Category: Travel

Time seems to be flying, but the weather doesn’t seem to be keeping up. We are now well into May and the weather is still cold and wet. Soon enough it will hopefully turn around and we will be able to get outside to train instead of being boxed up inside. Although boxed inside, training continues to be very valuable and developmental for me as it has been continuous repetitions of technical work, alongside repetitions of defensive situations in games, something you often wouldn’t receive in a team training environment.

My week was also kept busy with working my various jobs. Although fairly straight forward jobs, getting home at 11.30pm 3 nights a week can certainly take a toll when sometimes all the body needs is a nice rest from the intensity of training. It’s all part of it I guess!

I was fortunate enough to spend my weekend in a new city, but more importantly, with family. Friday evening I traveled down to Indianapolis, while joining my Aunt Karrie and Cousin Jeremy on the way. Saturday morning we joined my Uncle John and Aunt Darlene and headed off to Grand Park to watch my Cousin Jake, and his twins, Beau and Brady in a baseball tournament. Jake’s wife and two daughters were also there. So there was enough family to keep me company and catch up with. The boys did well in both games Saturday morning and were on the winners side of the draw for Sunday. However, they were unable to stage a comeback in their Quarter Final game on Sunday, having been down 12-5, they got back to 12-11 before the time constraints ended their comeback. Outside of the baseball, we managed to take a tour through Indianapolis, mainly the canal via a 6 person bike. The weather was glorious and we sure made the most of it. Saturday evening we spent time at the hotel with Jake and the kids before returning to our own hotel to watch Sully, a great movie about an incredible story. Sunday morning, we went to The Yolk for breakfast, a place I have remembered since I first went in Chicago about 7 years ago. It still tasted just as good. We then walked along the river and past the zoo in the Sunday morning sun. By 3.30pm we hit the road back to Illinois. It was a wonderful visit with family, people that will always support you wherever you are, and since I am close enough, it was very special to see them and spend time with them. As always, time went quickly and soon enough I was back in my apartment in Wheaton! A weekend to remember!

My week started with me finishing off a wonderful visit back to Quinnipiac University, Hamden CT visiting friends, coaches, and professors. I had a lovely breakfast with a close friend of mine that I travelled to South Africa with in January, 2015. I was then able to catch up with my old strength and conditioning coach to go over some new workout material to help with my continued development physically. My coach then ran me through many of the exercises and I will now continue to implement these exercises in my training. Although this was a trip to enjoy friends and all, I was still able to focus a certain period of time on my future goal. My afternoon was filled with more visits to two different professors who heavily influenced my educational experience at Quinnipiac. I also visited faculty members that I worked with on different extra curricular activities during my time. This rounded out a fantastic visit that was much needed but also just showed the importance of staying connected with important people in your life. As life goes on, the connections you have and the connections you make can continue to influence the direction of your life, and as I have learned, it is very important to stay connected positively.

Tuesday, I was straight back into training, and the intensity has risen into a new gear. Throughout the week the sessions were tough, and I have embraced that as I know it will only get me to a better place than where I am currently. Through my experiences over the past 10 months, I’ve continued to embrace the grind knowing that it will all be worth it in the end, and that is what keeps me going. It is a mentality that I have developed, through rejection and disappointment, but my drive and grit allow me to continue. Simply put, my mentality is to chase my dreams, something that so many young people fail to do and just opt for safety and comfort.

 

There are various aspects of chasing a dream, and I hope that one day I can lay out every step that I took in my journey. Another piece of my current puzzle is work. Work for me not only fills time when I am not training, but it also allows me to make money to cover my living costs during this period. I have never been one to sit around all day, so it is great to now have work most afternoons or evenings during the week. It simply just adds to the experience.

By Sunday, I was able to relax a little bit and enjoy the great spring weather that the greater Chicago Area is treating us with. We headed into Naperville to watch some academy games of u18s and u16s. It has happened to me a few times where I am always the one playing football, that I never really get to go and watch a live game of young players, so it was nice. As I mentioned earlier, connections are something that are very important to my opportunities in life, and today was no different. Nearly 6 years on from when I attended a camp at Northwestern University as I was looking at colleges for scholarships, I ran into Neil Jones, who at the time was an assistant coach at Northwestern, and who is originally from New Zealand. He is currently the head coach of Loyola Men’s Soccer team, just outside Chicago, and he was scouting the academy games for players for his team. We had a good catch up about all that had gone on in my career in the last 6 odd years and as always, it was just lovely to have another Kiwi around! You never know who you’ll bump into, so it’s always best to leave a good impression on people so that down the line when you may reconnect or bump into them, they are willing to help!

