Author: nadia

Run, run, run!

January 12, 2013
170lbs
C25K Progress: Week 2, Day 1 – Run 1.5 minutes, walk 2 minutes, 5 minute warmup and cooldown – 31 minutes
Current Goal: Complete the C25K program.

It’s a strict coincidence that I started a running program in January. Really, this isn’t a New Year’s resolution or some hokey game or competition…truthfully, I have no hot clue why I decided to start running *now*.

It’s been rattling around in my brain for the past…oh…10 years. There are runners all around me. My aunts have been avid runners since I can remember. Serrah picked up running a few years back, Tamara last year and Anita most recently. All of them report the addiction they feel….and I just don’t see it yet. But, I started, so now I’m in.

I find myself saying funny things now in conversation, like “Oh, I ran today, and I don’t have a run today now until Tuesday.” The recipient of this information gives me a knowing nod of understanding, as if that is fact and written in stone. I also note that not much trumps a run. So, for example, if I were to say “Oh sure, I can do that right after my run” I don’t get any kickback. It’s like the elusive run is the 31 minutes of completely sacred Nadia time, and nothing can stop it.

I haven’t gotten to the “addicted” point yet, that’s for darn sure. I could sure do without the searing shinsplints, the swollen right knee, and the lovely sticky film of sweat that appears without my consent or control. (I.hate.sweating)

But there is something completely invaluable about being on the treadmill – and it’s that I get to be there completely by myself. No one can run for me, and there is this unspoken circumfrence of silence around me as I run. It’s me and my headphones. And my cute little C25K app. I got it for free too! It maps out exactly what I have to do each day (structure), how many minutes I have to run for, balanced by a corresponding period of walking (symmetry), and the little happy voice that tells me when I am halfway and when there is one minute left (support!)

photo

In fairness to my body as well, I have never actually given it the benefit of regular running. Maybe, just maybe, this is what will get be down to that wonderific 130lb weight which seems so far out of reach right now….stay with me, reader!

The Hilarity of Spam

Sometimes I sit in wonder at spammers. I like to believe that there are people sitting around trying desperatley to somehow break into my life by sending me the most outrageous of offers, clinging to the hope that I’ll actually be foolish enough to accept. Here are some of the highlights over the last week:

“How you can obtain a fixed second mortgage home equity loan or a home equity line of credit whereby your withdrawing as needed without a fixed amount Additionally, the latter adherents also claim that the utilisation of models during the research process is another way of forgetting the subject and thus renders such researches invalid Find ways to tickle your funny bone with cartoons, jokes, songs, stories, movies or even some good-natured clowning around!”

Or

“In this case, your most excellent choice would subsist to rummage around a cheap transpose telephone lookup service And when it sold out again There are practically 30,000 species of orchids available, all with their very own fantastic characteristics. Then this tobacco is toasted.”

Like really now. Where do I sign up?

Back in Action

I miss blogging! I had one of those “moments” today where I was like “Where *IS* that girl? I miss her!” So, I decided, bring her back.

The last 18 months has been a tough go, but it’s high time I kick my own butt into gear and dive into a major overhaul. I have barely been able to recognize the woman who has run my body over the last year and a half. Enough of that.

Ya, I could have waited until New Year’s and rattled off a whole list of resolutions and “I’m gonna’s” but for what. To watch myself fail on or before January 10, 2013?? No thanks. I’ve done enough failing recently. I have gone through more transformations in this last year that most people endure in a lifetime. New job, new home, new marriage, new family, new friends, new degree, new ME.

Of course, with bits of the old me that we all know and love. Like, the writer me. I’d like to be calmer, think slower, smile more and just…be. And, I’d like to share more. So, I hope you, dear reader, enjoy.

A Keynote Address by Donald Bell

I’m attending the annual Simply Accounting Conference, this year held in Vancouver, BC.  I try to attend every year, despite the fact that I derive absolutely NO useful information from the conference content.  I’ve been using the software for 13 years now….I pretty much have it down pat.  Basically, in order to maintain my elite “Gold Certified Consultant” status, I am required to attend.

The perks:

1) a “business trip” for Sherilyn and I.

