A remote controlled piano was placed in the center of grand central station in Chicago.
It’s great fun to watch the reactions and to notice the attitudes of those folks around it.
Worst Day Ever!
Saturday sucked.
Our airport is to travelers what tar pits were to wooly mammoths.
Everything is Jim Dandy until you unsuspectingly enter it and find yourself condemned to spend eternity held in place in its “your-flight-has-been-canceled; please-see-the-attendant” inextricable goo.
I was to conduct a communication workshop for a Seattle agency on Monday, having reserved a flight for the previous Saturday, allowing me to attend a concert when I arrived. Sunday’s itinerary would consist of roaming the Emerald City and I would return home Monday evening, after leading the seminar.
It was going to be a good trip.
The operative word is “was.”
Two hours before take-off, a text message informed me that my flight was canceled due to our oft-times, unrelenting fog. Rebooked for a later flight, I was ominously primed,
“There’s no guarantee it will go either. Hope for the best.”
I am not a travel agent but I bet they agree that’s never a wise travel strategy.
After doing my part — hoping — and impatiently waiting through three more hours of delays, only to be canceled again, re-booked again was I for an evening flight, with arrival in the wee hours of the next morning. I’d obviously miss the concert but could still salvage my Sunday; this of course contingent on this latest itinerary actually falling into place, unlikely since the obstinate grey murkiness that blanketed the runway seemed fused to the blacktop.
Angry, frustrated, and now worried that I would lose my speaking fee and damage my reputation, I needed options.
Beating Yourself Up Does Not Work
Don’t beat yourself up over what you are not doing well.
Remember when you were 18?
Yes, you were an adult. Yes, you might even have been a responsible adult. However, could the “18-year-old you” juggle all the responsibilities you now have and effectively run the life you have today?
The answer is obviously NO.
Even at your current age, there are tools and skills you do not have. More importantly, you don’t even know you don’t have them yet.
They will be there when you need them. Berating yourself will not make them appear any quicker. Quite the contrary, it will help you feel bad and make you more inclined to give up.
There are tools to life you do not have right now. You will have them when you need them.
By the way, you have tools you no longer need. It’s OK to let them go. [Read more…]
Video: WestJet Christmas Miracle – Real-Time Giving
I don’t know whether I like this more because it’s such a brilliant marketing campaign or because it’s just so freakin’ cool!
Don’t you dare bring me donuts!
My mother, Ruth, who battled obesity for her first 69 years, re-arranged her habits to shed 80 pounds over the next three years.
With the exception of those who knew her previously, she refused to speak of this noteworthy accomplishment. One doesn’t forgo favorite foods, increase (or begin) exercise, deal with tamped down feelings, and in general, upend one’s entire lifestyle unless the result is deeply desired. It’s a lot of effort to revamp mind and body; therefore most folks find it worthy of recognition. As I said, “most” — not all. “Why don’t you let people know about your weight loss?” I wondered. Her answer: “I should have never let myself get so out of control that I weighed that much in the first place.” My mother was incredibly understanding of almost anyone’s shortcomings — except her own. “None of us are perfect,” I replied, “The thing is you tackled it. Many people your age would have just given up. You didn’t.”
“I did what had to be done, which I should have done a long time before.” Once my mom made up her mind, there was no arguing.
Three years to lose 80 pounds, even when accomplished in a healthy fashion, is still slower than the norm.
In part, that pace was the result of the parameters upon which she insisted. Although she took a practical approach — smaller portions, daily walks, group support — her speed was retarded because she refused to sacrifice desserts. In mom’s world, one always saved room for dessert. (Hmmmm, might this be a window in why I had my own weight problems?) “I don’t mind losing a tenth of a pound a week,” she affirmed, “as long as I can have dessert.” Knowing how strong however was the temptation to go overboard with goodies, she banished from her home the most problematic caloric treats, and compensated by buying sugar free or low calorie. However, she continued to have dessert after every meal. Enter Joe; a white-haired, mustachioed, elegant, dapper widower — who might have been lifted from a Fred Astaire movie. [Read more…]