"Why outdoor discomfort is good for growth"/ "How can I find a qualified, reputable career coach?"

Jul. 17, 2017 "Why outdoor discomfort is good for growth": Today I found this article by Matt Mosteller in the Globe and Mail:

Six lessons gleaned from spending time out of your element with implications for productivity and inspiration at the office

Now, being uncomfortable may scare you, but so does the road to discovering all of the power and goodness inside of you. We need to unleash that power inside of us because we don’t have many opportunities to do this throughout the daily grind of our regular lives.

Don’t fret, there are plenty of outdoor programs that are accessible and ready for you – just don’t put this off as you have those other projects in your inbox.

How do we do this? To name a few ideas: You could sign up today and learn to canoe, book an introduction to hiking course, discover how to stand-up paddle board or get in some rock-climbing action. You’ll be high-fiving yourself and sharing newly gained confidence with others in no time.

We can learn so much from challenging ourselves in the outdoors, which makes us stronger and more confident. It also helps us shape a more inspired life from the situations Mother Nature throws our way.

Here are six tips to consider for a more productive and inspired life. For perspective’s sake, let me take you to the edge during a rock-climbing course to explain why pushing yourself outside of your limits can assist you in your regular life.

When your grip on the rock begins to fail, you’re already freaked out. Your leg is shaking more violently than your favourite cocktail mixer, and a torrent of sweat soaks your athletic wear and blinds you as you search for a better grip. 

Throwing your arm, your fingers skid into place, safely stuck in a clinging state of mind. Calmness rushes over you, if even for just a second. Your first time rock climbing outside pushed you to the limits. Having to push yourself as never before fills you with new-found confidence , giving you a better vantage point to reflect on your personal and professional challenges.

As with so many people, your work environment may have recently become a stressful atmosphere, leaving you feeling the brunt of its negative effects. That experience rock climbing gave you the strength to stand up and challenge mediocre minds, and to start inspiring others with a positive, can-do attitude. This propelled you to become the positive change, the little spark your company needed.

This feeling wasn’t only making an impression at work. An inner personal growth flourished from putting yourself in uncomfortable situations outside, helping you develop a variety of tools that release the goodness inside of you. 

This helps you deal with all of life’s challenges. We’re not just talking about the niggling details and tedious responsibilities of our daily lives, but those big mountains we may face in life on the broader spectrum of our relationships, family and personal development.

Real growth comes from the outside, pushing yourself in nature and challenging yourself in ways nothing else in your repetitive, regular life can. Don’t wait. Get outside now, not only for the health benefits, but to develop your own toolbox that will act as a springboard for living your life with confidence and inspiration. Go all in

Just as with rock climbing, don’t be afraid to take on new challenges. Being perched on a rocky cliff does not give you many options but to focus and put 100 per cent of your effort behind each move, so that you make it to the top. Learning to dig deep and apply all of your effort to a project will consistently move the needle in your everyday life. 

You can’t move forward if you can’t get things done or – in today’s digital world – ship your art. 

Look around

We need to learn that changing direction is all right and that moving outside of our comfort zone is healthy for us. While rock climbing, this can occur through a variety of scenarios – adapting to changing weather conditions, taking on more degrees of difficulty in your route selection or overcoming deteriorating rock conditions. 

Unlike responding to text messages, you may not have time to pause and think or procrastinate; you act quickly as survival instincts kick in and take over. We may not realize it, but we face these decisions on a smaller scale on a regular basis.

When you’re outside, you make instant choices when potential risks arise, such as changing ski touring routes based on avalanche conditions or taking another canoe route based on a prediction of stormy weather ahead. This greatly enhances your skill set, giving you the ability to make decisions on the fly and determine major directional changes when needed. 

Be cold

Sure, you have some uncomfortable situations at work, such as the ego-driven team member who is taking credit for all your work, or communication challenges with one of your colleagues in another city. You will take on different perspective after you reflect on that canoe journey when your boat flipped over in a raging storm. 

You’ll recall having to quickly erect a makeshift camp while shivering for hours, leading to a sleepless night you will never forget. With that experience top of mind at the office, all other situations will seem much easier to deal with. Plus, you’ll always be grateful for heat and a dry office space. 