2) the keynote speaker

If there’s one thing that Simply does right each year, it’s rope good keynote speakers to present to a room full of bookkeepers. I have been fortunate enough to hear and meet Merge Gupta-Sunderji, Andrew Brash, and David Chilton.  This year, they brought in Donald Bell, co-founder of Westjet.

I couldn’t have been happier.

Those trusty faithful blog followers know my abosulte disdain for Air Canada.  By default, this makes me LOVE Westjet. The fact that I have had SEVERAL positive experiences flying Westjet tips the scales even further.

I have always been slightly curious.  You know that “How DO they make everyone love them so much” fleeting thought.  Well, now I know.

The story of Westjet began under much duress.  Mr. Bell detailed the struggles they had raising capital, raising faith, and writing a business plan they believed in.  He presented the graveyard of airlines that our continent has buried.  He persisted despite being told time and time again that airlines, in general, fail miserably.

Here are some of the “notable” quotes from today’s keynote address that I found interesting and wanted to share:

“Becoming a millionare is easy.  Just become a billionaire first, then buy an airline.”

“We decided when choosing our employes that we didn’t want to hire anyone that worked at Air Canada or Revenue Canada” ** – note, bookkeepers and accountants find this on particularly funny.

Top 10 rules:

1) Find a model and copy it

2) First get the business plan, then get the money

3) Treat employees as #1

4) Share the wealth

5) Hire for attitude, train for skills

6) Empower the front lines

7) Embrace technology

8) Keep it simple

9) Fly union free

10) Party party party

This is starting to sound alot like….well….me!!!

EEEKK! Without even knowing it, I have the SAME BUSINESS MODEL as Westjet!! That’s right, WESTJET. The household name who’s brand identity rivals Tim Hortons, and who’s growth and profits have put banks and gold mines to shame.

I couldn’t be happier.  Those of you who know me will be most happy to learn that I did “not* run up to him like a 14 year old at a Taylor Swift concert shreiking “omg we are EXACTLY the same!”

🙂 I feel empowered and motivated. Stand back.

Camryn Lamers aka Dr. Seuss

So, I decide I’m taking the girls tenting at Sibley last weekend. I got a variety of responses to this: everything from “Oh that will be so fun!” to “You realize that ‘tenting’ means sleeping in a tent, right Princess?”

Truth be told I’m quite the camper. In my pre-kids days Anita and I spent many a weekend in tents. So boo to all of you who think I’m too much of a Princess/Rockstar to tent.

Princess Camryn however, did not take that well to the idea. We set up the tent, blew up an air mattress for her and rolled out the sleeping bag.

Camryn – What is this mom?
Mom – This is where you will sleep
Camryn – Ummm actually, I’ll just sleep in my bed at home, okay mom?

But the best, the absolute BEST was waking up on Sunday morning. She pokes her head out of the tent and announces “Mom!!! I can’t find my shoe!”

“Well, it has to be there somewhere, ” I reply. And the following phrase is what comes out of her mouth:

“Boo hoo, I lost a shoe, I used to have two, now I am blue.”

Seriously. How is this not the most hilarious thing you have ever heard??

Air Canada – no more?

It seems like my favorite topic of discussion is Air Canada. I flew Westjet yesterday, out of a snowstorm in Thunder Bay and landed in Toronto a hilarious THREE HOURS before the suckers on the Jazz flight that was scheduled to leave at the same time.

On my flight, I caught the CNN “Air Canada Crisis” update. Here is what I learned.

1) Air Canada had an operating deficit of 1 billion dollars last year
2) Air Canada owes 3 billion dollars to it’s employees pension plan
3) Air Canada has turfed it’s CEO Montie Brewer and re-appointed Calin Rovinescu to clean up the mess
4) Air Canada has foolishly locked itself into a fixed fuel cost of $99 per barrell or some stupid thing.

So, they are once again on the brink of closure.

I cannot imagine how this is even possible. I mean seriously, your pricing is competitive to Westjet, you have a larger coverage area, more flights, smaller planes, fewer flight attendants and you aren’t even comtributing to the pension plan. How on EARTH did you manage to lose one freaking billion dollars????

I guess it can only be because you have fewer travellers.

