About 10 years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting a sushi restaurant owner's daughter during my monthly sushi meetup with Jimmy, my old business partner.

She was about 16 at the time.  Friendly, smart, discipline, organized as she helped out waiting tables.

I found out she was beyond a straight A student, and quite accomplished for her young age.

Having 2 young daughters of my own (around 6 and 4 at the time), I was curious if there was some secret I needed to be privy to, in order to raise daughters with similar qualities.

Steve said, "Tae Kwon Do".

His daughter was a 6th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Steve assured me this was a big part of his daughters success at such a young age.

The discipline.  The life lessons.  The respect.

It was than that I hoped my girls would eventually find their way to the martial arts.

The first attempt failed when I enrolled Kalea into Tae Kwon Do classes when she was about 5 or 6.  ATA was the name.

Oh did she cry during the first group class.

And that was it.  One class.

Too young and/or not ready.

I kinda forgot about things until my younger daughter Kara asked to try Tae Kwon Do when she was 7.  

The closest spot was Tae Kwon Do Plus about half a mile from our house.

There's a video of Squeak in her white belt and headband, at home after the first class, responding to my prompts with palm strikes and kicks.

Her tiny little leggies sticking out for awkward little kicks, along with open hand "palm strikes" (which she now insists were never a thing, and what the hell was I doing... :) )

She stayed with it.

Then Bink joined up for her second attempt 6 months later.

They were in it.  They went every week.  And in 2022 or so, they both achieved the rank of Black Belt.

While that is truly the "beginning" of the journey in martial arts, Bink went off to high school cross country and track, and had to quit Tae Kwon Do.

But Squeak stayed on.  She forged new friendships, and has found her way into a tight "sisterhood" of TKD students and teachers.

In fact, she's now teaching kids after having advanced in the TKD leadership program, and is next in line to become a paid instructor.

She's entered several tournaments and come away with several gold medals, lots of silver medals, and a few bronze medals.

I couldn't be more proud of her resiliency and discipline she has embraced.

It's helped her far beyond the studio.  The lessons spill out into all of life, just as Steve said they would.

This is something I hope she continues for the rest of her life, as it's become a safe space for her.  A place where she can shut out the rest of the world for a time.

In 4 years she was never mentioned. Essentially "cut out" of the team, marginalized by the fastest (and therefore most popular).

Excluded, ignored, left out.

Sticking with her best friend, and a few others not a part of the "in" runner's crowd, she just kept on running.

After months of hearting about heavy legs, fatigue, and lethargy, her coach asked us to test her iron.

It was low.

Way low.  Ferratin level was a 4.  I hear that's pretty low.

So, we put her on iron supplements, and after several weeks, she began to PR.  In each race.

No longer were her legs heavy.  No longer was she "plateaued".

However, she was still ignored.

Award team meals, bus rides, races.  

I don't know that I'll ever fully grasp why, in a team environment in high school, cliques happen.

And in the end, The Bink persevered with her small group of friends on the team, and got the Most Improved Runner award after posting a 5:58 mile in her last run of the year.

A goal was reached.  More importantly, a lesson was learned.  You just keep going, through it all, and usually, good things happen.  Life rewards persistence.

So proud of Bink.

I still remember her first article as a Sophomore at FTHS.  It was an article about the Barbie movie.

https://foothilldragonpress.org/280296/a-latest/toxic-feminism-vs-body-positivity-reviewing-greta-gerwigs-barbie/

And her full body of work...

https://foothilldragonpress.org/staff_name/kalea-eggertsen/

"Dad, I just submitted my article to the backend!", she exclaimed as she climbed our stairs.  Big smile on her face.

It was new and fresh.  And she was writing for an audience of many now, instead of just 1, 2, or none. 

1 article, and 1 "Best of SNO" award.

Binky on fire!

Over time, she realized journalism wasn't for her.  She became an editor, overseeing her writers.

She travelled to Seattle and the next year, Minneapolis, to attend the awards ceremonies.

This year, 2026, the Foothill Dragon Press won a national award once again after missing it last year.

I admit I haven't read even half of her articles.

However, I'm making a point to go through them one at a time, each week, until I've see it all.

Funny how we don't always take the time to read the things that really matter.

Sometimes, I look at a page of text, and I push it away in favor of other miniscule tasks that "matter", but not that much.  And they certainly aren't urgent.

We've all got things to improve, and this is mine.

Lean into reading.

Step into the important things.

The mundane can wait.  

The mundane can be left undone, and you won't miss it.

My random thoughts on a hodge podge of things that went on this weekend...

Kara is really getting more comfortable driving the Tacoma! Almost every time she drives it, someone in a car pulls up and said, "Wow, are you learning to drive a stick?  Good for you!". The last guy said, in closing, "You'll be able to survive the apocalypse!" 

