Tag Archives: LinkedIn

It’s not about me this year

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Well, sorta kinda it is about me, but it’s really not.

I’ve signed up to be a volunteer pace group leader at a Frontrunners marathon running clinic, starting January 12 and leading up to the 40th BMO Vancouver Marathon May 1, 2011.

I already know from leading indoor spin-type classes at the YMCA that it’s not about me so much as the participants. Certainly it’s a good way to keep on track with my own fitness and to get in the training to complete the race, but at a certain point a fitness leader has to put aside her own goals and tune in to the needs of the group members.

  • You have to show up even when you don’t feel like going that day.
  • You have to know where the heck your run route is, because you’re out in front.
  • You’re out there for 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 hours, you better make that route interesting, preferably a loop that is do-able in the time frame allowed.
  • You have to adjust on the fly, make sure everyone gets back to the start line, sweep the stragglers if someone’s having a bad day, and be prepared for anything.

As our clinic leader put it this morning, if you’re hell bent on getting a Personal Best this time, don’t be a run leader, be a participant. Runners will sense a pressure to perform, and that leads to overdoing it, overtraining, overuse — injury — and failure to cross the finish line. Maybe not for you, but for them. And the whole idea of these clinics is to get people to the finish line injury-free.

The good news is – helping people achieve their fitness goals is a passion of mine, it keeps me going. It’s why I volunteer at the Y. It’s why I join clinics – because a shared victory is sweeter than a personal one.

Besides, I live to run and I don’t like to run alone all the time.

So if you’re making a resolution to run a marathon in 2011 — sign up for the race, sign up for the clinic. We’ll get you there!

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Deleted, not unfriended

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I sent a message to a couple of hundred Facebook friends Friday letting them know I’ve deleted my account.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading about privacy issues lately. I’ve read dozens of articles similar to the one excerpted below,

Personal information can be cross-referenced and sold to third parties such as insurance companies, he said, which may make value-based decisions about consumers’ lifestyles and insurability. “You are seeing banks starting to look at social data,” he added, potentially looking at the credit rating of friends in someone’s circle. “It gets pretty scary for the end consumer when they are not aware of what is going on.”

Not only that, but I’ve encountered FB’s intrusive creepiness too many times. I got tired of having to update/change my privacy settings every two weeks based on their latest “auto-opt-in” feature that threatened to circumvent the data I’d restricted to a close circle of friends. In short, I got tired of being a commodity to be sold to marketers. It became easier to just scrap the whole thing.

"Joe failed to read the 'we can confiscate your furniture at any time' clause in the most recent update to the terms of service."

I’m not that great at keeping in touch with long lost friends though. This means I’ll have to work harder to connect with friends in old-school ways: like telephone and email. I’m hoping as a byproduct my interactions with those friends I do connect with will be richer and more intimate.

I’ll let you know how it all works out.

Cartoon by Hubspot, licensed under Creative Commons.

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Searching for peace with the Christmas season

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Don’t even talk to me about Christmas decorations, Christmas music and Christmas parties before Novemer 25th. I’ve been feeling blows to the head by the holiday behemoth since before Remembrance Day and I’m already tired of it.

It’s expensive, it’s fraught with expectations, how-tos, obligatory receptions, parties, gift-giving, specialized appetizers, too much booze and fake cheeriness.

Bah humbug.

No really – it is a great big commercial free-for-all, the one time of the year when our self-control (in spending and eating) and discipline (in getting exercise and taking care of our inner selves) is challenged. Big time.

I know some people just love Christmas (er – the holidays…) and I say good for them. I’ll gladly attend at least some of their parties and have a good time. I’m grateful for their hospitality and the fellowship it affords. I’m not averse to connecting with loved ones and having fun.

However, for me this is the most stressful time of year. I take consolation in the fact that I’m not alone (but contrary to popular belief, there is no spike in suicides this time of year).

I’m worried I am expected to return the hospitality and I just don’t work that way. For me, as a single gal prone to depression, the holidays are a minefield I must navigate. As a person who’s got three children, one grandchild, too much debt and one income, it’s difficult and exhausting to live up to the seasonal expectations.

In previous years I had an automatic Christmas fund savings plan set up at work, but then I changed jobs in March. Had I only read this article in July – “just a little bit of forethought right now can save you a ton of time, effort, cost, and heartache this December,” and worked through this holiday tracking sheet. I pride myself on being organized – but unfortunately I wasn’t that prescient this year

It’s not just the expense, it’s the stress of not living up to the big happy family myth. I stopped visiting my parental units at holiday time years ago – why deal with family drama when it’s cheaper and easier to get together at a less stressful time of year?

