Author Archives: JohnDallas

What I need vs. what I want

I need a car, but I want leather seats. I need a home, but I want a nice house. I need clothes, but I want stylish clothes, including the latest activity appropriate shoes. I need a job, but I want something interesting, fun, where I learn and that pays well.

Many of us like to say that we NEED certain things (I include myself here), but we really don’t need them, but WANT them. There is a very distinct difference between NEED and WANT. In our western society, we live in a consumerist society, not capitalist. In a true capitalist society (Capitalism), the profits from any venture would be plowed right back in to the business in order to further expand or improve the business. That being said, our consumerist society values those who have been successful from the capitalist point of view and has the income to afford expensive houses, cars, toys, etc. This view of success is often challenged by people who say “success is not measured in money, but friends and family”. While I agree this is ideal, it is far from the truth. If YOU had the choice of winning the lottery (Super7 in Canada is $20 million this Friday!) or knowing 10 friends would call you and have a party this weekend, which would you chose? For one, I know that if I win the lottery, I will have LOTS of options for parties and will suddenly have LOTS of people wanting to be my friend. I would certainly be more mindful of who I let in to my inner circle, but in our present society, I would not have to choose. With more money, I have more options. It doesn’t make me a better person, but certainly opens up doors of choice.

Lately, I have been questioning the NEEDS vs. WANTS and have being coming to some enlightening (in my mind anyway) conclusions. I don’t need a lot of furniture. What I have is fine. I do need to paint my walls, the white is getting to me. I don’t need every new gadget, but will still buy more than the average person because I love technology. However, I am not fooling myself. I know that I don’t need some of the stuff I have. I realize it and can be honest to myself that I am trading off against other things, like some extra travel or opportunities to take some extra time off from work. I am fine with this as long as I can still control my options. I am lucky enough to have a choice, but I work damn hard in order to maintain it. I work more than 40 hours a week. I still take at least one university class a semester. I reserve time for my daughter and give her the attention she deserves. I read instead of watching TV. There are choices to make and each one of us is responsible for our own fate. There is luck involved, but you create your own opportunities.

In the end, I NEED very little, but aspire to a lot. This means I WANT a lot.  However, I want to continue to be conscious of the difference and put some thought in to my decisions, no matter how small they may seem at first and as the question “do I NEED this?”. The answer is often no and thinking about it can make all the difference.

Stay interested and interesting!

John

Long haul

It has been a while again. Sorry for that! I have just been busy with my daughter’s activities, school and work. Also, I had a road trip to Chicago and New York! It was great fun.

At work, I have to admit that I am now challenged quite a bit and enjoy my job a lot more. I am overwhelmed at points, but actually get great support.

At home, I really need to start painting my walls. White just doesn’t cut it anymore. Now the debate about colour vs. earth tones comes up. What to do? I’m not a decorator, I’m a geek! 😛

At school, it is all about psychology of work, which is really interesting, but I am having trouble getting motivated to write my term paper. Good thing I have a team to back me up and push me along. I like school, but some subjects pique my interest more than others…

That is about it for now. Busy! Busy! Busy!

Stay interested and interesting!!

John

High paying startup job?

Sometimes, I would like to leave the confines of the bureaucracy of a large company and join a small startup.  The opportunity of building something from the ground up is very alluring.  So is the simplicity of thinking about ideas and putting them in to practice quickly without a tonne of red tape to wade through.  The amount of work required to get anything approved and done is very onerous in a big company.  Any small change to one person affects hundreds, and possibly thousands more, making it quite the job to make tweaks, let alone big changes.

The other frustration I am having in a big company right now is to find the right person who has the data I need.   In a small company, if I don’t have the information and don’t know who has it, it is very easy to find out and I can almost assume that it just doesn’t exist.  In a big company, I assume just the opposite.  It probably exists, but I have the find the right person amongst thousands of employees spread across many geographical areas.  I seem to remember some forum where I could ask, but can’t find the link!  ARGH!!  Frustrating!

I wonder if I could find a job that pays about the same, but with a much smaller enterprise…  Hmmmm…  Then again, I would not have all the learning opportunities I do now, which is simply amazing.  Also, I work from home most of the time, which is worth a lot more than just the cost of parking, coffee and lunch…

Stay interested and interesting!

John

Honesty

Honestly, I like to think of myself as honest.  I like to believe that I tell it like it is in a diplomatic way.  Being honest doesn’t mean you’ re an ass, it means you are truthful and open.  That being said, I know I have my flaws with honesty.

There are certain situations when politics comes in to play and we need to back up the team, tow the line or simply play the game.  Where it counts are with the people we respect and love.  These are our true friends and family.  They deserve every ounce of honesty we can give them.  We have to keep their feelings in mind, but, in the grand scheme, lying is worse than sparing someone’s feelings.  I would rather someone tell me the truth and it hurt than to be lied to.  How will I ever make myself better if I don’t know or refuse to accept it.  Sometimes, it will not be easy.  Sometimes, we need a swift kick in the ass to understand and get going.  I apprecite the kick, though most times it hurts.

