Daily Coping 5 Jul 2022

Posted on July 5, 2022 by way0utwest

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

Today’s tip is to make a list of the joys in your life (add to this regularly).

My list:

  • sleeping next to my wife at night (not doing that enough the last few months)
  • having my dog come greet me (every day)
  • kids enjoying the food I make ( a regular occurrence these days)
  • traveling to a new place and seeing a different way of life (I love new cultures)
  • driving my Tesla (this is a lot of fun)
  • accomplishing a chore at the ranch (changed a leaf spring last weekend)
  • playing guitar and hitting all the notes
  • delivering a presentation where people are engaged and smiling
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Daily Coping 4 Jul 2022

Posted on July 4, 2022 by way0utwest

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

Today’s tip is to notice how positive emotions are contagious between people.

A holiday in the US, so Happy Independence Day. While I will likely tackle some chores, I do hope to get to town and enjoy being around people.

The world can seem very upsetting and contentious, especially with inflation and politics running amok. However, I’ve seen many people smile and enjoy time with each other, which can infect others with good cheer. I want to help that.

The last few weeks I’ve been traveling here and there, for work and personal reasons. I’ve encountered a lot of people I don’ t know, in airports, hotels, on the trail, and restaurants. I’ve made it a point to smile and say hi or wave. Even other patrons that are just going about their lives, I make it a point to be cheerful.

It’s amazing how many people will break out in a smile.

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Independence Day 2022

Posted on July 4, 2022 by way0utwest

Today is July 4th, Independence Day in the US. While many countries have a similar day marking a similar milestone in their history, I live in the US, so it’s a holiday for me and I usually take the day off. Always a good time to rewatch Independence Day, though this year I may take a little time away from chores and watch the sequel, just because I haven’t seen it.

While it’s a day of celebration here, it’s often a day that somewhat marks the halfway point of the year for me. Just over six months are gone and almost six more to come. I usually look at these milestones and think about whether it’s been a good year, am I approaching life as I want to, and are there things I might want to change for the next half of the year.

2022 has been great for me, and I can’t complain about anything. I’ve gotten to travel, I had a great season coaching kids, my kids are all 21+ adults and doing well, I’m healthy, and I couldn’t really ask for more. The second half will continue things, though with a little less travel. April/May/June was a rough stretch of time away from home.

Hopefully you can say that 2022 has been good for you, but if not, what will you change in the second half?

Happy Fourth of July.

Steve Jones

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Christmas in July

Posted on July 2, 2022 by way0utwest

My son asked me to sign for a package on Friday. He was at work and had ordered himself some new joystick for a gaming thing. He told me this was his “Christmas to himself in July.”

We’ve just past the halfway point of the year, and it’s been interesting. Both a semi-stressful moving on from the pandemic, and a fantastic opening up of life for me in many ways. I’ve had some great trips, experiences, and enjoyed time with people.

This is a time when many will treat themselves to a Christmas in July, perhaps with a gift or a trip that let’s them enjoy life. I thought about that as I saw a few articles like this one on sales and deals. It’s Independence Day on Monday, a holiday in the US, and lots of retailers use this as an excuse for a sale. I won’t likely get anything techy, but I do need some new gloves since we are putting in 1000′ of new fence at the ranch.

If you’ve had a good year, is there something you’d reward yourself with? A new mobile device? Maybe some tech-game thing? An upgrade to hardware? Maybe you’ll get a new car, like I did last year. Perhaps you’ll take a trip or partake in some event. I guess I fall into that category as my wife and I have tickets to the jazz festival in Winter Park in a few weeks. We’ll spend a weekend in the mountains as a reward for our hard work.

If it’s been a tough year, maybe there’s something you treat yourself with to cope with this crazy world. Let us know what you will do, or maybe dream a bit and think about what you might wish you would do.

Steve Jones

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