Category: Feel Good Story

A Very Merry Christmas…

People talk about the fact that the holidays are a stressful time. This is mostly because people tend to travel, stay outside of their homes, deal with family and outside influences and basically take themselves out of their comfort zones. But there’s no denying that when gifts are exchanged, there’s that moment of glee and child-like wonder, even if you find yourself as an adult. What’s even more exciting is when you receive something from a family member that has some thought and appeals to your interests. this was exactly the case for me, this holiday season.

This year, I got a lovely sky blue sweater from my wife. She also gave me a lovely light-grey suit for work, which I had been eyeballing for quite some time. I got chocolates and a few assorted little items and tokens but I also got three very important little gems from my kids, which I was quite pleased to get. I apologize for the look on my face in the photo below. I was giving my son Nathan instructions on how to take a photo of me, holding my prized Christmas presents. He snapped the photo while I was explaining, hence the serious face. I would have had him retake it, and I did. This was the best one he took…

One could swear from the look on my face that I’m unimpressed but I swear I’m happy with what I got. What you’re looking at are special editions of the Art of War by Sun Tzu, the Art of the Samurai by Yamamoto Hagakure and Tao Te Ching by Laozi. I’ve owned all three books in some iteration or another, at some point in my life. In fact, I think I still have an older copy of the Art of War somewhere in all my stuff. But these special editions have not only made an excellent gift that’s right up my alley, it’s reignited my interest in all three books and will occupy what little bit of reading time I have, over the months to come. ☯️

A Little Slice Of Spice…

Alright, so it’s no secret that I’m a big fan of spicy foods. It’s one of those things where I was denied spicy foods throughout my entire childhood by virtue of my father’s bad stomach and my brother’s dietary restrictions so I’ve kind of gone off the rails as an adult. At the least of times, I keep bottles of hot sauce and buffalo sauce on tap. At the most of times, I’ll easily sit and eat a dozen jalapeño poppers as an actual meal.

Although not exactly the best thing for your digestion, certain hot spices do have documented benefits for blood flow and cardiac health but I’ll let y’all look up that shit on your own as that isn’t the point of today’s post. During the holidays, it’s natural for people to make certain recipes and enjoy certain foods. With that in mind, I wanted to share a simple buffalo chicken dip recipe I found a few years ago that I make often. I guess I must be craving buffalo today…

I may have shared this recipe before but if I’m being honest, I’m rounding the corner on 2,000 total posts and I can’t remember what I’ve written about and what I haven’t worth a shit, so here it is! The beauty of this recipe is that it’s super fast and simple, requiring only about ten minutes of prep then your slow cooker does all the work. We carry all of these ingredients in our home in general, so whenever I get a craving for something spicy, it’s pretty easy and convenient for me to toss five ingredients into the slow cooker, let it simmer and melt together for an hour and then you’re good to go.

What’s nice is that this is reasonably crab-free, so as long as you ensure you bolus enough insulin for whatever you have with it (bread, nachos, etc), it won’t affect your overall blood sugars very much and can be consumed as an actual meal or as a movie-time snack once the kids are out of your way. My wife even enjoys partaking of this dip and she usually doesn’t do very spicy foods. Provided there’s a slow cooker available, this is an easy way to impress friends and family over the holidays. It would make a great treat to snack on during New Year’s Eve, actually. ☯️

Let’s Box Up Some Facts, Shall We?

What the hell is Boxing Day, really? Besides being a day off for some and having certain businesses closed, I’ve never really been clear on what it is or why it’s called “Boxing Day.” So I figured, with it being the holidays and the fact I tend to rant on enough topics throughout the rest of the year, I should look into this. As it usually the case when one tries to find something on the internet without knowing which way to go, I may or may not have been taken down the rabbit hole and got a number of different backgrounds. Let’s look at a few…

For the most part, offices and professional businesses are closed on Boxing Day. In Canada, it’s designated as a holiday and most things, as I mentioned, are closed. According to an article I found posted on a site called The Almanac, “the custom arose because servants, who would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, were allowed to visit their families the next day and employers would give them boxes to take home containing gifts, bonuses and, sometimes, leftover food.” The article goes on to explain that some of the earliest mentions of this tradition dates somewhere in the mid to late 1600’s. Other sources stated that it became more of a mainstream holiday in the 1800’s when Queen Victoria held the throne.