Always be learning

World-class climbers are constantly practising new moves and honing their skills in preparation for their next challenge. Settling is the beginning of death. You have one opportunity to live, so why not learn as much as you can? Stir your mind and soul regularly. 

Besides, having something to look forward to keeps your head in a progressive state of mind. When you don’t have challenges, worries and stress can fill your head. Your career will benefit from a clear mind. Even if those around you do not recognize it, do it to better yourself. Your future self will thank you for it. 

Never give up

Put yourself in situations where you have to rely on yourself to slog it out, such as mid-way through a 70-kilometre backpacking trip on the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, in a seemingly never-ending rainstorm. Nothing is dry. Winds whips your eyelids up and down.

 Yet you still have 35 kilometres to go. You complete the backpacking trip due to your persistence, inner strength and resolve to make each step count. In nature, you have no choice but to continue. We can get too complacent in our daily life; we need to challenge ourselves. Have the tenacity to keep going, constantly creating and honing your skills. 

Face your fear

How do we do that? First we need to embrace the power it entails. The main ingredient is adrenalin, which gives you that rapid heart rate originally meant to kick in and save us from being eaten in caveman times. The key is to embrace the fear and channel the powerful energy into good.

Positive fear helps you, giving you that lifesaving leap as you are crossing the street and there is a car coming directly at you. 

Negative fear is when it holds you back from doing something good for yourself, such as trying a new sport or challenging your boss with a different view. 

Tell fear that you are going to do this, you are going forward. Familiarize yourself with your fear. 

Trying a new sport outdoors, such as rock climbing, can assist you in a big way by letting you meet your fear head on. This will not only provide you the incredible life confidence you deserve, but also show you how to face your fear.

Accomplishing something you are told you cannot do – by yourself or by others – is good for you in so many ways. We grow most when we face fear. 

Executives, educators and human resources experts contribute to the ongoing Leadership Labs series. Find more articles at tgam.ca/careers.

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-globe-and-mail-bc-edition/20170717/281938837965254

"How can I find a qualified, reputable career coach?": Today I found this article in the Globe and Mail:

THE QUESTION

From my online searches, it doesn’t seem that career coaching is a regulated, professional designation. How do you know if they are reputable and qualified to provide advice? Is there a registry or a rating system, as with financial services? What are customary fees and duration of service? Is it worth the investment?

THE FIRST ANSWER

Peter Caven

Managing director, Launched, Toronto

The job market is intensely competitive.

You are in the “Career Olympics” and a coach will help you to set realistic and achievable goals; develop strategies; acquire the skills to successfully implement those strategies; keep you motivated and engaged.

A coach will ensure you are executing career-building tactics (résumé, LinkedIn profile, networking and interviewing skills) at a gold-medal level. 

A coach will set milestones, monitor your progress, provide feedback and modify your approach as required. The process of finding a career can be disheartening – a coach can boost your spirits and keep you motivated.

Choosing the right coach is important – you need to be confident in your coach and trust their judgment. There needs to be good “chemistry” between you and your coach. 

Meet with and interview several of them. Examine their careers – what have they done? Have they “competed” or only coached? What is their track record – who have they coached and helped succeed, and to what level? 

What is their approach and process – do they take an integrated, bigger-picture view or only focus on one or two elements of the process?

View costs as an investment and calculate your return – what is the pay-back period and net present value over the balance of your career? With fixed fees, you know what the cost will be – hourly fees can get out of control and discourage you from getting the help you need.

Coaches can create a road map for success, however, ultimately it is up to you to ensure you reach your career goals.

THE SECOND ANSWER

Colleen Clarke

Corporate trainer and principal, yourresumepro.com, Toronto

Career counselling is not regulated, though there is Canadian certification available. In Ontario, for one, check the Ontario Association of Career Management website for a listing of members. There are also graduates with career-management diplomas from a few colleges across Canada.

The best way to find a professional career coach is through referral. Considerations when selecting a counsellor:

• Check out their website, read testimonials, ask for references;
• 
  
• You can book a package of multiple visits, or one-offs – the number often depends on where clients are in their life, in their job search and what their goals and needs are;
• 
  
• A counsellor need not have experience in your industry though that can be a plus in certain occupations/industries and levels of employment;
• 
  
• Chemistry is important if working together for longer than one visit;
• 
  
• Availability, location and accessibility: Independent coaches might be available seven days a week;
• 
  
• Rates vary from $100 to $200 an hour for an independent; a retail consultant at an outplacement firm may be much higher;
• 
  
• Professional résumé services should start at $500, depending on varying factors. Plan to sit in on the session or be available for consultation, around three hours plus edit time.

