"Chilling breeze, Brings silence all around. Winter comes." My day has been going well. After work, I showered, ate, then watched some videos about my camera. Then sleep overcame me. Six and a half hours passed by, only disturbed by my healing arm becoming very irritated. Once awake, I took care of my burned arm then began studying some Thai. I can't start training until this burn on my arm is fully healed so photography and language study are filling my time. To be honest, it has been nice taking a short break from training. I know that I'm probably losing some muscle and skill not practicing this long but I think my constant training/working is what caused my month long sickness. It's great to feel a little healthy again. As I begin to rest my body to feel more healthy, it seems the world is beginning its big rest called winter. The temperatures are slowly getting colder, the nights have almost consumed all of the day. I rarely see the sun. Hope you all have a good week. The hopeful, Johnny

In a flash of family activity, the weekend is over. Soon, I will return to slogging away in the factory earning currency for my time. The only thing motivating me is the hope of adventure. I needed this rest, my mind and body feel great. The cold (possible bronchitis) that I've had all of November is finally losing its slimy grasp from my throat. I have energy, motivation, and a good mood to top it off. To think that this year is almost over is crazy. I've accomplished many of my goals that I set in the beginning of this year... and then some. My shoulder is "fixed", money has been saved, tools bought, skills learned. The "plan" that started forming in my mind a few years ago really has been refined. With experience, I can better prepare for this Kung Fu endeavor. I didn't expect it but that potato factory I worked at gave me the experience needed to get this really good paying job that I have now. With all the highs and lows of life, it is interesting to see how the pieces all come together. I'm just thankful for so many things. The family, friends, and others who have helped me. For each and every high and low moment. For the experiences that I've been through. For the challenges I face. It seems that all of it comes together for a reason that I can never predict. This blog is for myself, but to those who find inspiration in it; keep going, don't give up, always work towards that dream of yours. The Traveler of Highs and Lows, Johnny

"Family, Energy floods together. Time goes quick." It was through my study of the Thai language that I discovered this quote. You see, I wrote down some goals for why I'm studying Thai. Talk about food, prices, travel Understand Muay Thai Coaches Talk to Monks Ask simple questions like, "Can I take a picture?" These simple goals will allow me to focus on vocabulary that is related to what I want to learn instead of learning things that I might not use. Any kind of grammar or sentence structure lessons I will take, these goals are just helping me focus on specific vocabulary. I then stumbled upon this post which ends with a quote from Buddha. The part that I like is, "Work hard to gain your salvation". These were his supposed last words to his followers, and man those are some cool last words. At times that is what I feel like I'm doing. All of this studying, all of these hours in a factory, all of this training. Its just for my own personal "salvation". Each religion really has its own ideas, phrases, and stories that can help anyone. With Thanksgiving being today, I have to be thankful for all that I've learned, experienced, and for all of those who have been with me along the way. It's honestly amazing at what you can accomplish with a little help. Whether its your family letting you live with them or friends teaching you new skills. Take the time to reflect and be grateful for all the little things that push you towards your goal. I'll continue studying, training, working. But have a good holiday everyone.

"Cloudy Mind A Room Reflects Thought One's Danger" As the sore on my arm heals, but the irritation expands, I realize that this weekend was a great weekend for myself. My heart rate was at it's lowest in a long time (49 bpm) while sleeping, my mood improved, I ate better, and I actually had fun. Taking photos and studying made me happy, which was really hard for me to do a couple days ago. It was difficult simply because I was tired. The tiredness I felt made doing anything that I normally would a chore. Even meditation, where you just sit there and breathe, was too much for my sluggish mind. I need more weekends. Luckily the holidays are here so I should get plenty of weekends. Along with study and photo taking I did plenty of video watching. Mostly for entertainment but some educational. The videos on the educational end were about Buddhism, Thai, travel, photography, and studying abroad. I really do want to travel and learn. I want to be an adventurer again. Part of me thought about how after leaving Maling behind, I've felt a bit "empty". As if the purpose and dedication that I had while training Kung Fu at that school left me. Since then, its just been me searching for what will fill that gap until I get back to that kind of life. The life of a warrior monk, the life of a martial artist. Progress towards saving money for travels is good, now I think I'll just work towards making my life similar to how it was then. Not the same schedule, just the same feeling. The feeling of having something to work on each and every day that you love. Where the work improves yourself. Where the work isn't work. Study. Train. Save Money. That's the phrase for my life right now.

