone down the crapshoot, I got sick just over a week ago (my attempt to fight it was interesting to say the least, I will tell you the story if you ask me) and there were quite a few days that I did not sleep well, oh yea and I got in a car accident with a city bus 3 weeks ago. I will definitely not be doing something like this again ever... if it ever comes up, somebody please smack me upside the head. I definitely did not do this on my own strength, I have no doubt that God was with me all the way; I can barely remember most days of the past 6 weeks, but I do know that everyday that I can remember waking up and praying for God to help me get through the day.

As for the car accident, not a really big deal, I lost my driver's side mirror to the bus, at this point I do not know if I will be fined or have to pay for the glass on the bus door. Technically speaking, he hit me but I should not have been where I was when he did so it'll probably end up being my fault. It probably hurt my pride more than anything, which really isn't that bad of a thing.

Posted by Phil at 8:16 PM 0 comments  

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