Your Veggies

I admit it. I don't eat as many vegetables as I should. There are days I barely have any. I think it's because I didn't like a lot of them growing up. Lately I have been making an effort to eat more plants.

I must admit, the more veggies I eat the better I feel.

We all know eating more plants is a good idea. You can find everything you need to be healthy by eating plants. However, I must admit there are a lot of non-plant foods that I like to eat. many are healthy, all are tasty. I find if I don't keep the ratio reasonable, the next day I feel sluggish.

For about three years I was eating salad as part of my lunch many of my workdays. There was good salad available in the same building that I worked so I filled myself with food that grows out of the ground. Now, through a change in employment I eat lunch in different places and I don't eat salad.

A change in your daily routine doesn't mean I shouldn't eat healthy, I just need to find more ways to eat a lot of vegetables. Don't worry, I'm not going to turn my back on the goodness of meat and cheese. That's crazy talk but I really need to be more consistent at eating my veggies.

Now I have found a lot of veggies that, as an adult, I like. Generally, I find the more I eat raw the more I like like it. Finding ways you like to eat healthy food will result in me eating more veggies. I need to embrace this and do it more often. 

Waking up the day after you eat a proper amount of plants always feels better. I always feel like I can take on the world. I always know this but a bit too often I don't follow my own advice.

The best part is I can always make a change and eat better and I will continue to do so. I will slip up, I will still probably eat a giant pile of chicken wings from time to time but I will do it less often and eat better more often. That way I will feel better more often and life is always better when you wake up feeling good.

Make It Loud

Last night I went to Ottawa Bluesfest. Slash was the early performer on the main stage. In my humble opinion Slash is the best rock and roll guitar player to walk the face of the earth. He is unique. Within about four notes you know it's him, even if you don't know the song. He loves what he does and it shows. It looks like he is genuinely having fun when he is up on stage playing guitar. He doesn't do backing vocals. He just plays and it's loud.

The headline act of the night was the Barenaked Ladies. They have been around since I was in elementary school. I wouldn't buy a ticket to go see them but they are a part of the Canadian consciousness and I was looking forward to seeing them.

As happy as I was to see Slash, I was equally disappointed with the Barenaked Ladies. I was most disappointed that it wasn't loud enough.

I don't expect it to be Motorhead loud but live music must be loud.

At Ottawa Bluesfest, there are concurrent shows going on. One of the smaller stages, known as the River Stage, is located behind the main stage. There were several instances that the Barenaked Ladies were being overpowered by the act on the River Stage. I was having a conversation with a friend, at normal conversation levels. 

At one point I even thought to myself, I wish everyone would stop talking so I can hear the music better.

Yes, you read that correctly. I was at a music event and and I was having trouble hearing the music.

One of the things I really like about live music is it takes over your life. It is in your face and becomes a singular existence. You lose yourself in the moment because you have to. All your problems are suspended because you can only focus on the music.

The Barenaked Ladies didn't give me that experience and I felt cheated.

We did walk over to the River Stage and catch the end of July Talk. They were loud and impressive. If you get a chance, look them up, they are on iTunes and I'm downloading their album as I write this post.

I like my music loud and I want it to be an all enthralling experience. I mean no respect to the Barenaked Ladies but they did not give me what I was looking for, but wow, I loved Slash and that made my night great.

What Does it Take?

Rob Ford has returned to work after a stint of rehab. Along with a recent election in Ontario I have been thinking about the life of a politician. There are a lot of facets to political life. It is very public life but the hardest parts are behind the scenes.

A few days back I was also thinking about my brief foray into the world of car sales and everything I saw in that world.

I'm sure you are wondering what these two may have in common.

If I can't get there by acting with honesty and integrity, I don't want to end up there.

A lot of people get into politics with very good intentions but quickly realize that if you want to have the opportunity to do more than sit on a back bench, you need to make deals you don't want to make. The people who control this system have thrived in the very same system so there is almost no chance for change. Why would anyone change a system that has served them well?

I saw the same thing in car sales. It can be a downright slimy game and the people who are successful like it the way it is. It gives them the opportunity to make money at the expense of others.

So, if you have to be underhanded to get to the position, why would anyone expect it to change once you get to the position?

