Topic Tuesday #73 2013/12/10 - "Remain Calm"

Topic Tuesday #73 2013/12/10 - "Remain Calm"

It is the holiday season and many people are freaked out. There's a preponderance of reasons why people go nuts, and particularly at this time of year. Money is often spent frivolously, and often borrowed to do so. Relationships are strained as people remember old times. The holidays are like a cultural birthday, and everyone just got a year older. For many, it's the saddest time, because it used to be the happiest time. We grieve and feel the loss of the ages. We miss those that have left our lives. We feel out of control, like something is just pulling our strings as we go through the motions of the humdrum day to day. There are many reasons why bah-humbuggery is ever present.
What do you do to make it through? To just survive the cacophony and malaise that hearing holiday music (now starting at Halloween) is challenging enough for some.
Our minds play horrible games with us. We hear things that aren't there. We see remembered faces in everything from cocoa to decorations. Our own boogymen haunt our thoughts and demean our self esteems.
By all accounts, it's a lousy time of year!
But it is beautiful.
The houses decorated in lights.
(if you happen to live outside Florida and the southern hemisphere [happy summer folks!])
The leaves turning colors and the remaining ones blanketed in snow.
Children smiling and giggling.
The smell of cinnamon, pine, and deserts like pie and cookies.
Wondering what you might get for a present, or what faces you will get to see.
There is a lot to be thankful for and  to be joyous about.
It's tricky. As we age, the wonder is driven out of us by the piper of progress and responsibility. But if you just sit, quietly, and focus beyond yourself, you may see that the rest of the world is a pretty great place. There is wonder still, if you calm down enough to look for it. New experiences are always there to be had. The seasons show us that life can begin again, year after year. Remain calm. A new beginning is right around the corner, waiting to be found.

Topic Tuesday #61 2013/09/17 - "Babies Birthday - Or - An Excuse To Eat Sweets"

Topic Tuesday #61 2013/09/17 - "Babies Birthday - Or - An Excuse To Eat Sweets"

Tomorrow is a special occasion. Well it is for my family, and since I'm writing I get to say what's important!
Anyway, tomorrow is my eldest daughters 6th birthday! It's not a big deal but I do get to be a supportive parent and provide sugar to her kindergarten class in the form of cupcakes. Birthdays are only as special as we make them. Inviting friend and family to celebrate with you makes the moment memorable (sometimes in unique and embarrassing ways). As we get older, some birthdays pass by without any notice, save the license and registration renewals (you remembered right?). I know that on more than one occasion I have had to do the math to even remember how old I was turning that year. Some years we are surrounded with only family; other years only friends. On off years you may find a birthday with no one but yourself remembering, or only your electronically prompted Facebook friends (I honestly don't care what reminds you, if you say something, you remember, and that is what matters). Whatever the birthday brings, be it yours or someone else, live it up! Light the candles, sing happy birthday in the loudest most obnoxious way possible, drink, eat, be merry and be the joy of the moment! Don't look for gifts, but look for the memory; the faces, the smells, the lights, the hugs, the kisses, the rainbows, the rain, the cries, the emptiness and the fullness. It all matters and makes the day special.
And eat cake.
Lots. Of. Cake.
Maybe some ice cream too.

So this year for my daughters birthday, I'm going to fill some balloons, inhale some helium, sing happy birthday like a chipmunk and generally live vicariously thought her, making her day awesome.
If today is your birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Love, puffy hearts, googly eyes, and kisses to all.

Topic Tuesday #52 2013/07/16 - "Comfort Food"

Topic Tuesday #52 2013/07/16 - "Comfort Food"

Today was a hectic kind of day. Lots of travel with lots of complicated things to do. Pretty stressful. Then I get a phone call, the type of call you do not want to get. My significant other is on the way to the ER.
So that's lovely right? OK, now what? Well I don't want to tell you another tragedy (especially since they're home and all is well), rather I want to talk about something to take our minds off of such hardships. Comfort Food.
We all have them. For me, delicious fried chicken, is just about unbeatable. However a big smoked turkey leg, can turn the worst outing at a theme park into... a walk in the park!
Tonight to take our minds off the malaise of impending batteries of tests to fully grasp the situation, I went old school. Thanksgiving dinner.  Green Bean Cassarole (just how mom made it, from the can), cranberry jelly sauce substance (the kids favorite), stuffing, steamed veggies, and reheated leftover grilled chicken. (Totally didn't have time to roast a bird, or thaw one out...)
It was good, and everyone is feeling a little less stressed out.

I would say more, but... I have to take a nap. I'm sure you understand.

What are your favorite comfort foods? Something that just makes the world a happier place.

Topic Tuesday #39 2013/04/16 - "Work Life Balance"

Topic Tuesday #39 2013/04/16 - "Work Life Balance"

You may have heard the phrase "work life balance" from the internet, news, or propaganda given out at the top of the fiscal year by human resources. It's a great idea, on paper. In practice, in the real world, it generally falls flat on its face in the United States. There are many fascinating statistics about how Americans work more hours per year and generate less work than some of our peer nations. I won't go into them today, as I'm working towards a little more of that balance this week!
I'm headed on vacation with my spouse, alone, without the kids, for the first time since our honeymoon some 9 years ago. We've never been on a plane together in our 12 years together. It's going to be fun, no matter what we do since we will be together, and it is for nothing more than fun and companionship.
What I wanted to indicate is that although I am going to be a couple thousand miles away from work, I will still be in two places at once. I'll have my smart phone. I'll have my laptop. I'll invariably be called and emailed for work. I will invariably log in to take care of some emergency. This is the way it goes. People take calls on their vacation to chagrin of their partners and family. I know of very few that are capable of leaving work at work. I am in information technology, so my job and my own geek life have intermingled heavily. There's no clean extraction of me from work and vice versa. Sure we make efforts to divide, and normally this is just a poorly masked veil of time management. You can't clock out in your head when a deadline is approaching, or when your imagination pops up some exchange you have been mulling over for weeks. We are what we do. There is very little getting around this.

Can you hear me now?

Is this a problem? I would say more for some than others. Certain personality types thrive in this always connected environment with nothing but hustle and bustle. Others need to lead a more sedate existence filled with soothing sounds and incense.
Can there be a balance? Certainly, but it's not what you may think. I am not like my spouse. I can seemingly go on forever in the pattern of the hustle. They need to have a relaxation period that is much larger and more frequent than I. This does cause some stress all on its own. Let me straighten one thing out, I can't go flat out forever. I have brief spurts of "Me Time" where I do only what I want to do, and that is enough. I have a long commute that provides time for me to think, listen, and occasionally concoct notions for posts like this. I stay up later than anyone else in the house, and I am alone left to my own devices. This is all I need to renew myself. I liken it to using the cell phone while it's plugged in. It's doing its job while recharging.
I'm not alone in this and I see many people doing the same thing. Some are not as adapted to this always on existence and need longer periods of R&R to recharge the batteries. And that's ok, as long as they can get it!
Balance is not universal, so do what's right for you, and try not to drive your partner and family crazy in the process.

What are your plans for keeping sane? I'll check back next week. :-)