Blog or white ... because it never is.

Two stories caught my attention on the weekend which demonstrate the power of the people.  When we get together, we can really make a difference? First of all, a United Airlines passenger went to twitter after witnessing two teenage girls not being allowed to board because they were wearing leggings.  This was retweeted and spread more rapidly than a tweet about Justin Bieber.  People demanded answers from United.  This seemed so unfair, especially since we have all seen really questionable attire on flights that were actually inappropriate. People are trying to make this a news story, a cause that we can all be behind, but, this is a non-issue. It turns out that these girls were on a "buddy pass" or whatever the term used by United.  They were getting a free flight by being a family/friend of a United employee.  In this case, in order to receive a free flight, they agreed to a certain dress code.  Their fault for not reading the fine print.  Le...

People often ask me how I work with people with dementia?  They perceive that it must be really difficult and think that I must have a great deal of patience.  They think my days are really stressful. Personally, I can't believe how lucky I am that I work with people with dementia.  My work days are very rich and full of joy.   Here are a few reasons why my days are so fulfilling: First of all, I never think that I am working with people with dementia.  I just think that I am working with people.  In fact, many days I wish more people had dementia.  People with a diagnosis of dementia seldom have a hidden agenda and are genuine in their thoughts.  They rarely have an intent to hurt you with their words.  Every day when I am work someone tells me I'm beautiful, and I know they really mean it.  Every day, I get hugs and I know they are sincere expressions of compassion.  It is very fulfilling and I don't know many workplac...

This was the quote of Ralph Smedley, founder of Toastmasters International.  I don't know when he said this but Toastmasters has been around since 1924 and it was shortly after or shortly before that he said this. I thought of this on Thursday when the World Headquarters of Toastmasters tweeted this for throw-back Thursday. Toastmasters is a great organization which is in constant evolution trying to capture the magic formula that will cause the membership to grow.   It actually is growing in Asia and India and the Middle East but has never attracted the membership that it has wanted to in North America.  It used to be known as primarily a Public Speaking organization, then it wanted to be known as a Communication organization, then it wanted to be known by two parallel tracks; Communication and Leadership.  Now, it appears to be wanting to emphasize the leadership aspect as noted in their tag line, "where leaders are made." I have committed to becoming a membe...

I'm under a lot of pressure trying to plan the perfect wedding.  I've been to a lot of weddings over the last few years.  Most of them have been perfect for the couples, and two have been events of perfection.  However, perfect weddings don't always equal perfect marriages.  It's a tricky thing. I think my favorite wedding of all time was one that I never attended. I was sitting in the living room of my friends, Rhonda and Don.  It was a time in my life that contained no joy, a time in my life where I could only express myself with tears, and I time that I thought I would never smile,yet alone laugh, ever again.  I didn't want to be around myself, so it was a true friend that would want my company for a whole evening. The evening was going as predicted.  I was crying and they were saying whatever they could to make me feel better, of which it was impossible. Somehow, it struck me that this couple was totally in sync.  They could complete e...

The primary reason why Paul Maurice must go is because Manitoba is not Toronto. People of the GTA will always fill the Air Canada Centre regardless of the team having any chance of winning the Stanley Cup.  (I almost called it Grey Cup, because, it has been so long for Canada that I almost forgot what we were playing for.)  The Maples Leafs organization has no need in putting a winning team on the ice so they don't even bother pretending that are trying.  That is because they have such a large market and their fans are just that, fans. In Manitoba, we are actually hockey fans.  We understand the game and we expect to have a reasonable expectation of success at some point.  Our Jets 2.0 franchise seems to think we are from Toronto.  They expect us to blindly buy tickets and fill the arena without producing too much of a product. We were so happy to have a NHL franchise back in the city that we were patient and supportive in the first three years and...

Wow. This morning President Trump bullied his fellow Republicans into voting to replace Obama Care. Trump said he was done negotiating and there was no plan B.  His message was clear. Take it or leave it.  Remarkable in that he had majorities in both Houses, passing legislation should be a breeze. A few hours later, vote post-phoned.  All we know at this moment, is that the Bill would not pass at this time.  The vote has been recalled, cancelled, post-phoned, withdrawn, whatever.  It is not happening today. Remarkable.  Health Care has been on of the biggest issues in US politics for decades.  Arrogant Trump thought he could solve this in a couple of weeks. What is next?   There is no Plan B according to Trump, but Sean Spicer is already indicating that he is not going to reveal what their strategy will be.  That means Trump is now working on a strategy and it will be announced once someone tells him what that is. Here is some free ...

