I Pomodore You!

March 31, 2016April 5, 2016Hannah

When you’re working on a variety of projects for different clients, volunteer groups, and events, time management is important. When you’re working on your own projects, time management is essential. I discovered the difficulty of managing my own time since leaving my 9-5 in the summer and starting a number of my own projects, this blog included.

I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to Facebook. It’s such a handy tool for maintaining connections and promoting/finding great events and projects. I see its value too much to delete my account (those algorithms have got me figured out!). But, I could get that value from one tenth of the time I spend on it.

I’ve tried it all. Changing my password to ‘DoINeedToLogIn?!?’. Setting Facebook browser blockers. Setting website trackers. None seemed to work. But then, I found my adored trick: the Pomodoro Timer.

I found out about this productivity tool in a roundabout way. I have read my fair share of “X habits of Stupefyingly Productive People” articles online, but they were not the source. I discovered it by following the activities of fellow campers at Free Code Camp, the free learn-to-code-and-help-non-profits online ‘camp’ (which, on another note, is really, really great). One of the projects, which pops up in posts and tweets a lot, is the campers’ versions of a Pomodoro Clock. Intrigued by the name and by the fact it was built by a fellow would-be coder a few (or a few thousand) steps ahead of me. Read more →

16 Lessons I’ve Learned in my 29 Years

March 19, 2016March 19, 2016Hannah

As I approached my birthday, I started to think of the things I’ve learned in my first 29 years on the planet. I thought it might be fun to put together the lessons I gathered into a list. I started writing it out, and though I had some mildly clever thoughts, I realized that most of my lessons came from my family, friends, bosses, coworkers and the great writers of the world. Here I’ll provide a small homage to the lessons they’ve taught me, in shaping me into the woman I am today. It’s a sort of collection of educational gifts I’ve received over the years.

Birthday celebrations — Yep, I’ve loved birthday celebrations (e.g. ‘PrDE’) since I was a kiddo.

Life Lessons

1. “You can never be too kind.” — Mom

Five Things that are Simply Budapest

February 21, 2016February 23, 2016Hannah

I’ve been in Budapest for just over four months, seeing autumn into an unseasonably and certainly unCanadianly mild winter. Though my Hungarian language skills are still lacking, I don’t consume nearly enough pork (i.e. almost none) to manage Hungarian dishes, and my Hungarian travels outside of Budapest number only two, I have been soaking in the ebb and flow of Hungarian life. In these days, I’ve begun to distill a few things that are, to me, uniquely Hungarian.

You Say Goodbye, and I Say Hello

But we both mean ‘see you later’. I did a number of double takes as I would leave a shop or a restaurant and say “goodbye” or “viszlát”, and they would reply with “hello!”. In Hungarian, the greeting ‘szia!’ is similar to ciao and aloha in that it can be used for greeting or parting. Hungarians have adopted the most popular English-language greeting ‘hello’ into their own daily language with the same dual use. Though it takes some getting used to, it makes it really easy to pretend I speak Hungarian when entering anywhere in Budapest.

Postcard from #YogaCamp

February 6, 2016February 6, 2016Hannah

I went to camp in January. I went to camp on a blue mat in our little Hungarian kitchen. I went to camp all by myself and with thousands of others. And when it finished this week, I felt so good and strong that I didn’t want Yoga Camp to end.

Yoga Camp with Adriene postcard — Artwork by Roman Lucio Martinez

Yoga Camp is the brain-child of Adriene Mishler of Yoga with Adriene (YWA). I started following YWA when my wonky work-bus schedule kept me from my favourite classes at Shanti Yoga in Edmonton. My brilliant teacher (Hi Amanda! Thank you!) recommended finding a yoga video I enjoyed to keep my practice going at home when winter roads kept me away from the studio. There are a LOT of yoga videos out there. You can type any combination of descriptors into Google or Youtube and find your perfect practice. “45 minute strength yoga workout” and “20 minute morning yoga” will provide you with dozens of options, not to mention what your local library has on offer. For me, I sifted through endless online videos and “Top 10” lists until I finally stumbled upon a bright, calm and quirky Texan yoga teacher who encouraged me to “find what feels good.”

A Christmas Abroad in Prague

January 24, 2016February 6, 2016Hannah

I never thought I’d say “I’m going to Prague for Christmas” but that’s what happened this year. Just a seven hour train ride from Keleti Pályaudvar to Hlavni Nadrazi and we arrived in the beautiful capital of the Czech Republic. This was the second time that I have been outside of Canada for December 25th. I am lucky as I most often spend Christmas in Cape Breton with my family or, in recent years, in cozy Manitoba with the Robinsons. Being abroad at a time when most people’s hearts are at home is strange, challenging but full of new opportunities.

Prague has been at the top of my ‘To Visit’ list for years. I’ve heard magical descriptions of the city’s impressive and well-kept architecture hugging the Vltava River, it’s inexpensive and delightful food and drink and rich cultural scene. Prague was as promised. In December, the city was vibrant with Christmas markets and the bustle of happy faces with mulled wine and chimney cakes. We explored and celebrated and discovered Christmas abroad. Here are some reflections on what made this expat holiday a happy one.

