Riding a bike with Alopecia

So if you have not worked it out by now, I love to ride my bike. I bike to work, I take my racing bike out on the weekends, I just love being outside and cycling through the streets. I cycle to restaurants, to conferences, even to hotels.

However wearing a wig on a bike is complicated.

If you don't wear a helmet it can fly off.

If you do wear a helmet, you can die of heat exhaustion..

So what to do?

Well I have mentioned my funky little hats before. I have an array of colours, sizes and styles. For my bike I have a particular type. It's like the one below  (it's not me in the picture, it is taken out of the fabulous hat shop where I get them all from).

The advantage is that you have your head completely covered, and the bike helmet fits on beautifully.  It also looks kind of normal, when you bump into people. Which I seem to do a lot in this small city.

It is also possible to take  the helmet off on arrival, to work usually, then quickly scurry to the bathrooms to switch it for my hair.  It's a bit of a hassle, but its like any other habit or process, you get used to it really quickly.

My biggest fear is getting to work and realizing that my wig is not in my handbag. Aghhhh!!
It has never happened before but you never know.

So that is my inconvenience of the day, what is yours?

We all have them, mine is about my hair, but yours may be about something completely different.

Do tell.

Not to get too philosopical, but meaning is important

Following my Monday post 2 days ago, I have been pondering "meaning". See, my blogs even get me thinking about my questions!!

What is the meaning of life?

Is meaning at work as important as meaning in our private lives?

Today I am going to flesh out some ideas on meaning at work.

You see I was exposed to a concept in a training earlier this week, about the 5 sources of meaning.

The theory suggested that there are 5 sources. None of them better or worse than another and each one personal.  As you read them, think about if that particular one provides you with meaning.

Company, shareholder
Mission, society
Consumer, customer
Team, experience
Me, personally

It made sense to me.  You see I am 90% sitting in the category of "team, experience".

What this means is that if someone on the stage at Corporate is pitching a product and the benefit it brings to the end user, be that a patient receiving a lifesaving drug or a baby with a dry nappy, it does not provide me with meaning.

Yes of course it is important and makes me understand where I fit in, but it really does not give me meaning for my work.  The same way looking at the P&L and the $$$ earned in the last quarter, does not provide me with meaning either. Again very important and I am very glad, others find their meaning here, but for me, it's not that.

What matters to me is the people I work with. The team and the experience we share.  It's the boss that I have, the coffee breaks I take, the colleagues on my floor, the pulling together in tough times, the staying late to solve a problem. The being there for one another. To ask colleagues how they are and listen to the answer. To notice that things are not going well. To actually give a damn about each other.

Don't misunderstand me, I don't want to be chatting all day and listening to last nights' baby terrors, I just want people to notice I exist and recognize my contribution. The same way I want to notice that I work with humans with emotions, and not swith robots who just churn out powerpoint slides.

So that is my source of meaning.

What's yours????

Encouraging teens to think differently

Recently I was invited to speak to a group of school kids. Their age was mid to late teens.
As I was invited based on my profession and experiences, I chose the subject of "career paths and choices" to spend my hour with them.

I really got into preparing. I asked myself lots of questions.

What was it I wanted to leave them with?
What did I want to trigger in them?
What did I want them to think differently about, as a consequence to listening to me?
Did I want them to be involved in the conversation?
Did I want to give them tools, handouts, for them to refer back to?
Did I want to be cool or professional? Funny or serious?

I decided on my approach and and planned that I would teach them the following:
How to prepare for an interview
What possibilities are there for jobs
Why is travel important for our horizons
What experiences teach us

I met with the teacher (for really yummy sushi) a week before the big day, to align on the topics, the approach, the students and to ensure I was ready and had his support.

I was nervous, this was not my comfort zone, but I was excited, as I really like the idea of influencing young minds and offering them different perspectives.

The day came and it went well, the students got stuck in, really offered insights, thinking, challenges, they asked me unusual questions, some even stumping me. It was fantastic.

I asked the teacher a few weeks later to follow up with the class and ask me what they remembered and what they took away.

