VestFriend & Tactical Self Defense

Wow what a crazy week. I don't know where to start. I was able to get some hours in as a security guard with Maluco Security at the Model United Nations . This was a four days of work and it went till about 2 am or so.

I was very impressed Maluco, they were professional, organized, and filled with experts in there field. The staff were great.

The job was called "event" security as I am sort of on call. However it was a great way to earn some extra money. I also really liked it.

This week I had allot happen, I had two job interviews and it looks like I am going to be employed full time. I will update the employer information upon my start. I don't want to jinks it.

I am getting more involved in the security industry. I am considering taking the next step in first aid, so that I am just below an ambulance attendant, but above a standard first aid attendant to improve my earning potential.

As I do work near Vancouver's Downtown Eastside I have a concern of needles in some circumstances. So I picked up a set of gloves that will be cut and puncture resistant during a pat down. However what really made my day was the day I go this.

This is a vest made by Blair at VestFriend Body Armor. It's a local company British Columbia and dealing with Blair was awesome. The vest was made for my measurements so that will offer the proper amount of protection. It's made from shatter proof polycarbonite armor plating. It will stand up to stabbing, however if I get shot it won't do much. I live in Canada we are not as gun happy as other countries. The outer material is Nylon and Thinsulate it's light weight and feels like a girdle.

Blair makes all the vests by hand, after working security and working a few late night shifts he saw a need for the vests. He is still closely involved in the security industry and wants to provide the best protection for others in the industry as well. You can contact Blair here

The vest allows me a bit more confidence in today's crazy unpredictable world. Although Mandy also wants me to where a helmet ;')

I have also been increasing my self defense, or I guess my tactical skills. I am not a big a guy and I am not a fan of fighting. While I have a huge respect for the athletic skills of fighters and I do have an addiction to Mixed Marshal Arts, these skills are not practical in hand to hand combat in real life.

So I have been researching some realistic forms of defense to keep myself and my asset safe. This is not about being tough, or taking a punch, this is about tactically positioning yourself to most successful position for any given situation. Weather it's removing someone who needs to be ejected, or your keeping someone from hurting themselves or others.

I am in a position where I can't beet them up. I am responsible for there well being and I have to use "reasonable" force. I need to be able to explain to a judge that I used the appropriate amount of force to minimize the threat while maintaining mine, and there safety.

So I got in touch with Norm at Tactical Self Defense. Norm rocks, and he seriously kicked my ass! The great thing about Norm's training is you are actually putting yourself in real life situations. This is important not only to know what to do, but to also help the brain process the situation so you don't "freeze" when it happens.

If you are in a security position, or even if your not, there will come a time when you will need to defend yourself. Again this is not about being the toughest guy on the block. This is about surviving a situation so you can safely eject yourself and avoid damage.

I will be taking some video and pics of Norm's training for me and you can contact him on his website as well. He is a fantastic teacher and a really great guy.

I am also coming down with a cold. This year has been intense for sickness for me. I should be in the gym or going for a run, however instead I am going to curl up in a ball and moan.

My First Float Tank Experience

My First Float Tank Experience

 

I had my first experience in a float tank (Isolation tank) yesterday. I have been on a bit of a search as of late to find new ways to “work out” my brain. I mean if I can run across the Country, if I can complete an Ironman, if I can bush my physical limits. What will happen if I push my cognitive limits?

I have worked out my brain with programs, from simple things like Sudoku, Rubik’s cubes, Luminosity and lots of other so called “memory enhancers”. Do they work? I don’t know I still have brain damage. I do believe in brain plasticity. (oh Google  “neuroplasticity and meditation”. There are allot of scientific studies on the changes to brain “wiring” with meditation”)

So this lead meditation research led me to Isolation tank. An isolation tank in a nutshell is a removal of all stimuli, so no sounds, no light, and no gravity. The idea is to remove all external stimuli and leave you in an ability to focus on the internal mind.

You sit in water that is filled with Epson salts so you “float” in the water. The water temperature is a little bit warmer than body temperature. With no outward stimulus you have no choice but focus on where your brain goes.

