Tag Archives: holiday

Power up

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In video games there are opportunities to power up and replenish your resources. Health and strength are increased and the character is ready for more/new adventures.

After an exhausting week I needed a power up and I got it through sleep. I was passed out on the couch at 7:30pm last night, and I don’t remember anything until I got up just after 2am to brush my teeth. Then I was out again until about 5am. Now I’m up, feel wide awake, and ready to start my winter break.

It feels good to reach this point and only need an early bed time to replenish. There are times when I, and many educators, get to this point and crash and burn. So many times we reach a holiday break and then wake up the next day sick. Our bodies are too drained and we hold on just long enough to get to the break and then our system crashes.

That’s a hard way to start a break. Your body powers down and says, “I’m out… give me a few days to refuel and recharge.” Luckily that’s not the case for me this time. I had a nice extended sleep and I’m ready to go!

I think my commitment to starting my day writing and exercising are a big part of me getting into power up rather than power down mode. I start each day with a couple personal accomplishments and that sets my day up. No matter how tired I am, or how long the week feels, I give myself a daily power up so I don’t drain my batteries so much that I need to power down to replenish.

Going back to the video game analogy, I keep my health line out of the red and so when I power up I’m in the green zone. I’m not letting myself get too drained and staying in the red even after a power up.

Let the holiday break begin… I’m ready!

Final countdown

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Two more days until the winter break. Tonight I’ll be at school until 9:30pm or so, because we have a school dance I’ll be supervising. Tomorrow will be a lot shorter, then we have a 2-week holiday. I’ve never been one to countdown, but this has already been a long week and I am really looking forward to the break.

The next countdown is Christmas Day, and I’m cooking a turkey for the first time in years. Then there is the countdown to a trip to Whistler for a couple nights, to new years’s eve, and then to a trip to Victoria for a couple nights.

I’m excited for the two trips because my mom is coming with us and she has never been to Whistler or Victoria. It will be great showing her around, and I’m glad my daughters will have done time with her too.

But first I’ve got to get to the break. Two more school days, one sleep, and the countdown is over. I hope everyone has a wonderful break.

4 day weekend

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We went away for the 4-day weekend. We took the ferry Thursday night after work, headed to Vancouver island, and came back Monday. We spent 3 nights in Victoria visiting my daughter and a night in Nanaimo visiting my wife’s parents.

I’m amazed how long this break felt. It was wonderful to get away for this little holiday. I feel like I’ve had a real break. I feel fresh and ready to start the week… and it’s a short week!

If I were to redesign the school year, I’d make the summer shorter and make every other weekend a 4-day weekend. Instead of a set 4-day week, with the same day off every week, like every Friday, I’d run a long weekend like this one we just had, with Monday and Friday off, then I’d run a regular 2-day weekend, then I’d run another 4-day weekend. Each week would only be 4 days long, but the weekends would alternate between 2 days and 4 days off, rather than repeated 3-day weekends.

I’d give up on a long summer holiday to run a schedule like this. 2-3 times a year these extended weekends could be scheduled school events like field trips with students, for things like visiting the capital or camping. Or maybe just the 2-day weekend, where students have 10 straight days of school with a special event in the middle.

But more than that, I think I’d be refuelled and ready for anything after a bi-monthly 4-day weekend. And I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t better for students too. While this is unlikely to happen, I’d just like to say that I’m thankful for this break and I’m ready to jump back in and have a great week at school.

Sushi and pizza

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We had our Thanksgiving dinner last night. 15 of us enjoyed a wonderful sushi feast.

When my family lived in Dalian, China we didn’t have an oven. Both Christmas days that we were there we had Pizza Hut for our Christmas dinner.

Most families have traditional meals like turkey, roasted ham, or other holiday foods that they want year after year. Our family went out for Harvey’s hamburgers today for our American family that miss this fast food burger joint, living south of the border.

Earlier this week my sister made a Caribbean peas and rice dish, a family favourite, for us. Also, I made an Asian stir fry rice dish, and we also went for Beaver Tails, because my mom was craving them.

Our family are not big on traditional foods, but we really enjoy large meals with more food than we need. I think that’s why I love leftovers so much. We don’t need turkey, and we don’t need fine dining. Just give us sushi and pizza, and a holiday or family event as an excuse to get together.

Heading home

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It’s our last morning in Kelowna at Bear Creek Campground and it’s quite hazy with smoke. We actually had fantastic, clear days for our holidays, especially compared to 2 years ago when most days we could barely see across the lake.

A highlight of our trip was our daily 35 minute walk on the other side of the highway.

It starts with 149 steps and basically goes up and around a waterfall that you can hear, but not see, on the hike. Another highlight was the waterfall hike.

We love this holiday, and spending it with our friends 2 campsites over makes it all the more wonderful.

Now we are sitting and waiting for the trailer pick-up, (we rent it and have it delivered to our site), and then we start are 4 hour drive home. I find it humorous that Canadians are just about the only people who share distances as time travelled. Kelowna isn’t 373 kilometres away, it’s 4 hours. When you live in a huge country, it doesn’t matter what the kilometres are, it matters how long it takes to get where you are going.