Every professional athlete has a coach; any job seeker would be fortunate to likewise have a guiding light.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/how-can-i-find-a-qualified-reputable-career-coach/article35694875/

Comments:

1 year ago

There are hundreds of coaching programs out there, churning out "qualified" coaches. To ensure a level of training and practice has occurred, your coach should be a member and certified with the International Coaches Federation, which has strict education and practice credentials enforced on its membership. There is a difference between a weekend coaching program and a year long one. Also, choose a coach that specializes in careers, not everything, as many do.

1 year ago

I would not hire anyone requiring a career coach unless the coach was the Drill Sargent from "Full Metal Jacket"

1 year ago

HI:Remember in "The Graduate", the line "One word: plastics"!!!!!One word: Network is my line.I have/had what most would consider a rewarding(financially, esoteric) career(s).Mentors through networking played large but the real key is that person looking back in the mirror. See where you are weak in people skills arena as that if anything holds folks back from their true path.

JPP221

2 days ago

Is this question even real?

Wanting an advisor with some experience or track record is reasonable. But a grown adult seeking some central authority to have certified or authorized their advisor? I can’t imagine how they pick a dry cleaner or the agony that presents when a shoe repair shop must be chosen.

1 Reaction

rf9

22 hours ago

A millennial in all probability.

Jason Argo

2 days ago

I'll suggest an alternative:

-read a couple of books about career building

-hire a PA for a day each week (liberal arts grads are cheap) to carry out what the book says (AND pick up your dry cleaning).

BERNIE600

2 days ago

HI:

Remember in "The Graduate", the line "One word: plastics"!!!!!

One word:Network is my line.

I have/had what most would consider a rewarding(financially, esoteric) career(s).

Mentors through networking played large but the real key is that person looking back in the mirror. See where you are weak in people skills arena as that if anything holds folks back from their true path.

rf9

2 days ago

Seriously, if you're operating at a professional level will you think of career coach may be helpful then you're probably not competent enough in the first place. If you can't manage your own career how are you going to inside an organisation? A career coach is a huge red flag to anyone hiring. I'm speaking from some experience as a hirer.

My opinion: I have went to my career counselor at MacEwan back in 2012.  I wasn't in college at the time, but I was an alumni.  She provided good tips because she was a 3rd party and not a friend or family member.  She brought a new point of view.

Feb. 18, 2019: I don't know why people are so negative about career coaches.  You may want someone outside to look into your resume.  

If you aren't getting the results like a career you want and you have tried different strategies and been doing it for a long time, then you bring someone in.

"An education on dorm room decor"/ "Design for success"

Aug. 17, 2017 "An education on dorm room decor": Today I found this article by Melissa Rayworth in the Globe and Mail:

When Young Huh left for college in the 1980s, she brought “one giant poster of the Cure, bedding from the local bed-and-bath store and maybe some desk accessories.” Like so many Gen Xers, her one creative touch was asking a supermarket for leftover milk crates to use as bookshelves.

Now an interior designer, she has helped her own children decorate their dorm rooms, and she’s amazed at the design expectations among college students.

“It’s a level of decorating that did not even exist in my world view when I was in school,” Huh says.

Today, there are lots of products “that cater entirely to the college crowd,” she says.

Interior designer Jon Call sees the same phenomenon: While his main business is designing luxury homes in Manhattan, he also gets asked to design college living spaces.

“This new generation has grown up under the influence of home magazines, HGTV and the virtues of ‘democratic design.’ They understand the value of creating unique spaces for themselves,” he says. They want their dorm rooms “not only to function, but also to reflect who they are.”

We’ve asked Huh, Call and small-space design expert Theodore Leaf, host of the Design Network series Living Big in Under 1,000 Sq. Ft., for advice on infusing a college dorm room with style and personality, while keeping budget and function in mind.