The prevailing backstory seems to include providing boxes of gifts from the wealthy to the poor, in some way shape or form. I’ll admit that the majority of this originates from British sources but Canada is part of the Commonwealth anyway, so it can’t be all wrong, right? in some countries, it’s considered as a “second day of Christmas” and is associated with the Feast of St. Stephen, who was said to be the first Christian martyr. In Canada, Boxing Day is a federal statutory holiday and most banks and government offices are closed, which is why I have the day off today and they always ensure the day off occurs on a work day.

Not the most stimulating of posts but just something that had me curious. Hope y’all had a wonderful Christmas Day! ☯️

Merry Christmas!

No matter what your faith, background or what traditions you follow, wishing others well is never a bad thing. That’s why I’m going to keep this particularly short today and simply take the time to wish all my readers and fellow bloggers a very warm and merry Christmas. Trusting your holidays see you safe, warm and happy, preferably spent with family and friends. Here’s to hoping I’ll see you all reading my stuff in the coming year! Merry Christmas! ☯️

Have Family, Will Travel…

Alright, here we are… Christmas Eve. This means a couple of things. For some, it means Santa Claus and presents. For others, it’s the observance of the often-debated and inaccurately calculated birth of Jesus Christ. No matter what you’re celebrating tomorrow, Christmas Eve carries it’s own weight, in terms of holidays. December 24th will often represent the day that family get together in anticipation of Christmas, meaning a lot of traveling and making one’s way to whatever family destination one’s household may be undertaking.

During my childhood, the family dynamic was a bit different for me. My mother’s side of the family were the one’s who lived in our general area and my mother would always host. This meant that all her siblings and their respective families would pile into whatever apartment we lived in at the time. My mother would make a varied assortment of desserts and finger foods and people could eat at their leisure and enjoy some time together as a family. For the most part, my brother, some cousins and myself would be the highlight of the evening as we would be watched and cheered by the adults as we opened our respective gifts.

I guess my point is that we never had to travel over the holidays when I was a kid. I always took for granted that family would come to me, and so they did. I never truly took the time to appreciate the time and effort shown by my family in coming to us. That is, until I made a family of my own and started travelling over the holidays. Then and only then did my eyes open and I came to recognize the time, effort and stress of packing, loading and moving an entire family in order to meet up with other family. One could argue that such efforts are worth it, in order to spend time with said family. Not only would I be inclined to agree but in 2018, I travelled with my family across Canada in our family SUV in order to meet my parents for Christmas. It would prove to be the first time I had spent Christmas in New Brunswick in ten years.

This year, we won’t be doing anything nearly so dramatic. We’ll be travelling by car for about three hours to join up with my wife’s family. In a couple of hours, we’ll be doing the packing, loading and driving that I mentioned earlier. It’s always a bit of a tedious thing, travelling with two young boys. Although Alex is still in his pull-up diapers, it still means an increased number of stops for the washroom, for coffees and for stretches. Depending on the weather and condition of the roads, it can stretch that three hours into four, quite easily. If you’re travelling during this time of year, be sure to drive safely and make sure that you come prepared. Keep blankets and first aid kits in your vehicle. Ensure you have family who know when you’re leaving and when you expect to arrive. Being safe over the holidays as at LEAST as important as seeing family. ☯️

Taking Some Time…

I was never much of one to be out until all hours of the night, when I was younger. While most of my counterparts were out at parties, drinking booze and getting into trouble, I was usually in the dojo, studying at home or watching movies and spending time with my dad. Even once I hit my teenage years and got my own car, my time out was reasonably limited of my own accord, often choosing to bid good evening to my friends and head home rather than stay out for the sake of staying out. This didn’t always work out in my favour and may have contributed to my becoming something of a loner or outcast. Que sera…

“I didn’t disappear, I traded;
Nights out for knowledge seeking.
Parties for intimate gatherings.
Chasing money for chasing purpose.
Meaningless work for my passion.
Being busy for protecting time.
Soul extortion for soul searching.
Living for others for living my life.”

