week 6 – final exam.

(This is very late… sadly, I have been suffering from The Black Death for a while, and I had to take care of myself and family matters first – but I’m back with a vengeance!)

So, I survived the whole 6 week game relatively unharmed (so long as that guy with the gloves stays away from me!), and I really appreciate everyone following along with me – thank you all for the support and encouragement.

Do I dare give myself an A+ for the final week?

Let’s review my goals for week 6 to find out.

In week 5, I stated that I wanted to do the following in week 6:

• Writing – I really need to work on this, as the online magazine soft launch is this week.
• Exercise – no brain, no pain.
• Time with family.
• Thinkfest with Friar – natch.
• Keep on looking for a new Factory – one more good opening closes tomorrow.
• Niche blogging in the background – keep an eye on this, do some brainstorming.
• Draft the text for a sub-page to my Hire Me page – the final piece I need to do to be registered with Ubuntu Linux.

First, I didn’t write each and every day – I did some draft posts for the online magazine, but didn’t feel anything was ready to publish.  I was just too sick to be confident that I wanted to publish it.  I am feeling a lot better now and will be back on it shortly to get into a good routine for posting.  So I give myself about 50/50 here.

On the other hand, I *did* exercise each day with my kettlebells – no matter how bad I felt, I did some lifting.  I refused to let this one slide, as it makes me feel pretty damned good.

And I think I deserve top marks for family stuff – we spent most evenings reading, we went to our kids’ Christmas pageant, we had a movie night, and we had an early Christmas dinner with my side of the family.

Friar and I had our usual Thursday night, and we chatted a bit about our plans.  Admittedly we have been mostly talking rather than acting, so we resolved ourselves to push forward with our ideas in the New Year – stay tuned for our consulting idea.

I applied for one other position in my field, and then out of the blue, I was contacted regarding an interview for a job I applied for back in October.  It isn’t a nookular engineering job but it is something I have always found interesting, and I know I could really shine in that area.  I took a chance applying, and it paid off.  Once I have more details, I will give updates here.

My “co-conspirator” for the niche blogging should be back home soon and we can get going on that – I am very excited!!!

And I did do some work on the draft text for my Ubuntu Linux page – but I did not complete it.  I will announce it here once it is ready.

Sadly, I got very sick over the holidays and so I had to focus on family stuff, and getting better.  This is why I haven’t posted for a while.

So will I give myself an A+?

No, I’ll save that for later – I think I can always do better, so for the final week I give myself a straight A.

Though I won’t give weekly updates here anymore, I will post progress on various things from time to time.

The game is far from over.

I will continue along this path and my accountability partner will keep an eye on me.  Thanks for your help on this Wendi.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone for spending time with me here in 2008 – you have enriched my life more than you know.

May 2009 bring all of you happiness and success in everything you do.

viking fridays – burning logs and reindeer bones.

In the coming days, people of many faiths will celebrate annual traditions that have special and unique meanings.

There are also people who don’t hold any particular beliefs, yet they, too, may take pause to give thanks for what they have – family, friends, and good fortune.

I don’t think it really matters what you believe, or if you believe in anything beyond a “holiday season”, so long as you are able to rest and reflect on that which matters most to you.

Some of the oldest traditions that have blended into those that are celebrated today have their origins in various observances linked with the winter solstice.

The word solstice itself is from Latin, sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), and of course the winter solstice is the longest night of the year, so perhaps the widespread pause and night time celebrations across various cultures is all the more interesting.  This year, the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere occurs at 12:04 UTC on December 21st.

The Romans celebrated Dies Natalis Solis Invictia, a festival of the birth of the Unconquered Sun – the beginning of the lengthening of the days – on December 25th.

Many people are familiar with Yule (Jul), originally called Giuli, beginning at the lunar midwinter of the late Scandinavian Norse and Germanic tribes.  Juletid referred to the midwinter celebrations.

In the year 960 A.D., King Håkon of Norway made it law that Jul was to be celebrated on the night leading into December 25th, to align it with another popular festival many still recognize today.

Some Norse people burned Yule logs in honour of Thor, the god of thunder.  People would feast until the log burned out, perhaps for as long as twelve days.  Germanic Yule celebrations often involve a meal and gift giving.

