What a Game 7!

I can't let the occasion pass without acknowledgment. The Montreal Canadiens shocked the hockey world and thrilled everyone in La Belle Province with a stunning Game 7 win over the Washington Capitals. I must say I was completely caught up in the excitement, literally jumping out of my seat when the final horn sounded last night.

What's so remarkable about the win isn't the fact that Les Habitants came in as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference and knocked off the President's Trophy winning Caps. Rather, it was the way they did it - coming from a 3-1 series deficit and winning the final three games (2 in Washington!) to clinch.

Led by Jaroslav Halak's 131 saves of 134 shots in the last 3 games, Montreal gets some reward: a date with the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 2. So don't plan the parade just yet, hockey fans. But hope springs eternal across a nation yearning for a return of the Cup to Canada for the first time since 1993. And wouldn't it be something if these upstart Habs brought home another championship...?

Can't wait for Round 2 to begin!

I Survived Grade 9 (Again!)

Here's a quick update on my JA session yesterday. Overall, I think it went very well and the student evaluations confirmed that the kids thought so too.

I hosted a class of 22 students from John Paul II Collegiate in Okotoks. They were a bit chatty at times and the teacher wasn't as helpful as I'd hoped with regard to keeping order. Still, I think they were pretty well behaved and attentive. It was interesting to see which of my adult facilitation techniques worked with a group of 15-year olds. For instance, drawing out the quiet ones worked but standing next to the unruly ones generally had little effect on their behaviour.

Their bus arrived late, so I lost about 25 minutes of my 3-hour session right off the hop. I ended up compressing things a bit and still finished up on time. I think this was a great feature of the curriculum, as it was composed of lots of short segments which could be customized to the time available.

The kids liked the interactive bits the most, particularly the games (as expected). But they also did quite well with the budgeting, specifically trying to match up their expenses with the fictitious jobs and paycheques I gave them. Several students asked some pretty good questions - when they weren't cutting up, that is.

In general, the girls were way more into the day than the boys were. The guys seemed to have a much harder time focusing and keeping their attention on the lesson. Which leads me to the following observations...

Things I'd do differently next time: 1) Assign random seating to break up the little cliques; 2) Arrange the seating in table groups vs. row style; and 3) Expect the teacher to merely observe and not participate.

There are other JA programs for different age groups, so next fall I'd like to try out some other teaching opportunities. I can't say enough about the JA support staff and the way they organize things. It really makes the volunteer's role super easy and enjoyable. I definitely recommend the experience!

Grade 9 Revisited

It’s been 20 degrees and sunny for the past few days, so the thought of blogging was not exactly at the forefront of my mind lately. Still, I feel compelled to share some news of note. Monday April 26 will be a bit of a milestone day, as yours truly will be going back to the classroom. Grade 9, to be exact.

Only this time around, I’ll not be the geeky kid in the back of the room thinking he’s smarter than the teacher. Instead, I’ll be the teacher. Talk about instant karma.

Here’s the skinny: I’ve volunteered through the local Junior Achievement chapter to teach their Economics for Success course (formerly Economics of Staying in School or ESIS). It’s offered free of charge to Grade 9 students from across the Calgary area: public, private, parochial – everyone. The program is run in partnership with Mount Royal College as a field trip opportunity.

In brief, the course is a half-day workshop designed to give kids entering high school an idea of what things cost and what is involved in supporting one’s self after leaving school. The idea is the more they know about the “real world” the more inclined they will be to stay in school and complete an education which will equip them to enter the workforce successfully and sustain themselves.

The curriculum is excellent. I attended an orientation session earlier in the week, along with around 30 other folks from the business community. There is both structure and flexibility in the course materials, plus lots of places to insert some personal School of Hard Knocks anecdotes.

So, as the school bell rings on Monday, think of me standing up in front of a room full of 15-year olds. Will it be a moment of enlightenment and hope, or perhaps sheer terror? Either way, I trust the mental image will bring a chuckle out there in cyberspace somewhere…

Spring is in the Air!