I didn't work this weekend. Instead, I learned the purpose of the various beaded necklaces and bracelets that Buddhists wear. I learned from JD (of minimal ambitions) on how to take and edit better photos. I ate some food, rested, and looked back at the results of my fitbit/food tracking to see "how I did". I looked into studying German at a school here in Minnesota, and I thought of finding a personal trainer to help me get stronger. Really, today was just a lazy day. Watching videos on various topics while eating food, blowing my nose, consuming large amounts of water. Those videos I watched were mostly about photography, lenses, and Buddhism. If the Buddhism videos taught me anything it was that I'm not being very "mindful". I'm not focusing on the present moment, I'm always thinking of my plan which is so far away. Maybe that is what this month long sickness is trying to tell me? If I just focused on being happy now, maybe I wouldn't suffer so much.

"Cool, Crisp, Nights. Frost blankets the earth. Snow falling." Current Thoughts Another winter means another year is coming to an end. Even in the short amount of time left in this year, I still have much to do. A tournament, a potential promotion, an online class to finish, and training to do. I'm proud of the progress that I've made, even if I failed on getting a few goals accomplished. I've revamped the blog, improved my photos, and saved a large chunk of the money that I need for my adventures. Next year, I will have to keep working consistent OT in order to guarantee that I save the money that I want. November has been a month of rest and recovery for me, physically and mentally. I learned that October was too much work. Even though it was very beneficial, it was really hard on me. Doing a little bit extra over a long time will be more profitable than doing a lot over a short period of time. So where does that leave me now? Well, I still have to: Finish Last Online Personal Training Course Continue Studying Thai Keep Training for Tournament (December 18th) Even though I want to write a thousand more things on this list, I'm keeping it short and realistic. Other goals and projects have to wait until next year. Let's keep working!

"It's Unseen And Often Forgotten. Reflection Reveals" It's nothing groundbreaking or new. Realizing that I don't have to keep working at a job I don't like brings me temporary happiness. I'm unsure if or when I'll make the change to a new job. In my studies I've learned the human body responds to eustress and distress. Both of these kinds of stresses have their limits and these limits are determined by the individual's mind, body, and spirit. Too much eustress and the body loses the positive benefits of it or leads to addictions. Too much distress and the body or mind begins to suffer negative affects. Without balancing both, the body and mind cannot fully develop. I believe that I've reached my limits of distress. October really pushed me (as this whole year has) but I still haven't recovered fully. What should normally be a cold has plagued me off and on for almost two weeks. Massive amounts of work on top of little sleep just create a bad balance that I'm just now seeing the affects of. Reading, playing, meditating, and playing have helped "open" my mind to how I've been depriving myself of simple pleasures. I still have a long way to go in my journey. Money isn't the only thing I want in life. I want to travel, yes, but improving myself in other ways besides factory work is important for me too. Becoming smarter through understanding the body and new languages. Becoming healthier through better nutrition and exercise. Becoming happier by better understanding of the mind. This is all important to me. Time to rest and find something new.