An indigenous Scandanavian people known as the Saami worship Beiwe, the sun-goddess of fertility and sanity.  Beiwe flies through the sky in a structure made of reindeer bones, calling back the vegetation upon which the reindeer feed.  On the winter solstice, Beiwe’s worshippers sacrifice white female animals and cover their doorposts with butter, so Beiwe can eat it and continue her journey.

It just so happens that this year, December 25th is a Thursday – “Thor’s Day”, from the Old English Þunresdæg, or the Old Norse Þórsdagr.  Interesting…

No, it doesn’t really matter what you believe – just take the time to stop and celebrate with those you love.

Oh, and don’t forget the Vikings… they’ll be celebrating along with you!

report card, week 5 – at war with eurasia.

Or was that Eastasia.  I guess it doesn’t matter, so long as Oceania is victorious!  Brother, did you hear that the chocolate ration has been increased to 20 grammes?  Doubleplusgood, that!

The story of 1984 reminds me of a certain Factory… where we hear more from the national newspapers than our own internal channels… anyway, back to my own version of reality, as I bend it to my will with iron hands!

Late as usual this week (probably a good thing, as I’ve been busy!), so I’ll have to try and be early with my report for week 6.

How did things work out for week 5, then?  At the end of the week 4 report, I posted the following list of activities for week 5:

• Writing.
• Exercise.
• Time with family.
• Thinkfest with Friar.
• Get those job applications out (first one is due next Monday!)
• Niche blogging in the background.

Well, I don’t think I’m quite ready for an A+ yet (let’s save that for week 6).  I did a good job, though.

I wrote every day but Friday (work Christmas party for my wife) and Sunday (bad fever and cold, which I still have).

In spite of my illness, I did manage to exercise every single day.  I figure even if I only do one set of weights, that is better than nothing, and it always seems to make me feel a bit better.

For family time, we mixed it up a bit, lots of reading, some games, coffee & donuts one night, and a First Communion prep for our oldest.

The thinkfest with Friar was a good time, though this week it was more of a down time (hey, we all need a break) and we watched Trinity and Beyond, aka The Atomic Bomb Movie.  Hey, it is narrated by William Shatner, how cool is that!

What else would you expect from a couple of nookular engineers?

I got one job application out under the wire for Monday, and another one will be counted against week 6 so long as it goes out before the end of Wednesday this week.

My partner for the niche blogging left for Europe on the weekend and will not return home until after the holidays, so we will continue along as best we can until she is back in her realm.  We will be brainstorming some ideas until then.

How do I feel overall?  Well, pretty good – I did a good job, but I can do better.  The biggest hurdle was getting my details back out into the job market, but now that I’ve done that, I will continue.

So perhaps I can give myself an A this week.

What about next week?

A bit more of the same, with some minor tweaks:

• Writing – I really need to work on this, as the online magazine soft launch is this week.
• Exercise – no brain, no pain.
• Time with family.
• Thinkfest with Friar – natch.
• Keep on looking for a new Factory – one more good opening closes tomorrow.
• Niche blogging in the background – keep an eye on this, do some brainstorming.
• Draft the text for a sub-page to my Hire Me page – the final piece I need to do to be registered with Ubuntu Linux.

Can I do it?  Yes I can!

(Hey, if Bob the Builder can do it, this Viking sure can.)

So why the 1984 reference anyway?  I guess I always figured reality is what you make it.  And maybe it doesn’t matter if you’re struggling against the forces of Eurasia or Eastasia, so long as you fight the good fight.

So that’s what I intend to do, fight the good fight and make my own reality.

Oh, and love Big Brother.

(Image credit: Nineteen Eighty-Four, Umbrella-Rosenblum Films)

viking fridays – give and give again.

With raiment and arms shall friends gladden each other,
so has one proved oneself,
for friends last longest, if fate be fair,
who give and give again.
- The Hávamál

I have been thinking about this one for a while, and the time is right to share it.

Since I started this whole adventure here, I have encountered nothing but helpful people.  It is amazing, really – so many opportunities have and are presenting themselves that I would never have known had I not taken a chance.

So thank you, one and all.

This week, though, I am not going to talk about me.  There was what has to be the best example of people helping others in need that I can think of in a long time.

A few days ago, Michael Martine had a very unfortunate incident, and was very lucky to escape in one piece.

His Jeep, however, was not so lucky.

In what is one of the most honest pieces of writing I’ve seen in a long time, Michael asked for a hand.  And people delivered.