– Lewis Howes

I found the quote above some weeks ago and it kind of stuck with. I look back on my time as a youth and I recognize that I wasn’t popular, wasn’t part of any sports teams or major groups and I’m reasonably sure that almost no one that I graduated from school remembers me or gives two shits about where I ended up. But I have no regrets about how I’ve spent my youth. I made some god friends, the best a man could ask for. And ironically, I still have contact with all of them, almost thirty years later. That says something. It tells me I made some good choices that led me to the here and now and I did it while involving people who made a positive impact.

This is what’s important to remember; how you chose to live your life will ultimately impact the person you become. Does that mean that hitting the clubs and being popular automatically make you an asshole? I wouldn’t make THAT generalization but I can confirm that I was never bullied or beaten up by any of the academics in my school. This also says something. The message to any of my young readers, assuming I HAVE young readers, is no matter what you may be dealing with or facing in your life, it’s up to you to forge the path that will lead you to where you need to be. So make sure it’s a positive path. Although some things may gratify you in the moment, the long term is what you should be looking at. Food for thought…☯️

A Little Shared Chaos…

Being a parent can be challenging on many different levels. For the most part, you’re dealing with a tiny, drunken version of yourself that does stupid shit and has just enough smarts to get into trouble but not enough logic to recognize said trouble to keep from accidentally offing themselves. If you’re lucky, and you put in JUST enough effort, you can potentially guide them to adulthood where they’ll potentially become a productive member of modern society. Yeah, right… I don’t know what my parents actually imagined for me when I was growing up, except to be healthy and happy. I’m not the former (thanks, Type-1 Diabetes) and I’m rarely the latter, despite my best efforts.

Anyway, sometimes it can be easy to forget that as a parent, we’re not alone. Parenting is by far not a new thing and all the issues we deal with are shared by other parents, as well. This reality slapped me in the face on Friday night when my wife and I attempted to visit my son’s school for his class’ Christmas concert. Picture this: dozens and dozens of families, all with several kids and everyone running around, different rooms with different activities and the main “gym” space holding just about enough chairs for one-third of the people in attendance. Throw in a dash of overheating from packing everyone in like sardines and you’ve got a perfect recipe for a PTSD flare-up.

On top of that, is my 3-year boy who neither understands or cares to follow direction and watch his big brother perform instead of trying to tear the school down by its foundation (and he could do it, too!). It made for a rough and chaotic hour and a half for the sake of Nathan singing for about four minutes. He was so happy and proud of his performance and I was a bit surprised at how quiet and well-behaved he was while on stage. Getting both boys back into their boots and heading home was a challenge in and of itself but we made it home relatively unscathed, despite the fact I was emotionally drained and had to crash almost immediately thereafter.

Interestingly enough, I noticed that there were plenty of exasperated parents and noisy, disobedient children. I noticed that all of those families were dealing with the same challenges and problems that i was seeing. Oddly enough, most of them didn’t really seem to give a shit about it all, as much as I did. But it did make me realize that most families deal with children in a public place in ways that I do. Just a little bit of shared chaos… Kids sure as shit make life interesting. ☯️

A Little Break In The Routine…

Last Thursday was a bit of a gong show for me but offered an interesting take on the day. First, my agency had it’s staff Christmas party. Now, I’m sure we’ve all watched sitcoms or comedy movies where they have the sad little get-together in the conference room with dollar-store chips and cardboard hats, taking an hour to “celebrate” before trudging back to their work terminals to finish out the day. This is often reminiscent of the US version of “The Office,” where the manager would frequently throw parties on a whim.