"Jack of all trades, Master of none" -Unknown This week I missed most of work because of a head cold, another Covid test, and just general recovering from a month of nonstop work. What did I do? Sleep, and a lot of it. I was pushing hard on a decent diet, many supplements, and will power to work from late September until the 26th of October. No weekends. No rest. Just overtime, hard training, and little sleep. Because of it I'm now 20-33% of my financial goal for my next "adventure". Was it worth it? Definitely. With a Sanda tournament coming up in December, I need to work on getting healthier and stronger. Can't do that while working 20+ hours of overtime a week. Which brings me to another thing I did during this week: prioritize. While laying in my bed and whilst roaming the vast dream lands, I worked through all of the goals that drive me. Seeing which ones needed to be focused on, and what ones could be pushed back to a later date. Saving money, the one I focused on in October, could be pushed back. Two goals came up to the forefront as urgent which was training for the tournament and finishing my personal training courses. Both of these had a deadline that was coming fast (December and January, respectively). Those are what I'll focus on, but I did more than just that this week. I've also continued my studies in Thai, Personal Training, and... Photography. Learning New Skills... Just like with this website, I realized that if I'm actually going to be traveling and training around the world for a bit then I'm going to take pictures. Why not take good pictures? I had this similar thought back in February/March when I bought the Panasonic Luminx G7. The focus then was getting good videos made. As my workload increased, slowly the camera was put aside but always staring at me... almost saying, "Learn how to use me or else I was a waste of money". Going back into studying the basics of the camera and photography was fun. I did a little trail walk, taking pictures along the way. Messed with the settings while listening to a Finnish guy explaining each and just became more familiar with the tool I bought. I think this little camera and I will become good friends. Thai has been an interesting language to learn. I was surprised it is based off of the languages from India more than Chinese. I hope to continue studying Thai seriously for around 6 months before I return to my Chinese HSK studies. I think in 6 months of serious, careful study I can learn a good "chunk" of Thai that will get me through my first couple months. I do want to improve my Chinese so that I can interact better with the masters and people that I meet. But, priorities come first. Relaxing A priority that everyone has been telling me is to relax. So, I'm finally trying to incorporate rest into my schedule of things to do. For me, ever since I've gotten back from Maling my mind has been on the go. Wanting to move, wanting to improve, wanting a challenge. This means I have a hard time just sitting there watching TV or Youtube because I feel I'm wasting my time. Instead, I need things to do that help or allow me to relax. Journaling or Blogging is one of these things. To my monkey brain, it is still productive but I can be laying on by bed under the soft covers while doing this "productive" activity. Just like there is active recovery in working out, I believe that there is "active relaxing". To me that would be Meditation, Qi Gong, Photography, Studying (or maybe reviewing), and Stretching. During the weekends I hope to choose these activities to do instead of the harder stuff that I'd normally do. I just have to slow down and smell the crisp Autumn while it lasts. Which won't be long. -A happier Johnny

"The point I'm makin' is the mind is a powerful place And what you feed it can affect you in a powerful way ... Just think about it for a second, if you look at your face Every day when you get up and think you'll never be great You'll never be great, not because you're not, but the hate Will always find a way to cut you up and murder your faith" -"The Search", NF A month of long hours at this factory just to earn some money towards my 修行. Realizing that they weren't giving me very little paid time off for all the work that I was doing, I think I'll now focus more on my skills, website, training, and studies instead of the money. I'm burnt out. So what does this all mean? A few adjustments to my schedule. The MMA gym that I go to has most of their people going to evening classes so I need to start going there as well. This will be a good change as I can start focusing on preparing for the Sanda competition in December. With me having my weekends back, I'll be able to finish my Certified Personal Trainer studies and continue studying Thai. I know I'm a hard worker, I just need to work hard towards other things instead of this factory. The Current Plan for the "Next Adventure" I still want to go to the Yunnan Shaolin Temple for 3-4 years. I've added Tiger Muay Thai into my plan as well. Let's say I'm training at Tiger Muay Thai for 2-3 months and in Yunnan for 6-8 months out of the year. This leaves me time to come home for the holidays. Eventually, I would like to see if the people at Yunnan Shaolin Temple could help me go to the real Shaolin Temple in Henan. Not to just visit (I can do that on my own) but to live/train there. I think with my language ability constantly improving, my dedication to the sport of Kung Fu/Wushu, and interest in Chinese culture. I have a good chance of this happening. Of course, it won't all just be train. train. train. I've seen some cool pictures of places I'd like to go... and take pictures of my own! If my Thai gets good, then maybe I'd even travel around Thailand, exploring the different Buddhist Temples and such. In the end... ... I've saved up a good amount of money already (about double/triple the amount I saved for Maling). I'm going to work, compete, and study for a *year longer just to get experience. This time is also being used to be with family before I'm off on my own adventure. Because, just like Bilbo Baggins, I'm not sure where this is going to take me. *Also Covid is still restricting travel to many places

