$7.99 A Month

5:13 PM jbond352 1 Comments

The day I die I imagine that I will be laying in a facility, staring at the ceiling, thinking about how I spent my time on earth. I imagine I would be thinking about the relationships I made, the things I accomplished, the places I traveled too, the career I chose, and the things I wished I had done instead. 

As weird as it sounds, this is something that has been on my mind lately: living with “no regrets”. Living with “no regrets” sounds like a thing that churches would title a cheesy sermon series or the phrase that a scared straight campaign would adopt. 

There have been many things in my life that I have made happen that have gone along with this mentality, such as getting engaged and married at a younger than normal age or more recently canceling my internet and Netflix account. 


How easy it is to come home, plop down on the couch, and get sucked into the TV for hours upon end. I’m not talking a casual hour of TV but rather 4-5 hours a night  of “The Office” reruns or some other show that takes you to another place. 

For eternity’s sake I’ll be nice and round down: combined use of internet/phone/netflix per day in my life was AT LEAST 5 hours. AT LEAST. That’s easily, AT LEAST 45 hours a week or 150 hours a month or 2555 hours a year, not counting the summer when nothing is going on or the weekends or the breaks from school. 

HOLY HELL!!!!

So instead of going into the “what I could have done with that time” I’m going to go the “what I plan to do with my time” route. 

I plan on going out and doing things without thinking about rushing home to watch TV. 

I plan on not sitting on my computer all night and ignoring my wife. 

I plan on reading books and building relationships. 

I’m going to be free from being bound to technology. 


It’s socially acceptable to pay $7.99 a month and waste away in front of the TV, all the while not getting out and doing things that really matter.






So here’s to getting off my ass and taking back my sanity. 

 -BYS

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Josh Dreams of Sushi

6:47 PM jbond352 0 Comments

This weekend commenced with the usual: mattress on the living room floor, pug under the sheets, and Netflix sucking up the internet speed.

In the Bond house, Netflix is the "go to" background noise, filling our living quarters with the sounds of many popular TV shows. Because the well has run dry, we stumbled on a documentary about the famed Jiro Ono and his world class, 10 seat, sushi restaurant in Japan.

Normally, my 4G LTE American self would not sit through a movie that required one to actually READ, but soon after the movie started,  the Sushi master said these words:

"Once you decide on your occupation... you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That's the secret of success... and is the key to being regarded honorably.



How opposite is this from what the average person feels about their occupation? This man, a mere sushi chef, spoke these words, and has one of the most highly sought after sushi joint in Japan, one that foreign leaders go to as a first choice of cuisine!

So how do we get there?

I think that we have to be in a field of work that we actually love (or once did). I also think that you can't be in it to " show off" or be "better than the other guy", because in most cases the other guy isn't that good in the first place. We do, however, need to find those people that are better than us and align ourselvs with them very closely.

So to pay tribute to this idea, the next day I decided to try to make sushi.

Keepin' it simple with a veggie roll.


Was it good? ehhhh. Did it taste like sushi? Somewhat. Did Liz like it? She said she did. :)

I went on a MTB ride that evening, thinking about all of this and how I can apply it to my life.



And realized that the quest for answers is one that is going to be a long one.

Maybe ace knows:



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Staying Sane

3:33 PM jbond352 0 Comments


A wise man one said, "Do what you can with what you have where you are".


That wise man was Theodore Roosevelt.


When I came across this quote on reddit, I suddenly had  an epiphany: The enemy of this quote is a nasty combination of human nature and advertising, and I might be the most guilty.


If you are like me, you have said to yourself  "if I get a ______ then I will ______", or "If I just buy this one  piece of equipment then I can do ________" or "If I just get in front of that one band then I can get a __________ rating" or "I will eat a certain way when I buy ___________."

All of the questions above are personal examples of how I have fallen victim to this mindset.


So how do we combat this toxic way of thinking? We do what we can, with what we have, where we are.

I can't tell you how many miles I have driven to pursue things or hobbies because I was not content with what I have in my own "backyard.


Most recently I packed up the kayak, my wife, and my Pug to head out on a little adventure, with the above quote in mind.

The destination was the Nocatee Paddle Launch. Located on the intercostal waterway in Palm Vally, it is my go to place for an easy afternoon outing.






The plan was to paddle south on the ICW to what I like to call "Picnic Island" to have just that: a picnic. As the crow flies, we had just over a 2 mile paddle ahead of us. With a strong NE wind pushing us, we made it to our destination in no time. 


Our time on Picnic Island was spent in our hammock eating simply cooked chicken, sea salt and vinegar chips, and drinking peace tea and observing some feeding  storks in the shallows. 




Sometimes adventure can be found and supplied without the stress waiting in the Publix sub line or spending $30 of little snacks that you don't need. All you need for adventure is the willingness to get out there and find it, because this is the only way to really fight the need for more "things".

For me right now I am accepting the fact that the statement is not "when I get/have/do/find __________ then I will have peace" but instead peace can happen right now in the moment. It is just up to you to make it happen, not wait for it.  


May peace be with you.


-The Brisk Young Sailor



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Movement I

4:34 PM jbond352 0 Comments


Andante con moto:

 So it beings. A road to mental equilibrium. 

 Today I deleted my facebook is an effort to go "off the grid". Though going cold turkey is not a recommended approach to any addiction, it is my hope that I can use this blog to chronicle my life in a way that is less of a pissing contest but more of a honest timeline and look into the things I find that possess the power to make one "come alive". 

 Here are the blog rules:
  • Grammar doesn't matter

And that's it. 


Let the adventure begin


-The Brisk Young Sailor





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