Monday is Valentine’s Day. Traditionally, we spend money on cards, flowers, chocolates, gifts, and perhaps a night out to show someone special that we love them. I’m not saying that showing love to your significant other isn’t important, but some people don’t have that in their lives, and even if they do, ideally, they’re showing their love daily. This year …
There’s lots to agree on during pandemic
In times of divisiveness, we win when we find common ground. So, what do we agree on? Canada is an amazing country. Our right to protest is important. The pandemic is unprecedented in our time. In hindsight, not everything that has been done throughout the pandemic was the right move. Many of us are suffering from the pandemic; whether it …
Mental health, the Holocaust and a convoy
Welcome to my Venn diagram of worry. I’m sitting here scrolling through social media trying to decide on a column focus, and there are three topics that keep wanting my attention. This week it was one corporation’s annual attempt to normalize mental health, we had a convoy of truckers going through the city on their way to Ottawa to secure “freedom,” …
Wait for next Wordle is wonderful
Imagine having to wait to watch a television show. Some might even say that that concept is so 2000s. Some millennials are experiencing waiting for content for the first time, and Gen Xers and Boomers are having flashbacks with shows like Yellowstone or Boba Fett, or now by playing Wordle. It’s everywhere lately: “How many attempts did it take you to get …
Does the vaccine actually work? Details in the data
A large number of us will get the Omicron variant of COVID-19 over the next six months. What matters now is who gets it, and when. The vaccines’ roles in all of this are important to understand. Here I sit, with two doses of Moderna and a booster dose of Pfizer in me (and no improved Internet signal – yes …
‘Haphazard non-data driven’ decisions get F grade
“Blunt the latest wave” is what we’re being told to do in Ontario. Is this a call for citizens to buy cannabis and roll a fatty to get through this lockdown? Or are we actually trying to make the latest wave less sharp? A wave, sharp? Words matter. What also matters is data, logic, and forethought before making wide-sweeping, seemingly nonsensical …
Business must focus on more than bucks
With a new year looming, and NASA’s report of an asteroid near miss in December, I have to ask if there is a life-ending asteroid hurtling towards Earth. That seems like one of the only plausible explanations for our current behaviour. Otherwise, is it actually possible that people truly don’t understand that we only have one planet and that there …
Tree decorating yields fertile finds in memory bank
“O Christmas tree O Christmas tree you stand in splendid beauty!” (Did you sing that as you read it?) This year is a bit different with fewer presents under the tree for many, and the fact that a lot of us also have rapid antigen tests under them as well in preparation for possible yuletide visits. Regardless, everyone has different …
Early ‘ugly duckling’ self-concept paid beautiful dividends down the road
How do you fix your quilt of memories? I recently received an out of-the-blue email from my first puppy-love. I was mildly obsessed with this dear boy, showering him with attention and gifts, from kindergarten to Grade 6. He was the only apple of my eye for those eight years, and I even sported shoe laces with his first name …
Whipping up a five-day meal plan
This time of year seems to be particularly busy, so I’ve been trying to find shortcuts to meal preparation, while trying to avoid leftovers. I feel like I may have cracked the code with my latest five-day meal plan, so I’m sharing it in case anyone else is feeling like they’ve run out of steam. I’ll suggest five meals that …