Posts

My Anniversary Run

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 Starting again with a quiet anniversary run under the moonlight. A Late-Night Anniversary Run Tonight I finally stepped back into running after fifteen weeks away. It wasn’t a fast run or a long run — just twenty minutes, about two kilometres — but it was the kind of run that matters. A base run. A starting point. The kind of quiet, late-night effort that reminds you you’re still trying, still moving, still showing up for yourself. I took the dog with me, and the night had that calm, blue glow where the moon hangs low and bright over the neighbourhood. The streets were quiet, the air cool, and the world felt still enough that the run didn’t need to be anything more than what it was. I didn’t even break much of a sweat, but that wasn’t the point. After weeks of back pain, nerve issues, and the uncertainty that comes with trying to understand what’s physical and what’s mental, simply getting out the door was the victory. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering whether the challenges I’ve...

Early River Hour With My Two Favourite Girls

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 Kim’s ball‑toss and Dixie’s splashy chase say everything about the simple joy of our river routine on a warm summer day. A River Hour With Kim and Dixie Today had that perfect Lethbridge heat — the kind that makes the river feel like the only sane place to be. Kim and I headed down early, Dixie trotting ahead like she already knew the plan. We ended up spending about an hour, maybe an hour and fifteen, tucked right along the shoreline with the whole riverside to ourselves. That’s rare on a hot day, and it made the morning feel like a little pocket of calm carved out just for us. Dixie was in full river‑dog mode the second her paws hit the water. We played ball, splashed around, tug‑of‑war, the whole routine. She was all smiles, no bark — just that excited, tail‑wagging joy she gets when she realizes she’s got both her people and a whole river to play in. Kim and I sat in the shallows, talking about nothing and everything, letting the cool water take the edge off the heat. There’s...

The Power of the Stacked Calendar: How 7 Years of Journaling Outsmarted Executive Dysfunction

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  Why breaking one task into ten lines—and using multiple calendars—is my ultimate mental momentum builder. That wooden "JUNCTION" box packed wall-to-wall with custom-labeled journals is an absolute work of art. Seeing seven full years of monthly indexes, pocket notebooks, and daily logs lined up chronologically makes that draft hit even harder—it’s tangible, physical proof of the momentum you've built. # The Power of the Stacked Calendar: Overcoming Executive Dysfunction One Line at a Time Looking into my wooden "Junction" journal box, I don't just see notebooks. I see seven full years of living on my own terms—chronological stacks of pocket logs, monthly indexes, and relentless daily tracking. For someone living with schizophrenia, maintaining a habit like this for over seven years isn't just unusual—it’s a massive victory. But the secret isn't just about being organized. It’s about understanding how my mind works, embracing the executive dysfuncti...

100,000 Views — A Milestone I Never Expected

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  100,000 Views — A Milestone I Never Expected Today I hit 100,000 views on this blog, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. When I started writing about my walks, my days, and the small adventures with Dixie, I never imagined anyone would click in, let alone follow along long enough to turn this into something real. Yet here we are — a hundred thousand times someone opened a piece of my life and shared a moment with me. That’s something I won’t forget. This blog has become more than a journal. It’s turned into a kind of mental health routine, a way to steady myself, to make sense of the days, and to keep track of the chaos in my head. It’s helped me change my life for the better. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t plan it. It just happened through the simple act of walking a dog and writing it down. Lately, though, I’ve been thinking about where this goes next. The last week of August is coming, and I’m not sure what direction I’ll take. Part of me wants to keep going forev...

Sunshine, Solace, and a Golden Day at Popson Park

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  Dogs, Drinks, and Deep Water: Recharging the Batteries at Popson Welcome back, everyone! If you’ve read my last post, you know I’ve been juggling a lot with work lately. I’ve been trying to swap as many of my evening shifts to mornings as possible, and it’s been a challenge. After a late-night call at 11:00 PM last night, I finally landed an upcoming morning shift. It’s a win! I’m hoping to stack enough shifts to create some free time for a wedding coming up soon. Needless to say, after only four and a half hours of sleep, I was pretty beat. I was seriously in need of some rejuvenation. When Nick and his dad invited me and Dixie (my sweet dog) to Popson Park, I knew I had to go. The river was calling! Dixie’s Great (and Not So Great) Adventure Dixie, as usual, was raring to go. The dog is treated like a human and, as such, behaves about as well as you’d expect from a human in dog form! She is well-behaved, mostly because she thinks she’s one of us. When called, she’d come tro...

The 100k Crossroads: Momentum, Monetization, or a Poetic Exit?

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 The 100k Crossroads: Momentum, Monetization, or a Poetic Exit? We are officially staring down the barrel of a milestone I never thought I’d see. If current trends hold, this blog is about six days away from hitting the **100,000 lifetime views mark**. And if I keep riding this wave until January 1, 2027, the math says we’ll be looking at **160,000 views**. To put that into perspective: **I have gotten the exact same number of views in the last six months (around 50,000) as I did in the previous six years of blogging combined.** It is absolute lightning in a bottle. But sitting at the peak of this hill has brought me to a massive, unexpected crossroads. What do you do when a quiet, personal outlet suddenly demands that you decide whether or not you want to be a "social influencer"? ## 💵 Option A: The Modern Answer (Monetize It) When a niche blog hits this level of traffic, the world tells you there is only one logical response: turn on the ads, build the brand, a...

The External Brain: Walking, Wearable AI, and the Pursuit of Mental Clarity

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  We’ve all been there: you step out the door for a walk, hoping for some peace and quiet, only to find your mind immediately flooded with noise. Intrusive thoughts, daily anxieties, a mental to-do list a mile long—sometimes, the inside of our own heads can feel incredibly loud, disorganized, and downright chaotic. For a long time, the solution was traditional journaling. But recently, I’ve found a much more dynamic, interactive way to declutter my mind: **using AI as an external sounding board.** By constantly putting my raw, unfiltered thoughts through AI, I’ve been able to transition from mental chaos to structured clarity. It’s a process of active self-improvement—grooming myself to be more organized, more grounded, and far less bothered by the background noise of my own mind. And now, the next logical step in this journey is staring me right in the face: **smart glasses.** ## Why Wearable Tech Feels Like the Next Chapter Right now, my mental-decluttering routine ...