Culture shock

We arrived in Winnipeg, Manitoba a little before midnight on Christmas Eve. It was a festive evening - the flight attendants and airport staff were extremely cheery, and the passengers were positive, especially because the 'spirits' were complimentary. All in all, flying on Christmas Eve was a fabulously jolly experience.

Yesterday marks a tale of my own in overcoming Manitoba. Despite having lived here for three years, I never got out with my sneaks on a day that was anything cooler than minus ten. Well, I bundled up and got psyched for some serious eating throughout the day and put on my trusty Adidas runners. It was minus twenty outside.

I started out immediately, no warm-up. 'Warm-up' being a nosensical word for such an excursion. The wind was minimal which made for a successful outing. I intended to go one mile and then turn back. But, I got to the one-mile marker and thought, "I feel really good!", so I turned the corner and did an entire square mile. On the third mile I questioned my earlier judgement. My feet, hands and head were warm, but my middle and working muscles were tightening up. Nevertheless, the brisk air invigorated me and I pressed furiously onward. The home stretch caused me to verbally rejoice, I was so pleased with my small feat.

The air was truly addictive. My lungs feel stripped of any unecessary residue. My brain is stimulated and curiously enticed to do it again today. The survival of Manitoba winter is definitely something to be proud of.

A very merry Christmas to you all.

I was chatting with Jaime recently about the Christmas experience post-Starbucks. It is really quite a contrast to be in the month of December without having any dread of 'putting on' the holiday cheer for a mental-blasting day of work. We figure that this is our first Christmas with sincere excitement and joy in the season.

I have less money to blow this year and yet I am genuinely happy about giving gifts which required more creativity and resourcefulness than years previous.

We're headed to Manitoba for some wintery Christmas cheer - though it's a bit chilly there, I might add. The toque is making its first appearance this winter, as well as the trusty down jacket.

Opa Balzer always comments on my Manitoba life. When we lived there, he would often call to ask me about my long johns - how they were holding up and whether or not I was warm in them. Since Opa is an avid hunter, he pictured me in the one-piece, red jumpsuit - the one with the button-down butt-flap. Opa is also a big fan of Sylvester & Tweety, Roadrunner & Coyote, and the rest of the Looney Tunes crew. Having said all of that, he figures that long-johns are extremely amusing. And knowing me, he likes to razz me about my long-johns and did not fail to mention it this Christmas. Opa inquired about my red long-johns, wondering if I burned them when I moved (he offered to do it for me), because I needed them again and he would like to know how they were holding up. What a scheister!

For me, this Christmas is wonderfully cheery. So, I wish you all a fantastic holiday season and encourage you to hug your family and friends just a little bit harder than usual. Cheers to you, your dreams, and this next year to make them happen!

Raise a glass to my best friend, Betty Ann. She turns 30 years old today. She is my oldest and dearest friend.

We often laugh at the circumstances in which we met. On the first day of grade eight, the most frightening and exciting day a teenager can experience, (though, now that I think about it, we were both twelve at the time) we met and became fast friends. We were right beside each other on the homeroom roster (Hildebrandt and Isaak) and supposed to be right beside one another in the designated locker row. For some reason, one of us didn't have a locker (I think it was me - but it's been some time now). So, faced with the need to make friends (and pretty ones, at that) and one locker before us, we decided to share it. In eight out of nine course blocks together and one locker between us, we were best friends - inseparable really.

We have been through some interesting life changes and yet remained true to one another despite our divergent choices. She is wonderfully loyal and simply beautiful. She reminds me to relax and to be silly (serious talks are good, but lighten up a little). Bea, thanks for being a part of my culture, and I look forward to our next 18 years together. Yikes - that's freaky.

As I have, on several occasions, written here, running is my stress-free place - if not my favourite place. It is a time in my day when I ponder my latest decision or determine the next decision to be made.

These last few runs have been incredibly contemplative. At times, I forget where I am in the route and even miss my turn because of the intensity of my thoughts. What is most prevalent in these running-thoughts is that my ability to slap on my sneaks and burn some energy whenever I want to is coming to an end. I cannot believe this period of blissful non-accountability to anyone other than myself is closing. I chose this - argh!

