Archive for the ‘Stress’ Category

I have been a practicing masseur in my spare time since 2001.  Now I realise that this is an unusual occupation for an IT professional, but maybe I was drawn to it precisely because I spend so such time dealing with computers.

However it came about, I trained first in Swedish Massage, then added Reflexology.  The last big training I went through was Sports Massage and Sports Injuries, which was an excellent course taking almost a year to complete. Read the rest of this entry »

I was at a pub quiz last night in aid of Star Throwers, which is a local charity supporting people suffering from cancer.  Inevitably, a comfort break was needed and as I was gazing at the wall I noticed a framed print of the Desiderata – a poem by Max Ehrmann.  I know this poem – I have read it many times, but it has been a while, so the comfort break took a little longer than usual.

I thought you might like to share it too (the poem, not the visit!), so here it is.  Read it slowly and concentrate: Read the rest of this entry »

I drove to the office this morning, but only because I have a new monitor and it is too heavy to carry far.  My ‘commute’ is only 15 minutes by foot these days, which is a far cry from the 2.5 hours I used to travel by train down to London, and that was only one-way!  But that’s another story. Read the rest of this entry »

Here in the UK it has been snowing since the middle of December, which for us seems like a very long time.

This weekend it was just above freezing (in Centigrade) and it is definitely warmer today, so the snow has finally started to melt.  Whether there is more to come only time will tell!

Also this weekend I finally got the chance to make that snowman in the garden with my daugther.  Once we had a head and a body, she went indoors to get the carrot for the nose and the other finishing touches, but instead of vegetables, she came out with some modelling tools.  So we both got arty and started trying to carve a face on our creation.

Somehow, making something just for fun is a great antidote to stress.  It will be gone soon and will only live on in memories and a couple of photos.  But to be honest, I’m not sure who had the most fun – her or me!

Yes, I know that sounds trite.  But seriously, how often do we count our blessings?  I used to know a man whose catch-phrase was "there’s always someone worse off".  We used to laugh, but as I have got older that has meant more to me – because it is true.  No matter how bad things are for me, I can always look around and see someone else who is worse off – maybe on the television news, on the front page of Google, or even one of our friends.

There are some people out there with serious illness that may kill them or disable them for life.  Read the rest of this entry »