Other than the after school volunteer work was awesome! We played games teaching a group of 5-8 year old kids bible verses and then played basketball. One of the shy kids who couldn't have been much older than 4 would not talk to me but then came up to me in the middle of the basketball game with a football and asked me to play catch with him. Might not seem like much on the surface, but the next twenty minutes of playing catch with Danny were probably the best twenty minutes of my week.
Thanks to Kevin for hooking me up with this opportunity, I can't wait for next week!
Love,
Justin
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
My 'Austin Bucket List'
“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started... and know the place for the first time.”
One of the main takeaways from my trip to Spain was how cool it was to allow myself to just explore a new place with no agenda, rules or schedule. I found so many amazing places and met so many amazing people this way that I got to thinking my last night there while talking to Kyle that I never really allowed myself to live like that in Austin. I have always been someone who likes to stick to the same routine, with the same people and fully live within what I 'know'. It really hit me that I live in an one of the best cities and I barely know anything about it....
So...with the help of a good friend who had a similar experience as me a few years ago, I am creating my own list of 'cant miss' places and events to take in. Starting with a nice hike yesterday after work around Bull Creek...
Carrying over to this weekend where I am spending Saturday on the lake and spending Sunday with a group of friends here at Sculpture Falls:
• Hike Wild Basin (it's off of 360- a mile or 3 north of Bee Caves road.)
• Green Belt swimming
o Sculpture Falls
o Twin Falls
o Campbell's Hole
• Blues on the Green
• Unplugged at the Grove
• Take Belle swimming to the Red Bud Isle dog park
• Visit all local breweries
• Attend Eeyore's Birthday
• REK at Gruene Hall
"IN"
I'll be sure to update everyone on my volunteer work tomorrow evening as I am spending my time mentoring underprivileged children in east Austin to try and help provide strong, male role models in their lives. From what I have heard, I think I will really enjoy this opportunity.
Lastly, Troy's birthday is this Saturday, please keep Wayne, Susan, Sara and Chris in your thoughts and prayers. I plan on visiting his grave Saturday morning and will send some good thoughts upwards for everyone!
Love,
Justin
One of the main takeaways from my trip to Spain was how cool it was to allow myself to just explore a new place with no agenda, rules or schedule. I found so many amazing places and met so many amazing people this way that I got to thinking my last night there while talking to Kyle that I never really allowed myself to live like that in Austin. I have always been someone who likes to stick to the same routine, with the same people and fully live within what I 'know'. It really hit me that I live in an one of the best cities and I barely know anything about it....
So...with the help of a good friend who had a similar experience as me a few years ago, I am creating my own list of 'cant miss' places and events to take in. Starting with a nice hike yesterday after work around Bull Creek...
Carrying over to this weekend where I am spending Saturday on the lake and spending Sunday with a group of friends here at Sculpture Falls:
• Hike Wild Basin (it's off of 360- a mile or 3 north of Bee Caves road.)
• Green Belt swimming
o Sculpture Falls
o Twin Falls
o Campbell's Hole
• Blues on the Green
• Unplugged at the Grove
• Take Belle swimming to the Red Bud Isle dog park
• Visit all local breweries
• Attend Eeyore's Birthday
• REK at Gruene Hall
"IN"
I'll be sure to update everyone on my volunteer work tomorrow evening as I am spending my time mentoring underprivileged children in east Austin to try and help provide strong, male role models in their lives. From what I have heard, I think I will really enjoy this opportunity.
Lastly, Troy's birthday is this Saturday, please keep Wayne, Susan, Sara and Chris in your thoughts and prayers. I plan on visiting his grave Saturday morning and will send some good thoughts upwards for everyone!
Love,
Justin
Monday, April 26, 2010
Love life and life will love you back
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
Had my first hospice visit on Saturday and needless to say it was pretty tough. I am a pretty strong person, but I caught myself getting choked up a few times. On the ride back it really hit me how precious our lives really are. I thought about the patient, losing my best friend and my grandfather who is in bad health and it became a little overwhelming. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am very blessed to have all the relationships I do with my friends and family. I hope you all know how much I love you and care about the lives we have built together. I am pretty good at telling y’all just how much you mean to me, but I wanted you to hear it again. My patient had a wall full of amazing pictures from her life and I know she is as blessed as I am; through it all, I am a lucky man….
