Making an Impact: a CSC Indonesia 8 Update

All 13 of us on the Indonesia 8 team went to Solo City hoping we could make a difference. And I believe we left there after four weeks of hard work believing we did make a difference - or at least left behind the tools that could help make a difference in the organizations we worked with.

However, one place I don't believe we expected to make a difference was at the Royal Heritage Surakarta Hotel - our home for one month.

Most evening when we got back to the hotel we would sit out by the pool to converse (and sometimes work) while enjoying some adult beverages. While we never got crazy I'm pretty certain the beer consumption in the hotel more than quadrupled while we were there (partially because it is a predominately Muslim country and so fewer people drink).

Even during our stay things changed a little at the pool bar. About halfway through our stay they started offering a special on bottled beer by the bucket. Prior to this we had to buy individual bottles and it sometimes took awhile to get our order from the pool to the restaurant downstairs where the beer was kept and then back to the pool to be served. Having buckets definitely made it more efficient for them and a little less expensive and quicker gratification for us.

Well, apparently, we inspired them. The hotel manager told one of my team members that they saw all of us chill out there. So, why don't they make something in the pool bar. Now, every Friday night they have happy hour and live music.

It just goes to show that you can never tell when and where you will make a difference.

#IBMCSC #CSCIndo8 #IBMIndo

Whoa!

I did 47 push-ups today using five reps - 11, 8, 8, 9, 11. It was HARD. For most of them I couldn't go down all the way and by the end of each rep I was really struggling to get back to the point my elbows were straight.

Thursday I do 53. Ugh.

I Needs It To Be Warmer

I can't run outside when it's 20 degrees F. I'm not that tough right now. I need it to get warmer, please.

114

Today I finished the first week of Hundred Push-ups. 114 is the total number of push-ups I did over the course of three days (with rest days in between). They weren't pretty. They were girly push-ups. But, it's more push-ups than I've ever done in one week - maybe since grade school.

I haven't begun the C25K. The weather got cold and icy and I haven't ventured outside. This coming week is going to be cold. It will be well below freezing until Thursday. However, it appears it will be dry with little wind - and even sunny for most of the days. So, today I will find my warmest winter running gear and will begin the program in earnest tomorrow.

The Beginning

Today was the day.

I started the 100 push-ups program. I found an app for it. It's simple, but it tells me how many push-ups to do for each rep and counts the time in between reps. Plus, on the last rep you're supposed to do as many push-ups as possible and on the app I can edit that number and get an accurate count for the day. The minimum required today was 25 and I did 33. I can already tell my arms are going to be sore tomorrow.

C25K did not begin. I was planning to go in the morning, but ran out of time last night before being able to find my gear for running in the dark. Then, I had a meeting after work and it got dark, again. So, I will find my gear tonight and will have to begin the running program on Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday I'll be in Columbia. I can run Thursday, Friday and Saturday, use Sunday as a rest day and then be back on schedule for next Monday.

Not the greatest of starts, but it's something.

Welcome 2018

2017 was an amazing year. Despite the politics and the current climate in our country and the world I will look back on last year as one of the best ones I've personally had. This has made me excited for 2018 because I want to keep moving forward with the momentum I ended 2017 with.

I've taken time to write out my overall goals for the year and a roadmap for how to reach each of those goals. It will take discipline (meaning don't watch so much TV), but I'm excited at the potential set out before me.

My blog will move back to focusing on my fitness - primarily my triathlon training and the road I am taking to get to WIN for KC triathlon in July. I have a few baby steps I am taking to get my body back into conditioning form. Since breaking my elbow in May I pretty much put fitness to the side for the remainder of 2017. So, it now feels like I am starting over.

The first thing I am doing is the Hundred Push-Ups challenge. This is a six week program that takes your starting fitness level and over the course of three days per week gets you to the goal of being able to do 100 push-ups. Steve is doing it, too, and I'd like to thank our friend Leah Gunn Emerick for introducing us to this challenge. I'll keep you posted on how things are going.

Following that I am going to do the 12 week Body Boss challenge. This one looks pretty intimidating, but I'm excited about the results that should come from it. I believe doing the Hundred Push-Ups challenge prior to this will get be in good shape to start the next 12 weeks of training.

Triathlon training goes into full force at the beginning of March. So, some of the triathlon training will overlap with the Body Boss training, but it should be a good mix of physical training and challenges. My goal is to finish the triathlon in under 1.5 hours.

Additionally, I plan on doing the Kansas City Sweet 16. This is four 4-mile races that take place beginning March 10 at the Westport St. Patrick's Day Run and culminate with the KC Zoo Run on Sept. 22.

So, I have a lot on my plate and because of my focuses will be doing a great deal of cross-training beginning with strength training and running.

Let's get this done!

CSC Indoneisa 8: Final Thoughts

How do I wrap my experiences and thoughts about the five weeks I spent in Indonesia into one blog post? I don't think it's possible. I'm just going to do the best I can.

Was my time with Corporate Service Corps and the Indonesia 8 team life changing? I don't believe so. However, it was life affirming. Going into CSC I had a good grasp on who I am - my wants, needs, dreams. So, nothing happened that changed any of my outlook. However, there were things that happened that affirmed who I am - good and not so good. My strengths were endorsed and my weaknesses were confirmed. I know which areas in my life I am happy with and where I need to continue to focus my growth and maturing process.

I'm not really certain what I expected going into CSC. I wish I'd written that down. But, I know what I gained from it and that is multi-faceted.

First, there is the business result. The sub-team I was on for Solo Techno Park faced a pretty daunting task that at first seemed insurmountable. However, after our first week of research and tweaking our Statement of Work a little bit we were able to work toward and accomplish deliverables that met some of the needs to STP. We accomplished things for STP as a whole, but also got the satisfaction of helping a few people one on one. Specifically, if he follows through with it, one of the incubator tenants will be granted a patent at no cost to him. That could be life changing for many people.

Secondly, there is the in-country immersion experience. My guess is I will never have another opportunity to go to Indonesia and I will never have another opportunity to spend five weeks in another culture. I am grateful I grew up traveling as much as I did. I think it made the transition to another culture more comfortable and I was more quickly able to immerse myself in that culture. While I sometimes felt a little lost I never felt uncomfortable or out of place. I enjoyed being a part of the community - from the office, to the relationships we built with our project assistants and hotel staff, to just wandering around the cities.

Prior to the opening ceremony

Finally, there are the relationships that were grown. I love looking at the picture of the 13 of us on day one prior to heading to our kickoff and looking at the pictures of us after our closing presentation was complete and our last day in the hotel before we began to head back home. We went from just standing close to each other so we could all fit in the picture to not being able to be close enough to each other. I've developed friendships, both professional and personal, that I believe will last a lifetime. Every time one of us peeled away to head home a little part of me broke, but as with many breaks those bonds became stronger after the healing.

After our closing presentations

I think I will be trying to wrap my head around everything that I've been through for many months to come. Every day brings new revelations to me - more gratitude, more emotions. I cherish every one of these moments just as I cherish the moments I had during CSC Indonesia 8 and just as a cherish the deep bonds of friendship with my fellow team members.

A part of my heart was left in Indonesia and a part of my heart was given to every member of my CSC Indonesia 8 team.

The day of goodbyes

#IBMCSC #CSCIndo8 #IBMIndo