At Phoenix airport, waiting for flight

Less than one day!
Getting very excited.

Here I am, just two days before we fly out to Wisconsin for CS Retreat!

I’m very excited for the cheese curds, CS friends and projects and special time with the Love of My Life, Cathy. That ends up being in ascending order of precedence…

Pope Francis’s secrets to happiness

1. “Live and let live.” Everyone should be guided by this principle, he said, which has a similar expression in Rome with the saying, “Move forward and let others do the same.”

2. “Be giving of yourself to others.” People need to be open and generous toward others, he said, because “if you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid.”

3. “Proceed calmly” in life. The pope, who used to teach high school literature, used an image from an Argentine novel by Ricardo Guiraldes, in which the protagonist — gaucho Don Segundo Sombra — looks back on how he lived his life.

4. A healthy sense of leisure. The Pope said “consumerism has brought us anxiety”, and told parents to set aside time to play with their children and turn of the TV when they sit down to eat.

5. Sundays should be holidays. Workers should have Sundays off because “Sunday is for family,” he said.

6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people. “We need to be creative with young people. If they have no opportunities they will get into drugs” and be more vulnerable to suicide, he said.

7. Respect and take care of nature. Environmental degradation “is one of the biggest challenges we have,” he said. “I think a question that we’re not asking ourselves is: ‘Isn’t humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?’”

8. Stop being negative. “Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem. That means, ‘I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down,’” the Pope said. “Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy.”

9. Don’t proselytise; respect others’ beliefs. “We can inspire others through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyses: ‘I am talking with you in order to persuade you,’ No. Each person dialogues, starting with his and her own identity. The church grows by attraction, not proselytising,” the Pope said.

10. Work for peace. “We are living in a time of many wars,” he said, and “the call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive” and dynamic.

Here is a link to the article I got this from:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/pope-francis-issues-top-10-tips-for-happiness–including-dont-try-to-convert-other-people-9639488.html

Had a good walk with Sasha this morning: http://www.endomondo.com

The drive to work was ok, with minor slowdowns.

Work was good today. I got a lot accomplished with less stress than I’ve had in some time.

Had a real treat for dinner, Li’l Abner’s pork ribs, garlic Texas toast and beans.

Woke up with a bit of a headache. I drank a lot of water, and am trying some caffeine now. It seems more like a muscle tension headache, so I may try some relaxation exercises too.

That helped with the headache.

Picked up Cathy at the Airport after work and we had a nice dinner at home followed by a few TV shows viewed from the sofa.

I overslept enough that I missed my walk with Sasha, but not so much I was very late to work; missed it by a few minutes.

Work was fine today and I got a lot done.

Slept in a little so I could take Cathy to the airport; it was nice. Missed my walk with Sasha, though. 🙁

Work was ok, and had a quiet dinner at home with Sasha, though she didn’t eat much of her food.

Had a very successful Rally Practice. I laid the leash on my should, which freed up my hands, keeping the tension off the leash, and (as long as I had treats!) Sasha followed me around and did well at every station. Steve said it was an advanced course, minus the jump.

I had some trouble getting to sleep, and I guess I must have been dreaming because Sasha woke me up several times “checking” on me.

Had a shorter than usual walk with Sasha this morning, but it was still pretty good. http://www.endomondo.com

Ride to work had some slowdowns. Work was ok, but extremely busy still. That’s not a bad thing, of course! Makes the day go quickly.

A nice ride home, listening to Sirius Love Channel mellowed me out a lot.

Had a nice evening with Cathy.