Category: General

Visions of Sugarplums

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“If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now.” 
— Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase) in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

It’s that time of year again!  Time to hop on that holiday road and get into the spirit of Christmas.  Now last year, I documented the ups-and-downs of my holiday cheer in this blog.  (You can read all about that starting here.)  It definitely helped put my moods into perspective, and, I feel, helped keep my spirit up. 

This year, I’ll not be doing the same.  I’ve already made an effort to get into the spirit more readily by watching some holiday-themed movies and TV shows, as well as listening to that ever-present Christmas music.  For this month’s posts, I wanted to talk about some of my favourite Christmas movies, TV shows and songs.

For today’s post, let’s discuss Christmas movies.  Here are my top 5 Christmas movies: Continue reading “Visions of Sugarplums” →

The Gift of a Burnout

On By Mr. BoxheadIn General, Health1 Comment 
*As a disclaimer, I need to emphasize that I am not a mental health expert. I am not trained to identify, treat, or support mental health challenges.  If you feel that you are in, or heading into a burnout, please see a professional for help.

Over the past 12-18 months (maybe more, it’s really hard for me to know), I’ve been in a slump.  I’m not motivated.  I’m not overly engaged.  I have no drive or ambition.  I’ve come to recognize that I’d essentially hit a burnout. Continue reading “The Gift of a Burnout” →

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” →

Borderline

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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’)” →

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…” →

Intertwined by Fate – The Story of Us

On By Mr. BoxheadIn General3 Comments

Following my diabetic odyssey in March 2008, I had an opening of consciousness that launched me into a period of change; I went through a shift, if you will. One of the end results of that shift was my relationship with my now-wife, Isabelle. Had it not been for the life altering experience that I went through, I may or may not be married to the love of my life, to my soul mate. I honestly believe that Isabelle and I are soul mates, destined to find one another. And the Universe did all it could, repeatedly, to make sure it happened.

Continue reading “Intertwined by Fate – The Story of Us” →

To Foo or Not to Foo (or Reason #83 Why My Wife is Amazing)

On By Mr. BoxheadIn General3 Comments

All this past week, James Corden has been broadcasting The Late Late Show from London. On Thursday night’s show he had a Carpool Karaoke with Paul McCartney and a performance by the Foo Fighters. I had been anxiously awaiting this episode all week. So Friday night, once we had settled in for the evening, Isabelle and I plopped down on the couch in the movie room and proceeded to be thoroughly entertained. (click the video below to watch)

Continue reading “To Foo or Not to Foo (or Reason #83 Why My Wife is Amazing)” →

Talkin’ ’bout Diabetes

On By Mr. BoxheadIn General, Health, MusingsLeave a comment

There are times when I feel that my body operates on a very different level than the rest of the world. For the past 10 years I have lived with the fact that I am diabetic. I have a physical need to inject myself with insulin for times a day as my pancreas is not producing it. As a result, we diabetics need to be mindful of the amount of sugar that we ingest.

The logical conclusion is that if minimize, or eliminate, sugar from my diet and continue with my doses of insulin, I will maintain a healthy blood sugar level. But my body seems to be blissfully unaware of this bit of logic.

Continue reading “Talkin’ ’bout Diabetes” →