Going home is always bitter sweet. There is a comfort in getting back to home base, but there is also a subtle melancholy about ending your vacation. I say subtle because it’s not as pervasive as the positive memories, but it is present. Unlike heading on holidays, there is no excited anticipation, no thoughts of what’s to come (other than unpacking and laundry), but there is still a positive feel to the journey. Like the cliche ending of a movie where the star rides off into the sunset, there are more stories to come, more adventures for another day, but first, the journey home.

95% off

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This isn’t about a discount, it’s about holidays. Today I had to order more licenses for our online language courses, and I also had to follow up on contacting an employee about making their position full time with me. Neither of these things took a long time. Neither of them are a problem, they both lead to positive outcomes. Neither of them could be done by someone else right now. They also both come to me while I’m at a campground on holidays.

[I stopped writing this earlier and was reminded to get back to it after a work related text message and subsequent email.]

It’s not a big deal, and yet it is. It’s me on 95% holidays and not 100%. It’s me not turning completely off, but rather having a slow drip that keeps my fingers wet from my work.

I am glad that I have the job that I do. I was a Starbucks manager before getting into education. I can’t imagine my life being happier if I stayed in positions like that. But sometimes I really wish my holidays gave me that last 5%. I sometimes really wish that when I got home after a work day that my job was 100% done until I arrived the next morning.

I’m enjoying myself. I won’t let the little things I dealt with disrupt the rest of my day. The holiday time is great and I’m making the most of it. It’s just some times I wish I got to have that last 5%.

Holiday from the holiday

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Ever find that the day after a holiday is a day of recovery? It’s like needing a holiday to rest up from your holiday. I did a few necessary errands, but it’s taken me the whole day to get to my workout and now to writing, and I still haven’t meditated. It’s almost 5pm and I’m making frozen waffles for lunch.

That said, it’s date night at the theatre tonight and so it’s still going to be a great day overall. Yet I can’t help but feel like today was a recovery day. Just wondering if it’s only me or do others struggle with the after-holiday ‘blahs’ even though it feels good to be home?

Luxury, therapy, and a good day

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Today I splurged and had a relaxing massage that was purely for enjoyment. It was a deep tissue massage and I needed to ask the masseuse to go a little deeper at the start, but then I just sat back and let her do her work. Normally I spend an entire hour with my therapist’s elbows in my back. Today’s massage included arms, hands, legs, and feet. There was time before hand to sit in a hot tub and do a couple cold pool dips (not something I plan to repeat soon, but glad I tried).

Then the massage room had quiet music playing and between camomile and lavender scent, I chose the lavender. It was so nice to sit back and relax, being pampered without thinking about therapy and having to breathe through intense pressure on my back. It took a mindset shift to just enjoy and lap in luxury.

I read a great quote in James Clear’s weekly email newsletter yesterday:

“The question is not: will today be a good day? 

Every day is a good day. 

The question is: how much good will you get out of today?”

I enjoy my therapeutic massages because I suffer with regular back aches and pains, and I could easily have gone into today expecting a similar experience… and I would have been disappointed. Instead I just appreciated what I had. Admittedly this is a lot easier to do, choosing luxury as a mindset, but it’s a good reminder that how we frame things matter.

Today has a lot of good to be found. Tomorrow will be good despite hours of travel time. Regardless of the day, regardless of the challenges, regardless of the unexpected circumstances, we have opportunities to find good in every day.

Summer vacation

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Three more days of work and then I’m off on holidays!

I’m only home for 10 days this summer. I have 3 very different trips planned, each with their own benefits. I’ll be staying at a resort, I’ll be camping in a trailer, and I’ll be visiting my mom. That’s over a month away from home, with a couple less-than-a-week gaps.

I’m excited about all 3 trips, and I know I’ll come back to work well rested. I also wish that I had a few more days to enjoy at home. It’s weird. I’m not complaining, and I wouldn’t want to shorten any of the trips, I just also wish I could spend a bit more time holidaying from the comfort of my house.

I say this is weird because I’m not really a homebody. I enjoy travel, and I’m not overly attached to my bed. Part of me is nomadic, and I can feel pretty at home away from home, even sleeping on a couch at my mom’s place. Maybe it’s our recent renovation, my home feels so much more comfortable now.

Regardless, I have a fantastic summer planned, and I haven’t looked forward to a summer this much in a long time. This school year kicked me in the butt, mostly but not only because of my health. I missed a lot of the year and felt like I was always catching up, always rushing things I am usually on top of, and even dropping things that I don’t usually drop.

I couldn’t pick a better year to jam pack with holidays. Sun and fun, rest and relaxation, and family… all squeezed into an amazing summer that happens to be mostly away from home.

Flaked out

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Who else just flakes out at the end of the school year?

At least I didn’t get sick. That sometimes happens… I reach Christmas break, March break, or summer, and my body crashes.

After work Friday we hopped on a ferry to visit my in-laws and oldest daughter on Vancouver Island. We were there for a little over 24 hours and then back home last night. Today I started with my Coquitlam Crunch walk, and that was the extent of any physical effort I put into the day. Its also a great opportunity to connect with a friend.

After I came home I had a hot tub, and a nap. I cooked stakes for dinner. I’m on the couch with my wife watching Jury Duty.

It’s 11pm and I’m finally writing my post, and I still need to meditate. I’ll hit my targets… and that’s it. That’s enough… A typical start to a holiday. A good flake out day.