The past weekend marked the official “End of Summer”.  Shorts are still permissible on warm days, but otherwise it just gets cooler from here on.  The heat was very nice for most folks who enjoy hot weather and sunny skies. On the other side, we saw very little rain from July onward resulting in a drop in standing water across much of our landscape. So with the beginning of Fall, I figured it was a good time to step back and appreciate summer.

Hanging around the Pond

We have a small pond out back that is home to a variety of gold fish and Koi, as well as some nice aquatic plants.  This year was the first one that I’ve seen pond lilies in bloom – a very interesting flower that would intermittently open and close with the sun.  Just below the flower, you can see a fish swimming past. As an aside – fish are notorious liars – who always tell you they’re hungry, even if they ate 2 minutes earlier.  So don’t be fooled.

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I remember walking in the neighborhood in Vegas where I lived when I was 18 years old.  I was enjoying my walk and smiled at the people passing by.  I decided to do my own experiment.  When people smiled back, if felt great.  If they didn’t, it was still all right because I was doing what felt right.

Did you know that we smile even while we are in the womb? 3-D technology now shows that developing babies smile.  After babies are born, they continue to smile (at the beginning in their sleep) and even blind babies smile in response to the sound of the human voice.  Isn’t that fascinating or what?

Have you ever wondered why being around children who smile frequently makes you smile more often? There is a high chance when we smile for people to smile back.  It would be very challenging to frown  when looking at someone who smiles.  Charles Darwin developed the Facial Feedback Response Theory which suggests that the act of smiling makes us feel better.  This theory is supported by a research done in Echnische University in Munich, Germany.  In 2009, scientists used fMRI (Functional MRI) imaging to measure brain activity in regions of emotional processing in the brain.  They found out that facial feedback changes the neural processing of emotional content in the brain and concluded that our brain’s circuitry of emotion and happiness is activated when we smile.

Unlike lots of chocolate, lots of smiling can actually make you healthier.  Smiling has therapeutic effects and is associated with reduced stress hormone levels (like cortisol, adrenaline, and dopamine), increased health and mood enhancing hormone levels (like endorphins), and lowered blood pressure.

I am not finished yet.  It seems like smiling is one of the best things we could be doing.  Smiling makes us look good in the eyes of others.  A study at Penn State University confirmed that when we smile, we not only appear more likable and courteous, but we are perceived to be more competent.

Here is a brief summary of the stats about smiling:

• When you smile, you look good and feel good
• When others see you smile, they smile too
• When others smile, they look good and feel good, too.

Well, we can all together start a smiling revolution! One thing, though, the smile you give has to be big and genuine.

In conclusion, smiling can improve not only your life, but also the lives of others.  It helps us live longer, healthier, and happier lives.

Mother Teresa said: “I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.”

Inaugural Run Club runners (left – right): Michael, Judy, Brian, James, Sara, Jackie, Alison, Chau.

Staff and Students are invited to come out on Wednesday, Oct. 10th for the first annual Red River Fun Run – sponsored by the RRC Run Club, the Wellness Committee and the RRC Students’ Association.

This 4km run (or walk if you prefer) around the Notre Dame Campus should be a good time to fight off the Fall weather with some invigorating activity.  All participants will be eligible for a prize draw.  The event begins at noon at the bus loop on the south side of the Notre Dame campus, and College President Stephanie Forsyth will be on hand to kick off the event. The RRC Students’ Association Executive have also promised to bring out their Boom Box to help create a “carnival-like” atmosphere.  So come out, bring your running shoes, and have fun.

Please register online so we can get a sense of the number of participants ahead of time as well as to complete a participant consent form.

Keep watching this space for further updates and runner profiles.  If you wish to lend a hand to the event, you can contact me at mkrywy@rrc.ca.

And finally…. if you want to get yourself in shape ahead of time, the RRC Run Club meets regularly each Wednesday at noon in front of the NDC gym. Don’t be shy, they’re good folks who are kind to new runners.

You are ENOUGH, we are ENOUGH…

Another school year!  I see some new faces and lots of familiar faces.  It is so nice to see the students stopping by, saying hi, making sure they connect now that they are back on campus after being away for the summer.  I love it!  My son also started kindergarten!  I am excited for him and I am nervous as well…

I read an article recently saying that educational institutions have the responsibility to make the experience of the students as meaningful as possible.  This statement got me thinking and it felt right.  Here I am, working from my office with prospective immigrant students and assisting current students in many different ways.  One big part of my position is to connect with students on a human level.  I will admit that this is the favorite part of my position.