And for those who have kept up with the blog well, you may have remembered that Sunday was my long run day. Well that has been thrown out the window as it has become inappropriate training for my current situation as I look to improve my speed, agility, and more specifically my fast twitch muscles. These longs runs weren’t exactly detrimental, but there were much better uses of my time that could be a lot more beneficial to my body and purpose. And with this in mind, although very late, I headed out to the local park at 9pm to do a sprint training session. It’s never too late, and the question that I ask myself is, “how much do you want it?”.

 

 

A very eventful and productive week began in Wheaton. The regular training routine along with coaching kept us busy. On Tuesday we had to drop James off in Chicago so Jacob and I took that as an opportunity to explore Chicago a little bit. It was good to take advantage of any opportunity we get to see the city and spend time there, and we did just that. Walking a nice loop, up the main street before heading across to the Bean and walking back down along the lakeside. We got to see a fair few things, but always more to see on another visit, hopefully when the weather gets warmer! Wednesday morning, we didn’t have a morning session and so we took advantage of the time to pick up another bunk bed frame from storage and build if for the apartment. The bedroom now has two full bunk beds in it, and looks complete, and surprisingly, not too crowded as many would expect.

On Saturday morning, I boarded a flight to Hartford, CT to visit all my friends back at Quinnipiac. I had a very busy schedule to ensure that I caught up with all the important ones I needed to, and of course there were many little surprises in there seeing people I didn’t expect to see, which made it all the more special. It wouldn’t be a visit to Quinnipiac without me attending athletic events and supporting fellow Bobcats. On Sunday morning, the weather was just like the lovely spring days I was used to and so I made the most of it by hiking up Sleeping Giant Mountain with a friend. It was just wonderful. The afternoon was once again filled with catching up with friends. When I think about it, it had been 6 months since I was last at Quinnipiac, and a lot has gone on since then, so I had to tell my story a fair few times to get everyone caught up. My voice took a toll but thats the way it is. It sure was well worth it. The feeling of knowing so many people care about where I am and what I am doing is so great, and along with that, they are also very supportive and admire me chasing my dreams.

 

 

 

Well this week has involved a massive step or progression in my development towards my goal of becoming a professional. On Monday I flew to Chicago where I was picked up by two future team mates. I have linked up with an organization called Bridges FC. The name speaks for itself really. Their aim is to help players build the bridges required to become professional players. Firstly they give players a full time training environment where one can develop their game and learn from experienced coaches. If the players are of a certain quality, they’re given opportunity to trial with various levels of professional and semi professional teams. And if a player is willing and able, they are given the opportunity to travel with the team to Europe for a tour where 8 odd games are played against professional teams across Scandinavia, with the intentions for these teams to offer trials or contracts to the players from Bridges. Bridges FC is also associated with Bridges Sports Management, who represent most players from Bridges that have signed professionally with teams. So it is a well run organization, that is proven to be successful. But as I have already been told by the coaches, and also prior Bridges players, you will be as successful as you want to, all dependent on the work you put in leading up to the trip.

So for me, I will now be based in Wheaton, IL where I will train full time with Bridges. The training will become more focused when May comes around as the full traveling squad is established. The May-June period will be like a pre season as such as the team prepares for the trip, playing friendlies against many USL teams here in the USA, and then on July 1st the team will depart for Europe. Until May, training will mostly be inside, with a technical session for 90min in the morning and then 5v5 games for the afternoon session. The technical sessions are great to focus on areas of improvement, and then those improvements can be implemented in the games in the afternoon. The greatest thing that Bridges offers me is the willingness of the coaches to work with me and develop and progress my game, because as many know, once in the professional environment, development isn’t as important as winning. So being here in this educational environment will hopefully build my platform higher for when we travel to Europe and I can kick on from there. For now, the focus is not Europe. The focus is working on different areas of my game each day, and even in the first week, I have already began developing areas of my game that the coaches believe need improving and I can already see a difference.