This is the first time I noticed I have a wringing in my ears. I am sometimes aware of this ringing when I am trying to sleep at 4 am and it’s very quiet. However I usually think it’s my location to electronics, or electrical devices or just the sound of the building we are in. It is not. I have a wringing in my ears. I was able to just say “hey I have a wringing in my ears” and see where that took me. I did notice that the wringing slowly went away.

As there is no pressure anywhere on the body, I was able to really relax. I felt some muscles literally relax. A point in my shoulder just “let go” like a when you realize your holding your fist super tight and you let it go. There was a kind of a pop and what I know is a “lactic acid” release and some blood flow. As I don’t have to focus on finding a comfortable position, a nightly hassle for me when I try to sleep because of the damage to my body, I found new things I was unaware off. What I mean is what is normally hurting seemed to be more a result of me avoiding something else hurting.

That was the physical experience of the float tank, a nice warm, snuggly, place to just float without pain. This allowed to me really focus on “where my brain went”. The first thing I noticed was that annoying ringing. A few minutes of exploring that and I noticed the volume of the wringing went down.

I then noticed I was kind of in and out of a dreamlike state. It was similar to when you are trying to fall asleep and you start to kind of day dream. I noticed my thoughts went to roughly the same place. I kept thinking about Mandy. I kept thinking about a place where she is calm, relaxed, not stressed, and secure.

We both had jobs that provided a sense of financial security so she had the freedom to explore whatever she wanted to. That is where my thoughts kept going. Various scenarios, day dreams, hallucinations, whatever you want to call them of Mandy being able to relax.

So I explored what that looked like and what I could do. That lead me to being relaxed, being unstressed, calming down a bit and finding a place where I am secure and comfortable.

Then a dog barked. I was unable to get back to where I was and I felt like I had had enough. I was in there for close to two hours and yet I felt it was about 15 minutes.

I took the bus home and was able to keep the thought and started to plant the seed of how to make that “lucid” dream possible. That is where I am now.

It was very interesting to go into the tank. The tank is a run by a private group so if you are interested and live in the lower mainland let me know. I will pass along the information. I am going to respect their privacy and not give out the name and location.

I have been doing allot of research on meditation and my understanding now is that meditation is pretty simply to live in the moment. Feel what you feel, notice the little subtle things. The feeling of your butt on the seat, the sound of the keyboard as you type, the smells in the air, all the little details. Don’t judge, assume, just notice and explore. Let it be what it is, notice your reaction to things, don’t act on the reaction, but recognize it and ask “that’s interesting, why do I respond that way”.

I may be wrong but that’s my understanding after reading a couple things online and getting part way through a book. The scientific research (credible scientific research, double blind studies etc) also state that there is a physical change in the neural actions in brain. This just means the electronic firing in the brain actually changes direction and there seems to be evidence of “gray matter’ being rebuild, or increased. Again I am not a scientist these are my opinions and my interpretation of the evidence. So keep in mind I have a brain injury and I am bias. I want to believe in this. I want this to be true.

Today I am out for a long run, and then some training for some martial arts. I will post on that experience tomorrow. I am now telling myself I have had enough coffee and I am exploring how that makes me feel. ;’)

Job update

Just an update of the job hunt progress. I recently have had two offers for jobs. I want to respect the privacy of each company but I can say this. It's been a hard journey, I have faced many, many rejections. I have fought hard, and when the questions of "what is with this gap in employment" comes up you can see the eyes glace over when I stay I suffered a brain injury. My last interview I did no...t bring it up. I stated that I volunteered and I ran across the country because it was a personal mission for me. This got me to the next stage of interview. This time I had there attention, they had gotten to know me personally and were willing to listen to me. The conversation turned from an interview into a discussion on how one of there family members suffered a stroke. That they had recovered but faced challenges. I was able to provide my advice on my journey and give them some hope that things change. It was a great interview. I still don't have the job as the hiring process is very in-depth. However it is the furthest I have gotten since finishing my run to remember.

 

I have been running but a little sporadically. My shifts as a security guard are till about 1:00 am in the morning and then I have to get home. So it's been a little bit of a change of my daily routine.

 

I really like the company I am working for. Very professional, very considerate and take a great deal interest in the safety of there staff. So it's been a really good experience. The company I am working for is called by Maluco Security Group

 

So I apologize for the infrequency of my blog posts, life just get's in the way sometimes. However I have been feeling a little more positive this last little bit. It's been a rough road, it's been a journey. I don't recommend it, but I can also say that it's never boring.

