The Journey Continues ...

A new chapter; new adventures; new challenges; new beginnings and new endings; these are the makings of my life as it is right now. I never thought for a moment I would be afforded the opportunity to serve in Supervisory capacity during the last chapter of my life.

I face many challenges on a daily basis which I do not mind the least. However, I am faced with the daily reminders of people in my life who are both accepting of what I am trying to do and those who are resistant to any forms of change. I desire to use what I know to make a difficult job easier. It seems to me people are afraid of change and needing to hang on to what was and fail to embrace what could be.

I have thought long and hard of what to do in this regard and what comes to mind is for me to do nothing and just “be”. I have no control over those around me nor do I wish too. But I can control my responses. I can be what I need to be: myself. Others can try to run interference but they have no control over my responses. Only I have the power to choose my responses. If I respond in anger; then I bring on more anger. But if I chose to respond in love, kindness, and understanding it can weaken the negative emotions.

It’s not the situation itself which causes my emotions but rather it’s how I think about or perceive the situation which influences the response I choose. You have heard the phrase, “As a man thinketh, so is he”. Our thinking influences our behaviour by far. If you feel betrayed you act accordingly. If you believe and feel you are loved, honoured, and accepted, you act according to those beliefs. It always comes down to our thinking and what we allow to roll around in our head which can and does influence our behaviour.

If I enter a room full of people and know half of them are resistant to change and prone to releasing negative energy I can think and do one of two things. I can focus on the people expressing positive energy to neutralize the apparent negative energy of the others. If I give in to feelings of helplessness I am defeated. If I see myself as rising above those feelings and believe the negative people have the potential to contribute positive energy to the group there is a shift. My focus becomes what I need it to be to do the job which I have been chosen to do. My positive energy can influence the group respectfully without compromising the dignity of anyone but guiding them to unleash their potential. Think of it this way, we can change our situations by one thought at a time!

We will always have people in our lives trying to refocus our attention on the trivial rather than what is important. It’s your choice whether you give your power away by getting caught up in a no win situation. We learn to choose our battles accordingly and move on to greater heights by taking along those of like mind to climb those mountains and enjoy the view and journey as our eyes are focused on not what was but what could be. I made up a little motto for myself when I first accepted this position on a temporary basis: “to think the best, be the best and to do the best”. I live by this motto every day. On my wall in my office is a quote which says:

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ...
                                  WOW ... What a ride!”     
                                                                        -Anonymous

Cheers!

Jaime

Hello Everybody,

It's been awhile since I last posted. There have been many changes in my life as of late.

When I started this blog it was meant as a pre-retirement blog. Well I am anything but close to retirement. One of the main reasons being I took a big hit on my pension when the market took a turn for the worse. I am trying to recover my loses and build up my retirement find again. During the month of April 2009 I was given an opportunity for a promotion which I happily accepted. I was up for a new challenge ... little did I know how much of a challenge it would be for me. I Supervise a staff of nine in a very busy department. I work longer hours and enjoy the creativity of it all.

On June 3, 2009 Haida my GSD was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and on July 11, 2009 she went to the "Rainbow Bridge." I am sure my mom and dad were there to meet her along with some of my other canine friends before her. It was a very difficult time for me and Angel, my Sheltie who was by her side continuously. Haida will be sorely missed.

I must share a little story with you which happened the morning she died. I was in the process of letting the dogs out when I noticed a little baby black bird sitting on the deck. I told the dogs to stay while I attempted to get the bird to fly off the deck. He flew away when I banged on the screen door. I let the dogs out and then took Haida to the vet. I had to help her into the truck and I opened the back window of the extended cab so she could look out. she loved the wind blowing in her face. Of course I am crying as I am driving to the vet's office knowing full well that she would not be returning with me. I have been through this before and believe me it does not get easier, not for a moment. I knew Haida's quality of life was slipping away and replaced by pain. She no longer was able to do the things she loved and was used to doing. I felt it was in her best interest to let her go with dignity.

I stayed with her during the procedure. I just couldn't leave her by herself after all she was such a good dog and deserved having me there with her until the end. I am crying even as I am writing this today. Those of you reading this that have had similar experiences with your pet understand how tough it is to let them go given that they have been a part of your family for such a long time.

When I returned home I let the dogs out again and I noticed on the deck a long stem yellow flower that had pushed it's way through the crack of the deck broads and made its way to the place where Haida used to like to lay down. You see there is nothing underneath the deck. This has never happened before nor since. This long little flower is Haida's sign to me that she is alright now and pain free.

I know that Haida is still around here looking out for the others.

I am ready now to start a new chapter ... and I do have some more news which I will post soon.

Cheers,

Jaime & Company

Life goes on and you make the necessary changes.

Till next Time

Jaime

Sunday Morning News

I love this picture, so much so, that I placed it on my desktop! How majestic, over powering and yet very beautiful.

Day after tomorrow I am back at work at least for the time being. Since I am in the latter stages before my early retirement work does not seem so daunting.

I started this blog last year to talk about my retirement plans regarding going on the road full time as an RVer.

However, my plans have changed over the past few months. I purchased a house in the country and will commute to work every day. I love this place it suites me fine. My dogs have plenty of room to roam around in my fenced property which incidentally is about four times or more the size of my place in the city. Yesterday, I went into the city to cut the grass at my house which is still up for sale. It took me under an hour to cut the grass both front and back. Whereas here, it takes me a couple of days to get it all cut. I have decided to cut the grass in stages: front, side and back yard. I have nine pine trees in the back yard and a huge tree on the side of the house where deck one is located. A french doors open up to the second deck over looking the entire back yard. My birds share this room with me as it's also a reading and TV room. I will post some new pictures in a few days.

Since deciding against full timing I can easily travel from here for a few months of the year should I choose to. Traveling is an option that I will not close the door on entirely. I have travelled extensively and lived in a variety of places including Europe, United States and of course Canada.

It's a good idea to be flexible and ready for whatever may come your way. It is an understatement to say that when I retire I will do this or that ... instead we can consider the changes in our plans as adventures and see where they take us.

Well, I still have a few more pictures to hang and a few more things to put away, but all in all I am enjoying every minute!

Take care,

Jaime & Company

Wednesday: Day 3 of 5

You have heard of the term,"let's not reinvent the wheel". Well if you look around, you can see that people are reinventing the wheel all the time by giving it a different label. For example, rollouts of "new" innovated ways of doing more with less seems to have a historical feel to it? If you have been working at the same place for more than six months you know what I am talking about.

When I registered for this training I was unable to get the same room for the entire week. When I arrived on Monday, I moved into the last available room. On Tuesday, I moved into the room I am in now. Today I will be moving to a room that I can stay in until I leave on Friday.

I feel like a transient with no fixed "room". I should have left my bags in the car and just slept in the lobby until my Wednesday room was ready! Since I am a problems solver, I could have applied for a temporary job and assist the hotel with their problem of room shortages. I could have asked other guests if they planned to stay the entire night or if they weren't using the second bed in their rooms would they would like to rent it out to another guest. Then perhaps I would have been able to move into my own room for the week. Now there is a catch, my Wednesday room has two beds and being the problem solver I am, the sign on my door reads "occupied", so that no one else will try to reinvent the wheel so to speak. Don't even think about knocking on my door!

I have to pack, well just put away my laptop, pull out my jeans and replace them in the suitcase with my dress pants and move on to my next adventure.