I have worked in educational institutions for the last ten years.  I started as a student advisor in Vegas, then at U of M, and now at Red River College.  I like the energy of educational institutions.  I also realized that I am still a student.  I learn every day how to be a human and I love the stories I hear every day.  I secretly call myself the Story Keeper.

One day, the students we come in contact with will graduate and will go on their own path of life.  Many students will have the same diplomas and professions.  But each student is the only person who has custody of his/her own life.  Not only the life at school and work, but also at home, at the bus, in the car.  We all possess not only a life of our mind, but also a life of our hearts.

You may wonder how does this all related to Wellness?  Bear with me, I am just painting the big picture, I am setting the stage for the main message to unfold.  After all, health and wellness have different dimensions: physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, etc.  All these dimensions are interconnected.

So, how can I do my part of making the experience of the students meaningful?  I can offer the best of me and be present for the students only when I operate from a place I know I am enough.  I am calmer and I listen.

What makes me ENOUGH?  I am enough because I am alive and I exist.  I am enough even if nobody knows my name.  Becoming successful doesn’t make me enough. It just changes my experience, but it doesn’t change me.

Being enough, I become comfortable with my background, my past experiences, abilities because none of those define me.  Now that I am enough, I don’t have the need to impress people because what people think of me is secondary to the way I think about myself.

As a mother, I have my daily challenges.  I ask myself often of the lessons I would like my son to know.  I read, I analyze, and then….I need a break from it all.  But there is one thing that I want my son to know—that he is wanted just the way he is and that he is loved no matter what.  It is all right to be open to learn more about parenting, but at the end of the day, the best gift children need is the unquestionable approval of their existence.  It sounds simple, but….it can be one of the hardest things to do.

Even though the NHL players and owners are having trouble figuring out how to divide up an incredibly large cake, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be hockey this fall. My own recreational hockey (or is that wreck hockey) begins next Thursday in Hazelridge, and I know many others are either already on the ice themselves or taking the kids to the rink.

About a year ago I began hunting around for some good tutorials to improve my own game, as I haven’t been in a formal hockey practice for nearly 25 years, and even then, my fundamentals weren’t that hot.  As it turns out, there’s a ton of great material on the web (surprise!) be it Youtube videos or websites dedictated to the coaching / training side of the sport.

One particularly good site is How to Hockey.com which features training videos and articles on things like improving your shot, stickhandling, skating and coaching. There’s a lot of material to check out, and more importantly to practice and use in a game. So have a look and let me know what you find interesting (or better yet, create your own post on the topic).

My main goal this year is improving my shot, which is inconsistent to say the least.  In a fast paced game, the chances to score a goal can be few and far between – so it’s important to make the most of your opportunities. So to start with, I found this advice on taking a good snap shot.

Bonus Feature:

Here’s a great little video of Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capital displaying his shooting prowess. Funny guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpUVJYJQ9dI

Keep your head up, your stick on the ice, and have some fun.

OK, I’m starting to feel like solo-blogger here. Where is everybody?

I have good news, and I have bad news.

Let’s start with the bad. Rebel Rider Michael Whalen who has has been with the team almost every year since 2004 has had to drop out due to other commitments. Michael and has raised a lot for MS in that time and he’ll be missed. Sure hope he can come back next year. It just won’t be the same without him at the front of the pack.

Now for the good. Four sleeps to the MS Riding Mountain Challenge on September 8-9 and your RR Rebel Riders have a new member, Gurdeesh Ghuman from NDC Security! Not only that, we’ve topped $3,000 and are #4 on the top-fundraising-team list for the event! Thank you RRC!

So this will likely be the last bio before the big ride, partly because I don’t yet have one for Roxanne or Gurdeesh. But I do have one for Mike!

Yes, Mike is man enough!

This will be ride #4 for Mike Poitras, and it all started when I emailed him a link to the sign up page with a single comment:“Are you man enough?”. The rest is history.

As Mike says, “I have enjoyed every year that we bike as a team. Great company, scenery and a worthwhile cause!”

But Mike was cycling long before the MS Ride. Like most of us, he cycled daily as a kid, first with Dad holding the back of the seat, moving after many skinned knees to a 3-speed with a banana seat (remember those?), and finally to a 10-speed road bike. But a driver’s license at 16 resulted in the bike slowly collecting dust.

