Tag: coping

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 show your gratitude to people who are helping to make things better.

I think there are many people who try to make things better. Through their religion, through charity, through simple actions. Sometimes just by doing their job pleasantly the professionally.

One of the ways I am trying to show gratitude is with more thank yous and pleases for people that are working on anything around me. Those in shops, those that might be cleaning up and area, those that are raising money and awareness for their cause. If I see someone that is making the world better, like a fireman or policeman, I’ve offered to buy their coffee to snack and thank them.

It’s good to donate time and money (reminds me to schedule time with Habitat), but I also think that it is helpful to people to recognize their effort with kind words.

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 find out about the values or traditions of another culture.

I’m going to Belgium today. I’ve been in Cambridge all week and my wife is flying over this morning. We’re meeting at Heathrow for the trip over to Brussels. We’ll be spending the weekend somewhere in Belgium. Last fall we were in Brussels for a few days. This time, I think we might travel a bit.

A few things I learned last year:

• French and Dutch are spoken there. More French near Brussels, more Dutch closer to the Netherlands.
• They love chocolate and make some great treats.
• The beer is amazing there. It’s thick, rich, and even my wife drank some (she typically doesn’t like beer).
• Comics are respected, and Tintin is from Belgium. I read that as a kid.
• Lots of museums, arts, and some great architecture in their cities.

I was reading a few different articles on culture and history (Britannica, Wikipedia, Everyculture).It seems that gastronomy, comic strips, painting dominate their cultural arts. It also seems that different parts of Belgium hold onto their own culture, based on language. Different sections of the country educate their children in their language.

It’s also the diamond capital of the world. I remember scenes from Snatch. Perhaps we’ll do a little window shopping there.

Belgium in some sense seems like a European city. Lots of walking and biked, industry that imports raw materials, produces finished goods, and trades with the rest of the EU. An old area that has been through rule by various different groups before getting their independence in 1830. Not that long ago. However, much of the country feels older, with a rich history of architecture and art. They value the arts and have free training in night schools for artists and musicians. I wish we did more of that.

Some traditions:

• In Binche, people don wax masks and pelt the crowds with oranges.
• They have a second Santa, Black Pete
• Trick or treating on Old Year’s Day.
• Fish in wine in Geraardsbergen at the Krakelingen festival.
• Malmedy bakes a giant omelet every August, with 10,000 eggs.

I really enjoyed my last trip and am looking forward to this one.

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 listen to a favorite piece of music and remember what it means to you.

I’m going old school today, partially because I’m old, partially because I ran across this in some random mix that I picked on Spotify.

Red Barchetta was a song I heard early  in high school. I loved the slow start and build into an upbeat song. I also loved the lyrics that talk about a journey in a car out in the country.

I was dying to get my driver’s license and have the freedom to go where I wanted when. At the time I road my bike through a couple miles of fields and farms to see friends, and I got frequent lifts from my Mom to places. However, I wanted to go to more places on my terms.

In the years after I started driving, I’ve listened to various Rush songs while driving, and this one always gives me memories of the trips I’ve made in a car. Back and forth from the University of Virginia to home in Virginia Beach. Trips to the Outer Banks to enjoy the water surfing or windsurfing. Driving across country a few times.

I enjoy driving and seeing new places. Now with the Tesla, I enjoy cruising on the highway and letting the car do some of the work and having a chance to look around a bit at the world around me.

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 look for things that bring you a sense of awe and wonder.

I was lucky enough to be in Lake Tahoe recently.

We live in Colorado, and the drive from Reno to Tahoe looks a lot like Colorado, albeit with taller trees, the lake area is very different from anything we have.

While me and the team I coach were enjoying the view, I was in awe of the size of the lake, the mountains rising around us, and the whitecaps in the lake on a windy April afternoon. Truly an amazing part of nature.