I can say, finally I am in the perfect environment for this stage of my career, as it will truly prepare me for what is to come if/when I become a professional player. My determination to improve and willingness to learn has thankfully continued through all the ups and downs of the last 9 months. Now I can settle into a routine and really focus on improving my game.

Being in Illinois also makes me very close to many family members, which will be great to catch up and see them across the next fews months. And I have already planned a trip back to Connecticut to visit people, now that I know where I am going to be for the next few months, it makes it a lot easier to visit. Things are certainly looking brighter finally 🙂

 

 

As I left off last week, I had just arrived in Harrisburg. The trial was over two days, indoors thankfully as temperatures were cold and it was windy. Over the course of the two days I felt like I performed very well, displaying most of the qualities in my play that I could. But once again there was a missing piece and I wasn’t invited for pre season, however I did get some valuable feedback from the head coach. On Tuesday, I took the train from Harrisburg to Philadelphia where I was met by my Aunt Anne. Anne, her partner Fred and I had a lovely meal and caught up, after only a short couple weeks since I was last in Philadelphia.

 

Wednesday I was able to rest and recover a little bit after the busy few days of travel and trials, and just have a bit of down time to reflect on things and really question my intentions about what I want to achieve. Thursday I went for a run along the Delaware river and it was nice to get out of the house. I also began to re make my video and edit my Football/Soccer CV in an effort to search for new opportunities, so that was taking a lot of time in my days. I had to cut through many hours of games and get clips from various games from this season and last. It was a tedious task, but it needed to be done in order for me to be seen by coaches and teams for new opportunities. This is the final product https://youtu.be/7cXtnit-HaQ

On Friday, Anne and I had a lovely dinner before we headed to the Merriam Theatre to watch a Brazilian performance of music and dance. It traced through different phases of their developing culture and reflected on the various influences that had an impact on them. It was quite the performance! On Saturday, we headed to the gym where I was able to get a good work out in, and Anne was able to continue to do her rehab and balance work. Never thought the day would come that we would go to a gym together!! In the afternoon, we headed up to Fred’s place. He was recently completed building an incredible mansion on the river north of Philadelphia. I saw it last when he was still building, so seeing it complete was quite incredible. He has yet to fully move things into it. We had a lovely meal and watched a great film, Meet Joe Black!

Sunday morning I picked up South Street Philly Bagels for breakfast, before Anne dropped me off just passed the Museum where the statue of Rocky is on the steps, and I walked along the river before I found a nice spot to read my book in the sun. The weather has been unseasonably warm, with Sundays temperature near 20 degrees celsius.

Another week that began in one place and ended in another. I was at Marcos’s in Myrtle Beach until Thursday. We continued to have a great time together, going for a run together, having salad nights, going bowling, and then on Wednesday, he took me to his new office as such at Coastal Carolina University. It was great to see how another University Athletic Department functions and the different facilities etc. It was a great experience and the campus is lovely, especially with the sun shining and it feeling a little more like summer. I was also able to watch a bit of the teams training, which was good. It is only Spring season so all they did was play, but even then you could see how differently the team was drilled.

On Thursday I headed down to Charleston by bus. Once again, a friend of mine organized for me to stay with her friend, and it worked out great. A couch was all I needed to rest my head at night and I was great. In the evening, Rachel, my host took her dog for a walk down on the Battery, downtown Charleston and I joined. Although it was dark, it was a lovely evening with the air crisp and the water splashing against the Battery. That was really as much of Charleston I got to see.

Friday was the first day of the trial at Charleston Battery. The Stadium was lovely, brilliant grass and great facilities. Over the course of the two days, I was pleased with my play and the impact I had in the games. However, I obviously wasn’t what the coaching staff were looking for and now I am waiting to receive feedback so that I know what I need to improve on to take the next step as a player. After the second day, I showered at the stadium and then headed to the airport to catch a flight to Newark. I was picked up by James Greco, another former teammate of mine from Quinnipiac University. It was great to catch up with him as we drove to his place. We spent the evening catching up, and then Sunday morning James, his Dad, and myself headed out in the freezing rain to a local high school to get the legs going and pass a ball around in preparation for the next tryout, which James was also attending. Although cold and wet, it was good to get the legs going and for me to adjust to the temperature as I was now back in the Northeast winter. Two more of our teammates from Quinnipiac met us at James’s house and we all jumped in the car and headed for Harrisburg, PA.