I also had a BBQ Saturday night (The 1st Annual Justin Manning Freedom Festival) which was a resounding success. My house really works well for a get together like that. Amazing friends make for an awesome time, thanks to everyone who came out. As if that wasn’t enough, I spent all of Sunday on the lake with friends. Old Justin would have went to the baseball game, but new Justin decided to go meet new people on the lake and it was 100% worth it.
This week it is back to the gym, hiking the greenbelt and working hard!
All my love,
Justin
Had my first hospice visit on Saturday and needless to say it was pretty tough. I am a pretty strong person, but I caught myself getting choked up a few times. On the ride back it really hit me how precious our lives really are. I thought about the patient, losing my best friend and my grandfather who is in bad health and it became a little overwhelming. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am very blessed to have all the relationships I do with my friends and family. I hope you all know how much I love you and care about the lives we have built together. I am pretty good at telling y’all just how much you mean to me, but I wanted you to hear it again. My patient had a wall full of amazing pictures from her life and I know she is as blessed as I am; through it all, I am a lucky man….
I also had a BBQ Saturday night (The 1st Annual Justin Manning Freedom Festival) which was a resounding success. My house really works well for a get together like that. Amazing friends make for an awesome time, thanks to everyone who came out. As if that wasn’t enough, I spent all of Sunday on the lake with friends. Old Justin would have went to the baseball game, but new Justin decided to go meet new people on the lake and it was 100% worth it.
This week it is back to the gym, hiking the greenbelt and working hard!
All my love,
Justin
Saturday, April 24, 2010
"It is not so much our friends' help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us."
Very excited for today for a number of reasons. First, I am going to Wimberley in a little bit to visit my first patient for hospice. Honestly, I am a bit nervous, but not ashamed to admit that. I know what I have to offer and I truly believe I can help out. It would be a shame to waste that feeling due to fear!
We are having a big BBQ over at my place tonight with a ton of my good friends and co-workers. It's always nice to surround yourself with the people who always have your back and can make you smile in the worst of times.
On a somber note, our friend Cheryl's grandmother passed away. I have always heard so many funny stories from her and Taylor. It is sad to see a good person leave us. Here is her obituary:
http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2010/04/23/obituaries/doc4bd1c53db1ac5722875384.txt
Hang in there Cheryl and let me know if you need anything...
Thanks for reading, all my love!
Justin
(shameless plug for my favorite picture of me from Spain)
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Back in the good ole USA
Sitting on the plane flying over Nova Scotia right now making my way back to NYC then to Austin. I'm pretty wiped out from the past 8 days to say the least! I land tonight in Austin, wash clothes and pack tomorrow for an 8am flight to San Francisco for four days... I'm excited, it will be great to get back into the work swing of things!
Yesterday was my last day in Barcelona, I suppose it would be hard for me to verbalize all the emotions I feel right now. Kyle and I walked around the city all day yesterday with a stop at the beach in between. Tough day! One thing that stood out for me was when the day was winding down we went deep into the Gothic barrio and found one of the most amazing restaurants I've ever been to. Authentic Tapas, great Spanish wine and 3 hours of amazing conversation later all I could keep saying was "my cup runneth over." We get lost in a small Spanish courtyard and end up having one of the best nights of my life. How's that for a metaphor which describes my life! One thing that really struck me that Kyle said was when he brought up how he was sad for me for a period of about five minutes when he heard the news and then it hit him that he didn't need to be sad because he knows me and "she got off the train...". I think I almost teared up. My cup runneth over indeed....
Thanks to everyone for the emails, comments here and facebook messages. Know that I could feel the love and support halfway around the world and that means so much to me.
I will try and get pictures up ASAP!
All my love from 35,000 feet in the air on my way home to the people I care about!
- Justin
P.s. A special thanks to Kyle Clift for dropping everything and meeting me in Spain for seven amazing days. It takes a truly amazing person to do that and I will be forever indebted to you my friend. It felt good to lean on you for a while.
