I grew up in a suburb, and there comes a point in your youth when you decide they are lame. You’re not where the ‘action’ of the city is, nor do you have the wide-open spaces and freedom of a more rural setting.
Before I got married I lived in a condo along Toronto’s lesser-used subway line (the University-Downsview line). While it wasn’t downtown Toronto, the nearby subway let me access the core of Canada’s largest city, and Eglinton had some more upscale businesses that spoke to some of the glamour Toronto had to offer. There was a handy nearby running trail, but you’d have to think a little about cycling – lots of intersections with traffic lights or stop signs to slow you down. The running trail was too crowded for higher-speed cycling. I’m honestly not sure how to evaluate how kid-friendly the neighbourhood was overall, but I know my condo did not have a backyard.
Our current residence in Abbotsford BC is pretty rural. The space behind the house is huge and the air is always fresh (ok, maybe some manure smell sometimes). We don’t however, let the kids leave the property, as big trucks are constantly whizzing by (did you ever see Pet Sematary? Don’t). Even when my wife and I go out for a walk, we either drive to a second location or wear a high-visibility safety vest or other illumination to be seen by drivers passing by.
All this to say, I love the suburbs. The suburbs have a dark history, where the way they were planned was to encourage racial segregation and block access to education for marginalized groups. I’m hopeful, that, in spite of this history, as long the residents of a suburb can represent a good portion of the community’s diversity, the benefits of a planned suburb can be enjoyed by all.
Here are 10 Things I Love About the suburbs (this list represents my best experiences, and when suburbs are done right).
1: Sidewalks
If you’ve ever been a pedestrian in a space that didn’t feel safe for pedestrians, you probably won’t take a nice sidewalk for granted again.
2: Bikes, Skateboards, Scooters, Inline Skates
Between those sidewalks, some paved multi-use trails, or even streets that aren’t too busy, you’ll see people moving under their own power, getting fit and protecting the environment.
3: Parking
In spite of the previous points, if you use a car to get around (like so many do), having a place to put it is hard. Whether it’s driveways, garages, carports, or simply pulling up in front of the house (as you do when visiting a friend), it’s generally a safe, stress-free experience.
4: Parks and Playgrounds
Good for kids to play, or adults to get exercise. Increase the green space we need to keep the air clean.
5: It’s a Threshold
In the book ‘Mostly Harmless’ Douglas Adams describes happiness as a Lake House. A state of being on the verge of two different states of being. A Lake House is by the water, yet on land, which explains why it’s such a desirable piece of real estate. A suburb is the boundary condition of being near a city (and its amenities) and a more rural space (with its natural benefits).
6: Backyards
It’s nice to have a little green space of your own.
7: Noise
Both urban centres and rural settings have sources of noise (nightclubs, trucks, tractors, farm animals).
8: Sports Fields
Softball, football, and soccer are all ways to stay fit, have fun and join your local community.
9: Utilities (including Internet)
Infrastructure can be more easily maintained in the suburbs. In the city, digging up a road or accessing subterranean equipment can mean disrupting critical commercial operations or working around important landmarks. In the country, there might not be that kind of infrastructure at all (unreliable power, no high-speed internet, your waste goes to a septic tank you have to maintain).
10: It’s been idealized by modern pop-culture
I saw a post lambasting the movie American Beauty – a masterpiece of 90s film where the idea of working a corporate office job and living in the suburbs with a family caused enormous ennui. For millennials, the world of having a steady job with benefits and a roof over your head seems like an out-of-reach fantasy. It’s how many people in Western society grew up, and what they still ultimately aspire to.
N.B. There are some affiliate links in this post. I would get a commission if you happened to order these.
1: Drone The DJI Mini 3 Pro is small enough that you don’t need a licence in Canada and idiot-proof enough for me to use to shoot video.
2: JBL Endurance Dive Bluetooth Headphones I like this wrap-around form factor, and they are waterproof too!
3: GoPro Hero 10 For non-aerial and underwater videos.
