This Amazing Quote Really Explains My Love of WW Kayaking

"It is difficult to find in life any event which so effectually
condenses intense nervous sensation into the shortest possible
space of time as does the work of shooting, or running an
immense rapid. There is no toil, no heart breaking labour
about it, but as much coolness, dexterity, and skill as man
can throw into the work of hand, eye, and head; knowledge of
when to strike and how to do it; knowledge of water and rock,
and of the one hundred combinations which rock and water can
assume -- for these two things, rock and water, taken in the
abstract, fail as completely to convey any idea of their fierce
embracings in the throes of a rapid as the fire burning quietly
in a drawing-room fireplace fails to convey the idea of a house
wrapped and sheeted in flames."

--- Sir William Francis Butler, 1872




See ya out on the water sooner preferably than later.


Peas & Cornbread,
Mati :-)

Quotes for the week

If being good isn't working - try being outrageous.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
- John F. Kennedy

The greatest mistake you can make in life
is to be continually fearing you will make one.
- Elbert Hubbard

This above all, to thine own self be true.
- William Shakespeare

Enjoy these words of wisdom!

Namaste,
Mati :-)

2012 Goals

I have been thinking about this quite a bit and figured that the best way to hold myself  to my goals was to actually write them up. So here I go.

1) Read at least 1 book every week and review at least 1 book every month.
2) Keep up the exercising and begin weight and endurance training.
3) Study the Torah for at least 1 hour every day.
4) Find at least 1 new revenue stream so that the slow months are not so scary.
5) Write and publish at least 2 blog posts every month.
6) Start taking pictures again and do 1 photo walk each month.
7) Re-engage myself in volunteering.
8) Make a concerted effort to reconnect with my friends and family that have drifted apart.
9) Paddle 12 rivers in 2012.

These are the main ones and I might add or even increase some of these goals if find that these are too easy. I hope that you also have success attaining your 2012 goals.

Namaste,
Mati :-)

Still Life with Swingline

Still Life with Swingline
Originally uploaded by Mathew A. Koeneker
This is one of my favorite off the cuff pictures and I just wanted it to underscore the seriousness of this thought: perhaps we need to all have a "No Questions Asked" sign in our lives. There are people in your life who really need you now, and are counting on you to be there for them, open-minded and no questions asked. I am confident you will find your efforts rewarded in ways that you had not even imagined. If I can be there for you, just call, text, e-mail, tweet, smoke signal or whatever floats your boat and I will do my best to be there for you. Thank you and I love ya'll! Baruch Hashem!
Namaste,
mak

Simple words to think about....

These are the things I hold divine:
A trusting child's hand laid in mine,
Rich brown earth and wind-tossed trees,
The taste of grapes and the drone of bees,
A rhythmic gallop, long June days,
A rose-hedged lane and lovers' lays,
The welcome smile on neighbors' faces,
Cool, wide hills and open places,
Breeze-blown fields of silver rye,
The wild, sweet note of the plover's cry,
Fresh spring showers and scent of box,
The soft, pale tint of the garden phlox,
Lilacs blooming, a drowsy noon,
A flight of geese and an autumn moon,
Rolling meadows and storm-washed heights,
A fountain murmur on summer nights,
A dappled fawn in the forest hush,
Simple words and the song of a thrush,
Rose-red dawns and a mate to share
With comrade soul my gypsy fare,
A waiting fire when the twilight ends,
A gallant heart and the voice of friends.
- Jean Brooks Burt

Try to appreciate the simple pleasures of life.

Namaste,
Mati :-)

Social Media: Addiction, Affliction, or Salvation

In this era of blogs, micro-blogs, Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Flickr--- to name a few of the horde that are out there, where do you weigh in?

I thought that I had found a pretty neat life streaming social media application called Friendfeed that aggregated all of the many streams of information into one nifty User Interface that I adopted pretty early on and will most likely stay on until they pull the plug. And as you may know, Facebook acquired Friendfeed awhile back and that plug could get pulled at any time potentially.

How much of your life and by extension your family and friends lives are you digitally recording via pictures, likes, comments, +1's, etc?

Do you still find your computer to be the hub of where this information emanates or has your smartphone taken over that role?

Do you find yourself checking a certain site several times an hour/day? And if so, which is it?

Are you worried about just what information about you is still floating around on the web and in the clouds?

Your feedback is appreciated!

Namaste,
Mati :-)

Who is Mati? My Days of Awe reflections.

Here are some things that you may or may not have known about me.

I was born in 1972 in St. Louis, MO to a loving mother and a disturbed sperm donor. He was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive to both my Mom and myself. I have blocked much of this out. My Mom, brave soul that she is, took me and ran away.  She met another brave, loving soul, my Dad, and they became fast friends. Several years passed and they wedded each other and went thru the hardships of officially adopting me. In those days the Roman Catholic diocese had the best schools, so they scrimped and saved so that I could get a decent education. I was even in the seminary for a year as hard as that is to believe.

St. Louis is probably the largest small town that you will find and more often than not the first question that someone will ask you is where you went to High School. I lived in North County and commuted to Creve Couer to attend Chaminade College Preparatory. I am still not quite sure what High School that I attended really means about me.

From there I moved to New Orleans and attended Tulane University and promptly became a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon National Fraternity. I made some of the longest lasting friendships of my life there and do my best, which falls terribly short, on keeping in touch with my extended family. I spent some time in Los Angeles with a an organization called Teach For America. I am still not sure if that is the ultimate direction that I wish to take in life....teaching young minds.