Monday would be the first day of the trial in Harrisburg, but it was nice to certainly be back together with some old teammates and we enjoyed ourselves for sure.

 

This week has been filled with training and spending time with my friend, Marcos. Before I left Richmond on Monday, I managed to get a run in and lose a cat at the same time. I did everything I could to get the cat back inside before I left, I was unsuccessful. I then took a bus from Richmond to Wilmington, North Carolina. In Wilmington I was picked up by a friend of mine, Lisa. We grabbed dinner in Wilmington and then hit the road south to Myrtle Beach. I spent the night at Lisa’s apartment and witnessed a gorgeous sunrise over the beach from 12 floors up. I got some beach time in as I got the lunges and legs going before I was picked up later that afternoon by Marcos, my former teammate and close friend from Quinnipiac.

I spent the rest of the week with Marcos, keeping busy constructing things for his apartment, touring Coastal Carolina University’s campus, going bowling, and just catching up. The weather has been very nice down here and so it has been nice to spend some time outside in the sun and by the pool. Each day I utilized the gym that is for the apartment complex and made sure that I got in the appropriate training each day to keep my fitness and strength up. And Sunday I was able to enjoy the fresh air on a nice long run too.

We also managed watched the Coastal Carolina men’s and women’s tennis games on Saturday. It was great to get out and watch some college sports again. After the tennis we took a walk down the boardwalk of Myrtle Beach. And the week was finished off with an incredible NFL Super Bowl. As much as I am not a fan of American Football, I think most sports fans would have enjoyed the intensity of the game and the incredible comeback by the New England Patriots. It was a great ending to the week, as I prepare for another big week of training and preparation for more upcoming trials.

On a side note, the sunsets have also been amazing each day as demonstrated by the pictures I have attached.

 

So a surprise to many, I am writing this from a bus that is traveling from Richmond, Virginia to Wilmington, North Carolina. Yes, I have made it back to the United States safe and sound, and thankfully I have an American passport or I may not have been able to enter in the current state the country is in.
My week began as usual in Truro. On Monday and Tuesday I went to the gym, and then trained at Truro College. It wasn’t until Tuesday afternoon that I confirmed my departure from the club to return to the USA to pursue opportunities here. It was obviously very disappointing to have to leave Truro, but for the interests of my young career, I think it will be for the best. Tuesday evening I said my goodbyes and then took an overnight bus up to London, where I arrived early morning. I walked from the bus station to Buckingham Palace to say hello to Queen Elizabeth and then I met up with a friend who I hadn’t seen in 8 years. She now is living in London, so it was great to see her for a few hours before I left. I headed to Heathrow Airport via the tube and checked in smoothly. 

I flew Air India from Heathrow to Newark, although we departed nearly 2hrs late, we weren’t too late arriving into Newark. Thanks to my US passport, as I walked through customs, I got a “welcome home” from the officer. Always makes me laugh! I then took the train from Newark to Philadelphia. At the station, I met a German man who was studying at University of Auckland back home in New Zealand, so we had a great conversation to pass time during the trip. I arrived into Philadelphia greeted by a big hug and a familiar face, my Aunt Anne. We headed home to drop my things off and then headed to dinner. It was lovely to be reunited with family and have nice conversation for dinner. After dinner, I re-organized my bags, as much of my stuff is stored at Anne’s from my time at University.

After a good sleep, I had a productive morning before I got on my next train to Richmond, Virginia. The ride wasn’t too bad and I was picked up from the station. When I knew that I was coming to Richmond, I reached out to friends who might know someone with a spare bed or couch, and the return was amazing. A wonderful family offered me to stay in a house that was vacant for the weekend as they were away. It was great to have my own space to relax in during the weekend, I just had to put up with two cats which wasn’t too bad. Friday morning I went for a morning run before I stocked up on groceries for the next few days before I relaxed until the afternoon.

The whole reason why returned was to pursue some opportunities with football here in the USA. The first one was an invite to a trial for the Richmond Kickers in the USL. As it goes in America, open tryouts, although being invited, can be up and down. There was obviously a stronger group of players that seemed to be seriously looked at, and thankfully I was in that group. Whether or not they liked me or not as a player was up to them. Over the course of the 3 days, there was a fair bit of football played, and I was pleased with my performance. In these situations, there is only so much you can do, and now it is in the hands of the Kickers staff. One surprise from the weekend was that of an old teammate of mine from back in NZ was there. James had gone to University in the States, however we had played together back in 2011 for Canterbury United when we won the National Youth League. It was good to catch up with him and play alongside him one again.