4: HP Omen Gaming Laptop I already hate Dell, Acer, Toshiba and Lenovo, so if I was to spend money on something serious for gaming (if I ever found the time for it), maybe this one.
5: Chromebook On the other end of the computing spectrum are Chromebooks. I could use it just for writing, surfing and streaming. I guess I’d try ASUS since Samsung ones don’t seem to be available in Canada…
6: Smart Watch I’m not sure my Garmin Forerunner 910XT is cutting the mustard anymore. I would want something with better connectivity. Maybe the Fenix 6 Pro, but I’d be willing to consider Polar or Suunto as brands.
7: Kobo Sage A waterproof eReader that can also play audiobooks via Bluetooth, and act as a digital note-taking device
8: Moleskine Ellipse Smart Pen Speaking of note-taking, this pen works with a Moleskine paper notebook, and digitizes your notes and sketches as you draw.
9: Power Meter Pedals If I find myself getting into triathlon again, power is the performance metric of choice when cycling, but it is very expensive to add that capability to a bike.
10: Smart Swim Goggles Tracking laps swum is a pain, and performance metrics make for smarter training.
I’ve been spending a few minutes each day over on NotePD. It’s a website dedicated toward capturing Idea Lists – the principle is that you dedicate yourself to coming up with 10 new ideas a day. They might not be good ideas, but by making a daily practice of it, your ‘creative muscles’ get their exercise. I really enjoy it, and when I did a Clifton Strengths Finder test, ‘Ideation’ came up as one of my top 5, so it makes sense that I would enjoy that sort of thing.
At long last a return to in-person races! And also to writing about in-person races! I couldn’t have picked a better event than a 5 Peaks Trail Run. I did my first 5 Peaks Trail Run almost exactly 10 years ago, and their family-friendly events have been a staple of this blog ever since. Of course, those were all in Ontario, so expected an even bigger challenge and more beautiful scenery in B.C.!
We arrived at the race site in Golden Ears with plenty of time to spare; there had been warnings that getting parking spots and making it to the race start could be time-consuming but we faced no such challenges. We grabbed our race kits (including socks for me) and spent some time getting to know the site, while the Lightning Kid danced with Buffy the tiger.
The kids were signed up for a timed event – 3km of running. It would be the Lightning Kid’s first time (to my recollection) running the longer kids event. I’d predicted the terrain might be more challenging than they were used to and encouraged them to run together, but Shark Boy wanted to run his fastest. My prediction about the challenge proved correct, as the course had 2 creek crossings that the organizers encouraged the kids to get good and wet while attempting, and there was a prize for the dirtiest kid – which Shark Boy ended up winning, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
I didn’t have a good feel for how long the kids’ race would take or even if I’d be able to see them come in, but I hadn’t even gotten to the front of the line for the toilet when the first kids started coming in. After a few especially fast kids came in, I spotted Shark Boy, who seems to be coming down with a case of camera shyness, but he finished strong. Waiting for the Lightning Kid became a little nerve-wracking when they started the 1k kids’ fun run, and were about to start the first wave of the Enduro course racers. Luckily a volunteer ‘rabbit’ kept him company – I didn’t get her name, but if you’re reading this, thanks again! – and he came in shortly before the Enduro course was to be started. The official race photographer got some great shots of his adventure; see below.
Images Courtesy of 5Peaks
Soon it would be my turn – the Enduro racers all took off in waves seeded by the racer’s own expectation of speed, then the Sport course racers. The Sport course was over 8.5km and the longest run I’d done over the season was probably about 6, so I knew I had to manage my expectations and I seeded myself in the last wave.
The race started, and I forgot to start tracking on Strava for the first 200-300 meters, but I was off – and happy to be running a non-virtual race…
So before the race, I got advice from Shark Boy as to how to best cross one of the creeks and once the race started, I found myself at the first Creek with a big lineup forming so I followed his advice and veered off a little to the right and used the log to cross and probably got a little bit ahead that way. I don’t really mind being slower than other people. I just can’t stand standing in line when I’m in the great outdoors and trying to avoid that kind of stuff. By the time I get to the second creek, I just said stuff it and stuck my foot right in it and got wet feet. The first part of the trail after that was in the Spirea nature trail area which I visited before with my family, and it’s very beautiful. Then there was a road crossing and it was nonstop climbing on the other side of the road just all the way up a mountain. And in spite of my best efforts, I not only had to slow to a walk but actually had to take complete stops just to catch my breath on that climb.
