Be You

Being you is effortless – be you. No one can tap into your unique gifts because no one is like you – be you. No one can compete with you because you are the only one on the entire planet who is you – be you. Others cannot be you and you cannot be anyone else; and neither do you need to – just be you! The easiest thing to do – be you.

by Paul Foreman on July 5, 2010, via Be You | Mind Map Inspiration

Look at all we got:

Posted to WordPress from the Sprint HTC EVO 4G.

An Unexpected Birthday Gift

For my birthday in April, I was given a gift certificate stating I was scheduled to attend a 2-hour, Trapeze 101 class at Trapeze U in Gilbert, Arizona. Needless to say, it was an unexpected gift. I’m not sure I had ever considered flying on a trapeze. I had no idea there was even a trapeze school nearby.

Several years ago, and for no real good reason, I earned the nickname Flying Galindo (Flying G for short).  Flying Galindo sounds similar to the Flying Wallendas, the legendary high wire family. That’s probably what made this gift so appropriate and such a good idea. Now I could live up to my nickname.

After the surprise of the gift wore off, I checked out Trapeze U’s website. I began to get really excited. This was going to be fun.

What a Rush!

Fast forward three weeks to the morning of Saturday, May 15th, 2010. My class was scheduled for 8:00am to 10:00am. What an incredible experience. I climbed the ladder and flew on the trapeze a total of eight times that morning. It was exciting and scary all at the same time. Each time I stepped onto the platform to jump, my heart was racing. Each time I landed and climbed off the net, the adrenaline was flowing. All I could say afterwords was “What a rush!”.

Flying Galindo in Action

The following video and photos show several of my attempts flying on the trapeze.

David Galindo – Trapeze 101 Class from David Galindo on Vimeo.

Thank You

I would like to say the folks over at Trapeze U are incredible. They made the whole experience safe, exciting and fun. I’m giving them two thumbs up.

And a big THANK YOU to my wife for giving me one of the best gifts I have ever received.

Moment’s after this photo, the truce was broken. Garla, although smaller and older, drew first blood.

Brian and Garla

So far, diplomatic efforts between the two have only found limited success.

The power of the gift of music.

CBS News Online – The Harmonica Man.

Courtesy of: CBS News Online

Making the Switch

Almost a year and a half ago, in January of 2009, we decided to stop using our electric drip coffee maker and start using a French press. This was after recommendations from several people and reading the following in one of my favorite cooking magazines, Cook’s Illustrated:

For a more full-bodied brew, we recommend using a French press, which not only reserves the coffee’s oils, but also allows you to control water temperature and brewing time.

We ended up buying an 8-cup Bodum French Press and after a short time, were hooked. It was easy to use (despite the rumors I’d heard) and took up almost no counter space (unlike our old electric coffee maker). Other benefits were the energy saved and less waste when brewing coffee. Ultimately, we said farewell to the old electric drip coffee maker in our last garage sale.

A Broken French Press

Unfortunately, the spout on the glass beaker part of the French press cracked two weekends ago. Rather than taking a chance at drinking chunks of glass, I threw the broken press into the garbage and ended up brewing some Earl Grey tea for myself.

I haven’t had time to get a new French press and this morning, I wanted to have some coffee without having to go buy a cup somewhere. I started thinking of ways I could brew some coffee and remembered the coffee percolator I have in my camping supplies. Why not give it a try?

Turns out that the percolator will definitely work in a pinch. But I’ll still be shopping for a new French press.