So it has been a hectic week for me, in pursuit of new opportunities and the week ahead will be an interesting one as well. For now it is back to training hard and catching up with my friend in Myrtle Beach!

This week was full of goodbyes unfortunately, but the memories over the last couple weeks have been very special and I was so glad to have my mum and sister over to visit what has become my new home here in Cornwall.

The week began in Bristol where we explored the city a little more before dropping Michelle off at the train station for her to head home, and Mum and I got on the road back to Truro. Tuesday was the day where I really got back into my routine where I went to the gym in the morning, and we had team training in the evening. However during the day Mum, Zane and Myself headed over to Perranporth for lunch and a lovely beach walk with great winter weather. The sun was shining and the beach was just wonderful. Always a great escape to breath in fresh salty air and be by the ocean.

On Wednesday, Mum and I headed north to Plymouth. We found a nice place for lunch, before Rory and Carly met us for a chat and then showed us around a little bit. Rory was the one who brought me to England and got me the opportunity to play for Truro, so it was nice that Mum was able to thank him in person for what he has done for my career. It was the first time I had seen him since he was let go of his duties for Truro, and he seemed to be doing well which is great. Mum and I spent the afternoon exploring Plymouth, walking the Barbican, visiting The Hoe, and seeing the Mayflower Steps. It was a successful day, as well with the weather holding off. We were back in Truro in time to meet up with Ron and his wife who have taken care of me during my time here, and for the week were taking care of Mum. We headed to an award wining pub for a true English pub meal, which was lovely.

Thursday morning I was back in the gym early getting my training and workout done before Mum and I got in the car and headed a little south to the coast. Our first stop was Porthtowan and it was another stunning coastline. The diversity in the coastlines that we have seen in the last couple weeks has been amazing and this was no different. We walked on a cliff above the ocean and the views were spectacular, although a grey day. After a couple hours we were back in the little town to have lunch and figure out our next moved. Porthreath wasn’t too far away, so we headed there. It was a little disappointing to say the least as it looked to be a bit of an old run down port town that is no longer as active as it once was. That evening we had team training again. Training had been good this week and I felt like I was training well. Hopefully it pays off on Saturday.

On Friday, Mum joined me for my yoga class which was great. The class was busier than usual, must be New Years resolutions!! That afternoon, Mum and I headed into Truro to do some errands and a little bit of shopping. We then went for a walk along Boscawen park and around the estuary that comes up into Truro. It was nice and there are all sorts of exercise machine along the path to get an extra work out it. Great idea that!

Saturday was game day. The weather was misty and drizzling in the morning, but Mum and I still got out just to get away and clear the head a bit. We went back to Perranporth and wandered on the beach a little before we headed back so I could prepare for the game. Unfortunately, my training had not paid off and I was still on the bench, which was disappointing. The game turned out to be a positive result finally, winning 3-2. As always, just very difficult to watch from the sidelines and not even get on to contribute. This coming week will be a very important one for me! Mum and I went out for dinner that evening as our last hurrah before she headed home in the morning. It was just nice to spend some time with her and take my mind away from the difficulties that football is presenting me with at the moment.

And then it was goodbye. A very sad and teary eyed goodbye as she drove off to Newquay Airport. The last few weeks were just what I needed at this time, and Christmas with family is always more special. I was able to get out and explore Cornwall, Swansea, and more of England, which makes my experience here even more memorable. As I grow older, the time spent with loved ones becomes more and more cherished, especially as my life continues half a world away, and I just never know when the next time I will see them again will be. A very special few weeks for me for sure. To clear the mind a little bit and reflect on the time, I headed out for my Sunday run. This week it turned out to be 19km…I didn’t plan to run that far, but it just happened and the body felt fine. And now I will be ready for next week as it will be a crucial one for me.

