The Sands of Time

Today I'm sitting at a friend's place in Winnipeg where it is definitely looking a lot like winter. I don't live here anymore but I do make it back quite often. It turns out that despite the fact I have lived in Ontario for my last three birthdays I still have spent every one in Manitoba. I think part of it is because my birthday is so close to Christmas it's easy to be here.

December is a time a lot of people reflect on the year gone by. We also do this on the day our age changes.

I think the big take away for me this year is the more you try to be a positive influence on the people around you the better your own life will be. If you are looking for ways to make another's life a bit better every chance you get then they will enjoy your company and when they can, do the same for you.

I know this is not rocket surgery or anything fancy but we can forget this in the daily grind. There is no reason not to smile at the sales associate when you are buying a new pair of gym shorts or to hold the door one second so it doesn't close on the random person walking into the mall behind you. Yet, somehow its easy to forget. It's easy to be self absorbed and caught up in the current issue. The little things take almost no time or effort but they can make someone else's day a lot better.

So, if you are to do anything for me on my birthday, I ask you to give a little kindness to someone today. It will make their world a bit better place and who knows, it may even be me you are nice to.

A Universal Challenge

There has been a lot in the news over the last few days about how stressed university students are and what administrations are doing to alleviate the stress. There has also been editorials on why there is so much stress. Like any debate there are various points of view ranging from society not preparing adolescents for the transition to adulthood to the dire straits the world faces piling onto the shoulders of our future leaders. Before I go any further on my viewpoints there are a few things about higher education I generally believe that should be shared.

A university degree does not entitle you to a job. I'm not saying it is worthless, in fact it is quite the contrary. A degree indicates a lot about a person. It shows a person is capable of learning. It shows a person is capable of following instructions. It shows a person is capable of seeing a set of requirements through to the end. It shows potential employers a lot about an individual. As such it does carry weight. What a degree does is open doors. It will give you a leg up on those who do not have a degree and allow you a chance to show who you are and how you will fit within an organization. A degree does not give you a job but it gives you an opportunity to compete for one.

The ultimate consequence of failure for a student at university is low. If you do a poor job of completing an assignment the worst you are going to see is a bad grade. Several bad grades may result in the institution deciding its time to part ways but that is about the worst of it. In the real world the consequence of failure can be very high. Your decisions and work product can bankrupt a company. It may not seem too bad except there is a good chance that somebody's retirement savings is probably locked up in the equity of that company. You may throw a nation off a fiscal cliff and cause undue hardship for an entire generation. Your decisions may end someone's livelihood. Your decision may directly lead to someone not having a paycheque. Your decisions may have direct safety or health impacts on others. Often they may not even have the expertise to make the decision themselves or even more drastically not have the mental capacity to protect themselves. In the real world your actions and decisions can have real consequence of failure.

Now if you are thinking that university is still much too stressful then maybe its not for you. If you want real stress take a job that has high and real consequences to failure. Make sure you are responsible for other peoples lives, the financial well being of some peoples retirement savings, and some paycheques. Then you will see what stress can be. Going to university is intended to teach you about yourself so you can manage the stresses of the real world. It is supposed to challenge you in a safe environment so you learn how you react and get better at it. It is supposed to show you how to take chances and spot potential failure so when you leave you can mitigate the chances of ruining it all.

University is the training camp for life. Sports teams run training camp before they complete to prepare the team. The idea is to have everything worked out so when you face the real challenge you have a real chance to be successful. The harder you work in training camp the better you will perform when it is on the line. You have to push yourself at training camp to find out what you can't do and then devise a way to fix it or avoid it. The great teams leave nothing to chance. They know their weaknesses better than their strengths and work to not let their weaknesses beat them. University should be treated the same way and the best ones do.

University is supposed to hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it and the credential at the end would not mean anything. If you want your degree to help you get that key interview then you have to work for it. That's all there is to it. The process should challenge the beliefs you hold. It should make you open to new ideas. I took a course titled 'Death and Concepts of the Afterlife.' It was a course in religion. It was taught by Rabbi Rose. He was excellent at delivering the course and one day he indicated that if you finish your degree and it never made you challenge what you believe then you should ask for your money back. To be challenged you have to think and read and work and debate. Without it your life will not be examined and the world will pass you by. Without it you will be just another existence. Once you learn how, the stress can be channelled into a rush. You can feed off it and push yourself. You can learn how to tackle the things that are hard.

I haven't been a university student since 1999. Maybe the world has changed and it really is too stressful but I doubt it. The best will always rise up and meet the challenges. They will not always do it right but since they are the best they will learn from it and do it better next time. That's what university is all about.

Addicted

I have a confession to make. I have developed an addiction. There were a few years I had managed to curb my urge but it has been back for a while. I don't think I will ever be able to move on from this. It has changed my sleep patterns. It impacts my mood.

I am hooked on late night television.

My shows of choice are The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Both shows contain an off-kilter sense of humour that strikes a chord with me. Their ability to laugh at themselves and use their public flaws connects with me. It's just really funny.

It is the only medium that can regularly go from hilarious to poignant in seconds and you never know when it could happen. Because guests are part of the format there is always an element of unpredictability. They can have a conversation about nothing important that is very entertaining but they can also raise a key point on a critical issue that makes you want to know more.