Well I have some advice 🙂 here it is:

Air Canada, if you want more business, BE NICE.

That’s right. Be NICE to your travellers. Because let me tell ya, travelling is stressfull enough, the LAST thing you need is crakyass airline personnel. I cannot remember the last time I had an issue with Air Canada and I was treated respectfully.

I get it, air travellers are occasionally difficult to deal with. We’re cranky, sometimes we’re late, sometimes we don’t have the proper paperwork. Do you think snapping and bitching will help? I guess it might, if you dont want to be an airline anymore.

Let’s take your archnemesis, Westjet. They are nice. See? They have friendly, smiling staff. They treat all their customers the same (no elite, you get to board first, here are special fancy bag tags etc) they don’t lose luggage, and when they screw up, they tell you they are sorry. I had bad service ONCE in my life with Westjet. ONCE. So I phoned them. I said “Hey, ummm…ya, I had bad service. I’m kinda not used to that.” You know what they said? They said “What!!! Bad service! We’re sorry! Here is a free flight.”

Take notes, Air Canada 🙂

Flyers Please

My mother has been on a rampage about flyer delivery for the past five years.

Not that she gets too many flyers and her recycle bin is overflowing, but that she DOESN’T get the flyers.  She wants them.  I told her she could have mine, but that’s not good enough. She wants them delivered to her house by the assigned flyer deliveryperson, likely a 12 year old with a less than flourishing work ethic.

Specifically, she wants the Future Shop flyers.

Now, normally, I wouldn’t care so much about this, however, since she has decided that life without the Future Shop flyer isn’t really life at all, she has taken to bombarding my husband with phone calls, email requests and has reduced camp evening dinner time chatter to her long standing fight to get the future shop flyers delivered to the house. Mike and I so look forward to the relaxing evenings, drink in hand, and the constant rambling about all the flyers she didn’t get that week. I think she assumes that since Mike is Manager of Operations at the Thunder Bay Future Shop he will somehow have a certain influence on the head office advertising department, who will in turn have influcence on the purchasing group, who will in turn have influence on the person that issues purchase orders to the Chronicle Journal to somehow go through THAT chain of command and eventually, hopefully, get the 12 year old flyer deliveryperson to actually place a flyer in her mailbox.

To me, it seems like ALOT of effort to get information that is readily available online at www.futureshop.ca but I digress. I think in the last slew of flyer ramblings I caught some notion of her bringing the flyers with her out to camp and reading them there. (Not that you can actually SHOP from camp, but again, I don’t pretent to understand her logic). A further point to mention here is that since Mike is the manager, he actually gets her BETTER pricing than in the flyers on most items to in all actuality the flyers themselves are useless to her.

Recently, she has made her way up the chain of command at the Chronicle Journal and claims to have Colin Bruce himself delivering her flyers. She has his business card, and each day for the past five years that there hasn’t been a flyer in her mailbox, he gets a voicemail. Then he gets his ass in his car, drives over to her place and personally hand delivers the flyers. Insanity at its finest.

So, Mike and I had one of those “we’ve-been-married-so-long-we-share-a-brain” moments when he found an old flyer from 2002 during a routine warehouse clean out. “Oh ya,” I said. “That is SO going in mom’s mailbox!!” Later that night, we found ourselves in stealth mode as we drove up to the house, popped the flyer in her mailbox and backed the car out of the driveway in neutral, laughing our asses off the entire way home. I could almost picture my mother puzzling over the yellowed, dog eared flyer of ’02 while wondering why on earth Future Shop would be trying to blow out VCR’s. I actually felt a teeny bit of remorse at the earful the poor receptionist at the Chronicle was going to get when mom phoned there the next day demanding why a flyer takes 6 years to get delivered.

So we waited.

By dinnertime yesterday I couldn’t take it anymore. I called her. Turns out, yes, she had checked the mailbox. Yes, she had seen the flyer and she had one fleeting thought something like “Weird, it’s kinda yellow and they seem to be trying to rid themselves of old technology” and paff! the flyer went into the garbage, thus proving my theory that SHE DOESN’T EVEN READ THEM!!! She just wants them delivered on general principle. 🙂 Love you mom!