 

 

My week didn’t start the way I personally would have liked. Monday was game day and I was dropped to the bench. It was a little bit of a surprise to me, but the manager is now desperate for results so he was changing things up to see if that would help. It was more disappointing for me because Mum and Michelle had travelled from New Zealand not just to be with me for Christmas, but also watch me play for my new team. Throughout the game, there were times it was likely I might come on as a sub early after injuries, however I did not come on at all. It was tough to watch from the sidelines, especially as we lost 2-1. Moving on to better fortunes in 2017 hopefully.

Thankfully, I was able to put my disappointment to the side and spend the week with my family and I could focus on enjoying my time with them. Although, that did not mean that my training was forgotten. I was still able to do some sort of training each day to keep the body ticking over and ready for the game on the weekend. We did have a team training on Thursday. It was a good hard session that we needed and hopefully it will lead to better outcomes on New Years Day.

During the week Mum, Michelle and myself were able to explore Cornwall. We spent Tuesday in and around Falmouth, spending time at Pendennis Point,  Gyllys beach, and wandering the streets and waterfront. Michelle and I also managed a 13km run along the coastal track to Maenporth and back. On Wednesday, we headed south west. We arrived in St. Ives early and explored the town and the port a little bit, before we headed out along the South West Coast path. It was a great walk along some pretty amazing coastline. The weather was clear blue skies with the sun shining, so it was a perfect day for a nice walk. After a couple hours, we returned to St. Ives for lunch and then carried on South to St. Michaels Mount. As the tide was in, we couldn’t walk out to it, so we sat on the beach and just looked out for awhile as the sun was slowly coming down. We jumped back in the car and headed for The Lizard, the most south-westerly p
oint of the British mainland. Once again, we walked along the coast path before finding a nice spot to watch an incredible sunset out across the ocean. The colors were amazing and the 360 view was very cool. As we walked back to the car, thousands of birds were flying around from paddock to trees and back to the paddock. There must have been some sort of seeds in the trees that they all wanted a taste of and we just watched massive flocks of birds dipping and diving and pooping their way to the tree. Was quite incredible the sheer number of birds. This was an eventful end to our wonderful day of exploration and travel.

Thursday morning was the morning we had team training and once I was home and nourished and showered, Mum and Michelle picked me up and we headed North East this time. We went through St Austell on our way to Charlestown for a nice lunch. After lunch we wandered down to the waterfront before getting in the car and heading to the Eden Project. The Eden Project is an educational charity which is built on a massive old clay quarry. It is home to two massive domes that house a Mediterranean biome and a Rain Forest biome. Outside, there is a wide array of gardens and plants all lining the area of the complex. We were there as the evening set and we got to witness the light and music show in the Mediterranean biome. It was incredible watching beams of light spread across the biome and bounce of trees and plants. A great experience, and with a little more time spent there, it could be a very educational one too.

On Friday we packed up the car and headed north from Flushing to Failand, just outside of Bristol. Just outside of Exeter we stopped at Darts Farm for lunch before continuing north. It was a lovely Air Bnb that was an out house to a massive farm house out on a nice farm. Very secluded which was nice. Saturday we split up as Michelle visited friends in Bath, and Mum and I travelled across to Swansea, Wales, to do some exploring there. We took a long walk from Mumbles, past Langland beach and onto Caswell Bay before heading back to Mumbles for lunch by the water. The scenery and cliff walk was pretty spectacular with just such a rugged coastline that was just different to anything we had really seen in our travels. And just watching the ocean crash into the rocks was intriguing with many different ocean patterns. After lunch, Mum and I got back in the car and carried on around the coastline to another spot recommended to me by a friend. It turned out to be the highlight of the day as we walked through some farm land onto sand dunes and then above on the hills. It was called Three Cliffs, and it was a lovely spot with great beach views. It didn’t take longer than 90min to get back to Bristol in time to meet Michelle for our New Years eve meal. And then we were home and in bed early. Not the most exciting New Years eve.

Sunday dawned a gloomy, cold, wet, and windy day, just for game day. A fairly relaxing morning before driving from Failand to Weston-Super-Mare. Personally it was disappointing again being on the bench and difficult to contribute to the team which is struggling. We started brightly but just didn’t stay focused for the 90min and it cost us, losing 4-2. The personal challenge continues as I look to win my spot back and continue to work hard and persevere, but also there is a challenge for the team to get back on the horse and get back to our successful ways. All in good time. Thankfully I have had the support of Mum and Michelle in the past couple weeks, which has really helped the challenging situation and refreshed me to kick on in the next couple months.