 

Cheers.

Warm up, Gym, Hill repeats...........pass out!! by temporallobe at Garmin Connect - Details

Warm up, Gym, Hill repeats...........pass out!! by temporallobe at Garmin Connect - Details

• Weather : 6 c (43 f) A little cloudy. 
• Distance: 3.54 km (2.14 miles) 

Interview at Translink today. It was just a video test and it took 2 hours. After that I came home and had a package with a Georges St-Pierre 

Got home had a some fruit and pre-run drink and headed down to the gym. I did a 10 minute warm up on the treadmill and then did some chest and shoulder weights, then I headed out for the hill repeats. 

Back at home and going to stretch. 

Alpha Brain

During my cross Canada run I would listen to my music and as you can imagine. Running a marathon a day you go through your library pretty fast. I mean I have allot of songs however the hours, after hours of running. I needed to increase my stimuli.

So I downloaded some audio books, and pod casts. I got addicted to Ricky Gervais Pod Casts (Laugh till it hurts kind of funny) and WTF with Marc Maron (Very funny) and The Joe Rogan Experience (Funny, weird, disturbing, and addicting).

Listening to the Joe Rogan experience I was a quite surprised. First by the amount of weed the guy smokes. I have no moral issue with smoking pot, but Joe smokes allot!!

He is also a comic. I did not know that. However what I really liked was as well as his MMA knowledge he was into improving oneself not only physically but mentally. He had allot of discussion on cognitive rehabilitation, cognitive therapy and a willingness to be open minded about alternative methods of mental, and cognitive functions.

It was listening to his pod casts that I started research on Float (or isolation) tanks and also Alpha Brain This is a supplement that claims to improve cognitive functioning.

After contacting Onnit Labs they supplied me with sample of there three four products.

So I started with a base measure of my cognitive functions. This is just me on no supplements or stimuli. As I had not been taking anything I just payed attention to the things that I struggle with on a regular day. My memory, my ability to multi-task, my time of retrieval. As I have had a couple of years to get used to my "new brain" I had a good idea of my base levels.

To be honest I use my ability to play video games as a mental test. If you don't think it's hard, try any Call of Duty Game online and see how long you last.

So after about two weeks on the Various supplements and taking them as suggested. I noticed a few things.
 1) I had some serious dreams. I mean I had vivid dreams. This is important to note for me as I have short term memory loss. So dreams usually don't retain in my memory. For me to wake up and not only remember the dream, huge as that is, I could actually describe the dream step by step. This has to have some function in neurons in the head.
2) I was faster. What I mean by that was that my day to day routine stuff was faster. It took me less time to get set up, to get ready in the morning, to get my game ready, get online and start kicking some ass. (ok I had my ass kicked) however the point is, these little things we do every day, that most of us take for granted, were faster, easier, required less "thought processing".
3) I was a little bit more reflective and a little calmer.

These may be small things for most people. However after the brain injury I have paid a whole lot of attention to very small things as they are usually the hardest for me to process.

Nice Run Around Town by temporallobe at Garmin Connect - Details

Nice Run Around Town by temporallobe at Garmin Connect - Details

• Distance 11.77 km ( 7.31 M) 
• Weather 9 c (48 F) Ran and windy. 

Good run, a little wet but it was all good. 

Got a craving for Fish and Chips!! Came home and ate a Banana and some drinking some Green Tea!!

Time to stretch and prep dinner for when Mandy get's home

Just a little Jaunt by temporallobe at Garmin Connect - Details

Just a little Jaunt by temporallobe at Garmin Connect - Details

A little chilly. Not as chilly as some of the runs during the Run To Remember.

Ran (literally) into a friend. Vega ;') now I got some green tea steeping and great "go to" after exercise beverage, Chocolate Milk. I know, I know. It's cheep and it's convenient. Crap I sound like a justification for fast food. Sorry, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Doing some research on Meditation and going to head to a meditation place here 

I don't know what to expect or what happens, however I will do some research and see if this helps "quite" my brain.

Feeling better after the run. Ok time to shower and stretch and eat.