Also, we need to figure out who are friends are and defend them honestly.  We have to back them up wholeheartedly.  I am guilty of not always doing this, but I want to change.  I am trying to change.  But, again, it is hard and painful.  I needed a swift kick in the ass, and, last week, I got it.  I am appreciative because now I realize that I was not avoiding pain and making things easier.  I was making it all worse.  I was letting it stew.  No more.  I am going to try harder.  So should you.

Stay interested and interesting.

John

PS: If you can get your hands on full seasons of Entourage (HBO), watch them!  There are some great messages in there and it is a great show.

Blogging

I would love to do this more and always have a lot of ideas.  My issue is actually being disciplined enough to sit down and write.  I have been reading a lot lately and I guess I just have not put a priority here.  I have also been travelling for work more lately, so something has to give.  Also, I don’t do this from my work computer or when I am on the road.  Maybe I should, just for cathardic reasons…  😉

How about books?!  The last book I read, Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore, was a great discovery.  It is a funny love story about vampires.  Hmmm…  Have a look at the Amazon review here.

Stay interested and interesting!

John

Need vacation

I don’t really feel sick, but I feel like feeling sick.  It seems to be a good door out for the day.  I think I need a vacation!

I am very rarely sick.  Usually about once a year.  It is that time of year again, but physically I am still ok.  Also, my ingrained work ethic keeps from taking frivolous days off willy nilly.  I think this is a good thing overall, but it is a little frustrating and difficult to be so virtuous.  Not that I am a paragon of virtue…  😉

Now, I get to try and motivate myself to keep working, which is really not all that hard.  I have a new project to work on and lots to learn.  That alone should keep me going for a while!  I just want to try and change the culture around me, which may or may not be impossible.  We will see!

Also, my entrepreneurial spirit is still gnawing away at the back of my brain.  I have to figure out a productive outlet for it that I can sustain in the time and financial limits I have…

Enough rant today…

Stay interested and interesting!

John

Bacon

I love bacon, but realize that it is not the best thing for my health, so I limit my consumption to once a week and 3 or 4 slices.  However!  I may have to try this:  Bacon Weave!!

I can feel my arteries clogging just looking at it.

Bacon rulez!!

Stay interested and interesting!

John

Time keeps on ticking…

I used to be am a fan of Pink Floyd.  I have seen them in concert (awesome!) and have a few of their albums.  I am not a rabid fan, but I have to admit that their music is great to listen to at work and to relax.  I don’t do the drug scene, so I will have to take your word for it that Another Brick in The Wall is even better when high.   That all being said, there is a song called TIME that makes me think too much.  What is time?  Why is it so important to us?  How can you ignore it and still live in civilized society?

I don’t have the answers to those questions, but I don’t have meanderings, thoughts and ponderments (I know, not a real word…  Just put a “sic” next to it…).

First, I posit that we DO feel time differently depending on our mood and amount of change in our environment.  Just as reality is a moving target, I think time is indeed variable, but somehow we “synchronize” with the world around us as we go about our business.  Have you noticed that “time flies when you are having fun”?  Or that time seems to stand still at certain moments, like when watching water boil?  Many people make comments that time has flown by since High School for example.  My first response is to realize how much time has gone by and I seem to agree.  However, if I step back and think about how much has changed and all the experiences that I have had, it actually has not gone by that fast.  This tends to get me thinking about tangent stuff like what I coulda, woulda, shoulda done…

Second, time is important.  It is essential in coordinating our actions with others.  It is the fourth dimension we absolutely need to make meetings work.  I could tell you to meet me at the corner of Main and Water streets on the fourth floor of the building (Long, Lat, height), but if I don’t give a time, we could both be waiting a while!  However, I do believe there are times when we need to bow to our inner clock and just relax.  Vacations are an amazing opportunity to “forget” your watch, eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are tired and drink / dance / love at the earliest opportunity!

Third, I don’t think you can ignore time very much in our society.   If you do anything with technology, time is essential.  Time to download, upload, view, update and even write down your thoughts (guilty!).   All that being said, please refer to the paragraph above…

Well, time keeps on ticking and I have to get some work done.

Stay interested and interesting!

John

I am tired

Weird thing.  Every January I see to get REALLY tired and a little sick.  Generally, it takes two or three days for me to sleep through it and then I am good for a year.  I either have to manage my time better, have some sort of circadian rythm deficiency in January or I need to take more holidays.   I am going to pick the vacation reason just because that is what I feel like.

Now, what to do on vacation?  I could book a trip south somewhere like I have done in the past three years, but last March’s separation leaves me without a partner in crime.  This begs a few questions.  Do I try to get a friend to come with me and hope I don’t book during gay week?  Though that may be fun, but I am not gay (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) and don’t know how long I would get along being south without at least SOME bikini clad girls to ogle.

Maybe I just need a nap…

More to come!

Stay interested and interesting!

John