I recognize that I am going through a bit of a mini-mourning period for my long and non-accountable freedom. Though I am excited about my future career, I am very aware of the time-commitment, not to the mention mental-commitment, ahead. I have accepted work, as we all do, as essential to living life. For example, the future of my travel life depends on getting a job in order to facilitate that next trip.

In all honesty, this one-year period of frugal-yet-dynamic living has shown incredible rewards (never read so much, learned so intensely, or been so content ever before). I had hoped that an entire year could go by without having to return to work. It was a designated time to review my direction, my dreams, and refocus the future. And, it has turned out incredibly well. Thankfully, I got my entire one year off.

So, if I'm a little nostalgic for the remaining time free of work, remember I'm in my adjustment period and I'm nothing less than real in talking about it.

After yet another car meltdown, I experienced an unusual encounter with Roy. Roy, an 83 year old war veteran, picked me up in his old beater van on the highway. I had just decided to start walking away from my car after a good stint of staring blankly, yet observantly mind you, into the car engine. Within ten steps of leaving my car, Roy stopped and invited me into his car for a lift. He had no bottom teeth (I'm assuming he left the dentures at home), spoke with great disdain for the government as I went for the seatbelt ("No need for that, my dear"), and told me the story of his unruly alcoholic neighbours. Nevertheless, Roy proved to be my saviour of the day, driving me to the nearest exit while entertaining me the entire way. At first, his stories washed over me as I tried to replay the recent car dilemma. But within moments, I relished his diatribe, recognized the lively spirit within Roy, and was grateful for the bizarre distraction of his spitting, tireless chatter. The kindness of strangers, whatever their situation, never ceases to amaze me.

My first CLAC event went off well - extraordinarly well.

Angelo and I went to the CLAC Christmas party and found ourselves totally enamoured with the crew there. It's funny how previous to arriving at the party, I was anxious about meeting everyone. Thankfully, that angst was completely unfounded. I then realized that they hired me to be real, something that I have so rarely experienced.

I believe I've entered into not only something that is a giant departure from my previous life, but also something dynamic, authentic, innovative, and fresh. The differences between the two are vast, and for that I am really grateful.

Isn't it more often the case that upon new employment, that one becomes immediately disillusioned with the realities of a position. My idealization of CLAC will eventually become more real, measurable, and even crushed. But, for the time being, I'm extremely happy.

The real Esther - are they ready? I am.

I often talk about taking risks. Doing dreams. And above all, being real. Recent events have completely affirmed for me the importance and value in taking risks.

To back up a little...
Just two weeks ago, I went to an interview for a job. I had reservations about going to the interview for two reasons: a) first, I am in school and just finding my groove in a completely fresh online student culture, and b) because the position was not only over my head, but one that I figured that I would be best interviewed for upon my university certificate completion.

The interview was intense and unlike anything I had experienced before. I felt completely confident because I had nothing to lose. In essence, I was more honest and unhindered in my responses to questions (in a boardroom with eight interviewing men, mind you) than I have ever been in a professional environment. In all honesty, I felt quite liberated being there. I left the interview with confidence that I was honest and did my best.

Certain that I didn't get the job and content for having tried, I left the cards on the table. No call. I thought, if I do get called, because there is a slim chance, I should decide what I want - to take it or not. So, after great deliberation and discussions with trusty peers from my previous work life, I figured out my terms and waited for a call.

Two days ago, I got the call. I got the job.

It's all quite thrilling because I've jumped the queue. You know, the line-up that one should wait in - finish school and get a job in the field you've trained for, put in time in a less-than-ideal position before really getting what one wants - that line. I've been hired for the position of Staff Representative with CLAC, an independent labour association. I start in February.

I'm so thrilled because my heart has been drawn into the field of Labour Relations more and more as I learn about the role that they have, historically, and now play in the effort to bring quality to the work environment.

If I had not taken the risk to look foolish - in over my head - in the interview, I would not have landed this opportunity. And yet again another world, another culture, unravels before me. What an extroidinary adventure lies ahead!

A juicy bit of news... A British wax sculpture of current 'celebrities' was recently created to depict the nativity scene. I certainly got a kick out of it and found myself amused by its 'message' and stunning replications - particularly of David and Victoria Beckam. Fabulous.

