Rebooted(Updated January, 2025)

It's been a long time since I've written anything. I setup this site with a blog a number of years ago and spent the time, money, and effort to get it setup and hosted. It was basic, but looked good ( at least I thought for 2014/2015 anyway), and reflected who I was at the time. Then I wrote and posted my first blog post about a personal journey I had taken. And how it made me feel. And what I had planned for my next journey. I shared with others. People commented and complimented me on it. I felt accomplished. Inspired.Then I never posted again. (I will add the link to my original, and only, blog post down below)

I can make excuses or justifications as to why I didn't continue. I did follow through on my journey and what I had planned as my next steps. But the reasons for doing so were very different than the ones I had originally set out for myself (I will write about these in a future blog or two).

The road from my original blog to now has been a tough one. I got divorced. I lost my dad. I moved to a new home in a new neighbourhood. I went from a family of 5, to a family of 1.5 (myself and shared custody of my son). Well ok, a family of 1.75 if I count my dog. I started a new life once again. A reboot if you will.

re·boot - to restart (a computer) by loading the operating system; boot again;

to produce a distinctly new version of (an established media franchise, as a film, TV show, video game, or comic book);

to make a change in (something) in order to establish a new beginning.

Booting is starting a computer's operating system, so rebooting is to restart it for a second or third time. Rebooting is sometimes necessary after a computer crashes, meaning it stops working because of a malfunction. Rebooting might free up memory. Rebooting might be after you install or remove a new program or apply an update.

Like many of us, my life has had many reboots along the way. My parents got divorced when I was in middle school. We moved to a new home in a new neighbourhood. I started a new year at a new school. I had to make new friends. Start a new life.

I moved to the US for several years in my 20's. I had a job offer and I moved with my then girlfriend. We had to start a new life in a new city in a new country. We had to make new friends. I had to start a new job.

I moved back to Canada in my 30's. My 1st marriage (the girlfriend from the previous reboot) had failed for a number of reasons. I had major burnout from my job. I needed a change. So I got another job offer which landed me back in the great white north, eh. On New Years day, I flew back to Canada, separated from my wife, started a new job and new life in a new city in a new year. 

Shortly thereafter I left that job for the one I currently have. I met a woman and her two wonderful children. We moved in together. We got married, built a new home, and I became a step dad. She got pregnant and we grew our little family.

This is where my first blog comes in. Read it for yourself down below, but essentially I was very overweight and out of shape, about to turn 40, and had a newborn baby.

And this is where this post began.

Some reboots are intentional. You want change. You need change. You are inspired, or motivated, for change. These ones have there own set of challenges. You are introducing new variables, or taking some away. You may have to reboot several times along the way. You may undo the changes you made. But these ones are generally welcome.

Some reboots are forced. You didn't want change. You tried to prevent change. But as time went on you had to, to continue the analogy, hold in the power button and force a reboot. These one are generally not clean. Files are corrupted. The reboot might not complete the first, second, or third time.You might need to reinstall some things. You might need someone to have a closer look and do a repair to get you up and running again. It might take longer to get things operational. You might start in safe mode. You might not load everything you used to.

I have had both types of these reboots in my life many times. Some I welcomed.  Some I regret. Some I had no control over. Some I lost control of. Some I gave up control of. Some were painful. Some were exciting. Some were satisfying. Some were disappointing. Some I would change. Some I would not.

I started off the first day of 2022 with an event called the Reboot Run. It was a virtual marathon to start the New Year off on the right foot, followed by the left. A new start to another new year. As I ran, I thought about the symbolism of this. How I have had many points in my life that I've restarted. Rebooted. Began again. That run started this post.

Where am I at today? I would say I'm going through a bit of a hybrid of the two. Some parts of my life are forced to change, but I ultimately need and want change. My odometer is getting close to rolling over to 50 (that hurts to write, think about, or accept), so reboots are getting harder. You try to resist them. They take longer. You don't run as fast as you used to (virtual marathon and computer pun intended).  I'm too old for a reformat and reinstall and nowhere near ready to shutdown. But change at any age can also be refreshing. Welcome. Exciting. Challenging. So restarting, or rebooting, my blog is part of my latest one. 

Latest Reboot (January, 2025): Three years later and I am rebooting again. My odometer recently rolled past 50 and is going strong. My workplace went through a merger. Another reboot. And now, after 18 years, I am leaving my current job and starting a new journey. Yes, another reboot. This reboot will include some career upgrades and enhancements.  But I've been applying the patches to prepare for this reboot for sometime. And as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, this is one is welcomed. Exciting. Challenging. 

And, oh, as I fade away,they'll all look at me and say

They'll say: "Hey, look at him and where he is these days"

When life is hard, you have to change  - Blind Melon

Be afraid, be very afraid

But do it anyway - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Here is the other blog post I was referring to https://www.canadajoe.com/technomad/wearing-thin