Positive Songs for Positive People

On By Mr. BoxheadIn General, ReviewsLeave a comment

Earlier this year, my wife and I took a trip as part of an early 40th birthday present for me.  Isabelle surprised me with tickets to the Festival d’été de Québec.  The 10-day festival had a wide variety of acts playing, but the point of our trip was to see Foo Fighters.  (You can read about the trip in this blog.)  As much as I loved finally getting to see the Foo Fighters live in concert, one of the highlights of the night was one of the opening acts; namely Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls. Continue reading “Positive Songs for Positive People” →

Post-Disney Blues

On By Mr. BoxheadIn Disney, Travel2 Comments

Earlier this week, we crossed the two month mark from my return to the real world after spending 10 glorious days in Disney World for my 40th birthday. (You can read about the trip in this previous post.) As with each visit to the Happiest Place on Earth, the return to normality brings with it a bit of a feeling of blahness after a while. I’m usually able to ride the high of the Disney magic for a good 6-8 weeks, but then the inevitable crash occurs.

Here are my top 4 tips on how to avoid the post-Disney blues, and to keep that magic alive and kicking long after you’ve returned home.

Continue reading “Post-Disney Blues” →

Borderline

On By Mr. BoxheadIn GeneralLeave a comment

This is me today.

Borderline

Once a month, I have a “Talent Development” working group meeting that I run with a few people on my team (there were 5) who want to move into leadership or specialist roles within our company.  It’s the one day a month that I love coming into work, and this for a 1-hour discussion.  A month ago today, 2 members of that group gave me their notice as they were leaving the company.  (And then there were 3)

Our next meeting was booked for today.  Earlier this week, one member decided to take a vacation day. On Thursday – the day of our meeting. (And then there were 2).

I came in to the office this morning to a voicemail from one of the group saying she would be out sick today. (And then there was 1)  Given that this is a discussion group, it was pointless to carry on with just 1 individual, so I cancelled the meeting.

This has been one of the few pieces keeping me motivated and engaged over the last while.  It’s fueled me, and I love finding topics, articles, discussion points for us to tackle.  Sadly, I do not see the same passion and commitment from the folks in the group.  As a point of example, I assigned a task for them to complete at our last meeting a month ago.  Two of them were working on this task yesterday afternoon.  An afterthought.

It becomes rather demotivating to pour yourself into your work and the people you work with, but to see so little reciprocity.

Knowing that I have one of my three remaining members looking externally for work, it begs me to ask “do I continue?”  I recognize that I am in a period of contraction right now.  This contraction will lead to an expansion and things will become unbelievably amazing.  It’s the not knowing how long the contraction will take that is the most challenging.

What advice do you have for me?  What can I do to re-energize myself?  What are your strategies?

How are things? (The real version. Not the ‘Instagram version’)

On By Mr. BoxheadIn General, Musings3 Comments

Earlier today, I was chatting with one of my oldest friends when she asked me a profound question – “How are things? (The real version. Not the ‘Instagram version’)”

This was a very interesting question. Afterwards, the question lingered in my mind and I started to think about our social media lifestyle. It’s true – 90-95% of what people post on social media about themselves is the good stuff, the positive stuff.

Where’s the reality? Why are we so afraid to be truthful and honest with our friends and family? Are we worried that others will judge us? Are we delusional to the point of thinking that everyone else’s life is absolutely perfect and we’re the only ones who have bad days? Continue reading “How are things? (The real version. Not the ‘Instagram version’)” →

Swimming Upstream

On By Mr. BoxheadIn Musings1 Comment

Some time ago while I was on a silent meditation retreat, I had the opportunity to observe something that I found intriguing. As I sat by the edge of a cliff overlooking the river below me, I spotted something in the distance moving upstream in the river. At first I thought it might be a otter, ferret or something similar; but as it got closer I was stunned to see that it was a tree branch. Continue reading “Swimming Upstream” →

Top 6 Table Service Restaurants at Walt Disney World

On By Mr. BoxheadIn Disney, Food, TravelLeave a comment

I had started to write a long post talking about all of the amazing food that we ate while we were in Disney World at the end of August, but rather than have yet another long-ass post, I’ve opted to do something different for me.

In alphabetical order, here are my top six table service restaurants at Walt Disney World. (click on any image to see it full-sized) Continue reading “Top 6 Table Service Restaurants at Walt Disney World” →

In Anticipation…

On By Mr. BoxheadIn General, Travel2 Comments

Sometimes the funnest part of a trip or an activity is the anticipation leading up to it.  Take for instance my upcoming trip to Walt Disney World. Though my wife and I are unquestionably excited for the trip and know that we will be spending 8 days of pure fun and excitement, all of the time and energy we’ve put into prepping this trip for my 40th birthday has been just as much fun. Continue reading “In Anticipation…” →