Thursday 31 July 2014

Who Am I - 2014


Who Am I - 2014

Lately I have been thinking a lot about who I am? In the past I would journal a few times a year based on the following 5 questions:

Who are you?
What do you want?
Who do you trust?
Who do you serve?
Where are you going?

They come from the Science Fiction show called Crusade which was a spinoff of Babylon 5. Each episode of Crusade began with these questions being asked by the narrator to the Captain. It has been a great experience. Also a recent convergence or serendipitous article I came across was  from the site a website:

Who am I?
What do I want?
What is my purpose?
What am I grateful for?

So for the summer of 2014 let's tackle some of those questions.

Who am I?
I am a husband, father, son, brother and friend. I am a Roman Catholic, a student, an avid reader, a writer.

What do I want?
I want to be good at being. I want to be better tomorrow than I was today. I want to live life at 90%. Making the right choices both in what I do and what I choose not to do, in what I say and what I do not say.

Who do I trust?
This is a hard question to answer. The number of people I trust completely is very small. But I do trust the Catholic Church, the bible. I I trust my wife and my family.

Who do I serve?
I serve God, and my family.

Where am I going?
I am on the journey of life. If you had told me a year ago I would be a fitness instructor I would have laughed at you. So I do not know where I am going but am enjoying the travels.

What is my purpose?
My purpose is to be a good man, a good husband, a good father, a good son.

What am I grateful for?
I am grateful for a father who always taught me integrity and honour, who exhibited a strong work ethic no matter what he did, he did it to the best of his ability. I am grateful for a wife who encourages and supports me. Who calls me out when needed, who has an amazing laugh and wonderful smile. I am grateful for my children, I learn more and more about the importance of being good at being, from being a father then just about anything else. I am grateful for friends and family, I have people I can count on no matter what happens in life they will be in my corner - and that matter more than anything else.

For years my personal email signature file has said: "Peace and Strength!
Yours, learning to be" I am a work in process. Just this week I was asked to write a profile for the DDP Classes I teach at the triFit Gym at work, it was a fun exercise so here are those answers:

Name: Steven R. McEvoy

Class: DDP, RedHot Core

How long have you been teaching? I have been teaching at ChristieFit since January 2014 and currently have 5 classes a week on the schedule. Back in the late 80's and early 90's I worked as a personal trainer while at Queen's University.

What is your work out routine? Currently I do a minimum 25 minutes Body Weight Exercises a day. I do weights once a week. Every few weeks I do a sprinting session, either running or biking. And about once a month I do a full body TRX Force workout.

Favourite exercise? TRX, 7 Minute Workout

What is your favourite vegetable? I love almost all vegetables raw but my current favourites are Kohlrabi or black radish. But I love trying new veggies especially heirloom varieties.

If you could work out with any celebrity, who would you choose? I think it would be cool to work out with either Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger or maybe Tony Horton.

If you could choose, what would your superpower be? My super power would be to not need sleep. It would give me more time for what I love, reading, writing and working out!

What motivates you? Being a husband and father. I want to be in the best shape I can so that I am a better father, husband, son, brother, friend and person.

How do you find time to exercise? I had to choose to make it a priority. I am currently at over a year of DDP and other exercise every day. Prior to that I had gone almost a year with doing nothing, the results were not good. We all have 168 hours in a week. I made the decision to dedicate a minimum 30 minutes a day to having a healthy body.

Favorite song on your iPod right now? I tend to listen to whole albums and currently the favorites would be George Thorogood's 2120 South Michigan Ave. or Bif Naked's Essentially Naked.

Favorite Dessert? My kryptonite is Ice Cream, and the strongest flavors are mint chocolate chip, tiger tail or heavenly hash.

If you had to describe yourself using a cartoon character, which one would it be? I would be Wile E. Coyote. I may never get the prize but I never give up trying.

And that is my understanding of who I am at the moment. And the question's for you are: who are you? What do you want? Who do you trust? Who do you serve? Where are you going?