Somewhere between 3 and 4 kilometers, we stopped having to climb and began the descent. Even on the downhill, I found myself slowing to a walk occasionally and had to mentally kick myself to get back into race mode. I did have a little fun at yet another creek crossing – this one was pretty mild as you can see, but I think there were 5 in total.
I don’t remember where the Enduro course separated from the Sport course, but after they re-merged, I made sure to allow people to pass me safely as often as I could. The scenery continued to be enchanting of course. There was light rain to deal with sometimes, but the forest provided more than adequate shelter.
I knew from the tracked distance that I must have been getting close to the finish, but on some other level it was almost as if I could taste it. And there was Shark Boy, ready to guide me in the last 500m or so. I started my Endspurt (a German term for the burst of energy you use to finish off an effort) and started passing people. Somehow I knew the last climb before the finish line would defeat me and the last few meters were more of a crawl.
And just like the start of the race, my rustiness led to me forgetting to stop the Strava tracking, but I still like the looks of the graph showing all the climbing involved; its’a bit weird that the heart rate doesn’t seem to go up much during the climb. I can’t say as I placed well in my division or even overall, but we all had a good day, and 5 Peaks can maintain its sterling reputation.
I chose to participate in the Canadian Cancer Society’s Fundraiser ‘Dry February’ – the rules are simple, don’t drink alcohol for the month of February (or as long as you can). You can insert your own joke about it being the shortest month of the year, but the truth is, I could still use a donation or two to get to my goal, so if you have the means please click on this link to donate.
I have every confidence I’ll make it through to the end, but I’ve been observing when the urge to have a drink creeps up, and it hasn’t been what I expected.
What I Expected
I thought it would be when I’ve had a tough and stressful day that I would want to use alcohol to ‘”settle my nerves”. I’ve had plenty of those sorts of days in February, but having to abstain from having a drink hasn’t felt like much of a sacrifice. That’s the good news.
The Unexpected Times I Found Myself Wanting a Drink
Food Pairing: Some kinds of foods I most often like to have a beer with – burgers and pizza are notable examples. For steak and some pastas (especially tomato-based sauces) a glass of red wine would have been nice. Instead I found myself with water (or maybe milk) – which are certainly healthier, but it made the meal feel like less of an indulgence
Restaurants: Beyond the obvious correlation to the above, where if I’m treating myself to a night out and the food is good, I want to pair it with the right libation, I find there’s a lot of suggestion in restaurants. From my table, I can see what kinds of beers are on tap, signature cocktails get their own featured menu, as do the wine lists. Those signature cocktails catch the eye when you see one being brought to another table.
Television: Right now we’re watching Inventing Anna where most of the action takes place within the world of the ultra-rich so you see a lot of partying and luxury. We also watch a British series Cuckoo and there’s a fair bit of drinking on that show too, with the added bonus of making me nostalgic for my late 20s in Grad School at Leeds University. Anytime there’s a scene of people celebrating, or having one of those “settle the nerves” drinks after a tough day, there’s a pang I feel like a voice asking me “wouldn’t that be nice?”
I don’t have regular access to a bathroom scale, so I haven’t been able to measure any weight loss, and frankly, that didn’t interest me at the moment anyway. It’s possible I’m a little more trim and fitting into my clothes is a little easier, but on the other hand, my desire to ‘treat myself’ has translated into a stronger sweet tooth, and I find myself indulging in sweet foods maybe more than I should. I haven’t had all good nights for sleep, but at least none of them have been due to the way alcohol disturbs your circadian rhythms.
Whether it’s for a good cause, health benefits or simply to discover your own patterns, I think doing a dry month (or even a couple of weeks) is a worthwhile endeavour.