A lot of people talked yesterday about the end of free speech in Canada.  They felt that M-103 was going to be the slippery slope that would end our free speech.   The motion, M-103, reads: The government should: ( a ) recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear; ( b ) condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination and take note of House of Commons’ petition e-411 and the issues raised by it; and ( c ) request that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertake a study on how the government could (i) develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia, in Canada … I happen to be a big defender of free speech and a free press being a foundation for democracy, so I would be vehemently opposed to anyone threatening this.  I just don't see this motion is much of a threat. It is not a Bill which means it is a not a ...

People in Manitoba who live outside the Perimeter often feel disenfranchised from the people in Winnipeg.  We call this Perimeter Vision.  We think people in Winnipeg are only focused on what happens within the Perimeter.  We feel neglected.  People in Winnipeg don't understand what we are talking about. It is funny that I say "we" when I am referring to people living outside of Winnipeg, since I have been living in Winnipeg for over 10 years.  It just goes to show you, you can take the girl out of Dauphin, but you can't take Dauphin out of the girl.   I may live in Winnipeg, but when I cross the border and the Customs Officer ask me where I'm from, I always say Dauphin.   Winnipeg is expanding outside the official boundaries of the Perimeter, but Perimeter Vision still remains. It is hard to explain to Winnipegers who, of course, think they pay complete attention to all areas of the province.  After all, they list the temperatures of ...

I had an actual request to blog about the Federal Budget.  This was from a person who only likes my short entries, which is good because there is little to comment on.   There is the typical sin tax increases, not much anymore.  I think the government is finally understanding that it may be reaching the saturation point of how much people will actually pay for cigarettes and liquor.  Regardless, it is becoming more and more a tax on the poor.  I wish the government could do something creative, as it is usually the children of the people who are consuming cigarettes and liquor that are suffering.  Maybe issuing a rewards card, or something like that, for people purchasing the items.  A rewards card for groceries, obviously.  For every $10 spent, you get $1 on your rewards card to purchase groceries, and by groceries, those items not subject to GST/HST/PST.  Then, I would be more comfortable with the increases.  At least the children wou...

Councillor Jeff Browaty held a news conference yesterday.  He was advocating the release of a report on the feasability of re-opening Portage and Main to pedestrians.  For the record, he is opposed to doing this as he thinks it would cost too much.  He is right, however, the deeper question is why does he create so many opportunities to create media coverage for himself. The same day he was calling for a report that he had no interest in, the Government of Manitoba introduced 7 Bills into the Legislature that were actually significant to his constituents. Bill #1.  A call for a 2 year wage freeze on public-sector workers.  These are our Nurses, Physicians, and Teachers.  A 3/4 percent increase the third year and a 1 percent increase in the fourth year.  Regardless of what you think about this, this opens the Province up to lawsuits and effectively destroys mutually respectful relationships with the bargaining units.  This has major implicat...

When I was in Grade 10, I attended a Leadership Skills Development Weekend.  As this was a looong time ago, I am sure you can appreciate how innovative and progressive my high school truly was. There was so many opportunities to take advantage of, but it wasn't due to the policy of the School Board, it was due to the School Board being able to attract such vibrant, innovative, and visionary teachers. To be fair, this wasn't labeled as a Leadership Skills Development Weekend, it was a Student Match retreat, but it really was a Leadership Skills Development weekend.  Student Match was one of those visionary programs led by two teachers who volunteered their time after hours.  It matched high school students with elementary students "at risk".  It was a mentoring program. One of the stories that we learned was that we all woke up with a full IALAC sign on them.  I Am Lovable And Capable.  The examples that we were taught were applicable to high school stud...

