Balance

I am again traveling for my job. I'm on a layover in Toronto. As I was sitting on the plane I was thinking about how this is way too familiar. I have my earbuds in, listening to music, trying to nap. I do it a lot which must mean I'm traveling a lot. I will admit I have managed to slow down my work travel a bit but is still a reality in what I do. I understand the need for it. Unfortunately, that doesn't make it any more enjoyable.

I have never been great at living a balanced life. It's not that I don't want to I just seem to put a lot importance on my job. I tend to sacrifice other areas of my life to devote more time and effort to the job. There is a definite upside to it. I managed to accumulate the skills and experiences to be promoted. I get to take on new and sometimes exciting challenges. In exchange for that I have missed family activities. I have lost track of people. Of course, this was before we could nearly live online. Ultimately there is a cost to being successful in an aspect of your life, we all pay it.

I know people who put their homelike first. It is more important to be around family than to advance in their career. This is also a choice. Like me they give up something for a benefit elsewhere.

So, I was thinking to myself, why do I default to the work position? Why do I feel the need to put the organization I work for ahead of nearly anything else?

Somewhere along the way I started to identify with what I do. This was before my current position or even my current employer. I think part of it was I like nice things and want to have more than the basic requirements. I will be honest, when you don't have to worry week to week if you are going to be able to cover the bills and you have some cash left over to do some of the things you want to, a lot of stress disappears. I don't know if it really makes you less stressed, I think it just frees up some stress tolerance to be applied toward your job. I don't feel stressed in the day to day duties but being away always adds a bit. Hoping you don't miss your connection and your ride is there when you arrive are never without some worry. Changing time zones, sleeping in strange beds, and eating at funny times wear on the body. Missed workouts make you feel sluggish. It's just the way it is.

This still doesn't really explain why I choose to have a challenging job that leads to an unbalanced life.

Part of me likes the challenge. Knowing you do something that not everyone is capable or willing to take on is rewarding. On those days when something comes together you can feel like you are on top of the world. Making it better or helping someone is definitely its own reward. Not every job has that. However, to be in a position for those things to come to pass, you have to travel, take work home, make your deadlines, make unpopular decisions, and put your job ahead of a lot.

There still must be a way to live a more balanced life.

I think part of the secret is to know what is productive and important and what is work for the sake of work. That can be difficult. What seems useless to you may produce key information for decision makers elsewhere in the organization. If there is truly no value then it should be eliminated. If it produces very little value for a lot of effort then it should be evaluated. If we can reduce workload without reducing effectiveness then it can be easier to be more balanced in life. Unfortunately, you may become even more unbalanced while you are trying to make it better and that may look like more effort than its worth. As a result, you are stuck in an unbalanced life.

I'm trying to be a bit more balanced. I'm not sure if I'm really doing a great job but, as I more forward, I hope that I can get it sorted out, even if it's just a little bit better.

Elvis Has Entered The Building

Back in December, I was in the Sunglass Hut in Rideau Centre. A friend of mine was in town and she forgot to bring sunglasses so, she was in the market. While we were there we saw Elvis. Yes, he was buying Elvis style sunglasses.

Fast forward to yesterday, I was at the Lucky Ron Show at The Laff. Now Ron doesn't let other people sing very often but there was the same guy who was buying sunglasses, and he sang a couple of songs. Yes, they were Elvis songs and he sounded like The King.

I've never really understood why some people do as much as they can to emulate Elvis. They cut their hair like he did. They dress like he did. They sing like he did. They move like he did.

Everyone, has a favourite. Whether it be a favorite musician or athlete. However, it only seems to be fans of Elvis go to such lengths to be him, at least is large numbers.

I suppose if it makes you happy to be like your favourite, I'm not one to say stop. However, I think that you should just be you. Although The King said, "Don't be cruel, to a heart that's true." So, if it's truly in your heart to channel Elvis then rock on.

What a Pain in the......Back

I've had back pain on and off most of my adult life. I think it's probably from working in a lumber yard and as a gliding instructor.

The lumber yard led to lifting a lot of heavy stuff and carrying it, often around corners and in houses where you can't always do it properly.

I have done over 2600 landings in a Schweizer 2-33 glider and nearly 2000 landings in tow planes. Not all of them have been perfect and some of them have hurt.

As of late I've been lucky. My back doesn't hurt very often and when it does, it's very minor. That all changed. I think it started about a month ago. I sneezed while doing the bench-press. My back was sore for a couple of days but it seemed to be ok. Last week-end it started to hurt while I was in Montreal but it was fine in the morning. Yesterday while doing arm curls over a preacher bench, my back slipped out. Way out.

