Nothing But a Good Time

I have four weeks vacation this year and I'm trying to figure out the best way to maximize this time off.

Should I take it all as a chunk and do something awesome? Like travel to Australia? OR should I take it in bits and have four mini vacations? If I take it all at once and something cool pops up later, will I regret it?

Hmmm....

Suggestions welcome.

We're All Human

Sometimes we get caught up in this machine-like productivity we call work. We relentlessly plough toward a goal, often treating our fellow coworkers as means to an end. But then, when something like a medical emergency or death occurs, it suddenly becomes clear: we're all human. We're all alarmingly alike. Just people. I think I forget this on a regular basis.

I've been powering through reviews and edits to put together a big announcement for next week. I was getting increasingly frustrated when my contact was not returning my email or voicemails. Late last night I received an email from him saying he was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night for immediate surgery. It was a total reality check. Really puts your priorities in order.

This guy must have sent this email via BlackBerry from his hospital bed and claimed he'd be back in the office today. A bit overly optimistic I think but his dedication was impressive.

Clearly his health is more important than our collaboration on this announcement. The world will not stop turning if this has to wait a week or two.

Delinquent Blogger...

It's funny - with so much talk in my line of work about the importance of new social media tools like blogs and podcasts, you'd think I'd realize that if I don't update this thing every now and again, the very few dedicated readers I have are going to lose interest. We have several blogs at work, some internal, some external. We're starting a new one in a couple weeks that will be maintained by the PR team and since the brainstorming stages, we talk at nauseum about the importance of regular updates to maintain reader interest. Anyways....

So, I said I'd post an update on my study. Well, hypothesis was partly correct. Although I didn't acheive any enormously noticeable results physically, I feel better overall. I have more energy, I sleep better and I generally feel healthier. I must have toned up some areas or moved weight around because even though my overall weight remained the same, my clothes fit differently. Definitley more room in the middle! And most amazingly, my mom actually commented on some muscle definition in my arms while we were lounging pool-side in Mexico last week. :) So there you have it folks, 8 weeks of exercise really does do something.

I do plan to continue this into the new year but with a new goal. I think that I may, after much procrastination, attempt to train for a triathlon with Tina this summer. Tina, are you reading this?? I'm serious here.

On an unrelated note, I'd like to pay my respects to 2007. Although I'm not sure it compares to 2006, I'd say overall, it was pretty good. Got some travelling in - Dominican Republic, NYC, Manitoulin Island and Mexico. I moved twice, finally establishing myself in the once-terrifying downtown Toronto. And probably most importantly, I think I found my niche, career-wise and that in itself is a big, giant accomplishment. Cathy and I had a nice trip down memory lane the other night checking out the Facebook pictures we've posted or been tagged in over the last 12 months and it was a great way to focus on all the great times of the past year. Thanks 2007 :) You were good to me.
And with that, I leave you with my favourite picture from New Years Eve in Ixtapa, Mexico.
Nothing says, "Happy New Year," like the YMCA!!