I was thrilled to hear that many of them thought differently as a result of the discussion. Some had decided to find Summer jobs and experience new things before going into the family business. Others had decided to travel and others just enjoyed the perspectives, before they make bigger decisions.  (Hope their parents don't come looking for me!!!!!)

Most of all, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed sharing my thoughts and passions with these young and impressionable teens. 

As a result, I think I realised how much I would like to do more of this kind of thing.  I came out with a ton of energy and many ideas on how I could do things differently. I came out with a kind of purpose and satisfaction. Wonderful!!


Do you know what gives you satisfaction and meaning?

If you have worked this out, are you able to find ways to do this in your every day life?

An extra special hug

I don't know why, but recently I have started missing my family when I travel.

I have always travelled for work and it has never bothered me, even when they were babies.

However when I am away from them now, it hurts. I somehow ache to be with them.

Maybe its becasue I am travelling more now than I have in the last three years. Maybe it's because the kids are at such a cool age, and a lot is happening to them in terms of growth and life experiences. Or maybe its my age and my knowledge that one day they are not going to be little anymore.

So tonight as I came home, I was excited to see them. I got special hugs and lots of attention. We did silly things together and played games.

And as I put the little one to bed tonight, she asked me to cuddle her to sleep. I did. Willingly.

As I stood up to leave, she put her little arms out to me, as if to ask me to stay. But they just flopped back down on the sheets, as she was already gone. Off to the land of nod.

How nice it felt to be loved and hugged in that way. Being wanted next to them as they settle for the night.

Such lovely moments. To treasure and hold dear.

My three words

Crazy


Courageous


Calm


These are the three words I would use to describe myself right now.

I used to use the "one-word" game but now I don't think one word covers it any more.

I am no longer one word, but three.

So what words would you describe yourself with?

Ask your kids, your friends, your colleagues, what word they are.

Ask them to describe you in one word (or three).

I bet you will be suprised by the accuracy of what they say.

Let me know what you discover. Don't cheat by allowing too many words. I think somewhere in the range of 1 to 3, it works best.

I might play this on family night this week, which we incidentally started again!!

A magic moment of clarity

This week I was lucky enough to be in sunny Spain for work. Yeah I know, I ave a tough life!

The weather has been particulary bad this Spring / early Summer in Switzerland, so any chance of a few rays of sunshine, I rush outside. The weather in Spain, was spectacular. Blue blue skies. 

I took a picture, to the amusement of my colleagues, so I could remember how lovely the sky was. And remember I have a thing for skies (see earlier post).

So instead of heading to the hotel gym, to work off the lovely food and drink we were being served up, combined with days of sitting down, I headed outside for a run.

This was indeed a tremendous idea, but I remind you, it is June and I was in Spain. Namely - hot!!

But this did not deter me.

So off I went, all on my own, on this particular morning.

There was no one around and I was feeling rather overheated. So in a magic moment of clarity, I whipped off my fleecey hat and ran bald.  I really did. I ran for about 10 minutes, fully exposed.

Boy, did it feel good!

I was checking continuously for other people who were out and about, yet I remained undisturbed.

Glorious.

I am sure over time, runing bald could become very natural and I would find my ease with this way of exercising. But I am not there yet. Still too self conscious. Still too worried. Still uncomfortable.

However I did it today and I may just do it again!!

A simple question

I heard it recently on the radio and I really liked it.

It was a question to the audience.

It went like this.


What would you do, if you were not afraid?


I am still thinking about it.

Do you know what you would do?

Why not go and ask a colleague or a friend and strike up a good conversation. Let me know what surfaces.

I think mine would be going to work without my hair on!

Biking to work

I have always biked to work. My home has always been close to work and distance of work a criteria, when job hunting . I have never commuted more than 30 mins. This may sound like a luxury to many of you, but this had been planful and not just a coincidence.

Biking to work is just a great start to the day. It also helps manage my impatience of waiting for trains or being stuck in traffic.

There has been one exception to this. And believe me I tried hard to get around it.

When I lived in Montreal, although living less than 10km from the office, driving was the only real option.

I tried the train, but the infrequency of the trains drove me nuts (and people thought me slightly mad, as I had a company car).  I tried car sharing, but it felt cheap and didn't really suit the culture. No one understood why I would do this.