For me, the more I have acted with honesty and integrity, the more satisfying the results become. I have a greater feeling of accomplishment when it is done right. I feel better about myself and don't feel like I used a short cut. If you can only be successful by taking out the opposition at the knees instead of facing them head on, you are not cut out for what lies ahead. If you are up against me, bring your best because you will need it. If your best includes trying to take me out at the knees, go ahead. Many people have tried that over the years and they find out they are not very successful. Just because I make acting with honestly and integrity a priority, I'm not watching out for those who don't and I will diffuse it. That's the problem with acting in an underhanded manner, once the competition is on to your scheme, you are finished. You have nowhere to go and are obviously not in a position to do it right.

Everyone will live their life how they think it will make them successful. I'm try to do everything with integrity and it works out for me. 

My Cheap Apartment

Through all the changes I have had in my life over the last year I decided I needed to trim some monthly expenses. I lived in a really nice apartment so I moved into a much cheaper place to save a fair amount of money every month. I wanted to remain living in downtown Ottawa so my options were a bit limited. I did find a place in my budget but there are a lot of reasons it is so affordable.

The most obvious thing about my place is it is a basement apartment. With that you don't get a lot of natural light. I have found this to be a huge drawback. I don't have the, 'it looks so nice out - I need to get out' feeling that you get when you live above the ground. Ahh, but it's cheap.

There is only once coin operated washer and one coin operated dryer in the building. There are only six units so waiting for the washer and dryer is not usually a big problem. Where the problem sits is when one of the machines breaks. In the 4 months I have been here, twice the washer has been down for maintenance. This means I may have to wait it out or go to an outside location. Neither option is very good.

the door key is very poorly planned. There is a very deep cut very close to the base of the key. As such, I have already broken one key off on the lock and I expect more to break. It is simple physics, if you put a lot of torque on a small piece of metal, it will eventually fail.

I do have a indoor parking spot that I can secure however, I have to wiggle the car into and out of the spot. There is nothing easy about my parking spot and driving a Nissan Altima, which is a long car. It is not a convenient or quick process to get in and out of the the parking spot. Ahhh, but it's cheap.

The oven is terrible. The temperature control is terrible, I still haven't figured out how to set it to ensure my meals turn out ok. I have to disable the smoke detector or it will go off constantly, from pre-heating to completion. It is no where near level, everything slides to the back.

My landlord leaves a lot to be desired. the damage from previous tenants was not repaired before I moved in. the apartment was not cleaned before I moved in. My keys were left under the front door mat when my lease kicked in. I have rented from both corporations and individuals and this is by far, the worst landlord I have had.

I fully understand when you consider everything I am not doing that bad. I have a roof over my head that doesn't leak and I live in a good neighbourhood. Most of all, it isn't forever. When my lease is up, I can find a place more suited to what I want. In the meantime, i am saving a whole bunch of money and everything will be better in the long run, and that's why I'm going through this exercise.

The Morning Workout

Most of my adult life I have been an exercise after work guy. I hit the gym off and on in university, and it would be either after class or in between classes if I had a long break. When I started exercising regularly at twenty-six, I would hit the base gym after work, do my thing and go home. The same was true when I moved to Ottawa. I would go on Saturday morning, but it was at a reasonable time, when I was ready.

Last summer I started to occasionally go in the morning. I have to admit that I do like it but it is really easy to not go in the morning. In fact, asa matter of full disclosure, I am writing this instead of exercising.

There are some real upsides to working out in the morning. You are done your work-out and know that nothing is going to come up and keep you from getting that much needed exercise. You get to enjoy that post work-out bliss all day long. It puts you in better spirits for your day. It frees up your time after work for other activities. The gym is never as busy before work as it is after work. 

There are also some thing that seem to be preventing me from exercising in the morning. Getting up to a cold,dark, or rainy morning to walk down to the gym is tough to do. If you didn't sleep very well the night before, it may be easier to use those two hours to get some rest. I am always watching the clock to make sure I get out of there on time and I get really frustrated with delays in the morning because I have a schedule to keep.

One thing that is also looming in the back of my mind is how often I have been having a bad day but planning to hit the gym after work. That post-workday time in the gym has always made it better. I'll admit I haven't had too many bad days in the last four months but it's a hard factor to ignore.