In fact, there is a picture somewhere in my mother’s possession of a 12-year-old Tori on Christmas morning curled up in my new beanbag chair with a new book, completely oblivious to everything else going on around me.

Truthfully, I’d rather just hole up somewhere by myself, read a book by a fireplace, pump Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata through my iTunes to my heart’s content for a couple of weeks until it all blows over.

So I’m of two minds about going back home to Saskatchewan for the holidays this year. the best part: I get to see my grandson! Besides, the timing seems convenient – it’s the time of year when work slows down, school is out and nearly everyone takes off anyway.

On the other hand – I’m anxious about it. I’ll travel on the busiest airline day of the year, navigate Regina streets in the middle of winter, compete with a large “coodle” of Grandmas and Grandpas surrounding little Oliver that includes two ex-husbands. Yes two – they’re both, along with their Significant Others, very involved in my children’s lives, and then there’s my daughter’s husband’s family. It’s a good thing for my daughter and grandchild and we all get along great. But still – there’s a reason I’m not married to these men anymore, right?

That’s a a lot going on for someone who would rather curl up with a book and enjoy the quiet in the midst of chaos. Maybe I will get that Kindle for Christmas after all … and whatever happened to that beanbag chair?

Sometime between now and Dec 23, I’ll have to reach some kind of detente with Christmas, at least for this year.

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“Terrified” Christmas photo by Rumpleteaser; “Christmas Story” leg lamp photo by Kevin Dooley, both licensed under Creative Commons.

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Rodelinda: my emerging love affair with opera continues

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I’m a complete newbie when it comes to opera, but ever since I attended my first performance last season (La Traviata, at Pacific Opera Victoria) I’ve been entranced.

So I took advantage of the economies of scale, buying a season ticket for this season’s performances by Pacific Opera Victoria (POV).

First up was Cinderella in October: a smidge too long, (OK I’ll admit I found it insufferably long), a smidge too romantic for my taste. The costumes were great, the performances were wonderful, it was all good; it’s just the opera itself I wasn’t sucked into. I do much better with a tragedy like La Traviata (which has a great drinking song thrown in) or perhaps like Wagner’s Ring Cycle (which I’d love to see, at least in parts).

Opera is supposed to be melodramatic, right?

So I was more pleased with Rodelinda, which I attended this past Saturday at the matinee performance of POV.

The set was grey, foreboding, imposing, fortress-like, with lots of egresses and ingresses (including a ladder the characters put to good use) – indicative of the treachery ad intrigue of the libretto. The costumes were lavish, but with muted colours. The characters had lots of hair and wore fur to hide their swords and scabbards and personal agendas. Props included stones and bones in shades of grey, and the only real colour was the judicious use of bright red fabric to effect the bloodthirsty nature of palace politics. It was delightfully menacing.

I was surprised and pleased at this set, because this is a romantic opera, not a tragic one. However, the setting did not detract at all from the central story: the love and faithfulness of Rodelinda and her beloved king and husband Bertarido.

In fact, I was moved to tears by the duet between Rodelinda and Bertarido, one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard.

King Bertarido and his ally Unolfo were played by countertenors. To my newbie ear, their voices were an odd counterpoint to their characters: high ranges for male royalty. I never did really get used to it during the performance. I’ve since learned this choice was intentional:

The period flavour is enhanced by the presence of two accomplished countertenors, Gerald Thompson (as Bertarido) and Matthew White (as Unolfo), singing roles originally intended for castrati. Even without the ghastly surgical interventions of olden times, a rich, full voice in a woman’s range supported by a man’s body has an almost otherworldly effect.

It’s true – the effect was to put the two male protagonists in stark contrast to the antagonists: the conflicted Grimoaldo (tenor) and the evil Garibaldo (baritone).

By the way – for me the most compelling character in this opera is Grimoaldo. He has multiple layers and shades of grey. He wants Rodelinda with a dangerous passion, and he is deeply troubled by the thought of what he must do (at Garibaldo’s urging) in order to force her to marry him. After all, he wants her to want him too, and that he can never do. His anguish was palpable and moving. Bravo to Benjamin Butterfield for a fine performance.

So my emerging love affair with opera continues. Next time (for La Boheme in February) I will make sure to attend the popular “Inside Opera” talks at the University or at least the pre-performance lobby lectures offered by the POV — and I’ll bring lots of tissue.