Hiking is one of our favourite things to do as a family. Whether at home in the suburbs of Mississauga, in Muskoka, or on vacations, it’s something we can all enjoy regardless of the length of our legs and doesn’t take much extra planning or equipment when we keep the hikes reasonably short. Given BC’s legendary beauty, we knew we’d find some extraordinary places to hike. Here are some of the ones we’ve enjoyed so far
Golden Ears
This was the first provincial park we tried once we had settled in. We go over the beautiful Golden Ears bridge (which shows off statues of Golden Eagles, and I once saw a real one perched on a pole too) and through Maple Ridge.
A park of this size always has more trails than you can hope to completely discover, but the Spirea trail was good for our moms who have some mobility issues. The Mike Lake trail was a little more challenging, terrain-wise. I love the moss-covered vegetation, which makes the whole forest look enchanted, especially when the light comes through.
Othello Tunnels
We made it out to this unique attraction a week before the floods would have made the routes to Hope, BC unuseable. In fact, as of this writing, the Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park which encompasses the Othello Tunnels is still closed. The tunnels were created to support rail transport of crude ore from mines in the area. Kids love tunnels, and the trail is flat and easy to walk or even ride a bike along. It goes along the Nicolum river and the views are gorgeous. It’s an out and back, and we didn’t complete it but you can keep your hike under 3km and see all the tunnels.
Rolley Lake
Rolley Lake Provincial Park
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVb2rIaLprc/
This park gave us Ontarians a glimpse of how big the BC trees (and their leaves) can get. It’s always nice to walk along a shoreline – this is a pretty lake that I nearly took a cold-water swim in.
Honourable Mention: Abbotsford (Discovery Walk and More)
The best places to walk are in your own backyard (I have it on my to-do list to write an ‘Ode to the Suburbs’ post, stay tuned). Abbotsford has a network of trails called the Discovery Walk, and on our first outing (on bikes) we saw a pair of Beavers before we had gotten more than 100 feet from the car. The trail network pretty much spans the town from East to West and comprises nearly 30km of mixed use paths traversing forests, wetlands, and meadows.
Some of the bodies of water that have dedicated parks in Abbotsford are the Mill Lake park, which is a beautiful spot for a bike ride, and the Albert Dyck Memorial park – a former quarry which hosts a waterski club and a swimming area. If I can get myself together enough, I might try a cold water swim there.
Whenever I’m in a new place, I try to discover what kinds of recreational opportunities are around. Back in September, I was in the parking lot of Shark Boy’s gymnastics club, when I noticed terrain of a unique nature. It was a BMX park, with bumps and curved embankments forming a course that is completed in a single lap, although it twists and folds back upon itself rather than just being a circle.
My birthday happened to fall on a Sunday, so the Lightning Kid and I decided to give it a go, while Shark Boy was at his gymnastics training. For the footage, we’ll have to consult the Lightning Kid YouTube Channel:
I was on my hardtail mountain bike, which is not quite ideal for jumps and such on this track, or maybe that’s my lack of confidence talking. We did go back once, and I wore clip-in shoes rather than the trail runners you see me in during the video. We also got a chance to witness a race to end the season and see how it’s really done, with a mechanical gate to keep the starting line honest, found at a top of a ramp by the start of the course. A rep from the Abbotsford BMX club told us they would transition to indoors, and how welcoming they were to beginners.
Unfortunately, it took us a while to get back to them, and by the time we did, the Lightning Kid had lost all the confidence and ended up walking his bike around the ‘half-track’ which is the latter segment of the indoor course with smaller bumps. Shark Boy tried the whole racecourse but found his mountain bike wasn’t well suited to the racing gate, as he couldn’t sit in the seat and stay balanced while waiting for the gate to drop. He got to try a loaner BMX bike, but he hated how low the seat was – BMX riders typically stand on the pedals for the entire ride, and absorb the bumps by bending their knees and elbows. Shark Boy seemed to be doing well adapting to the bike and a new style of riding, but apparently he hated every second of it. I thought that would be the end of our foray into this sport, but apparently, the Lightning Kid was adamant about coming back.