Choose your vision

As with any design project, Huh recommends beginning with an overall vision for the space. “Is it all one colour and soothing? Is it ethnic eclectic? Are you going for pink extravaganza? Clip some pictures or start a Pinterest page,” she says.

Then, choose a focal point for the room, something you would like to see every day. “It could be your bed with an oversize art work or a fun suzani wall hanging over it,” Huh says.

 “Having something overscaled or very interesting to look at distracts the eye and makes you forget the size of the space.”

If your focal point includes saturated, dramatic colour, it will also help disguise the fact that a room is small. “This could be a red bed in an otherwise neutral room,” Call explains. “It allows the eye to focus on one thing and the defining walls to disappear.”

Call also suggests adding a beautiful headboard to the existing bed frame, elevating the look of basic dorm furniture.

Another trick: Keep your colour scheme to just three colours to help make a small space feel bigger, and “focus on fewer pieces of furniture at a larger scale,” Call says.

Small-space specialties

Leaf says the few furniture pieces you bring should do double-duty, such as a storage ottoman large enough to function as a mini coffee table or as seating.

Call agrees: “Your end table may have a drawer that is outfitted with chargers and cords to make it an electronics station. Your bed could have bolsters on it to convert it into a daybed for additional seating.”

Huh suggests adding a loft to lift the bed, or at least adding risers to create under-bed storage space.

You can also use window draperies to make the room seem larger. Dorm rooms often come with vertical blinds, Leaf says, and you can transform the look by adding inexpensive sheer curtains hung high on a tension rod over the blinds. To make it even more dramatic, use a larger rod (even a tension rod made for a shower curtain) and run the sheers across an entire wall.

Personal touches

A colourful rug is an easy way to add style and warmth. Temporary wallpaper also can make a dorm feel less institutional. Candles (or artificial candles, for safety) can make a room feel “a little bit more tucked in,” Leaf says. And an oil diffuser is great for scenting the space.

Lighting is another powerful room-changer: Instead of living with harsh fluorescent lights, Leaf suggests gathering a few hand-me-down lamps from parents or grandparents, and changing the lamp shades if you don’t like them. Dimmers make a difference, too: You can use technology such as Philips’ Hue bulbs, which are controlled via an app, or simply bring plug-in dimmers.

Lastly, says Huh: “Fairy lights are de rigueur dorm decor.”

And don’t forget personal items from home.

“Anything that you can bring from home will make a dorm room feel more personal and comfortable,” Huh says. “A favourite mug and something you love from your room at home should also come with you to school.”

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/design/an-education-on-dorm-room-decor/article35994171/

Aug. 18, 2017 "Design for success": Today I found this sponsor content article (for Staples) by Sarah Gunn in the Globe and Mail:

The key to an effective study space is allowing the room to express your personality. Here are some important tips for arranging ideal study spaces where both you and your student can work.

BEDROOM 

According to designer and influencer Sarah Gunn, the first thing to think about when designing a study space for a bedroom is getting the right furnishing. “You want a good-sized desk and a comfortable chair,” says Gunn. “You definitely want ample space to get your work done.”

Choosing from the plethora of desk options can be daunting, but Gunn suggests focusing primarily on storage that suits your specific needs. “If you’re a messier person, you want drawers in that desk,” she says. “If you’re a bit of a neat freak, you can get away with open shelving with some pretty baskets.”

Inspiration is the key to keeping focused while you work. Gunn suggests an Instagram wall, with square canvas prints, or even an evolving pinboard of photos or an Umbra clothesline photo display.

“You want to have something hanging over the desk that inspires you, be it art, photography, a collage – just something that makes the space feel special.” 

DORM ROOM 

“When you’re thinking about a dorm room, you’re thinking about a really blank slate and a cold, empty space. You can’t paint the walls or put a hole in them, so you need to come up with creative solutions to personalize the space and make it feel like home away from home,” says Gunn.

While wallpaper might not be feasible, you can hang artistic panels on the walls with products like Command strips, which can be removed with zero residue left behind, to create a unique colour palette for the room.

Gunn says that personalization can extend to desk accessories that keep clutter to a minimum and feel like an organic part of the room design.

“Staples carries brands like Poppin and Umbra which are super stylish and functional,” she says. “They come in a bunch of different colour palettes so you can really customize your space and make it your own.”