I moved back to New Orleans and had a few jobs working for a bank and then working evenings in music clubs. I started off  in the now defunct Muddy Waters Music Club. I have to give a big thank you to the Sullivans whether you are still here in the States or back in Australia for giving me the opportunity. I got to meet, interact, and even pay the artists which really helped me to get to know the ins and outs of the music business pretty well. Also, I have made some life-long relationships with some of the greatest artists of quite a few genres. When Muddy Waters closed their doors, I was asked to work at the Tipitina's Music Club. I have to admit that those were some heady days.

I moved back to St. Louis, MO and worked for 6+ years in the Brokerage Operations division of Edward Jones specializing in mortgage backed securities and government bonds. I learned a lot about big business, and I fell in love but it was for naught and life moved one.

The next chapter was as the Credit Manager for a chain of Hilton branded hotel properties in and around St. Louis. I also learned a lot about the hospitality business especially as how it applied to customer satisfaction and retention. I tried the love thing once again and crashed terribly. I also renewed my love affair with the water and kayaking this time for keepers. :-)

During those years, I was extremely plugged into the music scene. I don't recollect many vacations that were not built around some sort of music extravaganza or festival.

I got sick 5+ years ago and have been dealing with the health care system in all of its glory since then. I also decided that I wanted to explore about my Jewish roots and found a several great Rabbis to speak and learn from. Turns out that even though my Mom was a lapsed Jew, the orthodox belief is that your heritage is passed down via your mother. I have been striving to be a better person and decided the Jewish route was the one that I wished to pursue. During this years Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur have felt quite AWESOME indeed as have struggled and prayed for guidance and that I would have a good upcoming year.

Namaste,
Mati :-)

Insomnia.....it sucks. Do you have a solution?

Basically if you are afflicted with insomnia as a side effect: from your work schedules, life schedule, rx that you are proscribed, or just from your illness themselves, how do you deal with it?  As you know, it really has the potential to mess up your life's rhythms.

I have tried the taking my rx hours before my intended sleep-down to no avail.

I have tried all the all of the prescription rx to no avail even at 3x the normal dose which should knock a horse down.

I have tried the late night walk-jog-walk with my faithful Ridgeback, Jackson, and still awake.

I have even tried just being old fashioned and turning everything off and just laying there---still no luck

I know that I can't be the only person so afflicted. So please share with me some of your solutions to this quite vexing issue.

I appreciate the comments and ideas.

Namaste,
Mati :-)

Local Severe Weather Alert for Saint Louis, MO

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THURSDAY... 

* TIMING...THE DANGEROUS COMBINATION OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH AT LEAST THURSDAY EVENING. 

* HEAT INDEX VALUES...PEAK READINGS OF 105 TO 115 DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS EACH DAY...WITH LITTLE RELIEF DURING THE NIGHT. THE MOST OPPRESSIVE CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR IN THE SAINT LOUIS METRO AREA DUE TO THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT. 

* IMPACTS...THESE HIGH LEVELS OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL THREATEN THE HEALTH OF THE PUBLIC...ESPECIALLY THE VERY YOUNG...THE ELDERLY...AND THOSE WITH CHRONIC HEALTH PROBLEMS. DO NOT TAKE THIS THREAT LIGHTLY...THE LENGTH OF THIS HEAT WAVE WILL POSE A VERY REAL AND DANGEROUS HEALTH RISK TO THESE AT-RISK GROUPS AND THOSE THAT DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO AIR CONDITIONING. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...  PEOPLE IN THE ST. LOUIS METROPOLITAN AREA CAN GET INFORMATION ABOUT COOLING CENTERS OR ENERGY ASSISTANCE RELATED TO THE EXCESSIVE HEAT BY CALLING THE UNITED WAY OF GREATER ST. LOUIS AT 800-427-4626...OR IF CALLING FROM A LAND LINE PHONE DIAL 2-1-1. YOU CAN ALSO CALL COOL DOWN ST. LOUIS AT 314-241-7668. 

THIS BUILD UP OF HEAT WILL MAKE HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES A VERY REAL AND DANGEROUS THREAT...ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE LIVING IN UN-AIR CONDITIONED HOMES OR APARTMENTS. PEOPLE IN THE WARNING AREA ARE ADVISED TO AVOID POORLY VENTILATED AREAS AND PROLONGED WORK IN THE SUN. USE AIR CONDITIONING IN YOUR HOUSE OR APARTMENT IF IT IS WORKING CORRECTLY. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AIR CONDITIONING...KEEP YOUR HOUSE OR APARTMENT WELL VENTILATED WITH FANS...AND TRY TO SPEND SOME TIME IN AN AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENT TO GIVE YOUR BODY A BREAK FROM THE HEAT.

TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS IF YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE. WHEN POSSIBLE...RESCHEDULE STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO THE EARLY MORNING OR EVENING.

KNOW THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE.

WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING WHEN POSSIBLE AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. 

TO REDUCE RISK DURING OUTDOOR WORK...THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS SCHEDULING FREQUENT REST BREAKS IN SHADED OR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS. ANYONE OVERCOME BY HEAT SHOULD BE MOVED TO A COOL AND SHADED LOCATION.

HEAT STROKE IS AN EMERGENCY. CALL 9-1-1 IMMEDIATELY.

Quote of the Weekend

Happiness is when what you think, what you say,
and what you do are in harmony.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

The dude know of what he spoke. So go on, get out there, and be happy.

Namaste,

Mati :-)

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