On your first visit, you can get a 1 day BMX membership for liability reasons, but subsequent visits mean an annual membership. I have to admit I didn’t want to spring for one just to watch him walk his bike, but thanks to some great coaching by the staff at Abbotsford BMX, he got to ride the half-track the very next visit! Looks like I’ll be investing in the official protective gear (gloves, helmet with face covering, etc) for him, but I’m not sure if it’s something I will take up myself.
Before the Labour Day weekend of 2021, we pulled the trigger on our move to British Columbia. I had driven from Toronto to Calgary once, but I didn’t think I could re-create the same route and timing with the kids. Using Google Maps shows that crossing the country is accomplished the quickest with crossing the US border, but COVID-19 testing requirements ruined that idea. So we left early in the morning from Mississauga with a fairly unambitious goal of making it to Sault Ste Marie (the Canadian one – there’s one on the Michigan side too!).
Before I get into the journey, I should mention our packing. Obviously, we couldn’t fit everything we owned into my Kia Sportage, but a Thule rooftop carrier and trailer hitch bike carrier made it feasible that we could have a bit of life when we got there. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my wife’s bike onto the rack due to its shape; it’s a ladies-style leisure bike and doesn’t have the normal triangular frame that the rack needed. The upside is I got to bring 2 bikes, my Trek hard-tail and Sable. The drive into Northern Ontario, was part familiar (maybe till around Sudbury), then got new and novel.
Photo actually taken in Sault-Ste-Marie, but it shows how we were kitted out.
We stayed in a Holiday Inn and ate at Montana’s.
The next day’s driving was a tricky one – we selected Dryden as our destination; Thunder Bay wasn’t far enough, Kenora was too far. Thanks to stopping in White River for the Winnie the Pooh monument (and a job interview over the phone), we were driving through lonely Northern Ontario roads in the dark and rain, which was a little white-knuckle for my tastes.
2 days just to get out of Ontario! The next day took us clear through Manitoba with a stop at a Winnipeg McDonalds’. In Regina we had a nice evening of Sushi and Steak at an Earls’.
Sample of the kind of scenery the prairies provide
Now we knew we were closing in on our new home. The next day we spent some time getting last-minute items for school including socks and pants. We stopped for lunch in Medicine Hat, but had something special planned for the evening – we would be staying at the Canmore Inn. Canmore is a tourist town for sure but was the better option (compared to Banff) going into a long-weekend COVID or not. The kids loved the waterslide and pool and it was a welcome change from being cooped up in the car for 3 days. Lucky for us, the Lightning Kid had a swimming cast on. Did I not mention he had a broken ankle?
Here’s a video to get you caught up!
From Canmore, we got to drive through the mountains, and start really savouring the scenery.
The cell service in the mountains was surprisingly poor, given that we were on the Trans-Canada highway, and we had been forewarned that forest fires were still active. Though there was nothing dangerous to us, we could smell smoke throughout our drive and we saw a helicopter dump extinguishing chemicals on a small fire.
We arrived at our temporary digs in Langley in the late afternoon. The kids attend school in Abbotsford, and Shark Boy is back to competitive gymnastics training in an actual gym. We’ve moved around the Fraser Valley a bit, but we’re settled in nicely here. More BC adventure reports coming!
This post is another throwback to coping with the pandemic and lockdown. Ontario had nothing going on in terms of camps or activities, or at least not when you could plan for the summer, and the kids were long overdue for someadventure, and the adults needed their alone-time.
We had researched FlipFest and its sister event NinjaFest; a competitive gymnastics, and obstacle course/ninja warrior camp respectively, that are held in Crossville, Tennessee. We enrolled the kids for mid-July and plotted how to get there. The land border was closed into the US, while flights back into Canada had their passengers diverted into Quarantine hotels (which could only serve to help spread the virus by concentrating at-risk travellers into small spaces), so the workaround was to fly there and drive back.
The Drive Down
My car was shipped across the border from Niagara Falls, Canada to Niagara, NY, and we flew on 2 helicopters to meet it.