It was his wife to be (Vi) that got him back onto the saddle, encouraging him to try a mountain bike and to commute. Since then he’s used a ‘cross’ bike that is light enough to help him ‘keep that edge’, but sturdy enough to commute with heavy saddle bags. They have been having friendly challenges every year since to see who can put on more kilometres (last year he put on 5,000!). They regularly bike together and plan their holidays with cycling in mind. Now, Mike can’t imagine a life without biking.

“Every spring when I hop on, I am reminded of how much I enjoy it. It reminds me of my youth and that feeling of being ALIVE! I have met some wonderful people. I have discovered that there is a bond amongst those that bike. My personal hero is a fellow in his 70’s who still will regularly ride on 100 kilometre trips.” (I wonder who that is?) “I can’t keep up with him! One of my dreams is to be able to still ride when I’m in my 70’s. My second dream is to bike to Montreal!”

And so Mike and the team are just about ready to go again. You still have time to push us higher in the standings and to help your Red River Rebel Riders top $3,500 for 2012. All your donations, 100%, go directly to MS research and to helping those suffering with MS. Your rrrr… Riders must each pay a registration fee and raise a minimum of $250 to be able to ride, and though  we are graciously allowed the use of College vans to get us to Dauphin and back, we pay for our own accommodation in both Dauphin and Clear Lake. We do our bit, but we rely on you to make it all worthwhile with a tax deductible donation. No donation is too small. Pledge securely online today at the RR Rebel Riders team page and help us to wipe out MS!

Thanks everybody!

Where does the time go? My last post was almost two months ago, yet it seems like yesterday. So what better time to start thinking about wellness again as the College is humming anew with instructors and students returning from an amazing summer that just won’t quit? And with only 12 more sleeps before the MS Riding Mountain Challenge on September 8-9, what better segue to your RR Rebel Riders?

Our newest Red River Rebel Rider

Your rrrr… are a rider stronger since my last post. The exuberant Dayna Graham from our Exchange District Campus jumped on board August 9th, and she has already exceeded her $250 pledge goal! Talk about get-up-and-go! So why did she join?

“The inspirational wellness blogs…, the opportunity to contribute to a charitable cause…, and my love for outdoor activity… I am continually gratified by the incredible support by Red River College toward staff development. RRC creates and encourages a plethora of opportunities which foster staff development in wellness and intellectual capacity. All of these opportunities not only aide in individual growth, they serve as a catalyst for connecting with other staff/faculty members.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Check out Dayna’s profile, and even better still, support her with a secure online donation.

August Red River Rebel Rider, Wayne

And returning to the team after a 3-year hiatus is Wayne Ferguson, eager to raise money again for the important work the MS Society sponsors. So what motivated Wayne to join rrrr…?

“As a young boy, during the last interglacial period, I stood in complete awe of the cyclists riding through town completing their Jasper to Banff cycling adventure. These adventurous souls didn’t have light-weight carbon or titanium bikes, but much heavier steel frames. They didn’t have 30 gear Shimano or Campagnolo drive trains to help with the climbs up Wilcox Pass or Bow Summit; they had state-of-the-art  Sturmey-Archer 3-speed bikes.  Had their feats not been chronicled in the Crag and Canyon, I wouldn’t have believed their achievement. The Banff-Jasper Highway they rode was not the current route completed in the late 1950s, but rather the narrower,  less cyclist-friendly, road built as a make-work project prior to World War 2. “

“Forty or so years later, I took up cycling, as a result of a friend’s encouragement, as a way of getting exercise in a knee-friendlier way than running. One day I saw a poster for the MS 150 and the images reminded me of the achievements of the cyclists conquering the Banff-Jasper Highway on their primitive (by current standards) 3-speed bicycles. Entering the MS ride struck me as being as good a substitute for the Rockies as could be found in Manitoba; moreover, it would have the added benefit of raising money for an important cause. The hills on the Riding Mountain Challenge are much like those on the Banff-Jasper Highway; although there are no glaciers in the background.”

So, there you have it. Dayna and Wayne (and the rest of rrrr…) are quivering with anticipation, soon to hit the Dauphin to Wasagaming trail. Please help us put an end to MS with a secure online donation today. You can pledge the team, or any individual rrrr… rider.