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Thoughts on David Eaves’ opening remarks

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I came into the room this morning (Open Gov 2010 at UVic) to hear David Eaves relate how he is excited about web 2.0 and social media and how it will allow public servants work better together. Through a more open government, public servants will be better able to self organize and make things happen without needing permission of someone else.

I don’t doubt this is the case in David Hume’s Citizen Engagement group and other pockets of government, however that’s a tough row to hoe for most of the public service. Ok, to tell the truth, as a former government worker (for 4 years) my first reaction to that statement was “What planet is he on? This isn’t government right now, not in BC!”

I used to give mini-media relations seminars to front line government workers where the only thing I wanted them to remember was “NO SURPRISES,” meaning, everything anyone said in a public forum had to be told to the communications people first, so the Minister could be prepared. For every public meeting there is (depending on the deputy and the Minister involved) a small forest of trees cut down preparing approved messaging, briefing notes, information binders, etc.

So while it’s true that 21st century knowledge workers are also citizens, they indeed are butting up against 19th century government, as David mentioned. How are we going to fix it?

I was pleased David offered some answers: cheaper, better, faster and more efficient ways of doing things will be found no matter what – people disobeying their bosses or in resource-constrained environments will be forced to innovate using new social technologies.

During my time in government I saw many examples of conscientious government workers keeping in close contact with their diverse stakeholder groups, mainly by phone (because the best relationships are still formed in person after all), when preparing new regulations or contemplating new initiatives. They developed relationships of trust where they could share limited amounts of sensitive information and trust each other not to use it to embarrass the other. I was so impressed and inspired when I saw that happen.

I also saw the opposite: people so afraid of approaching constituent groups in person that they dug themselves and their minister an issue-laden hole so deep it nearly paralysed the process: all because they were afraid to share with stakeholders and citizens.

Chris Rasmussen alluded to this in his keynote later in the morning: that an environment of fear (of losing one’s job because of government cuts or restructuring) makes people quite conservative and protective of their turf.

I also saw decisions come seemingly ex nihilo from on high that front line workers could not explain to their stakeholders. It made them feel helpless and frustrated to be ordered to implement decisions no one asked for or requested, seemingly at the whim of their leadership.

How do we make innovation and openness happen every single day? It has a lot to do with leadership, and it comes from the top as well as the rank and file, and it starts also with elected officials and senior (Deputy and Assistant Deputy-level) bureaucrats embracing change, being more tolerant of failure and willing to give up control of the process to a certain extent.

I know I’m sounding a little pessimistic, and I don’t mean to. Today’s conference was certainly a bright light and possibly the start of real change.

But certainly, we as citizens must keep asking more of our leadership.

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Open Gov West 2010 – Chris Rasumussen’s keynote

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Chris Rasmussen presented on the U.S. government’s Intellipedia – here are some initial rough notes to contribute to the opengovnorth.ca blog:

  • “Too many different tools & systems among gov agencies.” — (We’re facing that within an agency of only 26 people!)
  • Kinda stuck on the analytics side. Posting minutes and large docs on wikis os not what the US population asked for with legislation to allow open govt
  • We can finally create a living version – collapse arms into joint forces “purple intelligence” — that’s the vision but Chris is stuck getting there
  • The official voice matters – a convo on Twitter – how do you verify it as an official entity?
  • (We’re finding the same thing with Open Education Resources – people reluctant to use them if they’re not articulated and credentialed…)
  • Why can’t social network/wiki stuff be used as the official agency voice against the crowdsourced work flow?
  • Records retention system, etc. — Must answer the objections. “Be bold” is getting old, its not structurally redefining our business yet.
  • Unless your open gov wiki stuff changes the core way government works you’re going to hit a wall and get stuck like intellipedia did.
  • (I relate this to trying to set up a more cohesive Client Management System in my own small organization … it has to be incorporated into the work flow.)
  • How long are we going to spin the “change takes time” and “training” cliché??
  • Agencies: you’re going to have to give up the outcomes and not control the process end to end. Chris is not seeing indications that agencies want to do that – that’s where they’re stuck.
  • We’re now talking about saving money and rationalizing – people’s jobs at stake – can’t achieve enterprise 2.0 success and then get stuck on people worried about turf-saving and job-preserving.
  • Love/hate relationships – even people who make lots of changes to Intellipedia have the “Let’s not say things we can’t take back” syndrome.
  • This course trajectory might hit any internal environment.
  • (Yes Chris, it most certainly does!)
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Instructions for a kick-ass Halloween bike class

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Ingredients:

  • One (1) Hallowe’en playlist (found in my Workout Music section).
  • Two (2) Greater Victoria YMCA Freewheel (spin-type bike class) volunteer instructors; one carrying candy and wearing huge bear suit  (John Kelley), the other working the music (me).
  • Seventeen (or so) participants to fill up all the bikes.