Each flight was only 7-8 minutes long, but the chopper could only seat 3, so we needed 2 flights. The car left on a truck ahead of our scheduled flights. After clearing customs, we hopped into the car and drove till we got hungry in Erie, PA, and had some pizza for lunch.
Then we drove on to Cleveland West- I booked mostly Holiday Inn Express and Suites on this trip since I’m an IHG rewards member. Unfortunately, the pool at this hotel was under repair/maintenance of some kind, so there was no fun reward for the kids being patient in the car. Instead, we found a SkyZone Trampoline Park. We found a nice Italian restaurant in a shopping village.
From the Lightning Kid YouTube Channel
On Day 2, we made our way to Lexington, KY. Our timetable getting to Tennessee was not an aggressive one, because none of us were sure how well we’d fare with the long drive. I’d made it to Kentucky in a day on a road trip in my twenties, but travelling with a family (never mind one that is recovering from lockdown blues) is obviously different. Before hitting the road, the Lightning Kid and I did a little geocaching – whenever there’s time and we’re in an unfamiliar area, it’s worth checking if there’s anything nearby to be found.
After some driving, we decided to try our first Chick-Fil-A at Columbus’ Polaris Fashion Mall food court. I’ve got to say, their chicken sandwiches were overhyped – I don’t think we’ve been missing that much in Canada. On the other hand, we gorged ourselves at a Cheesecake Factory once we reached Lexington.
The third day was the 4th of July. We tried Sonic and their killer milkshakes for lunch en route. We had We got a Holiday Inn in Newport, TN, and went to see the sequel to Boss Baby (Boss Baby: Back in Business) in a theatre – in Ontario, they still weren’t open. We had dinner at a Cracker Barrel and tried Okra for the first time while trying to distinguish between Chicken Fried and Country Fried – if we figured it out, I’ve since forgotten it. Once it got dark, we were able to see a few fireworks from the hotel windows.
Tennesee Family Time
Having arrived in Tennessee, we stayed at a ‘Glamping’ Camp Resort, and our first night was spent in a Treehouse!
We spent the day in a fairly relaxed manner, swimming in the pool, playing Cornhole, as well as eating Barbecue and ice cream. We took some time to check out Gatlinburg, which is quite the tourist trap – I had the verse from Johnny Cash’s ‘Boy Named Sue’ running through my head: It was Gatlinburg, in mid-July, and I’d just hit town, and my throat was dry… I thought I’d grab myself a brew… We drove up to Ober, which was just closing, so we didn’t get to try much in terms of activities. In winter it’s a ski resort, which kind of blows my mind that people can ski in Tennessee. We slept well in that treehouse and were sad to have to leave it.
The next day we used the Gatlinburg Trolley Service to go into town and had a long wait in line to ride a chairlift to the top of Anakeesta, a local theme park.
We were highly unused to crowds at this stage, and since standing in crowded lines is part of any theme park day, we were a little unnerved and unable to fully enjoy the experience. It was a hot day, and the Lightning Kid took to a splash pad we found near the top after lunch. He and I were going to take a coaster ride, but the wait times were too long. The kids did enjoy a cat-walk play area, but I didn’t get pictures. Still, it was a great view of the Smokey’s and we opted for a bus ride back down to the bottom.
Once we got back to the Campground we had to check out our Safari Tent, thankfully it had a portable air-conditioner as the canvas walls weren’t breathable and the summer heat was on!
We were in this Safari tent for two nights. The second day was spent with more swimming, Cornhole, and searching for breakfast. We grilled sausages by the fire for dinner. We really enjoyed the community feel of our campsite, and it was so nice watching the boys make friends.
The next day we checked in at another campsite, this time in a cabin. The Jellystone Park in Pigeon Forge. Pigeon Forge is Dolly Parton’s hometown and where Dollywood is found. We didn’t make it there; as we were still a bit wary of crowds (and expenses) from being tourists in Gatlinburg, but I’d encourage anyone and everyone to look into Dolly Parton’s biography because she is fascinating.