*This* is the power of what we have out here, the friendships we have forged.

I am grinning from ear to ear this week because of it – for it doesn’t take much for us to lend a hand, and together, we can do just about anything.

And then today, James Chartrand talked about having the courage to ask for help.

No matter what it is, no one is alone – doesn’t matter what is going on in your life, don’t be afraid to ask someone for help.

It might not be because you need a new car, or whatever – maybe you just need to talk to somebody because you had a bad day.

(Maybe you just need to borrow an umbrella so you can storm a castle.  You can borrow mine if you like.)

Reach out.

Don’t be afraid.

Someone is here to help.

It might take a lot of courage to do it, but it will pay off in the end.  Just ask Michael.

And as a friend, be there – it doesn’t take much to lend a hand, and it can mean all the difference for someone in need.

Give, and give again – even if they don’t ask for help.

‘Tis the season, after all.

(Click HERE for full-sized Friar Toon)

fail to succeed – report card, week 4.

Fail early, fail often.

That’s what it says at the top of this blog.  The words will mean something different to every person who reads them.

To me, it means, “fail to succeed”, or rather, “fail, in order to succeed”.

Think of it as the 80/20 rule applied with a twist.

Look at the things you have in front of you, that you want to do.

That you think you want to do.

Cut 80 percent of it, the 80 percent that probably won’t get you where you really, really want to go.

Intentionally “fail, in order to succeed”, although you’re not really failing – you’re just choosing not to do it.

Work at the 20 percent, and re-evaluate that as you go along.  You may be able to cut 80 percent of that as well, and 80 percent of that.

Eventually, you will be doing only the important things.

I am doing this right now, as I go along on my current path, constantly evaluating and re-evaluating the importance of what I am doing.

Back in November when I started this 6 week exercise, I had some intentions in my mind of participating in NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month.

About three or four days into November, I chose to “fail” NaNoWriMo, so that I could succeed at other things that will really, really get me where I want to go.

And I don’t regret it one bit.

I am proud that I chose not to do it, actually.

I suppose in a sense I “failed” to do much here other than report on all the other stuff I have been doing, which is why I thought I’d explain it in this way.  I am certainly not ready to give up on this blog yet; it has lots of potential I believe – and in no small part due to all of you.

So thank you once again for coming along for the ride.

Anyway, to the report – how did I do after last week?

• I continued to write every day as best I could (missed one day – oops).
• I exercised *every single day* (yeah!).
• We also either read to our kids or at least did something interactive with them.
• (Which reminds me, I’m getting them that game Sorry! for Christmas – I can’t wait to say “Sorry!” all the time… they’re gonna hate me by the end of the holidays…)
• Thursday and Friday were both Thinkfests at Friar’s house, and we’ve refocused our efforts a bit – things should start to really move now.
• I updated some of my paperwork for my NZ immigration, and so now I’m just waiting for one more piece.
• Job applications – I have two cover letters drafted at home right now – granted, I didn’t send out anything yet.  However – I have a really good shot at these, in my field, and it is worth taking the time to get it right rather than just sending them out quickly (“fail, in order to succeed”).
• On to niche blogging – I will have the pleasure of working on a new blog with one of the great people I have met at this place!  I won’t spill the beans quite yet because we’re just getting things set up, but stay tuned – I am very excited about it!!!

I’m not sure if this qualifies me for an A- yet.  Almost, perhaps.

Maybe I will ask the Technoviking.

(He failed to put on a shirt so that he could succeed at making the music dance to him!)

For this week (which has already started… late report again, bad Brett…) – more of the same!

• Writing.
• Exercise.
• Time with family.
• Thinkfest with Friar.
• Get those job applications out (first one is due next Monday!)
• Niche blogging in the background.

(Wendi, did I miss anything?)

Can I do it?

Hell yeah!

viking fridays – the system is broken.

The picture you see here is an artist’s conception of a typical Factory worker attempting to use a “really great” software package called ROAD* – attempting, and failing miserably.

(No, it isn’t Friar, not at all…)

ROAD was developed in-house by a dedicated team of cyberzombies who have done their best, given the resources they had at their disposal.

However, I have a friend who knows that there are several other packages available that would do a better job than ROAD – and in fact, one of them is even OPEN SOURCE, which means that the Factory could use it completely free of charge.