It hasn't hurt like this in years. One of the reasons I exercise regularly is to keep my back strong so this won't happen. I guess it's not perfect. It's just annoying that this may put a crimp in my active lifestyle. I think staying positive will go a long way to getting back to normal.

I'm lucky for all the great things in my life but a back that sometimes bugs me is not on my good list. However, if that's the worst, I'm doing ok.

Everything Looks Better in the Sunshine

For the first day of Spring the weather couldn't get much better. As I walked home in the +25 degree Celsius weather I noticed that everyone seemed to be happy.

There was a lot of smiling. Car windows and sunroofs were open. The music was turned up. People were high-fiving. It was definitely spring.

It's no secret I'm not a big fan of Winter but it does have an upside, winter makes you how great Spring can be. Even the tulips in front of my building are poking through the ground.

I know everyday cannot be this nice. Next week the forecast is calling for more seasonal temperatures but for now, everyone should enjoy the Springtime weather.

Dreaming

I used to be a big dreamer. It always seemed to make more sense to ask why can't it happen then why would we try. I often looked at things that way. I wanted to try new things and was always looking forward for a way to make it happen. I'm sure it's partly why I learned to fly as a teenager. I'm also sure it's how I was done my degree in four years. I thought I could do it so, why not?

Lately, I've been noticing that I'm not thinking up such grandiose ideas. My next step doesn't seem to have an element of fancy anymore. I'm not sure why.

My first thought was I'm getting older. I have attained a comfortable living. Maybe I don't want to upset the apple cart too much. I'm still open to new adventures but if they don't come with a pay cheque or I can't keep my current job, my excitement is dampened.

I also considered that I'm becoming less risk tolerant. When you are 20, it's easy to take a chance, if you stumble, it's not too bad. When you haven't amassed too much, complete failure and starting over doesn't seem too challenging.

Ultimately I'm not sure what has taken my big dreams away. I think I need to get it back. I need to dream big at work and away from work. I may not see anything come true but if I don't start dreaming about what could be, how can I make it happen?

Automated

So, over the last couple of weeks the news cycle has been dominated by the robocall scandal. I'm not sure if the average Canadian cares or not but it sure seems to be a lot of drama in Ottawa.

I don't know if the Conservatives or any other party for that matter used robocalls to confuse or discourage voters. Honestly, I don't really care. I'm smart enough to research what each party and candidate is proposing and I always seem to be able to find the proper polling station. I can see how this could be annoying but so is all the spam I get in my work inbox.

Since there is no requirement to disclose who you intend to or did vote for, using a computer to contact people you believe will vote for the opposition without human interaction to attempt to confuse them or annoy them seems to be a very risky tactic.

If you don't know who you are contacting, if you don't know if all the members of a household intend to vote the same way, and if you don't even know if they have accurately disclosed who they intend to vote for, don't you think that using a computer to call and confuse you is a dumb idea?

I have never run a political campaign but I can assure you that if the race is close I just want to ensure that my message is out there and is accurate. Trying to get people to not vote runs too much of a risk of getting people who would have supported you to not vote.

Now it seems that someone was using robocalling. It did take around 9 months for this atrocity to surface. If it was really an issue, you would think it would have boiled to the surface a bit quicker so maybe this whole thing is blown out of proportion. Like I said, I really don't care. The constant nagging in the House of Commons looks petty but it gives journalists lots of fodder to fill their papers and airtime.

Like everything else petty, this will pass. It may turn out that someone was acting without support or maybe a key person knew about it. It doesn't matter, it's just taking time away from real issues. What's even worse is this one isn't as funny as the #tellviceverything campaign was.

Just Google It

Being able to access the Internet from your phone can be a useful tool. Getting needed information quickly helps you make sound decisions. It can help you if you are lost. It can lead you in the right direction.

For all this usefulness, being able to pick up your smartphone (I prefer the iPhone but the inferior BlackBerry will also do) has ended a once enjoyable activity.

Mobile Google has brought an end to the bar room debate.

For centuries people would discuss unimportant but interesting issues for hours over beer. Sides would be taken and an interesting discussion would ensue. Often the truth would not be found until sometime later, which would set off another interesting but non-critical debate.

This used to be the best part of getting together for beer.

Alas, it's gone. Invariably, someone will pick up their phone and Google the issue. What used to fill an evening is now answered instantly. The entertainment is gone.

I know that having instant access to a huge body of knowledge can enhance our lives, it can help in many ways, but anything with this much ability to make change, will invariably have unintended consequences. I'm not saying that the loss of the bar room debate is the first sign of the end of civilization but it is a change and it is some thing that I miss.