Luckily, my agency chose to go a bit higher class than that. We actually booked a section of a local pool hall, catered in some food and provided the opportunity for staff to obtain extras at their own cost, should they choose. The only caveat is it happened during the afternoon when many staff felt their time would be better served getting work done as opposed to hobnobbing over a pool cue. Although I can somewhat agree with this sentiment, I also feel that one needs to appreciate the opportunity to let one‘‘S hair down for a few hours and chat with co-workers, especially about matters that aren’t work-related.

It was a good time, with good food and good people. The tables shared a lot of laughs and I had the opportunity to shoot a few games of pool with some of my staff, which was a nice change. It also ran for four hours and my team and I basically shut the event down. It was a nice change from the weekly routine, despite the fact that the work continued to accumulate in my absence. Such is life. Whether I would have gone or not, the work would have continued to accumulate, so it makes very little difference in that regard. If the work will always gather, it makes taking these little breaks all the more important.

While navigating the hectic highways of the everyday rat race, we often forget that each of us is an individual person with beliefs, interests and personalities that rarely get explored in the workplace. Staff functions can be a wonderful way to allow people to get to know each other and spend a bit of time on a social level and get to know each other. This can often allow for better and more amicable work relationships on the job. Food for thought…☯️

The Orville: A Review (Mild Spoilers)

Unlike most of my counterparts, I never watch a great deal of The Simpsons when I was a kid. Besides the fact that my parents likely would have branded it as inappropriate for me, we also only had one television in the house, which was monopolized by my mother and father with the exception of a few hours on Saturday mornings for cartoons. But I as I got older and managed to acquire my own screen, I began watching the show and became enamoured with the concept of a more adult-themed animated show.

There’s just something hilarious about a cartoon that contains adult themes, swearing and comedy. This led to my interest in shows like Family Guy and American Dad. Without a doubt, these are two of my favourite shows and a big part of the reason behind this is the shows’ creator, Seth McFarlane. The man is not only a comedic genius but appears to have the ability to provide the majority of the voices for multiple characters in both shows. one of my associates named McFarlane as this generation’s Mel Blanc. For those who don’t know the name, Mel Blanc was an American voice actor who did all the voices for Looney Tunes.

That’s why when i recently became aware of a show created by Seth McFarlane called “The Orville,” I had to check it out. In summary, McFarlane plays an officer who catches his wife in bed with another man and goes through a divorce. His life takes a downward spiral for a couple of years until he manages to acquire command of his own ship. Then, because it’s a comedy and why not, McFarlane’s character discovers that his first officer is none other than the very ex-wife that caused his career to take a bad turn.

The show plays on sci-fi series such as Star Trek, using “Planetary Union” instead of “United Federation” but still has a varied crew of different species, all with their own comedic contributions and eccentricities. It’s a refreshing take on something that combines science fiction and comedy. It’s fun to see a starship crew using common, everyday language and act exactly as someone would today, all while being set sometime in the far future.

When watching the Orville, one can expect the same level of comedy and entertainment that people have come to expect from Seth McFarlane. The show currently has 3 seasons and has recently been added to Disney+, which is what has allowed me to enjoy it. There’s no word yet on whether there will be a season 4 but for anyone looking for an easy watch with a touch of comedy, the Orville is sure to deliver. ☯️

Look Before You Leap

I had something kind of entertaining happen to me at work, last week. This story is precluded by my poor decision to consume a batch of store-bought jalapeño poppers, the night before. I grew up in a household where everyone had health and stomach problems, so my mother’s idea of seasoning never went beyond salt and pepper. As a result, my adulthood allowed me to indulge in the wonders of buffalo sauce, spicy seasonings and a plethora of flavours that I never would have experienced in an Acadian household, where their idea of cooking for an entire family is to basically boil everything in a single pot until it turns to mush. But I digress…

Although I enjoy tasting spicy foods (buffalo sauce is my favourite and goes on manny things), a lifetime of bland food developed a digestive system that doesn’t quite like to be challenged on such a brazen scale. As a result and even if I know better, I’ll sometimes indulge in ways that my system won’t quite like and will choose to voice its displeasure by causing anything and everything to come out in liquid form. You can be grossed out by that all you want! It happens to all of us, so don’t pretend to be high and mighty. If this is TMI for you, so be it. Moving on.