Another thing to consider is lighting: it can be hard to find the right amount of light to work in tight spaces, she says. The key is adjustable, multifunctional task lighting: products like the Tensor LED light come with add-ons, in this case a built-in Bluetooth speaker, save on space.

“Mood lighting also helps,” she says. “Try draping some string lights above the display on your desk, which offers some soft lighting for the space. Even a floor lamp near the desk makes it better lit.”

Gunn also recommends investing in a pocket-sized HP Sprocket photo printer, which can wirelessly print photos of all the new experiences you have at college or university, and displaying them along with things like ticket stubs above the desk. 

SHARED STUDY SPACES 

When it comes to spaces that are shared by adult, teens and children alike, the most important thing is compartmentalizing.

“If it’s a common space that the whole family is using, I think it’s key to create some storage in that space that’s designated for each person in the family. It could be inside of a buffet or dresser: it doesn’t have to be a plastic roll-out cart that doesn’t look attractive,” she says.

Whether it’s a young toddler doing crafts, a teenager writing a paper for school, or a parent getting their work done, Gunn says having personalized storage for every member of the family where things can tidily be put away makes a space as effective as it is multifunctional.

“If everyone has a place that’s hidden, they’re more likely to tidy up. Also, if you’re using the same computer or technology, set up different usernames so everyone can sign in to their own screen.”

Using a library cubby or a common room at your dorm? It doesn’t have to be sterile just because it’s a temporary working space.

“Personal photos, mementos from home, and even plants are a great way to personalize a workspace. Anything that adds that personal touch – and portable for when others need to use the space.”

Using Command strips, magnets or even fun clips can help make things easy to clean up when you’re done with the space. And make sure to bring your own stationery to give it a look that’s as unique as you are.

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-globe-and-mail-alberta-edition/20170818/282166471295299

Feb. 17, 2019: Today I reread those articles.  I was then inspired to look for a job in interior design companies.  I applied to a furniture store.

job interviews/ Payless Shoe Source and Home Outfitters closing down

Dec. 19, 2018 Clothing store: I went to an interview in Nov. 2018.  I passed my resume there in person and online.

Pros:

1. It was close by, 1 bus to get there.

2. It was part-time, and daytime hours.

3. The pay was $15/hr.  

4. They give you the schedule a month ahead.

5. The duties are selling clothes and the cash register.  There is a sales target.  There is lots of customer service and listening to them. 

Cons: None.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.  I called on Fri. and the boss hasn't made a decision yet, and then on Sat. she called me and said I didn't get hired.

Fast food restaurant: I went to an interview this month.

Pros:

1. It was close by, 1 bus to get there.

2. It was part-time, and daytime hours.

3. The pay was $15/hr.  The tips are divided.  50% off the food, only after 3 months probation, and only at that location.

I go to lots of restaurant interviews and most of them say 50% off food when working, and not after 3 months probation.

4. The duties are opening and closing the restaurant.  I would make wraps, salads, deep frying.

Cons: None.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.  However, he did show me that there are 300 people who applied or at least viewed the job ad on Indeed.  He was interviewing 20 people.

I did tell him I was interested in the job.

Clothing store #2: I went to an interview this month.

Pros:

1. It was 2 buses to get to.  It was far, but at least the buses come frequently.

2. The hours are PT.  I told her I can work 4 or 5 days.

3. The pay was $15/hr.

4. The duties are putting clothes out, get fitting rooms, the till.

Cons: 

1. It seemed like they wanted more availability to close at night.  I told her I can close at night, and I would prefer daytime.  It was about the buses.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.

Senior home care interview: I went to an interview this month.  It was for the cafeteria job there.

Pros:

1. It was 2 buses to get there.

2. The hours are 7:30am- 3:30pm or 11am-7pm.

3. The pay was $15-19/hr.  There are no tips.  The discount is 50% off.

4. The duties are cooking and baking.  There is the till.

Cons:

1. It was a casual on- call position.  There are no guarantee hours.  They will call you anytime.  You  can't really plan your life around work if you don't know when you will be called in.

2. This is a mild con.  I have to get a criminal record check because there are vulnerable people/ seniors here.  I have to pay for it and I don't get reimbursed for it.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.

Pizza place:  I went to an interview this month.