OK, so it snowed and blowed up a near blizzard in Calgary yesterday, and it’s below freezing again this morning, but I still feel optimistic that spring is finally at hand. Maybe it’s the fact that we are blessed with a lot of sunny days here, albeit chilly ones of late. Perhaps it’s the longer days or simply that Easter has passed and April is well under way. Regardless of the reason, I have lots to look forward to.

For one thing, we’re just 3 weeks away from heading to Puerto Vallarta for an extended visit. We’ve booked a lovely condo on the hillside overlooking Banderas Bay and for a soul-satisfying five weeks it will be our home away from home in the tropics. We’ve even been polishing up our Spanish, thanks to the fine folks at Rosetta Stone. It should be a wonderful month plus and a great way to kick off summer time.

I’m also feeling a lot healthier this spring. A combination of better diet, some more exercise and probably just a generally less stressed life has left me with a sense of renewed energy and determination to enjoy life and my place in the world. I’ve got a couple volunteer opportunities cooking too, so that should be rewarding once everything comes together.

So while it lasts, I hope to soak up the sun and seize each day along the way. I hope that those of you who follow my blog will do the same. As George Harrison so wonderfully sang, “Here Comes The Sun!”

Status Check – First 30 Days

OK, so I’ve been off work for nearly a month now. Time to reflect on the weeks since then, and what I feel I’ve accomplished.

For one thing, thanks to the combined efforts of Tonya and yours truly, the house is in the best shape ever. The office is tidy and actually looks like an office, instead of like a storage unit. The entire place is clean and feels altogether spring-like. The only big remaining task is to clean the winter’s grime off the patio furniture and get the balcony ready for some long overdue sun-worshipping. Although admittedly I’m loathe to anger the weather gods with a misplaced show of bravado, so maybe another week or so until that goes down.

But this time off was never about catching up on chores. Rather, it is about getting my own personal “house” in order. And that’s more of a mixed report card at this point, I must admit. I have been engaged in some serious thinking and planning, that’s for certain. And though I may have been aiming a bit high, I don’t feel I’m as far along there as I’d like.

I’ve not selected a radical new career, nor set sail on a one-way cruise to some exotic port of call to open a bar for suntan oil slathered gringo patrons. (That one did make the “possibilities” list though!) Nor have I cured cancer, solved world hunger or learned a new language fluently. In fact, aside from a tidy domicile, I don’t feel I have a lot to show, tangibly speaking. And in some ways, I find this depressing. Perhaps deep down I naively expected some kind of revelation or epiphany to provide a crystal clear path to follow. Alas, it seems life does not work that way. 

So I’m resetting my expectations and going into woodshed mode, getting ready to muck and grind and get dirty, metaphorically speaking. Or since it’s nearly baseball season, it’s time to manufacture a few runs. A bunt single, an error or even (gasp!) a hit batsman or two. Just get a couple runs over and get a rally started. And if not, what the hell. I'll grab a beer and a hot dog and enjoy a day at the park, just the same. Maybe the sun, the crowd and the grass will prove inspirational. Hmm.

So to get the inning started, I’ve decided to embark on a little volunteer work suggested by a trusted colleague. Reaching out to one of my passions, as it were. I hope to teach a few Junior Achievement seminars to Grade 9 students in the month of April. The obvious course fit from my viewpoint is entitled Economics for Success. I hope that for the first time I might be able to use my economics degree for something other than a drink coaster. One of the things I’ve realized this past month is that I really do love teaching others and sharing my experiences, or perhaps just relating my dumb mistakes. Time to embrace that prophetic despair.com gem: It could be that purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.

So for now, life starts with me squaring around to bunt and hoping not to eat a high and tight slider. But hey, it’s a start.  And isn’t that the whole point? Play ball!