As I said in the opening paragraph, I had passed the previous evening by enjoying a handful of store-bought jalapeño poppers. Although delicious and hot at the time, it wouldn’t be until the following morning when I had digested them and made my way to work that the problem would present itself. Setting aside for a moment, the fact that snacking before bed is a bad idea, eating spicy foods right before bed is even worse. I hadn’t been to the office for more than an hour before the tell-tale gurgle in my abdomen told me that I had better make my way to a washroom, which I did. I won’t go into details about the specific lavatory trip besides saying that I made my way back to my office and spent the morning consuming plenty of water to prevent dehydration.

At one point during the lunch hour, I ran to the bathroom with my forehead bathed in sweat and my stomach threatening me in a way I had no way to stop. Luckily, our bathroom has a deadbolt and I can assume a bit of privacy when such events are taking place. However, it wasn’t until I was in the washroom, had experienced a Hiroshima-level explosion out my backside and allowed my pulse and heart rate to relax, did I look down and get a different kind of bad feeling in my stomach. Lo and behold, I was caught in every person’s worst nightmare at the office: there was no fucking toilet paper.

Now, such situations usually only take place in a sitcom or comedy movie. And in almost all of those instances, there’s the possibility of having someone walk in, on whom you can request some assistance. Even if I weren’t too proud to make such a request of other staff in my office, I faced the issue that I had dead-bolted the bathroom door upon my entry and there would be no way for anyone to open the door to come to my rescue. I began running through my options. The sink area obviously had some hand towels, but those couldn’t be flushed. I had no other options within the bathroom, which meant my only options would be outside the bathroom.

Given the nature of these bathroom trips, it wasn’t a situation where I could just lift my pants and carry on to go grab a spare roll and come back. Pulling up my pants before making some cleaning efforts would be unwise as it relates to getting through the rest of my day comfortably and without drawing too much attention to myself. I found myself with two options: pull up my pants and head home to finish out my day or do something naughty that one would typically see in a comedy movie. I chose the latter. What other choice did I have?

I lifted my pants just enough so that I wasn’t flashing anyone I encountered in the outer hallway. The, I cautiously opened the washroom door and peaked out. The hallways were clear from both sides. But there would be no warning if someone suddenly came around a corner. I had to dash quickly, grab a spare roll and make my way back without anyone seeing me with my pants undone. Although it shouldn’t be TOO complicated, since the storage area is less than ten feet away from the door. It was time to make my move…

I stepped out, ignoring the pit in my stomach at being spotted and called a flasher, and dashed for the cabinet. As soon as I opened the door and grabbed the roll, I realized I had used a hand for both of those actions and my pants had been released. My pants dropped to the floor, although my underwear mercifully stayed up. Unfortunately, the damage had been done. I tripped and nearly fell flat on my face in the middle of a heavily-travelled hallway within the office. I struggled to my feet and yanked open the bathroom door and basically fell inside and deadbolted the door.

I managed to clean myself up and make my way back to my office. I was sweaty and bruised, having exerted more energy getting a spare roll of toilet paper than I had during what I required it for. But it certainly taught me the important lesson that one must look before one leaps. Had I taken a second to check before sitting down, the entire situation could have been avoided. Looking back on it, I can certainly laugh about it now and it taught me something about paying attention to my surroundings. You’re never too old to learn. AND it provides a bit of laugh for all of you on your Tuesday morning! ☯️