Time sure flies when you’re having fun

It’s been six years since my last post here. This seems like a great opportunity to look back at some of the milestones and important events:

• Our family has grown and we now have three adorable kids aged three, six and nine. Sometimes they are hard to handle, but I love them more than life.
• We’ve made some renovations to the apartment and we’ve doubled the living space, which is great since there are a lot of us now
• Career-wise I’ve moved from being employed to co-owning a small company called Meks – we make awesome premium WordPress themes so make sure to check out our website if you’re creating something with WordPress and you need a highly configurable and always up-to-date theme, supported by experts 😉
• I’ve turned 40. Yes, 40. It sounds awful, but in reality, it’s just a number and there is no need to make a big fuss about it – I’ve learned this the hard way by going through something that looked like a genuine midlife crisis 😀
• Unfortunately, things have slowed down in the music department. The band has suffered a couple of hard blows when some of our bandmates and dear friends decided to leave and pursue other interests. We are currently on a hiatus and trying to complete the lineup – we are missing a bass player at the moment. There is still some juice left in us and I personally am experiencing a newfound passion for playing the guitar, so fingers crossed.

Here’s to the next six years and amazing adventures and experiences to come!

Enjoying the ride

As of February this year my life has been a real roller-coaster ride:

• I’ve joined the team that created ManageWP – the ultimate WordPress DashboardI took the role of Lead Designer in February and I am very grateful that I have a chance to do the work I love and create something amazing every day. We work very hard to provide the best possible service for people in need of multiple WordPress site management. I consider this position the highlight of my career as a web designer.

• I’ve become a dad… again 🙂On June 25th, at 11:30PM, our sweet little daughter Paulina was born. I was in the delivery room when our son was born, three years ago, and I was there again two weeks ago, to witness another miracle of our child coming to this world. Words cannot describe the bliss of holding your newborn, just minutes old, for the first time. Surely, we have sleepless nights and endless diaper changes ahead of us, but for me nothing beats the wonderful feeling of being a dad.

• I’ll be visiting USA for the first timeIt’s been sort of a dream for me since I was a kid – to visit the United States of America. This August the dream will come true. However, I am not exactly a fan of traveling by airplane – as a matter of fact, I am terrified of the 9 hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean. I’ve started reading websites and blogs on the subject of fear of flying and I will be preparing myself mentally for this experience. It will be a real challenge facing this fear – some people avoid getting on airplanes their whole life – but this is my chance to see the world and expand my horizons, so I surely won’t let fear stand in my way. Wish me luck 🙂

So far, this has been an amazing year for me and I have a feeling that it will get even better. “Good things are coming our way…” as one of my favorite bands would sing.

Oh, did I mention that I am terrified of roller-coaster rides too? 🙂

List of lifestyle improvements for 2012

• Stay away from TV
• Minimize computer usage @ home
• Go to bed at 22:30 latest whenever possible
• Get up at 6:00 and start the day with exercise
• Say NO to unimportant tasks – stay focused
• Get rid of unnecessary stuff
• Allow yourself to be happy 🙂

Letting go

After practicing Aikido for three and a half years I was forced to quit in March due to other obligations. This was one of the toughest choices I’ve had to make in my entire life. As I was walking to the dojo to let my sensei know about my decision my eyes were filled with tears and I felt devastated.

Aikido has brought so much into my life. Apart from the benefits of physical exercise Aikido has boosted my confidence and thought me valuable lessons about handling life situations. It is the hardest martial art to learn due to the fact that you must conquer your own mind and resist the “fight or flight” instincts imprinted in our genes. It is all about taking the neutral point of view, even when attacked, and making sure no one gets harmed, through applying various non-violent defensive techniques.

The bitter experience of letting go of Aikido has thought me a valuable lesson, though. I’ve managed to get over the mourning period relatively quickly and focused on remembering all I’ve learned in classes and applying the knowledge in real world. I still occasionally do the warm-up exercises in the morning to get my bloodstream going and regularly meditate through breathing exercises to clear my mind and release stress at work.

Someday I may or may not return to classes and pick up where I’ve left off, but the most important thing perhaps is that thanks to Aikido I’ve become a better person and I am very grateful for that.

Ki Aikido – a year later

It seems like only yesterday I have made the decision to start practicing the art of Ki Aikido, yet over a year has passed since then. I have had ups and downs, a few bruises here and there, gone from frustration to excitement and I must say – it was well worth it!

Ki Aikido is one of the rare martial arts that promotes non-violence and peace. Basically you learn fighting skills with a goal and intention to never use them 🙂 A true Ki Aikido master avoids conflict at all costs. Fighting techniques are used only if diplomacy fails, and even then the goal is not to harm the attacker, yet to disable him in a gentle and caring way.