The Jellystone campground had a fun jump pad/ trampoline that the boys got to use to warm up their skills prior to their sleepaway camp (which was the purpose of this trip).
Our final destination as a a family of four was Crossville TN. Checking your kids in to their first sleepaway camp can be a little nerve-wracking. Shark Boy did a couple of overnights with Beaver Scouts, and sometimes at a friend’s or grandparent’s place. The Lightning Kid had only done overnight Beaver Scout camps with me as a leader. They were both anxious, and so were we leading up to it, but the check-in process at Flipfest was so encouraging and we were so happy to see our kids be able to interact with peers again that there were plenty of smiles (brave smiles, but smiles all the same) around.
My wife and I headed back to our hotel in Crossville with nothing to do but enjoy the peace and quiet. For about an hour, when we got a call from the camp! We were terrified that the Lightning Kid was not fitting in somehow – the fear of the special needs parent, or at least, fear #437 – but it ended up that Shark Boy had twisted his ankle. We spoke to the camp director and we came to the consensus that we wanted to wait and see with some icing, rather than rush to a hospital. In the end it ended up being the right move, since he was training at full capacity within a couple of days, having taken one day to treat the ankle lightly.
After that, we were able to have a couples weekend (which actually took place on a Monday/Tuesday) in Nashville. We stayed in a beautiful hotel called the Bobby. Unfortunately not every amenity was in full swing (e.g. rooftop pool, rooftop bar weren’t operational during the week.
Our first night in Nashville made it hard to find the barbecue that Tennessee is famous for – the line-ups and crowds were a bit much for us. It was exciting to hear live music come out of every bar though.
We had better luck the next day and reserved at Puckett’s Grocery Store early. We spent part of our afternoon at the Johnny Cash Museum. Some of my favourite parts were listening to all the great artists that have covered the Man in Black over the years (did you know Miley Cyrus did a live cover of A Boy Named Sue?). We’d been listening to Johnny Cash a fair bit on the drive down as a Tennesse music primer. Seeing him act in some TV shows and movies was a hoot too (he seemed to like to play the villain).
At Puckett’s, I tried a flight of Tennessee whiskeys and I’ve been on the lookout for a bottle of George Dickel‘s ever since. There was great BBQ, and live music from an artist named Troy Kemp managed to stoke an appreciation for country music in this heart of mine.
The next day, we left the urban environment of Nashville behind (though hopefully not for the last time) for a bed and breakfast in a more picturesque area, and not so far from the Flipfest camp (just in case). The Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast had a nearby trail with some nice lookouts (especially the aptly named Bee rock – the large bees kind of scared us off extending a sunset walk beyond a certain point).
We were able to do some nice hiking by Falls Creek Falls State Park. I actually used the waterfalls themselves to cool off after a tough, hot hike down. We added a little more walking and tried the suspension bridge with some trepidation.
Another day went by and suddenly we were picking the boys up from camp. They had a wonderful time, apparently their favourite part was the ‘Blob’ – a giant inflated pad which launches one kid up and into the lake when another kid drops onto it from a height. They had campfires, dance nights, and loads of other fun, and they’ll be begging us to go back next summer, I’m sure.
The drive back was through Lexington and we stopped in Cincinatti. From there to Detroit and across the border thanks to the negative PCR test results we got from a CVS in Crossville. We got home and spent 2 weeks quarantining which was difficult, but probably worth it in the long run.
I originally published this on LinkedIn. This blog will probably have more Bullet Journal content in the future. Bullet Journalling is its own sub-culture that is easy to get sucked into and rest assured, this blog won’t turn into a catalogue of flowery page spreads. My Bullet Journaling practice is mostly about staying sane i.e. mental wellness.
I found myself getting a little overwhelmed at my job. I had started 6 months before, and at the time, I wanted to be more organized and purchased a sophisticated planner. The planner had me map out various ambitions and goals and made me think that I could accomplish everything my heart desired if I followed the steps laid out by the structure of the pages of the planner. Somewhere along the line, I noticed the pages of the planner were largely blank, and I felt guilty and anxious.