Book Review: This Changes Everything

January 10, 2016January 10, 2016Hannah

Is it trendy to review a book over a year after its release? If so, then I’m spot on. Here is my book review and reflection on This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi Klein. It’s a book that has been a companion through two moves, two elections, dozens of life crises and more “Are-we-screwed-What-can-I-do” moments than I can count.

Rather than my introductory words, please enjoy the trailer to the partner film This Changes Everything as an effective backgrounder:

This Changes Everything is an engaging read. Klein takes magnificently complex topics and wrangles them into a readable and captivating work. The first striking feature was the accessibility of the text. When I opened its pages, the weight of the book felt daunting. Though an engaged citizen and environmentalist, I was worried that the book would read above my head and I would be left behind after the first chapter. Perhaps this was a silly assumption on a work from an accomplished journalist who writes for the public, but the title pushed my thoughts to an impenetrable manifesto. However, Klein guides the reader through each topic in a way that allows the gravity of each fact to be understood, while wrapped in a human-scale story.

Zurich Loves Its Water

January 1, 2016January 10, 2016Hannah

I recently traveled to Zürich to visit with my aunt Anita traveling from Margaree via Malta for meetings. I had only visited Switzerland to catch a late night flight in Basel (and enjoyed Avatar in 3D with 3 sub-title languages!), so I was looking forward to exploring its largest city. We spent the weekend walking all over the city, enjoying the views of Lake Zürich, the Old Town and its many, many water fountains.

Zürich loves its water. The city is home to 1,248 public water fountains. You can’t walk a couple blocks in the Old Town without coming across an imaginatively sculpted waterspout. Though the fountains become simpler in form further from the city centre, they are just as handy.

The first water fountain was built during the early 15th century to supply trusted water after the Black Death created a (well-founded) mistrust of city wells. The water was brought to the city centre, the top of Rennweg, from a source four kilometres away by wooden pipe. An engineering feat of the time, and the first of many public plumbing projects to come.*

It is refreshing to see the importance and elegance of publicly available drinking water. We live in a generation that remembers thinking that buying water from a store seemed ridiculous to now seeing bottled water as an important part of our convenience diet. Plastic bottles are still popular in Zürich, but many residents choose to bring their own refillable ones instead. The water is said to be deliciously fresh and a treat to enjoy. I can attest that it did indeed taste like water.

Six Tips on Keeping Holiday Shopping Simple

December 11, 2015January 3, 2016Hannah

The Christmas markets are jostling, the streets are brightly lit and the smell of mulled wine seems to be temptingly everywhere here in Budapest. The holiday season is at that lovely point where everyone is feeling festive but before the last-minute errands and tenuous travel has started. In the midst of all the holiday cheer, I’ve done some of my holiday shopping. Though I generally dislike shopping, which helps in living a simple lifestyle, the holidays provides a particular combination of pleasant and painstaking consumer experiences. To make the season a littler simpler, here are my six tips on keeping holiday shopping under wraps (pun intended):

Be Thoughtful

My little sister is the best gift giver. Each Christmas, she selects gifts for our family that are spot-on. I try to emulate her style and it comes down to being thoughtful and observant. She notices interests, needs and desires throughout the year and picks a gift that touches on these aspects. She never purchases something for the sake of filling a gift bag; her gifts are always well thought-out and valued by the recipient. In the hustle of the season, I can often get caught up with gift-giving and thinking it’s better to just give something. However, a gift given without thought isn not a great gift and will often just become that ‘stuff’ no one needs. Make your list and check it twice to be sure it’s thoughtful like Carrie’s.

An Ode to the To-Do List

December 5, 2015January 3, 2016Hannah

I am a person who cannot work in my own headspace. While some people can mentally visualize their schedule and tasks, I work far more efficiently when I get my thoughts out of my brain and into the world. After a conversation with a close friend or recording with pen and paper, I can then truly process my thoughts and get things done. This post focuses on writing as I find it very cathartic. Whether I need to make a difficult decision, to record a beautiful day or to remember my groceries, my scurried scribbling allows me to reflect and release.

This love of writing means I keep a number of notebooks. One of my realizations while moving cross country and continents was that I kept quite a number of notebooks. Each has its purpose: daily lists, agenda, language lessons, programming notes, personal journal and job notes. None are redundant as each fulfills a particular role. Perhaps this multitude of books goes against my search for simplicity, but for me – these books are essential to my version of it. They keep my ideas, goals, tasks and lessons straight, allowing me to move forward knowing these important items are recorded.

Showing Up: Global Climate March on Sunday

November 27, 2015January 3, 2016Hannah

Things need to change.

That’s simple.

Little else is.

Climate change is a complex, global process that disparately effects the regions and peoples of the world. The solution is complex, requiring rapid, insightful action on every personal and political level. If you’re reading this blog, you know the situation and I don’t need to lay out the facts. If you’d like to read more from the world’s experts, you can find more here, here, here and here.

As complex as it is, there are a number of simple steps. In fact, the UN created The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World. I’m not sure if it’s clever marketing or a sad statement of the state of the world. Either way, there are simple tips to minimize your impact. I’ll advocate for another simple action: show up.