I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate my one year anniversary than attending a three day Ki Aikido seminar in Belgrade held by sen-sei Kenjiro Yoshigasaki, founder of the Ki No Kenkyukai Association International.

It was a thrilling experience. During the three days we were practicing for two hours, twice a day. Sensei Yoshigasaki has taught us some great new techniques and shared some of his wisdom. I was so amazed by the things he said – some of his words still linger on in my mind.

Taking Aikido lessons has for sure been the best decision I have made regarding my self-confidence, spirit and overall health. If you are interested in making a good change in your life, look up an Aikido dojo in your town and attend at least one class – that’s how long it took me to get hooked 🙂

Muscle power

Today, I’ve spent a whole day helping my father clean up the garden at his new house. My muscles ache from the hard work, I’ve got scratches on my arms from the bush and branches, but you know what – it felt great!

We’ve cleaned up a part of the backyard that is to become a beautiful garden soon. Between work I played with the dogs, which I enjoy very much. And at the end of the day we enjoyed a great meal my mother and sister prepared. What a day!

As a web designer I spend a lot of time in front of the screen and it’s really a great thing to get out and get those muscles into action from time to time, and for a good cause too. Is there somebody you could help out with some muscle power?

The miracle of life

Thanks to the power of technology today I had the privilege to meet my future son! By using a 4D ultrasound device the doctor was able to take a peek into mommy’s belly and there he was – our little one, getting ready for the big wide world. Truly a miracle 🙂

Aikido – still going strong

I have started practicing the art of Aikido in November last year. I made a promise to myself – if I stay interested and keep practicing for 6 moths I will buy myself a dogi. Dogi is the clothes we use while practicing – similar to kimono in karate. You can practice Aikido in any comfortable sportswear, until you purchase a dogi. So here I am 6 months later and still very interested, so the promise has been kept. It feels a little awkward to wear all white, but I’ll get used to it I guess 🙂

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Veggie BBQ

On March 20th, the first day of spring, I have decided to give vegetarian diet a try for one month, inspired by Steve Pavlina’s 30 day trial system for acquiring new habits. I am proud to say that this first trial of mine was successful and I have indeed cut meat out of my diet for 30 days. The fact that I have made a conscious decision to do such a thing was exciting enough, and to complete the task was very fulfilling and encouraging.

I must say that this trial wasn’t as difficult as one might think, because I have been considering trying vegetarianism for quite some time and additionally I have chosen a very liberal form of lacto-ovo vegetarianism, which means that I was consuming milk, dairy products and eggs. I have also been reducing the meat consumption gradually in the months preceding the trial.

In a way I guess I was preparing myself, but it wasn’t until the day I have chosen to give up meat that I have finally made the switch. And that’s the only thing that counts – turning your ideas into action! I have encountered some resistance from family and friends, but generally my decision has been accepted very well. I guess the 30 day trial period works well both for the person who is doing the trial, as well as for the people who have to accept the change – “it’s only for a month, you know” 🙂

One of the most enjoyable moments was the family barbecue at my parent’s house – at that time I have not yet seen the Simpsons episode where Lisa (a vegetarian herself) ruins Homer’s BBQ party as an act of protest 🙂 For the first time in my life I have prepared grilled mushrooms, carrots and other veggies instead of burgers and chicken wings, and it was both fun and very tasty – everybody have had a bite of my cuisine.

Right now I have returned to non-vegetarian diet since I have not made it clear to myself if I really want to be a vegetarian for life, but the 30 day journey brought me several benefits:

• I have made a conscious decision about an important part of my life, which is great
• I have tried some very tasty vegetable recipes for the first time… mmmm… grilled cauliflower 🙂
• I have focused more on what I eat, which is important
• Hopefully I have influenced a few people to think about their eating habits

Value of compromise

This morning I have learned a lesson about differences and compromise.

It all started as a conflict between me and my fellow employee over the intensity of light in the office. There is a neon light source placed on the ceiling which shines right into my eyes and is very distracting. Incidentally, one of my colleagues needs this light, in addition to his low intensity overhead light source, for his working area, so turning it off wasn’t an option for him.

Naturally, each of us found his own trouble more important and we ended up with a conflict and no resolution. However, after a minute or two we have started discussing possible solutions, and came up with a simple idea. We took out one neon bulb from the problematic light source, thus decreasing it’s intensity, and added it to the group of bulbs above my colleague’s head, to increase the intensity of light for him.

However, the new intensity of light from his overhead source turned out to be strong enough for him, so we could turn off the problematic light completely. We have made a true compromise, without anyone’s needs being neglected.

This story may sound trivial to someone. For me it was a great opportunity to overcome my ego and learn the value of compromise.