The Super Sad Side of Keeping Score

/
The Super Sad Side of Keeping Score

Last year, Flannel Guy ROI offered a great book suggestion: “Super Sad True Love Story” by Gary Shteyngart. I don’t read a lot of fiction but I gave it a go since it came highly recommended.

The book’s theme surprised me. It’s about a lonely man, his girlfriend and her friends; a group of people who live their lives in a worrisome version of the future. The more I read, the more I saw the parallels between Shteyngart's work of fiction and modern life.

The characters live in a time where America has fallen from grace. The economy is in shambles, with the country deeply indebted to other nations—namely China, and the gap between the haves and the have nots is now a chasm.

Wait…it gets better.

Read More

Dying for Convenience

/
Dying for Convenience

I received a disheartening piece of mail today. It’s a brochure advertising a 55+ facility nearby that boasts services including:

  • Meal preparation
  • House cleaning 
  • On-site convenience store
  • An activity room
  • Well-appointed grounds 
  • Hair styling services
  • Scheduled transportation to shopping centres

Of course, along with the promise of taking all the inconvenience and work out of life come the glossy pictures of what looks like healthy, vibrant fifty-five to seventy-year-olds enjoying said amenities.

Read More

A Lesson On Time From The West Coast

/
A Lesson On Time From The West Coast

Mr. F2P and I spent a wonderful four days in Vancouver this Labour Day weekend. It was our first vacation together since 2011 that didn’t involve attending some sort of conference or training workshop. A long time, I know! However, this is not the only surprising fact from this latest trip.

What I took away from this vacation was much more than pictures and memories. It also offered a good reminder that how we view and use time affects how we experience life.

Read More

Presence, Not Presents

/
Presence, Not Presents

Small Gestures Are A Big Deal

We all get busy. If it's not work assignments, it's social obligations, or organized sports or volunteering or household chores or anything else that makes us feel we're getting pulled in all sorts of directions. 

This pull on our time makes the following shortcuts very attractive:

  • Buying convenience foods or eating out
  • Driving vs walking or biking
  • Skipping a workout or playtime in the park
  • Outsourcing life tasks (maid service, yard service, laundry, baby sitting)

We've all used some of these, and more, at some point. Indeed, some of us take these shortcuts on a regular, even daily basis.

There are even some shortcuts we take that we don't even realize we're taking because they don't feel as real and tangible as the list I offered above.

Read More