Fellow Rebel Rider Wayne Ferguson started me a few years ago on what has become a Canada Day ritual of sorts (some would say insanity): a patriotic fitness ride totaling the same number of kilometers as the years since Confederation. Old St. Peter’s Church just over the bridge north of Selkirk is about 70 km from my front door, so I figured that a few short detours along the way would make it the perfect 145 km round trip. Unfortunately, with Wayne out of town, my 2012 patriotic ride would be a solo cycle. Bare spots suitably coated in sunscreen (forecasted high was 31 degrees), my 7:30 start was relatively cool, but I had not expected to be barreling through so many patriotic flying insects. My Badger SPF 30+ cream turned me into human fly-paper on wheels.

It turned out to be a perfect Canada Day route. I made pretty good time, reaching St. Peter’s around 10 am. Leaning my bike against a tree, I explored the large cemetery surrounding the church on the banks of the Red. Fascinating! I had not realized that the stone church, built in 1853, was on the site of the first Peguis Reserve. Ever wondered after whom the Chief Peguis Trail was named? Then read on. My Canada Day cycle was about to transport me back 200 years to the very foundations of Winnipeg and Manitoba.

St. Peter’s Reserve.

I’ve been hearing a lot this year about the war of 1812, but nothing about the 200^th anniversary of the arrival of the first Red River settlers. And I certainly knew next to nothing about Chief Peguis (born about 1774) who had settled with his band near Netley Creek in the 1790s. Often known as “Chief Cut-Nose” because his nose had been bitten off in a fight around 1802, Peguis welcomed the first Red River settlers in 1812, exactly 200 years ago, and is credited with aiding and defending them during their first difficult years. He guided them to hunt buffalo in 1814, helped bury their dead after the Seven Oaks Massacre in 1816, and even rescued Marie-Anne Gaboury, the first white woman in the West and future grandmother of Louis Riel. And it was a treaty through Peguis on July 20^th, 1817, that granted Lord Selkirk’s settlers use of Red River lands that included the future settlements of Selkirk, Lockport, and Winnipeg.

And here I was, right in the middle of what would become known as St. Peter’s Indian Reserve, the first successful Indian agricultural settlement in Western Canada. Peguis had been persuaded in 1832 to settle here, just north of present day Selkirk. When Peguis converted to Christianity in 1840, giving up three of his four wives in the process, he adopted the name William King and gave his children the last name of Prince. The names of many of the original settlers, including some of the Princes, can still be read on headstones in the cemetery. The largest is the monument over the grave of Peguis himself, who died only three years before confederation in 1864.

On my cycle back through the town of Selkirk I stopped at the Marine Museum of Manitoba, then St. Clement’s Anglican Church (1861) with its large cemetery containing the graves of many of the founding families of Selkirk. Being Sunday morning, there was a service going on and, to my surprise, I hit the churchyard just as the choir broke in to O Canada! Next stop was the “Stone Fort” of Lower Fort Garry where, on August 3, 1871, Peguis’s youngest son, Henry “Red Eagle” Prince, signed Treaty No. 1 with the new country of Canada, formally transferring lands that are now part of modern Manitoba. On the road again and passing the Lockport Inn at midday struck me as a most appropriate time to stop for a nice cold Molson Canadian! I am after all neither a mad dog nor an Englishman. Well revived and my water-bottle refilled, I continued on to Winnipeg, back over the Chief Peguis Trail, the Raleigh Greenway, and the Louise Bridge (first bridge in Winnipeg and the one over which the first Canadian Pacific through passenger train crossed on July 1, 1886!), under a Canadian National train crossing the CN bridge over the Stephen Juba Park trail, a short stop at the Forks to gawk at the Canada Day crowd and some obliging Canada geese, and a final 20 km home. Whew! A lot of history for one day!

As I soaked in a nice hot tub some eight sweaty hours after my Badger coated launch, I couldn’t help but wonder where the wheels had fallen off in the 200 years since first contact with Peguis, friend of the settlers. All that is left of the first Peguis Reserve is a dirt road leading to the old stone church where he is buried, surrounded by crumbling headstones and a few forgotten monuments. Successive waves of settlers and the new government of Canada pushed the Peguis band off prime agricultural land that was considered too good for Indians and onto reserves farther north. You may have heard of Peguis’s great-great-grandson, Sgt. Tommy Prince, Canada’s most decorated Aboriginal war veteran. Though a hero in the mold of his great-great-grandfather, like too many of our First Nations brothers and sisters he died penniless in a homeless shelter and is virtually as forgotten as Peguis himself.