Mushroom Powders. Green Powders. Protein Powders. "Get our protein from powder, feed my whole team" -E Dubble, "Hip Hop is Good" Fall is definitely here, and with that the tress and weather change. Not much has changed with me though. Still working 9-5, 7 days a week, going to physical therapy, training 2-3 times a week for 2 hours each time. I'm trying to take care of myself by getting more nutrients in my diet. Sleep is still a rarity for me as 6 hours of sleep is a blessing. Even the personal trainer says it sounds like I don't have a social life. But who needs one, eh? I'm grinding for cash and training for the future. One thing I did start recently was learning Thai. I thought since I'm going to Thailand in the future, I might as well learn the language so I don't get scammed. If I'm able to learn some, maybe I'll get better training with the coaches or be able to eat some better food! For now I'm not even learning words, just "letters" and how to pronounce them. I think by the end of October I can start studying words but until then... pronunciation. My short term plans are: finish my last two personal trainer classes to save money to start a savings account by December switch to evening MMA/BJJ classes December/January begin German Volume Training prepare for Summer Kung Fu/Sanda Tournaments Once books arrive, study HSK 3/4 Keep Studying Thai It is obvious now that my single goal is to head to Thailand and Kunming to train. Instead of looking so far into the future, I'm seeing what I can do now to improve myself. The tournaments (hopefully 3-4) will give me something to train for. That is really what all of these goals are for, is to keep fueling my motivation. The fatigue is really setting in but my mind has been able to push through it and get rid of some bad habits in the process. Today, I didn't go to class because I needed to rest. This let me study a little extra today, Friday will be another chance to train. Care for yourself, break those bad habits, don't be afraid of challenge or change.

"The Long Drive" A long narrow line Black surrounding the black Insane drives him home A long weekend was spent driving many hours, watching kids running around screaming, and talking with my sister. Crazy to think it was almost two years since I'd seen her. In that time she has done a lot. Gotten a better job. Had a kid, who now walks. Changed her muddy, no grass yard into a lush garden. Probably a lot more that I don't know about too. It was strange heading back to the place that I called "home" before my big China trip. Most of it was the same Wisconsin town. The same store and gas stations. The same Walmart. All of it felt odd, like Covid didn't affect this place at all. The drive was long for me as I realized I haven't driven that long in a while. I'm used to someone else driving or taking a plane/train to places now. At least then I can sleep and still get to where I need to go. I made it home, regardless of the struggle it was for me. The only good thing about the drive was I got to think. The whole trip was a reflection for me; Showing me that my sister is doing well and that I'm heading on a good path. The idea that life goes on was also prevalent in my mind. As I go about my day, pushing onward towards this plan, so does every other person out there. The world does not stop just because I leave. People grow. Others age. They all have their own plethora of experiences in the time that I am gone. Things change. So it was a good trip. Happy labor day.

Sore hands grasp a wheel A blur of lights passing by Goodbye red and green For a site about my adventure, I really haven't posted much. The past two weeks have all been work. Working in a factory, through the weekends, waiting for payday. All so I can just put the money away and do it again. I do go to MMA/BJJ class two or three times per week and try to meditate a few times a week. Besides that, there isn't much to my life. I eat rice, carrots, salads, meat, burgers, bread. I drink water, coconut water, electrolyte powder, milk, and more water. Inside my mind, I'm thinking of adventure. In my mind I look at all the places my parents and I have lived in my life: California, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and China. Combine that with all of the places I visited over the past two years... the feeling of wanderlust is born. But, I cannot forget about what I can do in the present moment to enjoy (and improve) myself. Studying languages, sciences, and taking tests, challenging myself. Learning new things while sharpening my skills in what I already know. This is what I should be doing. I'm just tired. I've been working tirefully. Not tirelessly. For I am not without tire, I am full of it. Through this feeling, I should persevere. Tired is a good feeling. It means I'm working. It means I'm trying. It means I'm making progress. And that is good.