It has been over a month since a Winnipeg Transit Driver was killed while on duty.  The first in Canadian history. I remember in the first week following the death there was a lot of calls for increased safety for transit operators and I was curious if this has been followed through on.  While researching this on google, here are some significant things that I have found out. In 2000, there were 10 attacks on Transit Drivers.  In 2016, there were 45 attacks.  The most attacks came in 2009, when there were 70.  All of these statistics were reported to the press by the Amalgamated Transit Union,   Basically, I found 6 news articles which primary sourced the Transit Union or Transit Operators.  They claimed to be fearful for their lives on shift, and many were threatening to quit if increased safety concerns weren't adhered to. The Winnipeg Transit Service itself, issued a copy of the Public Bylaw and Code of Conduct for Public Transit.  Mo...

I've been reading a lot about management and leadership over the last little while.  I realize I have been surrounded by a lot of managers throughout my life and few leaders. When you do any research about management, you can't help read about the legendary Peter Drucker. He was probably the first actual management consultant.  In addition, an educator and author whose writings have significantly contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of modern business.  His first book was 1954 and he passed in 2004.  He has stood the course of time and his works are as relevant today as they always have been.  His teaching bridge the generations because they are so profound yet so full of common sense. To give you a flavor, here are 10 Drucker quotes that may change your life in business: 1.  "Doing the right thing is more important than doing the thing right." 2. "If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old." 3.  "Th...

Seven years ago, our country encouraged us to "Believe".  It was the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 and believe was our rallying cry.  We were going to own the podium and all we had to do was believe.  It brought our country together and we did believe and it was amazing.   Then, as good Canadians, we then wondered if we were putting too much pressure on our athletes and wondered if we were going to jinx them and we would never get a gold. It turns out we had nothing to worry about.  Our first gold medal came on the first day of competition.  As a nation, we cheered Alexandre Bilodeau, and then we found out about one of his heroes, who was there for him at the finish line, his brother.  We became more proud and felt there could not have been a more worthy athlete winning the first gold medal. Then, for the next two weeks, I, and many other Canadians, spent the whole time crying while watching tv.  They were tears of pride because I believed !! ...

Yawn.   Yesterday was the worst day ever for Trump Presidency.  This follows the previous worst day ever for Trump Presidency which probably 3 days prior.  In this Presidency of just over 60 days, he has about 20 worst days ever so far. I guess in some respects this makes Trump to be a sociological genius.  He has been so bad that we aren't even alarmed anymore with his antics.  We have become immune. The FBI director indicated that there was no evidence to suggest Obama or anyone with a pulse were interested in bugging Trump, figuratively or literally.  This shocked approximately two people and they were the two people who actually believed that Trump would be within two feet of a microwave oven. I just feel sorry for Melissa McCarthy.  Did you watch Sean Spicer's news briefing yesterday.   There is no way that a parody can match the comedic value of the real thing. But, we were diatracted yesterday so we may have missed that Trump has re...

Apparently, this is a thing.  I saw it on facebook so it must be true !! So, now we need a day to tell us to be happy?  They really should give us a little more notice.  I needed advance notice in order to prepare. Just kidding.  I believe happiness is largely a choice. Exhibit A.  Newfies.  People from Newfound/Labrador.   Have you ever met someone from Newfoundland/Labrador that hasn't been the nicest person, ever?   Every Newfie is so nice and so happy.  Oh, their likely is one or two grumpy person on the rock, but, for the most part they are amazing.  They are proud of their arrange, their accent, their screech, their lifestyle, etc.   Well, let's look objectively.  It is a pretty desolate place and they have had traditionally hard lives.  But, don't tell them that.  Newfoundland pride is something pretty special.  I think Bob Cole described it best. Before the 2017 Brier, he was asked about the pressur...

I am so excited to be planning my second and last wedding.  I never thought that I would get married again, but I couldn't be more happy or more excited. When you are planning the second time around, it is impossible not to reflect on what you learned the first time around.   I learned an incredible amount during my first marriage, but, where I really a lot was during my first wedding. Here are the important things I learned from my first wedding. #1.  Try on more than one dress. I bought the first dress I tried on.  I liked it but I didn't love it, and I had nothing to compare it with.  It was symbolic, I just wanted to get it over with.  You have one day to be Princess, if you can't take time to try on atleast two dresses, then this won't be your day. #2.  Wedding planners don't actually plan weddings. One of the major reasons that I booked my venue where I did was because their fee included the services of a wedding planner.  My...

