Bienvenidos a Puerto Vallarta!

Mexico always evokes a sensation of calm each time I'm here. Not exactly the calm of destiny realized or purpose fulfilled, but more like the calm experienced when one bears no responsibility to others, only to one's self.

And, of course, there's the pace of life here. Not slow, per se, although it's easy to think that at first glance. For me, it's more a sense of deliberateness of purpose centred around activities of true importance. Family, faith, work and compassion for others are real values here. Values which easily trump the rampant accumulation of material wealth in more "developed" countries. Mexicans seem to know the real deal, and they truly embrace their part in it.

Sundays are when one really gets to know the Mexican people. Stroll the Malecón or walk along a neighborhood street and watch fathers playing with their children or extended families sharing a meal. It's a window into our own past - recalled with fondness for a simpler time. It's easy to understand that despite all our material riches, these people know a wealth we can only admire.

Hasta luego...

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!

Answering the Obvious Questions

Many people, when learning of my intention to take time away from work, ask the obvious question: Why? Or in some cases, they ask the second obvious question: Why now? In this installment, I will try to answer both queries, lest anyone, feline or otherwise, succumb to a fatal bout of curiousity.

First of all, neither I nor anyone close to me is dying, ill or otherwise suffering from some dread affliction. So no worries there. As a matter of fact, I’ve been contemplating some “me” time for a while now. The catalyst for the now part comes principally from my experience attending Priscilla’s university graduation in December.

Being something of a “live in the moment” kind of fellow, I’d not really thought much about how this event would affect me. (Aside, of course, from the extremely selfish notion that I’d have a lot more disposable income from now on.) It all truth it kind of sneaked up on me, as many things seem to do of late. But I digress…

Late last fall, Tonya and I planned a road trip from Calgary to Oklahoma for the first two weeks in December. Our purpose was twofold; to both witness this auspicious event and to pack up Miss P for a “homecoming” trek back to Canada. The plan, as we understood it anyway, was that she would shack up rent-free with mum and dad for a while. This would enable her to start building some career-related experience free from the pressures of fully supporting herself right away. We’d all discussed this rather extensively, so things seemed all set.

A week before hitting the road, Priscilla dropped a bit of a bomb on us. She’d decided that instead of living with us in Calgary she intended to move to Dallas and seek her fortune there. Needless to say, our first reaction was not overwhelming joy. In fact, it seemed capricious and rash. But as the notion settled with me for a bit, I started to see things in a different way.

It really all hit home as I was sitting through her graduation ceremony. I found myself transported back in time some 20-odd years to my own college commencement. I started to recount the years and assess what I’d accomplished so far, all the while trying to remember what I’d set out to do in the first place. I found quickly that my current reality didn’t resemble much of anything I’d envisioned. Indeed, I struggled to remember what I’d envisioned at all.

Now that’s not necessarily a haunting realization, but one that did puzzle my puzzler for a time. (Thanks to Dr. Suess!) I began to understand that my current reality was as much a product of random chance as any kind of planned journey. Priscilla had actually leaped ahead of me in some ways with her bold plan to pursue that which she had clearly wanted for some time – a genuine career working in museums. I both admired and envied her single-minded sense of purpose, and I vowed to find my own.

Armed with this new insight, I started thinking about how I might discover a sense of purpose for myself: my career, my life and those meaningful relationships I believe we all crave deep down. I also realized I needed complete focus, not a “fill in the cracks” approach around my work, which at present doesn’t allow for much mental bandwidth.

So, here I am. All in, for you Texas hold ‘em fans. Six months to sort things out and arm for the fights still to come. I’m not sure what the future has in store for me, but I’m more excited to find out than I’ve been in a long time. Maybe not even since that stifling Sunday afternoon in a gym in Fairbanks so many years ago, decked out in cap and gown and dreams aplenty…

Music Gets the Best of Me (with apologies to Sophie Ellis-Bextor)

I love walking the city at night with my iPod. (A future entry will unequivocally showcase the iPod as the greatest invention mankind has produced to date.) Just me, cloaked in anonymity, striding unabated through the darkness and shadows.  Freedom to observe, unobserved, is an incredibly powerful and motivating sense of awareness.

But without the music, it just wouldn’t work. And there are some great bands with which to create this somnambulistic symphony. Personally, it doesn’t get much better than a mix including the likes of Doves, Rubyhorse, R.E.M., Peter Murphy, Guster and China Crisis – just to name a few.