Pros:

1. It was close by, like 2 buses to get there.

2. It was $15/hr.

3. I can take orders and kitchen prep.

Cons: 

1. They were mainly looking for nights.  I talked to the woman who set the interview up and she said it was mainly nights, and maybe some day shifts.

The woman boss J said they were looking for nights.  The place closes at 11pm so it's very late.  I can close at 9pm and take the bus.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired to work in the daytime.

My week:

Sun. Feb. 17, 2019 Work: Tonight it was actually busy.  There were 42 customers.  It was probably because of the long weekend.

Valentine's Day: Ca told me she worked Valentine's Day, and it was very busy.  It also didn't go very well because though there are 5 workers, it was understaffed.

Feb. 15, 2019 He pretended a date stood him up at Outback Steakhouse on Valentine’s Day. Strangers picked up his tab:

A thought popped into Stephen Bonser’s head midway through Valentine’s Day.

“If I went to Outback Steakhouse by myself tonight and asked for a table for 2, then got progressively sadder as the night went on alone, do you think they’d give me my steak for free?” the 27-year-old, who works in technology sales and lives in Washington, asked his hundreds of Twitter followers.

His sister egged him on, telling him that she would pay for his meal on Thursday if the restaurant didn’t. Three hours later, Bonser was waiting by the host stand at the Outback Steakhouse in Arlington, dressed in a fresh blazer and button-down shirt and carrying a poorly wrapped present.

“I figured that I’m getting a free steak either way,” he told The Washington Post later that night. “It would be fiscally irresponsible not to do it.”

By 10:30 p.m., the check still hadn’t shown up, and Bonser had spent nearly two hours waiting for his nonexistent date. Just when he started to think that he might actually be on the hook for the bill, a couple who had been sitting at the bar got up. They looked “no younger than 60 or so,” he said, and he got the sense that this wasn’t their first Valentine’s Day at Outback. On their way out, they stopped by his table and told him that they had already paid for his meal.

“Hey, bud, we’ll take care of that,” the man said, according to Bonser. “Sorry about that. Don’t let it get you down.”

His mission was a success: Despite having no previous acting experience, Bonser had been able to convince his fellow diners that he had been stood up on Valentine’s Day. As a “thank you,” he made a $50 donation to the American Civil Liberties Union, figuring that was roughly what his meal had cost the anonymous couple.

“Otherwise,” he told The Post, “I’m going to have some real bad karma coming my way.”

Within a matter of hours, thousands of people had retweeted or liked Bonser’s Twitter thread, and at least one woman had volunteered to go on a real date with him. “Get this cat free steak.....FO LIFE!” wrote NFL Network host Cole Wright, who deemed it the funniest Twitter thread of all time. Fantasy football analyst Adam Rank, also with NFL Network, chimed in: “I feel like you’re the hero we don’t deserve.”

Advertisement

Others criticized him for wasting his waiter’s time, arguing that he should have tipped more than $20 on one of the busiest nights of the year. In his defense, Bonser said that he had tried to make sure he was leaving a good tip for the man, who seemed to genuinely feel sorry for him and responded to the situation with impressive tact.

“The waiter was a rock star,” he said. “He handled it so smoothly.”

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/he-pretended-a-date-stood-him-up-at-outback-steakhouse-on-valentines-day-strangers-picked-up-his-tab/ar-BBTD5ss?ocid=spartandhp

My opinion: At least he donated money to a charity.

The Fix: It will come out on Mar. 18, 2019.  It stars Robin Tunney (The Mentalist), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Ten Days in the Valley), and Merrin Dungey (Alias).

"An L.A. prosecutor moves to Oregon after losing a high-profile murder case, but when the killer strikes again, she returns to seek justice under her own terms. "

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7942774/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Try small new things: 

Feb. 16, 2019: I read job articles at night and then went to bed.  I usually read those articles in the day time.  I guess I was trying to incubate my subconscious for a solution in my sleep.

Feb. 17, 2019: I read the comics in the morning when I usually read it at night.

I washed my hair in the morning when I usually do it at night.

Feb. 18, 2019: I only drank 1 cup of coffee today instead of 3.

Friends: I called my friend Cham.  She is moving to a new place.