This morning I was watching the morning news and they were talking about a new study coming out of Harvard University.  Apparently, when you think, "things can't possibly get any worse", you should actually envision things getting worse.  Apparently, that will make you feel about your situation comforted that things are not that bad, and they could get worse.   One of the news anchors said that he used that technique and said it worked for him.  Another anchor said that she would be scared to that because then she would fear that things would get worse. It reminded me of one of my favorite books of all time.  The Secret.  According to Chapters during my last visit, it is celebrating its ninth year of release.  Alright, I have a little confession.  I've never read the whole book.  It is a horrible read.  I have made probably a thousand attempts but just can never get through it.   Even though I haven't read it, it still is one o...

I read an article on the internet that was talking about the debt load of the average Canadian.  It noted that for every dollar that was made, there was $1.67 in consumer debt.  This means, if you were average and made $30,000, you likely had $50,000 in consumer debt, this means, not including your mortgage. Using this statistic, my partner was pretty close to average.  In July, we will celebrate our 7th year together.  For our first year together, he thought he was cleverly hiding the debt from me.  He wasn't hiding anything, I knew he was pretty close to average.    Once he finally revealed his situation (read:  he couldn't hide it anymore), I told him that this was a significant issue for me.  He pledged to make a lot of changes and take care of this himself.  For the next five years, I watched him work on this and he had a fair amount of success.  In the five years, he only accumulated an additional $1000. in debt. ...

International Falls, Minnesota is referred to as the Ice Box of the USA.  It is a town of less than 10,000 but it often makes the National news for its temperatures in the winter.  Wherever you go in the US, no matter how cold it is, it is always colder in International Falls.  The town embraces this and has a winter festival in the third week of January to celebrate how cold it is.  One of the most anticipated event is the Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run.  It is an invigorating 10K run and it attracts runners from all over and it attracted me in the early 1990s.   Despite my layers of clothing, I was still freezing and it was a difficult course.   Crossing that finish line was a remarkable feeling !!!   In addition to being able to tell people that I had finished, I received a coffee mug at the finish line.  Let me tell you about this coffee mug.  It was perfect.  It had the perfect shape, size, colour and it just fit in my ...

My friend, Denise, posted something on my facebook wall.   It said: "Fifty Shades of Grey is romantic only because the guy is a billionaire.  If he was living in a trailer, it would be a Criminal Minds episode." It is pretty obvious why she thought this statement would be something that I wanted to explore.  No, I am not into Submission and Domination, but I am in exploring how there are always different perspectives to every story. We usually say in every story there are atleast three sides to the story; her side, his side, and the truth.  Usually both sides are telling "their truth" and they do believe it because it the truth from their perspective. It is perplexing to many why Fifty Shades of Grey was such the run-away best seller that it was.  One of the reasons why it was such a hit was that it actually was a good piece of literature.  It was extremely well written.  It the days when we are so busy that a complicated news story needs to be...

We have all been told for a long time that we should journal.   Mental health professionals will tell you how therapeutic keeping a journal can be for help in getting over something traumatic or something trivial.  Oprah used to tell us to keep a gratitude journal and to document everyday what you are grateful for.  When we are angry, we are encouraged to make a journal entry in the form of a letter.  Success coaches will tell us that we need to journal to help focus on goals and keep track on your progress and this will make you more successful. When we go on a trip, we are encouraged to keep a journal to look back on. People who have invested time in researching the positive reasons for keeping a journal will tell you that first thing in the morning is the best time to journal.  Your mind is the most clear because it hasn't been bombarded with the stimulation of the day yet.  You have had time to sleep so in your subconscious you brain has still be...

On Christmas morning, when my son was 2 years old, and after he had opened all of his presents, I told him that now he was going to tell me what was his favorite present.  After he chose, I announced that we were starting a new Christmas tradition and that we were going down to a Homeless Shelter and donate this present to a child who was less fortunate than he was.   Of course, I was doing this for his own good.  I wanted him to appreciate all that he had and I wanted him to grow up having a generous heart and spirit.  I wanted him to do good.    When next Christmas came along, he identified his favorite present as a pair of pyjamas.  I told him that I didn't believe him and that I would pick what would be the present that he donated. In early December of the next year, we were shopping and my son pointed out a very plain and inexpensive toy that I had never seen him have any interest in before.  He wanted this to be added to his Chris...