There is magic in the streets, and the lights displaying passing insights into the world and lives of those who inhabit it. I celebrate the cold, as my black overcoat protects me from the mercury not yet cognizant of the reality of imminent spring. The city has yet to fully awaken from its winter slumber and, yet, there is hope of days spent idly on patios and balconies embracing the sun’s warming rays.

But if truth be told, I revel in the solitude. For however long it is mine I will embrace it, just as I hold the music close to my core. It is the soundtrack of my life, played out across a multitude of scenes and genres, but never part of any awards program or popular accolades. It is a cacophony of my own formulation and as much as part of me as my DNA.

I’ve been privileged to know two other Marks who share my love for the sonically eclectic – Mssrs. Beck and Hudgens. They expanded my musical repertoire and turned me on to some great tunes. I’m forever grateful. And I'd be remiss to forego a shout-out to my Mom and Dad, who brought me up in an environment rich with music, from Johnny Cash, CCR and Kris Kristofferson to Neil Diamond and the Fifth Dimension. Not a day goes by that I don’t recall others who have shared music with me and I with them. Know one and all that I am in your debt.

So keep it real and keep a tune in your heart. Life’s journey is the better for it, and so we all are. I’m not sure I realize fully what heaven is, but I know hell all too well: it is a place where music finds neither a home nor an ear. And what a terrible place it must be…

Energy in the Balance

It occurred to me recently after speaking with someone I hold in high regard that I need to look at my world and my work differently. I suspect that’s a bit ethereal, so let me elaborate.

For some time now, I’ve been moving through life thinking that the only way to recover the energy expended in the performance of my daily work was to take time away, be it a holiday or a personal day or whatever. Ironically, like many people, the busier I got the less likely I was to actually take time off. As a result, my own energy balance kept dropping lower and lower, negatively affecting the quality of my work and my commitment to those things I find important.

We all do things that consume energy, often times in excess of our personal stores or reserves. My wise friend told me that time off, in and of itself, may not be sufficiently reinvigorating. In fact, time off almost never provides enough of an ongoing boost to fully regenerate our emotional strength. The key is to build time into our daily work to do things that give energy back. In other words, we need to invest in those things we enjoy and that give us personal satisfaction in return.

This is a very simple concept, yet I find it profound in many ways. In my own life I need to look beyond the tasks and activities demanded of me each day and instead look to create opportunities to work on things I truly enjoy. I should devote a portion of my efforts to activities in which the sheer doing of them promotes a sense of achievement, accomplishment, or in my case, the opportunity to work with others.

For I find that completion of tasks never fully rewards me in the way that working with, through and on behalf of others does. Those occasions when I am able to engender trust, build a sense of shared purpose and truly see the world through the eyes of others are, in fact, my energy replenishment program. And over the next several months I intend to better understand how I can muster the discipline and courage needed to make this purposeful energy balance a part of my everyday life.

Day 1: Life 2.0

I've been thinking of this day for some weeks now. For the first time in 20 years I'm not going to work each day. It's quite a change, if I do say so myself, which is something coming from a self-proclaimed change expert. Instead, over the next six months I will be working on my life from the ground up. Not a nip or tuck mind you, but the equivalent of an extreme makeover.

Today is the start of what I hope will be a journey of self-discovery, of transformation. The expectations of my life to this point have been much like an old wool sweater: practical, dependable, fulfilling of expectations and perhaps even somewhat elegant in its predictability and function. Something from a bygone era strangely antiquated and archaic and utterly out of place.

But now I find the uncomfortable scratchiness and musty smell belies some deeper dissatisfaction that I need to more fully understand. I feel it's time to set aside the old sweater and don something that's more me, or at least something that will enable "me" to emerge. (Whether that's a Hawaiian shirt or not remains to be seen.) It is clearly time to take charge of my own metaphorical wardrobe.

Anxiety over external expectations has displaced my own sense of direction and purpose, and that's exactly what I'm looking to restore. I'm not naive enough to believe I can live a life devoid of external pressures and requirements, but I do hope that I can restore my own motivations and goals to a place of central importance and strength in my life. To once again pursue those things which restore energy rather than merely consume it. It is time for me to establish tomorrow as something to look look forward to with a sense of hope and promise, not with a feeling of grim determination or abject resignation.

So this morning, this new day, I recall the words from that breakfast cereal jingle so many years ago: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." And while I'm probably screwing myself by not starting it with a big bowl of Total, here goes nothing. Or rather, I firmly believe, something...