She comfortably making her way through the neighborhood next to the Buena High School parking lots.

She's smart and is picking it up quickly.  Will it stick?  Will she keep the truck as hers?  Or will I have to sell it and get something else?  Time will tell...

I also did a short Hall Canyon hike with Walt, Jen, Sheila, Kari, and Barb Zerbe.  We went up about 2 miles and then hiked back.  It got a bit hot for Walt, but I really enjoy the hike here.  We saw a lady who used to work at Ventura High who I've talked to before in the stands at a football game.  She volunteers there, and was showing me an app called "Merlin" that will listen to sounds in nature and tell you what type of bird/animal is making the sound.

It's pretty awesome.  I'll be testing that out soon, along with the one my mom uses called "Seek'.

Next up was the Cinco de Mayo + Mother's Day celebration at Encanto Living - the residential care facility that cares for my dad.  All of the mother's had a plaque filled with pictures and a little biography of each.

We had a catered lunch, and Miriam planned a game that uses cards as prompts to create group discussion.

Spike, one of the residents, went on a rant about how he doesn't "understand the women of America", because he's been divorced 4 times and he just can't understand why or how that has happened to him. :)

Ah well, he's got dementia and is in pretty bad shape.  It was hilarious because Miriam had to distract him and move on to the next person.  Everybody was laughing.

The was also a really good Mariachi singer.  She was great and really did a good job and holding everyone's attention for an hour.

Couple final things...

During Jen's admin leave from VHS, she "re-did" our entire stairway banister.  She found a YouTube video that taught her how to remove the finish coat, do minimal sanding, and stain the top of the banister, and then pain the vertical poles white.  It looks great!  She finished that this weekend just in the nick of time for going back to school.

And finally... Walt has been at it again, destroying the "drip system" sprinkler spickets AGAIN!  I had to go to Green Thumb and buy some chicken wire plant root protectors to put OVER the little spickets (after fixing them).  Now he can't easily destroy them. He could if he really tried, but I don't think he knows that yet. :)

T'was an awesome game night at Bink's workplace, Tifa Chocolate & Gelato. 

I met Kevin and Shag there at 6:30.  After ordering gelato from Bink, Kevin taught us the game "Ride The Rails".

Kevin spent all of $20 on it, and it was awesome.  Players take turns investing in one of 6 colored railroad lines, placing tracks in the colors they invest in, and then moving passengers through different cities connected by the lines.

You score points if you have invested in a track that connects 2 cities a passenger moved along - based on how much investment you've made in that line.

Bonus points are scored for connecting the west coast to the east coast, and building through certain cities.

Throughout the game a couple of people came to the table and asked us all about the game and though it sounded cool.

Well... all of that aside, I won.  And that's all that matters. :)

We had about an hour left, and decided to play a quick game of this little Pathfinder Dice game Chris convinced me to order.  It was impossibly hard, and we all died. 

So, in the end I was humbled.

One cool moment was when the owner of Tifa, John, came up to me during our game and asked if I was Kalea's dad.

Of course, I said, "yes".

He proceeded to gush about how awesome she is as an employee.  The guy was blown away by her early performance on the job.

I thanked him for letting me know and said he can keep her as long as he wants. :)

He's absolutely thrilled with her.

In some ways, your first job sets the stage for future jobs.  You learn to interview, interact with other people - customers and co-workers alike.  You learn responsibility, and all the little things that are never, ever in the job description.

You learn to show up, and be responsible for your actions, your time, and the way you make customers feel.

She's definitely on the right track with this first job, and it's setting her up for the future in more ways than any of us realizes.

I'm sure my paper route had a profound effect on me, in ways I'll never fully understand and can only guess at now.

Anyway, it was a good night, and I'm proud of both of my girls in different ways for different things.  This is a shining moment for Bink as she comes of age...

After a peaceful 10 minute meditation where I explored the fabric of consciousness, I sat down at the table with focused intensity to continue the inner exploration.

The purpose is... well, to find my purpose.

I opened the journal the the page that was last completed, in order to remind myself wherein this journey I left off.

This serious, fascinating journey into self discovery.

I mean, this will define my future directions in life.

Cultivating more happiness, more meaning, more connection with the world around me.

Wait... it looks like the writing at the bottom of the page is somehow "different".

Some alien life form with a script far different than my own.

Or... maybe it's a message from the beyond, or the almighty itself!  The actual almighty!

It's a sign!  Definitely a sign...

I began deciphering the text...

I believe that I am a... "butthole".

Because I am... "full of shit".

Huh?

The next line...

I believe that I am... "fat".

Because...

"I eat too much candy".

Ah the mysteries of the Universe never cease.  Amazing!