Yesterday was my last day in Barcelona, I suppose it would be hard for me to verbalize all the emotions I feel right now. Kyle and I walked around the city all day yesterday with a stop at the beach in between. Tough day! One thing that stood out for me was when the day was winding down we went deep into the Gothic barrio and found one of the most amazing restaurants I've ever been to. Authentic Tapas, great Spanish wine and 3 hours of amazing conversation later all I could keep saying was "my cup runneth over." We get lost in a small Spanish courtyard and end up having one of the best nights of my life. How's that for a metaphor which describes my life! One thing that really struck me that Kyle said was when he brought up how he was sad for me for a period of about five minutes when he heard the news and then it hit him that he didn't need to be sad because he knows me and "she got off the train...". I think I almost teared up. My cup runneth over indeed....
Thanks to everyone for the emails, comments here and facebook messages. Know that I could feel the love and support halfway around the world and that means so much to me.
I will try and get pictures up ASAP!
All my love from 35,000 feet in the air on my way home to the people I care about!
- Justin
P.s. A special thanks to Kyle Clift for dropping everything and meeting me in Spain for seven amazing days. It takes a truly amazing person to do that and I will be forever indebted to you my friend. It felt good to lean on you for a while.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Update
Hello!
So much to update on and so little time. Coming to you from a new hostel after having to cancel a credit card that was lost, but no charges were made so all is good. Kyle and I have been having a blast. We took a train to Stiges which is about 45 minutes away and spent the afternoon with some nice young ladies we met at the hostel. Bread, cheese, wine in a small Spanish town = win.
Last night we went to a Barcelona match here with 98,000 of our best friends and moved down to really good seats. amazing time and stdium...
Today we are about to go to the city park and relax a bit. cant wait!
Hope everyone is doing well, we are still having a blast!
love,
justin
So much to update on and so little time. Coming to you from a new hostel after having to cancel a credit card that was lost, but no charges were made so all is good. Kyle and I have been having a blast. We took a train to Stiges which is about 45 minutes away and spent the afternoon with some nice young ladies we met at the hostel. Bread, cheese, wine in a small Spanish town = win.
Last night we went to a Barcelona match here with 98,000 of our best friends and moved down to really good seats. amazing time and stdium...
Today we are about to go to the city park and relax a bit. cant wait!
Hope everyone is doing well, we are still having a blast!
love,
justin
Monday, April 12, 2010
Checking in
"And we were dreamin' like the end was not in sight
And we dreamed all afternoon
We asked the world to wait so we could celebrate...a gringo honeymoon..."
Hello!
sorry for the lack of punctuation, i dont understand this spanish keyboard.
all is well so far, it is 6pm here on monday and we are in a new hostel very close to everything here in downtown barcelona. it´s raining out today so we bought a few bottles of wine, some cheese, ham and fresh bread for a nice little afternoon meal. we also went to the museum of modern art and i was a little underwhelmed, but by now you probably know me and art dont mix all that well.
so far i have:
-participated in a riot after a barcelona match
-walked in the mediterranean sea
-drank wine and ate paella on the port of barcelona while watching the sunset (great picture by the way)
-went out until 6am with seven of the nicest portugeese guys ill ever meet ("justin" chant at 5am was captured on video, ask to see that one)
-ate clams, oysters and raw shrimp
-had the time of my life
overall this has been an amazing time and place, i have so many awesome stories and pictures that i hope to share with everyone. this trip has been such great timing for me on so many levels. the new sights and people i have met and seen have really given me such a great perspective! tomorrow we are taking a train to a small spanish town to spend the day at the beach, drink wine (shocking i know) and wander around the countryside. im in heaven.
I love and miss you all, but know that i am in a great place.
love,
justin
And we dreamed all afternoon
We asked the world to wait so we could celebrate...a gringo honeymoon..."
