Everything in life that's worth doing takes courage. That has always been a motto of mine and I think it holds true in most situations. Think about it. When you start working on a new, more challenging position at work, or a new job altogether, it takes courage. When you decide to go on a vacation in a completely different country, it takes courage. Check out the video on the right, I'm not really sure how they recorded that, they must have used one of those remote controlled drones that can follow you equipped with cameras or something. Bungee jumping takes courage is what I'm aiming at. Even something small, like buying an wireless electric skateboard, takes courage. I'm mentioning electric skateboards because I bought one from elSkateboards quite recently and the very first thing I did when I got it is fall down. But I picked myself up and carried on. Regarding drones I mentioned above. I have to say it's one of the coolest gadgets I've seen in a while. I bought DJI Mavic Pro and it wasn't too hard to learn how to fly it. So I guess it's relatively beginner friendly drone.

Take Courage Blog is a personal diary of mine where I plan on writing a journal and documenting on all the courages things that I do in life. And who might you be and why should I care, you must be wondering now. Well you probably don't know me, if you do, hi mom, but my name is Janet and there isn't really a good reason why you should be reading my blog, if nothing that I write about is your thing, 🙂 . However, keep in mind that I have a lot of hobbies and interests, so who knows, you might find something of value. Soon enough the website is going to be brimming with articles on my travels, delicious food recipes and DIY adventures, which are many. I'm a huge advocate of the do it yourself principles. So much so that I dabble in electronics repair in my spare time and I'm active in the Right to Repair initiative. Recently my shinny new electric skateboard got wet from the rain and stopped working. Fixing it up was easy, but wouldn't be possible without the manufacturer making it so. But enough about that.

Just like a body that doesn't exercise regularly isn't fit, the mind and soul that don't travel aren't reaching their full potential. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to travel the world. Growing up I went on vacations with my parents, but that just isn't it. They were almost always within the US, hardly ever outside of our home state. First ever more serious traveling that I've done was during college. By more serious traveling I'm referring to traveling through a country on a completely different continent, where they speak a completely different language and have entirely different customs. That's where your sense of self is challenged and the real you is put to the test.

Traveling in your own country or state isn't something to snuff at, don't get me wrong. I've traveled all across the US, it's a beautiful country. Thing about traveling throughout the US is that the language is the same, all the shops you need are the same. There are differences between south and north, east and west, but all in all, traveling within the US isn't very challenging. And challenging is what makes you grow as a person when traveling. Just like when you're trying to get fit, you don't stop at lifting 5 pound weights. There's no better feeling than when you're traveling through a country and you have to get around the language barrier, bargain for transportation, everyday items, etc.

So how much did I travel exactly, where have I been, which countries have I visited? To be honest, it's difficult even for me to keep count. You see, Jeff, the love of my life and my husband is a petroleum engineer and he travels a lot for work. I'm not talking just state side travel, he's in charge of a whole division that has oil wells in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, North Sea, you name it. Naturally, I tag along with him sometimes, or should I say every chance I get off from work. It's just me and my husband, for now at least, we don't have kids, so it's relatively easy to go together, travel and enjoy the world.

"People who don't travel cannot have a global view, all they see is what's in front of them. Those people cannot accept new things because all they know is where they live."

Martin Yan

DIY takes courage to pull off, and since having courage is my thing, it only seemed normal that I dive into DIY. I'm mostly interested in repairs of devices, gadgets and everything else that breaks down around the house. It all started with something simple, a broken hair dryer. Before you ask, yes, it was an expensive hair dryer. It broke down a few months after the warranty period ended. I know what you're going to say to me, it's just a hair dryer, why didn't you just go out and buy a new one. Well the fact that it broke down so soon after warranty period ended and that it was an expensive brand made me furious. Besides, I kinda liked it and have gotten used to the way the hair drier worked.

What happened next is that I opened up the hair dryer, had a look inside and found out that there was corrosion on one of the components in the power supply circuitry that caused a fuse to blow. My guess would be that corrosion got there after a splash of water found its way into the hair dryer. If not that, then it was condensation from the fact that the hair dryer was in the bathroom and it can get steamy there. After carefully cleaning out the affected components, and replacing the fuse, the hair dryer started working normally again. Repair itself wasn't anything impressive, but it sparked an interest in DIY attitude in my, giving me the encouragement to keep fixing things on my own.

Nowadays I'm pretty much the go to gal for fixing things in my family. I don't mind, because I like a good challenge. There's no better way to grow and learn, especially in the field of DIY. It's not just small electronics that I cover. I do pretty much anything and everything you can think of. From furniture painting, wall painting, and everything in between. Not being afraid of DIY projects won't just help you become a better person, it'll also save you money that you would normally spend on buying replacements or a repair guy. Naturally, don't try to repair the central heating furnace, something that requires a professional. But smaller repairs around the house isn't something that people should shy away from. That's pretty much it from me for now. All I can hope for is that you find something interesting here on my site. Enjoy the rest of the day and good-bye.