Peace and Strength!
Yours, learning to be
Steven R. McEvoy

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"Now we can travel with more books stored in our telephones than the ancient Egyptians kept in their vast library at Alexandria."
           Mike Aquilina

"No tea cup is big enough nor book long enough for me to be satisfied."
           C.S. Lewis

"When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left over I buy food and clothes!"
           Erasmus

Other Articles Examining Who I Am:
Mad Celtic Warrior, Poet and Priest! - An Essay - 2003
The Journey of a Quester! - An Essay / Spiritual Biography 2004
New Year's 2006
Who Am I? Who Am I? -2008
Confessions of a Bibliophile #5 - How I Became a Bibliophile, From Dyslexic to Addict - 2009
New Year's Goals 2010
Steven R. McEvoy Interview - 2012
2014 My Goals

Who I Am - 2014

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Updated 2016-04-13


This post has been redacted because of personal conviction. I would appreciate if you say a prayer for me. 

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.


Wednesday 2 July 2014

Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2014

Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2014


First I must state the last few years have seen serious changes in my reading habits and volume, but it did pick up this quarter. Some of the changes if that now I have three children ages 8, 6 and 3. Some if it is ever new and expanding responsibilities at work and the volume of training involved with that. This quarter I only read 40 books and of those just over half were fiction books. You can see the list of all books read here, and favourite books here. There is even a favourite list of authors each year here

Fiction:
1. Tiassa - Steven Brust - Vlad Taltos Book 13
2. The Incrementalists - Steven Brust and Skyler White
3. Fathom Five - Unwritten Books 2 - James Bow
4. Fireworks in the Rain - Steven Brust 
5. Peacemaker - Marianne de Pierres
6. The Desecrator - Steven Brust

Non-Fiction
1. Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga - Benjamin Lorr
2. Do I Dare Disturb the Universe? - Madeleine L'Engle
3. Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Hooks, Helps and Hurts Us - Murray Carpenter
4. Clean Comfort: A Roadmap in Food and Memories: How I Went From 345 lbs. to a Size 8 by Learning the Real Meaning of Feeding Myself Well - Stacey Morris

Honorable Mentions:
(Have made the top ten before but reread this quarter and still great!)

1. Saints Alive - Andrew M. Seddon
Volume I Saints of Empire - Volume II Celtic Paths
2. Jacob the Baker - Noah benShea
3. Jhereg - Steven Brust - Vlad Taltos Book 1

Relates Posts: 
Top 10 Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2010
Top 10 Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2010
Top 10 Reading Goals for 2010
Top 10 Fiction Books 3rd Quarter 2010

Top 10 Fiction Books 4th Quarter 2010
Top Ten Reading Goals For 2010 - Recap

Top 10 Fiction Books 2010
Top 10 Picture Books of 2010
Top 10 Non-Fiction Books of 2010

Top 10 Graphic Novels for 2010
Top Ten Reading Goals For 2011
 

Top Ten Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2011
Top Ten Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2011
Top Ten Reading Goals for 2011 Update
 
Top Ten Fiction Books 3rd Quarter 2011 
Top Ten Fictions Books 4th Quarter 2011
Top Ten Fiction Books 2011
Top Ten Reading Goals 2011 - Recap
Top Ten Reading Goals 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2012

Top Ten Fiction Books 3rd Quarter 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books  4th Quarter 2012
Top Ten Fiction Books 2012
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2012
Top Ten Reading Goals 2012 - Recap
Top Ten Reading Goals 2013
Top 10 Fiction Books 1st Quarter 2013

Top 10 Fiction Books 2nd Quarter 2013
Top 10 Books Second Half 2013
Top Ten Fiction Books 2013
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2013 
Top Ten Books First Quarter 2014
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2014
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2014
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2014
Top Ten Fiction Books 2014
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2014
Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2015
Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2015

All Top Ten Lists on Book Reviews and More

Statistics Books Read By Year:

64 - 2014 - January-June
88 -  2013
176 - 2012 
163 - 2011
302 - 2010
142 - 2009
98 - 2008
83 - 2007
191 - 2006
151 - 2005
60 - 2004
52 - 2003
97 - 2002
50 - 2001
41 - 2000
71 - 1999
73 - 1998
131 - 1997
101 - 1996


Tuesday 1 July 2014

Happy Canada Day 2014


Hope Everyone has a great Canada Day
with Friends and Family
and maybe a good book!