Sure, there is no support included with the open source package, but the Factory could pay for it.  I mean, they are already paying their cyberzombies to do the support in-house!

My friend, and the worker you see in the picture, have both suggested that there might be alternatives.  The response has been that “this is the Factory standard, and we have to make do with it”.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

The system is broken.

Something is wrong when you cannot question the status quo.

Thank Odin that people throughout history have had the courage to challenge broken systems worldwide.  If not for them, we wouldn’t have the basic human rights we all (hopefully) enjoy in our respective countries.

The system was broken, and people worked to fix it.

The system is still broken, in other ways.

This is why we have had to deal with this “economic crisis“, which I still don’t believe is that so much as it is a combination of many things, including a broken system that allowed criminals to do this in the first place.

Of course, the broken system also includes the rampant consumerism that many still think is “the right way to live”.

As Tyler says:

You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis.

So, let’s all challenge that system, and work together to fix it.

Of course, the word “system” can be applied to many things – your desire to change your life, your job, your exercise habits.

Perhaps you can’t do it because your system is broken.  I know mine was, for a long time.

You don’t have to be a victim of your bad habits – change them.

You don’t have to be a victim of the “bad economy” – do something different.  Get busy and start generating some other income with your talents, or learn a new skill.

Or like my friend, if the people you report to directly won’t listen to you, start emailing the CEO of the company.  He will probably listen.

If the system is broken, challenge the system.

Make it better.

(*names changed to protect the “innocent”)

(click HERE for a full sized version of Friar’s artwork)

midterm report – week 3.

As my Grade 9 English teacher Mr. Norm Smith used to say, “Better late than never – but better never late!”

(He used to say other things I won’t print here, and swing at our heads with a yardstick… ah, the “good old days” when teachers could bend students to their will!)

Anyway, hello to you today!  It is part way through Week 4 already, so I will start with a recap from last week:

“For the coming week:

• Lots of writing work on my own projects and for the online magazine – daily
• Reconnect with my employment consultant in NZ Monday night
• Send out job applications through the week
• Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! daily
• Learn how to set up second blog on hosting service and upload theme by the weekend
• Read to my kids every day (already did it Monday), and spend time with my lovely wife
• Send out my book proposal to more literary agents by Friday
• Thinkfest at Friar’s on Thursday
• And, if I can fit it in – a blog post here that isn’t Viking Fridays or a report card!

I think I can get it to a B+ this week.”

Did I get a B+ last week?

Well, in a word, I’m not sure.  I worked every day at something, but I didn’t hit everything on the list.  What I did do was take advantage of momentum for certain high value items, while letting other ones slide to this week.

So, how did I do then?

Well, looking at the list above:

• I wrote something Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday for my own work and the online work
• I made contact with my employment consultant, and she answered several questions that will, I believe, accelerate the process – I also sent a revised resume to her
• No job applications sent out…
• Exercised every single day!!!  Woo-hoo!!!
• Minor work on setting up blog
• Read to my kids Monday to Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (Thursday night my wife read to them, while I took one skating, and Saturday they went to a birthday party – too tired for stories!)
• Did not send book proposal to other literary agents yet
• Thinkfest at Friar’s was a success – this week will be better
• No extra blog post… *sigh*

So, a B+ or just a regular old B… okay, I’ll give myself a B+ for pushing the important stuff.

Now, on to this week – more of the same!

(“Please sir, may I have some more gruel?”)

I am now in the habit of writing posts for the online magazine every day, and exercising every day as well – so that is great!  We also read to the kids again last night, so we’re tracking well with that.

Thursday night Thinkfest at Friar’s happens no matter what, it is like an autonomous response from my nervous system to make my way over there… so, that leaves a few loose ends.

I am in a holding pattern for the NZ immigration, but there is some paperwork I can update while I wait for a few things to come through.

I need, need, need to push to get some job applications sent out this week – even ONE – and I need to work on the niche blogging, and send out more book proposals (Steph, I’ll be in touch).

I can do it, and I will do it.

I haven’t forgotten about the cool suggestions everyone has given me over the past few weeks, so I’ll see if I can implement some of those in the not too distant future.

And with some luck, I’ll even write something *interesting* here that isn’t just about “what Brett’s been doing when he’s not here” – because, well, that’s how this blog started and I don’t want to leave it for too long.

Tyler’s been asking me when I’ll write something cool, and he’s growing impatient…