Feb. 19, 2019 The results: You guys are probably saying: "This is boring."  There aren't really any new results.  

Bonnie Doon mall: I passed my resumes there last week.  Today I passed more resumes there.  I find this mall to be average at best, and mediocre at worst.

There's a Safeway, a gas station, and a bank.  There's a food court, and a bowling alley.  There are stores, but if you walk through it, there is a lot of empty space.

Payless Shoes closing 248 Canadian Stores:

TORONTO — Mounting debts and a challenging retail market are forcing Payless ShoeSource Canada Inc. to shutter all of its North American stores by May.

The Kansas-based discount footwear retailer said Tuesday that it will soon file for creditor protection in Canada, making way for liquidation sales at the 248 locations it owns in the country.

The move comes just after Payless filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. and after Ohio-based shoe brand DSW Inc. shut down its Town Shoes Ltd. brand and the 38 stores it had in the country, saying the "competitive landscape for mid-luxury, mall-based footwear has dramatically changed, comparable sales have deteriorated consistently and generated significant operating losses."

https://ca.yahoo.com/finance/news/payless-close-248-canadian-stores-171326947.ht

My opinion: I was surprised this store closed down.  I thought it was an average store.  I wrote about the Town Shoes in West Edmonton mall closed down, but I didn't know all their locations closed.

I applied to a couple of Payless locations in the last few months. 

Feb. 20, 2019 Dr. Myles Munroe: Britta Aragon sent me this video about Munroe who was 1 of 11 kids and he grew up in poverty.   It was inspirational to listen to as he compares about being a lion.  You don't have to be the smartest or strongest, but it is about your belief system.

"Dr. Myles Munroe gave detailed instructions how to become a leader and how to break away from poor thinking .Very powerful and positive speech"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FMUysy5fss&app=desktop

Britta Aragon: 

It's strength building time... and a time to redirect your perspective to know that you are being asked to get ready for what’s coming. 

So ask yourself: 

Who do I have to BECOME to receive my king/queen? 

Who do I have to BE to run a million dollar business? 

Who do I have to BECOME to receive peace? 

Who do I have to BECOME to receive a baby? 

Who do I have to BE to sleep well at night ?

Who do I have to BE to be a great leader? 

Who do I have to BE to be a great friend? 

Who do I have to BE to receive God’s blessings? 

The truth is that the magic comes when we start to ask ourselves quality questions on a daily basis and start finding out where we fall short. 

Feb. 22, 2019 Home Outfitters closing down: 

Hudson's Bay Co. announced Thursday it will close its housewares chain Home Outfitters in Canada.

The company also says it will conduct a "fleet review" of another one of its retail chains, Saks OFF 5th, which has 133 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The review will likely see the company close 20 stores in the U.S.

There are 37 Home Outfitters locations across Canada. All will be closed by the end of 2019. Almost all of the areas losing a Home Outfitters store have a regular HBC store nearby, a spokesperson for the company told CBC News.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/hbc-home-outfitters-1.5028740

AC/DC Angus Young donates: 

A Canadian hockey ref's unusual fundraiser for Alzheimer's research has caught the attention of his musical heroes.

Steve McNeil is from Toronto but has been travelling across the country to skate for 19 hours and 26 minutes in each of Canada's NHL cities, raising awareness and money for local Alzheimer's societies. 

His effort is a tribute to his mother, who had the neurological disease, and to Malcolm Young, who co-founded the iconic Australian rock band AC/DC and died from dementia in 2017 at age 64. 

Now the musician's younger brother, band co-founder and lead guitarist Angus Young, has donated $19,260 Cdn to the Alzheimer Society of Ontario, McNeil said.

He asked the society to distribute the money to dementia music programs across Canada.

The society confirmed it had received the donation and told CBC it would be used for music therapy.

"It's funny how things work in the world, but rock-and-roll is such a powerful tool," McNeil said when he heard the good news. "This is AC/DC. This could open so many doors."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/acdc-malcolm-young-alzheimers-support-canadian-skater-1.5024427

Feb. 23, 2019 "Patch of indoor grass gives dogs a whiff of the litter box lifestyle": Today I found this article by Melissa Hank in the Edmonton Journal.  It's about Doggielawn, like where dogs can do their business in a lawn indoors.