I tried biking, but the pot holes in the road got the best of me (and the snow of course).

So after three months of trying to bike, I surrendered to the car. Just like everyone else on the island.

But apart from this 3 year lapse, I have always cycled to work.

Interestingly I read today that Basel has the highest percentage of people going to work by tram, bike or on foot in the whole of Switzerland. And I would hazard a guess that this is one of the highest percentages in the developed world. Want to guess what percentage?

You North Americans might just fall off your chairs, or should I say car seats.

Well it's 50%. 1 in 2 people, like me, hop on their bike, take public transport or just good old walk to work, every day.

Impressive eh?

Clearly the infrastructure has to be right for this to work, as does the street quality. But it's also a mindset of the people.

I love it, it's good for the mood, the environment and also for the body.

So have a little think, if even just for one day, if there is a possibility for you to be a Basler and try leaving the car behind.

 Go on, I dare you

Spot the difference

Kids love looking through old photos. Photos of them when they were little, photos of summer holidays by the sea, photos of their parents' wedding, basically anything. They can spend hours looking and asking about the stories behind the snap. My 5 year old is no different.

Last night, we went through an album with photos of me and my husband. The photos stretched over a whole decade. You see I made it for my husband on our tenth wedding anniversary. Cute hey!

She loved looking at the pictures. So did I.  (How I have aged in the last decade!!!!!).

However rather than asking the stories, in this particular album, my little one played a game. A bit like spot the difference. She pointed at each picture of me and said "fake hair" or "real hair".

She went through this exercise like you would identify red or yellow cars on the motorway. Very matter of fact and without any emotion. It was just a game like any other. Spot the difference.

She immediately recognised which photo was taken before alopecia and which ones after, namely when I was wearing a wig. 100% accuracy.

I am not sure what I made of this little game, but it was amazing to see how little kids look at things and articulate what they see. In a simple and obvious way. Quite beautiful really.

When do we lose this skill? When do filters kick in? Its a shame somehow. Kind of boring really. I could never imagine an adult playing this game out loud! If they did I wonder how I would have reacted!!!

First world problems

Some things are just downright annoying.
Something things that you come across in life are really maddening.
Here is my top ten list for today:

1. An elevator without a mirror

2. An escalator that does not work (and you only realise when you step on it)

3. People in the service industry who really don't give a damn

4. Not finding a pen in your bag

5. No milk left for your cup of tea

6. Weblinks that don't work

7. Biting into an apple that is brown

8. Someone not turning up for a meeting

9. Helpdesks and automated routing systems on a phone

10. A flat tire on a bike, when you need to be somewhere, very quicky.

So as the title suggests, these are really luxury problems. So when I feel the anger surging because of any of the above, I really should give myself a slap and remember, that these really are not big issues in the grand scheme of things, however annoying they are in the moment.

What annoys you? I am sure I am not the only one, who gets wound up at silly little things.

Go on, tell us! Indulge us in your first world problems............

My four beetroots

I do not consider myself a gardener. I don't think I ever will be. Yet, I do like a nice garden. To sit in and look at. But work in. Mmmm, not really been my thing. For those of you who read last weeks post, there seems to be a bit of a theme here!!

I do love the idea of growing my own veg or herbs, but something always holds me back. I could blame it on time, but its more than this. I think it's a fear of failing. I mean how irrational is that? Who cares if my coriander wilts or my carrots don't sprout? But I think that's why I don't try. Also let's be clear, I don't have a clue how to start.

So whilst at a garden centre with my friend, I dared to buy four beetroot plants. I did stand in front of them for at least 15 minutes, deliberating if I could do this. Plucking up the courage to plunge into the depths of self sufficiency. I carefully, and with way too much deliberation, selected four little plants. I went crazy.

I had no idea that each plant only produced one veg, but hey, isn't this learning part of the process.

So I carefully took them home, planted them and subsequently watered them.

I walk past them most days and get excited, when I see them still standing upright. It's been a week now.

I think I need to be patient now and research a little on treatment and harvest time, but I am so excited about my first attempt at farming.

I have even began thinking if I should venture into a second veg. Any idea, what could still work?

Maybe I could get into this after all.