Dez's Bootcamp Experience (BRK)

POST 359 (DAY 369, Friday, 2021.8.13)
[Morning Entry]

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Hi Dez. You are a 'boot' for a year now. Congratulations.
A small 'care package' is coming your way (have patience, it always takes a long time for packages to arrive in Montana from the Netherlands). It is for you and the other 'boots' who are there with you.

Congrats, Dez! One year is impressive. Card from me should be there any day. Appreciate the regular posts, words, pics.

POST 360 (DAY 370, Saturday, 2021.8.14)
[Morning Entry]

Inge & Sonja— thank you both for your support, your kind words , and keeping up with my adventures ~!! ... one of the greatest joys in my life is receiving a thing in the mail.. big or small, thin or not so thin—just wonderful.. eagerly standing by :)

.... I haven’t been writing/expressing much these days it seems.. though much is on my mind and heart, a block exists.. still not sure what it is so I’m starting by just saying something.. anything at all.. it’s been a year and few days now, since first arrival.. I remember feeling much like an alien coming home from a long trip of visiting the different worlds and their species.. having never really actually felt a sense of belonging-ness, I had almost given up the idea of home.. now having been here for a year, is it much different?.. short , but humorous answer is “probably no, and some yes..” I do know that I definitely belong here right now, yes.. and I’m coming to terms with the idea that my home is earth, and not just an acreage.. the place I was looking for all this time is actually not a physical place; rather, this place is in a thing called “community”.. man that word can sure carry some meanings.. dictionary might say, “a group of people etc..”.. that’s just the surface.. community is dancing with the song that’s playing.. some parts are better than others.. some moments are prettier than others.. and there it all is—the melody of the dance floor slushing around with ever dynamic beings called humans.. the good, the bad, the ugly.. so do i hit the floor and dance? Or am I a wallflower?.. I remember that first dance in junior high, where I tried so hard not to seem wallflower-y..

Dez Choi wrote:POST 360 (DAY 370, Saturday, 2021.8.14)
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Inge & Sonja— thank you both for your support, your kind words , and keeping up with my adventures ~!! ... one of the greatest joys in my life is receiving a thing in the mail.. big or small, thin or not so thin—just wonderful.. eagerly standing by ....

Dez, the package is on its way. But that was not easy at all! USA has made it more difficult than it already was. They say it's because of covid ...
I had to fill in a form online, even had to tell them what was in the package, the value, the weight, and an e-mail (I filled in one of my own e-mails). I hope the weight I put there was about right, my scales are very old (pre-digital era). I then had to pay first (from my bank account). And then I had to go to the post-office (real post offices do not exist anymore here, it's just a corner in a book store) to get the label printed and to leave the package there.
So now I hope they won't lose the package and it will arrive a.s.a.p.

POST 361 (DAY 371, Sunday, 2021.8.15)
[Morning Entry]

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POST 362 (DAY 372, Monday, 2021.8.16)
[Morning Entry]

.... I was in denial.. not the river in Africa.. but I was indeed wanting an escape.. feelings of bitterness swishing around my insides suggested diverting from the set course of two years.. it’s a simple plan, and my mind likes often to complicate things.. these feelings of bitterness will pass too.. being still, is the prescribed exercise of today’s funk.. and by “today” I mean the past couple months.. in stillness I can simply observe negative thoughts instead of trying to identify with them.. again, I am not my mind.. in stillness I can  accept and embrace the negativity, and then let it be on its way to wherever-land, to make room in my life for wonderfully joyous feelings.. another prescription is actual physical exercise, so I’ll start simple with 5-10 push-ups daily.. this should help with my shoulder pain also.. happy rowing..!