Saturday, December 30, 2023

Gagak 11

2023 is a year that had let me thinking about the past and the future cause right now my present life is ok. Health is on check with my medication still on same ratios, my consulting gig still going and my house on track for payments. But the most important, the mental and physical health of Anabel and my boy are good too, so I appreciate my life and count my blessings.



At 42 years old I can say that I have lived a little and that I take comfort in the way I have lived my twenties. Starting with 30 years changing many things in my life and rebooting my life in an new environment was a big challenge that definitely reshaped many of my concepts. But the base core values still remain intact and with my 40 year old celebration in New York I realized that time yes, is passing  but we can still make significant changes to our life, but we have to move better, wiser. Waste is a sin according to some thinkers. In Lean mentality it is said that waste is a social burden. Well  as I am getting older I tried to be less about waste and more meaningful in my decisions and actions. Of course nothing can be perfect and imperfection is part of reality but strive for that high 99% is what is supposed to be. Sometimes you achieve 80% sometimes 50% sometimes is going to be 0% and is going to be a huge lesson to recalibrate your strategy and tactics. But as long as we have life we must keep pushing to extend our boundaries and reach higher ends. For now my family and to some extent my career are a priority.

To my family, I must said that I have to be back and here are 11 things that I highlight(positives and not so positives) from this year : 

  1. My boy and his development . Two years already. ✌😄
  2. Scrum master role and his impact in my life.
  3. Dealing with many types in this year who definitely were difficult and challenged me to be a better professional.
  4. Safe framework and all the things that come from working with the government in Québec.
  5. Scrum or is agile dead ?
  6. Friends that I have not seen this year and that I would like to see again in 2024: Alex Andrino, Jaime, Marcelo, Tomas (Prague), Willy. 
  7. Travelling after pandemic times to visit my family in USA, Indiana and Chicago in May 2023. Nice time at the beach in Chicago.
  8. The 18 feet pool in backyard. What a nice thing to refresh in the middle of a sunny day for a few minutes and have lunch after.
  9. My baby and I having a good time together this summer with our bikes.
  10. Baseball with my son, "hit" "go go go" "baseball papa". Beautiful experience. 
  11. Spending time with Anabel the very few times we can to rekindle our love.

As usual as a dad now my life revolves a lot around my son, and it's ok since I am in my 40s. is ok to be busy with a kid. Actually I feel sometimes that we should have done this a few years before. But things align in different ways for each person. Now it is my time and I am trying to enjoy every bit of it. 


I will try to plan a trip to Europe in 2024, a trip to C.A. to visit family and maybe South America. I will try to go back to snowboarding in January or February if  it's possible, and make some videos if I can with my kayak and trek mountain bike. Maybe certify myself with some agile tools ? who knows, but 2024 has somethings I want to make happen. Oh check my health also, take better care of my health also.
   
Oh and by the way Gagak means truck for my boy. The whole year he was really happy when he saw one on the road or anywhere we went with him, he will shout : papa , GAGAK, regarde; now in the last 3 weeks he finally switched to say truck. I made me feel a bit sad/melancholic because there is some innocence that is lost in order to advance, to move forward, but for me it was just semantics. Again a reminder that life moves on and we should continue with the flow and just appreciate the good moments that we have, prepare to be better and wish for the best. And the best we wish for this New Year's Eve 2024.









Friday, December 15, 2023

EBTG - 1980's and 1990s in 2023

 EBTG - 1980's and 1990s in 2023

Everything but the girl is a band or a duo that I heard when I was in primary school listening to the radio mostly by the hit single "Missing". But with the years and the clubs I started to go out with my friends when I was almost legal of age, with my 17 years, I started to hear more songs like Five Fathoms, with great beats and definitely got into my teenage years with many good memories. Now in 2023 and 42 years old I went back to some of these tunes and they still sound good to me. I am not nostalgic for all bands but for this one I am. I have heard some of the songs released recently but I do not get the same feeling. And the videos are some how a bit of copy-paste from Jungle (uk band). I like the Jungle videos with the dancing and the music. But the videos EBTG had in the 90's were way much better. A reminder to keep you essence instead of cater to the trends. 


Definitely keen to listen again in my fortys to this great band, which regardless of many new albums coming to the scene, it would remain high in my list from the previous albums made in the 90's and early 2000's.


Everything But The Girl - Five Fathoms




Driving (Acoustic)





Rollercoaster 




Each and Every One from album Eden