Now, let's be honest here. It doesn't matter when you get your exercise in, it only matters that you get your exercise in. As long as you are making time for vigorous, demanding, rewarding exercise, you are doing it right and you will benefit greatly from it. All the benefits are there no matter what time you get your sweat on so find a time that works for you, get out there and be active. If you already are, that's even better.

Photography is Good for the Soul

Several years ago, when my hobby of flying became my job I realized I needed a new hobby. There had to be something in my life that I did for myself, at my own pace for challenge and enjoyment. I decided on photography.

Rusted Anchor at Peggy's Cove NS

There are a lot of things I like about taking pictures but most of all I like how it allows me to show others a bit of how I see the world. It's a chance to capture the beauty of the world around us. We often see beauty and I like to capture it.

I have taken a lot of pictures. A lot of them are bad and are never shared. Some of the better ones I organize and put on the Facebook so others can enjoy.

Moss on a branch at Cathedral Grove BC

Today after work I decided to grab my camera and go for a walk for the first time in a long time. There are a lot of reasons I can give for not getting out and taking pictures. The weather was not very nice for a long time. I have been really busy with changing jobs twice and moving in the last six months. However, I have to be honest, getting out and walking with my camera was a great decision. It was a chance to see some of the world around me and capture some of it's beauty. 

Smartphones have changed photography. If you know what you are doing, you can take good pictures with your smartphone but I don't feel like I have the same control as you do with a single lens reflex camera. Being able to control the focal depth, and exposure gives you a lot of control and can lead to great pictures. You can tell a story or capture something truly unique. It's a lot easier to focus the attention of the photograph.

Colourful trees in Ottawa ON

I have to admit, I have not mastered all aspects of the craft. I still find it a huge challenge to take a good picture of humans. I haven't figured it out. I think it's more luck than anything else when I get a good picture of someone. People are so variable and dynamic. It's hard to capture them in the ideal moment. That being said, not mastering everything yet leaves a challenge to be worked on and I always find a challenge is a good motivator.

For me, photography is a great hobby. It can go with me when I travel. It allows me to be creative and I find it very rewarding. Beauty can be found in the the obvious and unexpected locations and capturing it to share is a very rewarding way to spend my time.

Me

The Strength to Change

About a year ago I wasn't so happy with my work life and it was spilling over into the rest of my life. The program I had been a part of for the last twenty years and had dedicated eleven years of my working life to was falling apart around me. My first instinct was to grind it out and make the best of it. I was going to make whatever was left of the program into the best it could be. It sounds like the right thing to do but it was killing me. It was killing my motivation and I didn't want to dismantle something so important to me. I didn't get a long with my boss and that didn't help this situation. If you don't feel like you can trust the person who should always be looking out for you as you are expected to dismantle the program that made the single biggest improvement in your life.

So, I decided it is time to make a change.

As miserable as I was, leaving a job with all the benefits I had was difficult. I made a lot of money. I had a lot of vacation. These are nice. However, I realized that when you are loathing getting up and going to work, especially on Monday morning, it's time.

I started looking for a job. I applied for a lot of different jobs. I almost got a job I would be good at but I came in number two. That one really stung. I started to think outside the box. Some jobs are a lot easier to get than others.

I secured a position selling cars.

Since the day I started selling cars I can honestly say that I do not regret leaving my old job since that day. There were some things I liked about selling cars and a lot I didn't like about it. However, from that experience I realized that I can change if I want to.

Last January my phone rang one morning. It was from the company that I had applied to the summer before. The position was once again available and they wanted to know if I was still interested. I was. Selling cars, at least in the environment I endured, was not for me. We met, I was offered the job and I accepted.

It was 30 weeks ago that I started selling cars. I sold cars for fifteen weeks, I took a week off and I have been in my current position for 14 weeks.

I am happier than I've been for a long time.

I'm excited to go to work every day. I am making a difference. There are a lot of great people around me and I have a lot of fun.

It was scary to walk away from something you have been doing for a long time. The transition was not all that smooth. I worked through selling cars to get to a better place. At times it was scary. At times it was frustrating. However, once I found my way, life is much better.

If a part of your life isn't good, have the strength to change. I'm not saying it will be easy but once you are on your proper path, life will get better and you will smile a lot more. Let's be honest, who doesn't like to smile.