Ted the Penguin

More of the slowing down..

Remember how I said we should not go too fast?  Well here’s more of the same.

In our rush-aholic world slowing down seems subversive. In the workplace we have to be “seen” to be working. Even though doing a task more slowly can often produce a result faster, many of us get caught up in unnecessary meetings and tasks. You may be suffering from too much speed. After all, you are reading this. We humans are not always-on, efficient machines that can run seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Burning the candle at both ends results in, well, burnout.

Humans need rests, relaxation, and recreation. We need time to think about things, to clear the mind, and to have fun. But to a person overburdened with claims on her time, fun seems only a distant remembered state of mind.

Slowing down is a way to incubate, conserve, and harvest our energy, not about relief from boredom by just watching more TV or going shopping. You may have to confront boredom at first. Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.

The article breaks it down quite nicely:

• Don’t slow down quickly
• Have a slow hour
• Slow and calm
• Eat slowly
• Exercise slow
• Do one thing at a time
• Slow your attention
• Slow down now.

It also occurs to me that I should follow my own advice… but well, … soon. Maybe.

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Ever feel like this?

I have.

Posted in Images, Random, Work | 2 Comments »

Simple Gifts

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,

‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain’d,

To bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

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Holiday Egg-nog’in

This is a Firefighter/Friday Crew approved drink.

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 quart light cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup brandy
• 1.5 cups bourbon or spiced rum
• freshly grated nutmeg

Preparation:

1. In large bowl, beat eggs until they are a pale yellow and slightly frothy.
2. Add sugar, cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Stir until well blended.
3. Add brandy and bourbon/rum (or milk, see below) and stir.
4. Transfer to large pitcher and chill until cold, at least 3 hours.
5. Serve with sprinkle of nutmeg.

This makes a gallon, give or take. If you’d rather make it without the alcohol, replace it with 2.5 cups of milk (whole or 2% works best). Either way, it won’t be healthy, but it’s good!

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Eli’s Coming

So I just got my first ‘real’ christmas card.  From some friends of mine that got married last year.

I never thought I would be one of those people who gets 20-30 holiday cards and puts them on the mantle with ribbon.  My parents are those people.  Growing up, I would look forward to getting and opening the holiday cards, placing them on the ribbon and watching the row(s) grow as christmas approached.  Eventually we’d take them down around mid-January, but it was still a treat to get/read them.

Most were short and simple.  A few contained pictures and/or letters that went into great detail about the past year in whoever had sent it.  These were probably my favorite.  We would get several from people who had moved across country years before and we never saw… but we would also get letters from people who we saw quite often.  It was great to read about their lives; got to put in perspective what we noticed and what we didn’t. 

Today is the anniversary of the Worcester Cold Storage warehouse fire back in 1999. Six firefighters died in what some called “the perfect fire.”

Learn, remember and then don’t forget.

Posted in Personal, Real World | 2 Comments »