As a great fan of both communication and food, I thought it would be appropriate to share a recent film discovery, Eat Drink Man Woman. Though the film is far from new, it is timeless in its ability to tell a relevent story. Ang Lee, director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Ice Storm, tells a wonderful tale of a father and his three daughters. The father is immediately likable, despite his rigid ideas (or so you think) and his bizarre food obsessions. The daughters vary, like most siblings do, from outwardly rebellious to quiet and composed. What is striking is, although they ritually eat together every Sunday evening (oh, how the food is beautiful and scrumptious), they never seem to get a decent conversation going. If a conversation begins, it ends with either Father leaving or no one understanding where the conversation was going at all. The lovely infusion of "I have an announcement..." to each meal brings the viewer ever closer to the potential of a stimulating and authentic talk between family. From the viewer's stance, do families really communicate this poorly? Is our slowly deteriorating ritual of eating together (most often designated to occur merely at Christmas and Easter) further sabatoging our barely-passable attempt at real family communication? The misconceptions of our family members are so easy to settle into, aren't they? I highly recommend the film and invite this consideration - is communication a part of our family culture? It certainly reinforced for me that what a family dinner looks like from the outside, looking in, could use some work.

I recently completed an autobiography by Mohandas Gandhi titled An Autobiography - or - The Story of My Experiments With Truth. I started reading it while we were in Darjeeling, India. Since then, I've savoured the short chapters, finding a tender but tenacious spirit from this humble, simple man. I really enjoyed the period of time in which he vowed to his mother (and later actively decided) to become a vegetarian. I thought I had some good reasons for being a veg-head, but his extensive decision-making process and his strict rules of eating as a result of that decision, truly stunned me. Often, the challenge that comes with ordering food in a restaurant frustrates me. Nonetheless, I can always order a salad or bread. At the time when Gandhi declared himself vegetarian, being an educated man, he was not only vehemently debated, but often not even served at a restaurant because his position was such a threat to the owners and cooks, not to mention his colleagues.

There is a comical, yet poignant, point in the book which also explains a time when Gandhi was learning about Christianity. He meets with Quakers and Catholics in very intimate settings, building relationships and discussing books. There is one story in which Gandhi accepts the importance of Jesus - historically and religiously - and as a result, the Christian friends request that he give up his vegetarian campaign and eat meat in order to 'properly' accept the Truth. Gandhi points out the hypocrisy of this request so boldly and succinctly.

The last page of the book synopsizes Gandhi's journey to date (which is previous to his widely publicized fasts and so on). Through several crises and 'experiments' with Truth, he states:

"To see the universal and all-pervading Spirit of Truth face to face one must be able to love the meanest of creation as oneself. And a man who aspires after that cannot afford to keep out of any field of life. That is why my devotion to Truth has drawn me into the field of politics; and I can say without the slightest hesitation, and yet in all humility, that those who say that religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion means."

What I love about this quote is the honesty that the two, regardless of what kind of religion one aligns themselves with, should be integrated. I recognize how incredibly debatable this is, though I would be inclined to point out that this quote is supposed to be interpreted with the best of intentions. What I believe is intended is that if one is convinced of a belief, it should be integrated with that of a political movement. For example, consider that Mennonites are declared pacificts - they then should actively pursue peace via political expressions. (Of course, I can pick on Mennonites, because of my heritage and permanent affiliation with them.) Another religious example, which is highly publicized, is that of the Dalai Lama. Though his intention is peace, without conflict between his displaced Tibet and ruling China, his message is ultimately political in nature.

Getting back to Gandhi, I loved the tone of his writing. His spirit of experimentation is inspiring, though extremist at times, his humane love of people is a sharp contrast to that of our leaders today.

My post earlier in the month introduced, what I consider, a stellar book by Graham S. Lowe titled The Quality of Work: A People-Centred Agenda. Since that post, I wrote the following paper,which (ironically?) focuses on work culture. If you feel so inclined, take a read and feel free to continue the dialogue.

Cultural Redirect

Recently, I left a comfortable career position in a global corporation to begin a journey of self-discovery. One of several goals of this journey is to redefine what sort of work environment I want to be a part of. Graham S. Lowe’s book, The Quality of Work: A People-Centred Agenda, reinforces for me that there are others who are looking to create the future of quality work. Lowe defines quality of work as a measure of humaneness, such as personal job satisfaction, challenging work, availability of learning and education, and job security. The rationale behind the quality of work is that it remain solid on the principle of change. Therefore, workers with the desire to attain quality of work must be open to change their current attitude, identity, and culture. In order to align the current Canadian work identity with a quality of work agenda, workers and union are responsible to initiate, create, and perpetuate a new culture of work.