Yes, we have a lot to be thankful for, but my 2012 Canada Day memory will be of Peguis and his legacy, and of a province and country sorely in need of a wellness plan. I am afraid that for too many of us ignorance is bliss.

Tommy Prince (1915-1977)

Maritime Museum

Hello everyone! Watermelon is the perfect food to eat in summer time. After hanging with people from all over the world, I learned that watermelon can be sometimes eaten with salt or it can be seasoned many different ways. You can ask my Mexican, Indonesian, and Indian friends. I came across this salad that I am going to give it a try. You might enjoy it as well.

Watermelon Salad with Jalapeño and Lime

Serves 4

30 minutes or fewer

Thanks to farmers in Texas and Arizona, sweet flavor-packed watermelons are now available year-round. Black sesame seeds add a nice color contrast to this dish, but if you can’t find them, white sesame seeds work just as well.

• 3 Tbs. lime juice
• 2 Tbs. olive or avocado oil
• ⅛ tsp. lime zest
• 2 cups seedless watermelon, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and sliced
• ¼ cup basil or Thai basil, cut into thin strips
• 1 tsp. black sesame seeds
• ½ tsp. sea salt

1. Whisk together lime juice, oil and lime zest. Set aside.

2. Place watermelon cubes in single layer in large shallow dish. Pour lime juice mixture over watermelon, and gently toss to combine. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. Place 5 jalapeño rings each in 4 shallow serving bowls. Mound 1/2 cup watermelon in center of each bowl. Divide marinade among bowls. Sprinkle with basil, sesame seeds and salt, and serve.

I attended a workshop at the Manitoba Tourism Education Council called Managing Workplace Stress– A Survival Guide. I wanted to share some of the ideas and tips I learned with you.

We can allow stress to manage us or we can choose to manage stress. There are many different methods out there and just like the causes of stress are individual, so are the solutions. Finding the ones that work for you is a matter of trial and error. Some suggestions are listed below.

1. Think positively: the idea is to try to avoid negative thinking and over-analyzing what co-workers have said or done, as this increases your stress levels. If we allow the negative self-talk to start, it can spiral out of control.

2. Be realistic: As much as you may want to be Superman or Superwoman, you can’t be. Be realistic about what you can and cannot accomplish. There is no point in trying to complete a two hour task in 45 minutes.

3. Set Goals: Being realistic doesn’t mean that you should not have goals. Absolutely do so. Goals help you move from negative situations to positive situations; goals provide motivation and direction. Just remember to prioritize your goals and focus on the most important ones first. Recognize that you may need to give something up in order to achieve your goal and break large goals into smaller goals, so that they are more manageable.

4. Stop procrastinating: When you procrastinate or delay a challenging or difficult task, you increase your stress level. Instead of doing it, you think about, you stew about and you worry about it. Getting into the habit of attacking your to do list, instead of pushing it to the side, will reduce your stress level.

5. Learn to say “no”: We sometimes put additional stress on ourselves when we agree to take on more than we can handle. When someone asks you to do something, even if it is something we would like to do but simply don’t have the time for, it can be very difficult to say no. Examples:

Clarify your reason, without making excuses, for being unable to help.  ” I can’t right now because I have another project that is due by 5 p.m. today.” or ” I don’t have time today, but I could schedule it in for tomorrow morning.” or “Yes, I can help you by filing this paperwork and will get that done for you tomorrow morning.”

6. Find the Funny: Humor is another great stress reliever. It has been scientifically proven that a good belly laugh lowers blood pressure, reduces hormones created by stress, gives the immune system a boost, and creates a sense of well-being and happiness.

7. Get organized: Look around. If you would rather work around your clutter than deal with it, you could be inviting more stress into your life than necessary. Eliminate clutter, set up an effective filing system, gather essential tools, and manage workflow, and you will be on your way to creating an effective, less stressful workplace.

8. Assess yourself: Sometimes we are the cause of stress in the workplace.  Take a moment to honestly consider how you treat those around you.  Are you in any way contributing to the stressful environment in your workplace? If you are in a supervisory/management position, are you recognizing and rewarding your team members for their efforts? Are you being overly demanding? Are you providing the training and support that they need in order to succeed? Remember, your success depends on their success.

I hope you find the suggestions useful.

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or accept the responsibility for changing them.” Denis Waitley