Hello!
sorry for the lack of punctuation, i dont understand this spanish keyboard.
all is well so far, it is 6pm here on monday and we are in a new hostel very close to everything here in downtown barcelona. it´s raining out today so we bought a few bottles of wine, some cheese, ham and fresh bread for a nice little afternoon meal. we also went to the museum of modern art and i was a little underwhelmed, but by now you probably know me and art dont mix all that well.
so far i have:
-participated in a riot after a barcelona match
-walked in the mediterranean sea
-drank wine and ate paella on the port of barcelona while watching the sunset (great picture by the way)
-went out until 6am with seven of the nicest portugeese guys ill ever meet ("justin" chant at 5am was captured on video, ask to see that one)
-ate clams, oysters and raw shrimp
-had the time of my life
overall this has been an amazing time and place, i have so many awesome stories and pictures that i hope to share with everyone. this trip has been such great timing for me on so many levels. the new sights and people i have met and seen have really given me such a great perspective! tomorrow we are taking a train to a small spanish town to spend the day at the beach, drink wine (shocking i know) and wander around the countryside. im in heaven.
I love and miss you all, but know that i am in a great place.
love,
justin
Friday, April 9, 2010
Barcelona bound!
"Your heart�s on the loose
You rolled them seven�s with nothing lose
And this ain�t no place for the weary kind..."
Greetings from New York City! I am about two hours away from boarding my flight. Surrounded by a bunch of people who don't speak any English, this will be interesting! We have two nights at a Barcelona hostel booked for Sat/Sun. From what I can tell it looks to be in a really cool part of the city and plus I hear those are great ways to meet people. True to word, all I packed was a backpack and nothing else (besides a sweet satchel for my digital camera, thanks Ted!). Super excited and nervous. The nerves stem from my first true venture outside of my comfort zone.
To all my friends in family in Mexico, keep smiling and have a blast. Don't waste any sad thoughts on me, I'm doing ok! I love y'all and can't wait to tell you all about my trip as well as hear about yours.
I'll leave with a line from a book by Michael J Fox "Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist."
Upon seeing himself in the mirror (with severe Parkinsons) "I would ask the obvious question, 'what are you smiling about?,' but I already know the answer: "It just gets better from here."
All my love!
Justin
You rolled them seven�s with nothing lose
And this ain�t no place for the weary kind..."
Greetings from New York City! I am about two hours away from boarding my flight. Surrounded by a bunch of people who don't speak any English, this will be interesting! We have two nights at a Barcelona hostel booked for Sat/Sun. From what I can tell it looks to be in a really cool part of the city and plus I hear those are great ways to meet people. True to word, all I packed was a backpack and nothing else (besides a sweet satchel for my digital camera, thanks Ted!). Super excited and nervous. The nerves stem from my first true venture outside of my comfort zone.
To all my friends in family in Mexico, keep smiling and have a blast. Don't waste any sad thoughts on me, I'm doing ok! I love y'all and can't wait to tell you all about my trip as well as hear about yours.
I'll leave with a line from a book by Michael J Fox "Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist."
Upon seeing himself in the mirror (with severe Parkinsons) "I would ask the obvious question, 'what are you smiling about?,' but I already know the answer: "It just gets better from here."
All my love!
Justin
Friday, April 2, 2010
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."
Happy Friday and one more day closer to Spain for me! I leave next Friday at 8am. Kyle will already be there and from there we do not have much planned other than spending some time in Valencia which is a few hour train ride up the coast. I don't think I have ever rode a train before, it will be my own little trip to Hogworts. I can't really put into words how excited/nervous I am for this trip!!
With all the other stuff going on, I am still waiting to hear back from the bank as to what my options are for the house. I would like to stay there I think and already have a pretty great possible roommate lined up so hopefully that works out. If not, I will just work through it, cut my losses and start over fresh. Today was actually supposed to my the day we got legally married so send some strong thoughts over my way if you don't mind!
"I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life..."
Cheers to new beginnings,
Justin
Happy Friday and one more day closer to Spain for me! I leave next Friday at 8am. Kyle will already be there and from there we do not have much planned other than spending some time in Valencia which is a few hour train ride up the coast. I don't think I have ever rode a train before, it will be my own little trip to Hogworts. I can't really put into words how excited/nervous I am for this trip!!
With all the other stuff going on, I am still waiting to hear back from the bank as to what my options are for the house. I would like to stay there I think and already have a pretty great possible roommate lined up so hopefully that works out. If not, I will just work through it, cut my losses and start over fresh. Today was actually supposed to my the day we got legally married so send some strong thoughts over my way if you don't mind!
"I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life..."
Cheers to new beginnings,
Justin
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