To form this new work culture, one must step back to look at the recent Canadian work history. The 1990’s emphasized an overwhelming culture of survival of the economic crises rather than that of a quality of work agenda. In my experience, Lowe’s synopsis of the recent history of work - which incidentally marks my introduction to the Canadian work culture - is accurate. I was not familiar with any other work environment, therefore the work culture of survival was acceptable and I, consequently, acquiesced. The 1990’s featured downsizing, cost-cutting, and lay-off trends. In addition, there was a sharp growth in the amount of part-time positions, involuntary part-timers, and noticeably, the amount of women in the workforce. The cost-cutting trend of the 1990’s not only occurred in downsizing but also in government social programs. All the while, the Canadian labour movement did not falter.

It isn’t surprising then that the survival culture of the 1990’s transforms into one of a widening gap. The current work culture, though it attempts to portray humaneness through new management paradigms, demonstrates a class polarization because work is not equally distributed in the Canadian workforce. One merely needs to analyze the current attitude, identity, and culture of our work dynamics to prove this polarization.

Often, employees are blanketed in attitudes of fear and insecurity. With the aftermath of downsizing, employees question their job security, distrust their employers and government (who have failed to set an alternative approach), and move from one job to another with no guarantee of full-time work. Hence, high stress is rampant as workers scramble to balance their work and personal lives. One noticeable trend that furthers the work culture of polarization is the overwork of employees next to the under-work of others.

More deeply entrenched in this polarizing work culture is the contradiction of essential education with that of job accessibility. For example, workers that are highly educated tend to have access to on-the-job learning, whereas those that are less educated have little to no learning opportunities at work. Training For the New Economy: A Synthesis Report states that "the net affect is to exacerbate labour market polarization, which creates social and economic difficulties and also reduces the country’s productive capacity" (p. 36). The reality of this work culture sharply contrasts the need for a quality work agenda. I can attest to the fact that once I successfully began the climb up the corporate ladder, my opportunities for training and skills development were sharply increased.

In addition to a fearful attitude and an incongruous skills identity, the culture of work is further polarized by the rising number of self-employed and nonstandard workers. For the union, these two types of workers are difficult to organize. For workers, these two work camps diminish the opportunity to attain a national quality of work agenda.

In order to offer alternatives to both survival culture and polarization culture, the definition of quality of work culture - in a stable economic position - must be described. A quality of work culture truly values and advocates the development of people resources.

First, a quality of work culture intentionally promotes workers’ physical and mental health, inviting flexibility in work schedules and worker responsibilities in an effort to de-stress the work environment. For me, an active example of this is when my employer discontinues to reward employees who overwork.

Second, an exemplary work culture is one that promotes on-the-job learning, education, and skills development. In regards to learning organizations, Betcherman, McMullen, and Davidman remark that "in a sense, then, while, these organizations often have a formal framework for training, it is very difficult to actually identify training because of the way in which learning is integral to the culture" (p. 53). On a personal level, this quote encompasses my ideal work environment.

Finally, a quality of work culture is goal oriented, with the understanding that the goals must be adaptable because work is always in a state of flux (Lowe, 2000, p. 145). The quality of work culture is flexible, democratically designed by the employees, and if applicable, with the support of the union who have the understanding of the employer. "It may be that only by such collaboration will a high quality of working life be truly provided for the members of the organizations" (Davis & Sullivan, 1993, p. 251). Therefore, it is imperative to outline the responsibility that workers and unions hold to support the future of quality of work.

At this time, the role of workers and unions to promote a quality of work agenda is to create a new work culture. This economically stable work culture is one that is resilient to the constant change of work identity, workers’ personal attitudes, and environmental factors. In The Future of Work: A Synthesis Report, Betcherman and Lowe state that "we can never expect to immunize ourselves from change. Indeed, doing so would guarantee an eventual decline in our standard of living" (p. 48). The culture is in and of itself a long-term evolution.