Mix together. Whoop it up for 40 minutes. Sweat like crazy. Repeat every Hallowe’en.

Tips:

  • Make sure you work out how to do the Time Warp on the bike BEFORE trying to lead it in a full class.
  • To get the bear-suit wearing guy to keep the costume on the entire class, bribe him. Several of us agreed to donate $10 each to the YMCA if he did it. Mission accomplished.
  • When in doubt, throw more candy at the class participants.

I’m teaching the one-hour version Sunday morning Oct 31. It’s your last chance until next year to get in on the fun! (Alas, John and his bear suit won’t be there, and I’m not putting that thing on now. Ew.)

Playlist here.

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Mark my words

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Tongues of Fire. Open mic. Last Thursday night.

I circled the Solstice Café twice before going in, writing my name on a slip of paper and putting it into a jar.

Second name called was mine – no time for nerves.

Deep breath. Find voice. Speak.

Originally written as a spoken word piece, my poem was edited and published as a written post a while ago. That night, I brought it home: hot soup on a cold day.

The place was packed, the crowd cheered. They cheered for everyone. I cheered for everyone.

Enthralled.

Poet brothers and sisters, you thrilled me: vivid, evocative, intense, clever.

Inspired.

Traveling poet James Caroline, you invoked emotions: sorrow, joy, shame, bravery, fear, courage.

Passion.

I will do this again. Mark my words.

Photo by S.F. Pitman. Licensed under Creative Commons, some rights reserved.

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Race Report: GoodLife Victoria Marathon 8k, Oct 10, 2010

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Goal: finish the race healthy and pain-free in an hour or so.

I was plagued by phantom popliteum pain all week leading up to the race. (Plus the need to carb-load, even though this is not a long-distance race!–Old habits I guess)

I even considered not racing, but one of my work colleagues, a veteran trail runner, counseled that I probably needed a “FINISH” under my belt for my own peace of mind.

He was SO right.

I met up with some other running gals the day before at an impromptu Marathoners Tweetup and soaked up the great energy. One was running her first marathon: I saw in her the sense of trepidation and excitement I felt exactly a year ago. The other two were running the Half. It was just the fellowship I needed.

I woke up early and walked to the start line, timing it just so I got there, checked my extra gear and made it to the start with 2 minutes to spare. I’m getting this racing logistics thing down to a science!

With over 3,000 runners in the 8k though – I got behind some walkers and slower runners. I kept telling myself “This is OK – you don’t WANT to actually race – you just need to take it easy and finish pain-free.”

So I tried to calm down, keep my pace at 7:00/km or slower, and take in the positive runner energy around me. I feel kinda bad that “positive runner energy” for me meant comparing myself in smugliness to other runners. I have a bad habit of judging other people, especially when I’m nervous about my own performance. For example:

  • Why would you wear a water belt with 16 oz of fluid for a race that will take you at most an hour? I couldn’t believe how many people I saw doing this.
  • Why do they let wheeled walkers on this course, but not baby strollers? (Not that I want either on the course)
  • Why not corral the walkers behind the runners?

I guess I’m just not used to running shorter races with lots of people participating – it was definitely an eye-opener and something to consider if I ever decide to run another 10K.

At any rate, the race was a relief, I felt very little pain in my upper calf, and the most fun part of the day was coming back to the Marythoner’s station to dance and cheer on my run clinic buddies as they came in for the homestretch in the  marathon.

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I’m a Marythoner

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This year I’ve decided to kick my running up a notch by raising cash for the Mount St. Mary’s Hospital foundation. I’m running on the “Marythoners” team for the 8k division of the Victoria Marathon Oct 10.

As you know I run for my health and fitness (although running marathons goes way beyond just keeping healthy, but that’s a topic for another day), but I don’t want it to be all about me. One of my run leaders, Mandy, works at the Mount St. Mary’s foundation and she is passionate about her work and about Mount St. Mary’s.

I know your donation will stay right here in Victoria providing long term care for those who need it most. It will also help me take my running outside myself and into helping my community – that way we all benefit!

Please take a moment right now to pledge me online, then come out and cheer on the Marythoners!

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