These hosts were not my first go around with late night television. The first hit was The Arsinio Hall Show but that flavour is no longer available. I figured I would grow out of this one day but I'm pretty sure I will be soaking in the pure entertainment of late night will into my seventies.

I admit it I have an addiction to late night television. As addictions go, I think this one is pretty good.

Some Gratitude

In the big picture there is a lot in life to be grateful about. If you are in a position to read or write blogs, life is probably treating you well. One of the things that I am happy about is from time to time I get to meet new people. Moving a couple of years ago accelerated this process as I needed to to start working on a network of local friends. Amy, one of my friends in Ottawa has started writing a blog. She hasn't produced a lot of content yet so this is an opportunity to start reading it from the beginning. 

So far her blog is nothing like mine. It appears that she puts some thought into what she is trying to say where I think mine often reads like a one-sided conversation while having a beer.

gratitudeoflife.wordpress.com

So far, she is expressing how happy she is for the good things in life. I'm sure it will grow and evolve as more content is written but I don't know how.

What I do know is it will be well written. She has an excellent command of the English language. She is educated. She makes my life look really ordinary. (There are not a lot of people who can do that.) She has perspective and truly believes she is living a great life. It's obvious when you talk to her or read her blog.

So, give it a read. It will brighten you day and make you think and in my books, that's some thing to be grateful for.

No More Mo

December has arrived. I don't think I have ever been so overjoyed for a month to change. I did raise some money. Overall the Directorate of Moustache Development (DMD) raised over $1,100 and some awareness. It was fun. I got to laugh at myself. 

I has come to my attention that I should not grow a moustache. I have been compared to creepy neighbours and criminals. I fully admit the moustache is not a good look for me. Every update I put on Facebook was met with good humoured ridicule.

Since this picture shows how bad it was, I woke up early on December 1st and shaved it off. This was the last ever photo taken of my mo. I didn't worry about how my hair looked it was just important to get that fur off my upper lip.

If people ever doubted that I had red hair as a child, this moustache shows I did. I am not an expert on why hair changes colour but the hair on my head got dark enough that when I moved to Ontario the clerk who processed my Provincial Driver's Licence decided I had brown hair. I definitely sport a red moustache. 

Ultimately you must be able to laugh at yourself. Life gets a lot easier when you are comfortable enough to put yourself in a position to be teased. This activity did that. I had a lot of good natured ribbing from friends and acquaintances I even joked with other guys who I had never met about how terrible this duster turned out. They were in on it since they were growing a bad mo as well.

Even though we are now in December and I no longer have a cheesy 'stache you can still donate if you feel so inclined. mobro.co/brentcook 

It was fun but I think my upper lip will remain hairless from here on out.

A Little Variety

I have been in British Columbia for the last two work weeks. It has been a very busy and productive conference. My routine has been the same. I eat in the same place, sleep in the same place, socialize with the same people I am working with, and haven't really spent much time off the establishment. 

This all made me realize how hardwired humans are for variety.

We all have a favourite meal. The go to meal that just makes your day. However, if you try to eat it three times a day, your body will start to not like it and it will lose its appeal. After a break you will probably like it as much as you did before.

We crave variety. This is a good thing. It drives us to seek out new experiences. It motivates us to improve. I'm sure it has a hand in innovation. When your innovation is cut off, it can grind you down. You need to change is up and do something different. 

I admit that I am very lucky. My job has a lot of variety. I don't work on an assembly line doing the same task everyday. Most days I don't feel stifled. However, eight days of meetings on the same subject pushes me close to my limit. It's not that I don't care, in fact, I care a lot and that may be part of what makes me a bit crazy at times.

In the end, I know I'm hardwired to have some variety. It's obvious to me and without it life loses its zest.

Emergency Vehicles

Lately I have been watching people's behaviour around emergency vehicles. We all see it and from time to time are involved in it. The fire truck is bearing down, light flashing, siren whaling, and everyone gets out of the way as fast as they can and let them through. As you read this you are probably thinking this is no big deal. It's the law.

That's true, it is the law, which is a good thing.

Somewhere along the way, somebody was smart and convincing enough to get a law written that said emergency vehicles get the right-of-way over everything. They get to go through traffic lights. They can speed. They can go the wrong way down a one way street. This is such a good idea it has been adopted throughout the world. As a society we made a good decision.

There is something more than it being the law that makes people react so quickly. In north America, like most of the world, we do not rigidly adhere to traffic laws. Most people speed a bit. Many don't always wear their seat belts all the time. It's not unusual to see a red light run or to see people jaywalk. Turn signals are often neglected. However, when an emergency vehicle has to get through, almost everyone gets out of the way as fast as possible.

You could argue that it is a self-serving action. They may be on the way to save your house or your wife. There may be an element of that in some people's thoughts but I doubt it. If that was the case then people who were driving in a city where they do not know a soul would not rush to get out of the way. However, someone with an out-of-province license plate react just as quickly as anyone else.

I have no scientific evidence but I think it's because deep down we are still neighbourly. As busy and as self absorbed we can become we still care about the plight of others. We do not want to be the one that compounds the harm that another is enduring.

This basic idea gives me hope for humanity. For all the nut jobs, stupid people, moochers, and greedy jerks everyone claims to encounter we all get out of the way so someone we don't know can get the help that they may urgently need. You will never get recognition for moving to the shoulder but we do it anyway and that s enough proof that when the chips are down, humanity still cares.