I believe the mistake had been to try and completely transform many habits at once – it was too much to take on for someone who rarely used to-do lists or anything much more than calendaring functions of Google and Outlook. I did come across the concept of Bullet Journalling though.
While Bullet Journalling has its own subculture that can become intimidating and make it hard to define, my favourite explanation is that it is part planner, part journal and part to-do list. You can take any notebook and create your own bullet journal. There are pages for an index (so you can reference any extra content you create) and ‘future logs’ which are simply annual and monthly (or the optional weekly) overviews. Beyond that, it’s simply one page a day, writing things down in bullet form. Different bullets have different meanings, but overall the system is flexible enough that I figured I could give it a try, and if I missed a day or a week, I could pick it up where I left off without feeling like I had wasted paper (or my money – my first bullet journal resided in a branded promotional notebook provided by a supplier).
I would put meetings (and sometimes appointments) in the journal as items that carried the same amount of space as to-do tasks. When colleagues or customers made unexpected demands, I wrote them down too. Things that didn’t get done got migrated to the next available day, and everything that got done gets marked with an ‘X’. Anyone who uses to-do lists on a regular basis will tell you how gratifying it is to mark items done, but by including things that were ‘done’ without being ‘to-do’ beforehand, I could look back on the day and realize how productive I had been, even if some or all my plans had gone off the rails. It made it easier not to lose track of outstanding items and fill out timesheets at the end of the week too.
None of this is new or revolutionary to those who use bullet journalling, but I did enjoy feeling more satisfied and motivated by seeing how the time had gone. I even included family activities as their own bullets and used a heart-shaped ‘signifier’ (a symbol to identify the nature of the entry) so that I could know that I was still being a good husband and father.
I have, however, come up with some signifiers that might be new to bullet journals. The Strengths Finder is a book/website often used by those in a career transition. It espouses a school of thought that says shoring up weaknesses is not a good use of anyone’s time, but rather, identifying strengths and spending time using them increases both productivity and satisfaction. I bought a copy of the book, which in addition to being a guide to the individual strengths and how to best use them, provides a code that can be redeemed on the website to generate a report on your strengths through a long online questionnaire. My strengths were identified as:
Intellect
Input
Consistency
Learning
Ideation
Getting into the definitions of my individual strengths would make this article too long, and my individual strengths are not what is interesting, but rather that there are actions or activities that I should be undertaking regularly (if not even daily) to be my best. The ideal job is one that lets you work with your strengths daily – and while I believe that no job is perfect, it’s important to track when you can operate to your best potential. I created signifiers for each strength (a ⚝ for Intellect, a 🚪 for Input, a △ for Consistency, ⬜ for Learning and a 💡for Ideation) and in reviewing tasks for the day, identify which met the criteria for one (or more of these strengths).
When I read a white paper or brief, I could mark it as Learning or Input, likewise for Webinars. When I engaged in some writing (like this article, for example), it got a star for Intellect. Brainstorming sessions on strategy or sudden epiphanies on strategy could get the Ideation lightbulb, working on processes or systems gets a triangle for Consistency. I wanted to include a photo of a good sample page, but the best ones all had confidential matters on them.
The more often I could signify my work according to my strengths, the less my job seemed to be about putting out fires or sitting in meetings, and the more I liked my job. Our jobs are generally the biggest component of our waking hours, so being able to have a positive attitude of gratitude can be a great mood booster for the entirety of the day or even the week.
Applying my Strength Signifiers to my daily journal entries is a process that hasn’t yet become a natural habit, but I’m convinced that I’m on to something that enhances my productivity, motivation and general mental health. I even applied these signifiers (as well as others like an up arrow ↑ for outdoor/physical activity and a down arrow ↓ for reflection/meditation/downtime) to a year-in-review exercise I performed. I simply leafed through my journals for 2017 and wrote out the most significant achievements and events of every month, applying signifiers as I went along. I hope to continue to evolve my bullet journal practice and continually play to my strengths in my professional and personal life.
The unexamined life is not worth living – Socrates
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit – Will Durant