In this new culture, the part that the union plays is significant. Despite the considerable deterioration of the American labour movement, Canadian unions sustain a consistent union membership growth. Consequently, the Human Resources Department of Canada (HRDC) tracks workplace innovation and follows the unions’ collective agreements. Therefore, unions set the trends and have the potential to ‘tell the story’ of the new Canadian work culture. The role of unions, and workers, is to distinguish the shift in culture and recognize that the solution to each work environment is independently successful of another.

To synopsize, Lowe’s definition of the quality of work culture is driven by workers and unions who support workers’ physical and mental health, integrates training and education on-the-job, and embodies adaptable, worker-participative goals. Betcherman, McMullen and Davidman further support Lowe and write "training can alter the organizational culture and strategy – it can be a tool for redirecting the organization toward a higher value-added competitive strategy based on the contribution of human resources and a more constructive labour-management relationship" (p. 58).

The suggestion that workers and unions are responsible to create a new work culture is another marker in the evolution of work. Canadian workers and unions have come through a survival culture and currently face the barriers of a polarization culture. Lowe’s book explores the importance to define the quality of work and starts a dialogue for the workers and the unions to continue. The quality of work is a cultural concept, one that requires workers and unions to collaborate with their employers in order to attain a new and adaptable work agenda.

Work Cited
Betcherman, Gordon & Graham S. Lowe. (1997). The future of work in Canada: A synthesis report. Ottawa: Renouf Publishing Co..

Betcherman, Gordon, Katherine McMullen & Katie Davidman. (1998). Training for a new economy: A synthesis report. Ottawa: Renouf Publishing Co. Ltd..

Davis, Louis E. & Charles S. Sullivan. (1993). A labour-management contract and quality of working life. In Graham S. Lowe & Harvey J. Krahn (Eds.), Work in Canada: Readings in the sociology of work and industry (pp. 244 -252). Scarborough: Nelson Canada.

Lowe, Graham S. (2000). The quality of work: A people-centred agenda. Don Mills: OUP.

Though I often observe mainstream (in my case, suburban) culture, and react counter to it, I must admit that lately, I have been inclined to join it. Let me preframe this with - no, I'm not buying a house. Haha.

Sincerely, it's December 2nd and I have the Christmas spirit.

I tried to discern at what point it happened to me and I came upon the conclusion that an incredibly unlikely scenario is what stirred me up. Driving into Vancouver, nearly two weeks ago, I put in a dubbed tape (yes, my Honda Civicwagon still has its original tape deck installed) of Ryan Adams. On it, was a song called, Oh My Sweet Carolina. Thinking of my Eidse-Manitoba home, I started tearing up a little, listening to the song. After that, I got really giddy about going to Manitoba for Christmas this year.

I must admit, I am playing Christmas music and renting Christmas movies. Home Alone aired on television recently, and I laughed so hard at Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, playing piss-poor theives. I've seen the movie a ton of times, but I relished it. We rented Elf the other day and though it wasn't much for acting performances or a deep story plot, Will Ferrell got me going. He always does. His over-cheery, human-elf character, Buddy, was not only endearing, but consistently blissful.

Back onto the Christmas spirit, I don't really know what to say for myself. The last few years, I completely missed the Christmas thing - but, in all honesty, working in retail can do that to a person. This Christmas year marks a time in a my life, which is one that I am truly grateful for everything I have experienced and I am going to experience. Why not celebrate, with anticipation and glee, with those that I love? Yuk, yuk. Bring on the eggnog and peppermint cookies.

Though you may have heard it already, the word blog, topped the list of 'most requested definition' on Merriam-Webster's dictionary this year. To think, I barely knew the word myself last year. Then, India happened, and well... you know the rest.

Growing up in a family that did not travel, (okay one big trip to Disneyland pre-high-school and a few, short summer trips to Penticton, BC) I wonder at where my travel bug came from. Though there are several other characteristics I carry that they do not, this one definitely stands out from the rest.

Thinking back to a time when my dad used to rent the entire VHS (or BETA) machine in order for the family to watch a movie at home, I realized that there was a significant amount of travel involved in the movies I loved.

I loved the Apple Dumpling Gang (who wouldn't with Don Knotts and Tim Conway). They were a couple of poor 'bandits' who travel the plains to escape the law. I also cherished the Herbie the Love Bug movie series. I wondered later on in life, why my desire to own a VW was so strong. In addition to these two classics, I regularly viewed the Benji movies, as well as The Journey of Natty Gann. The latter is indicative of my huge adoration of John Cusack.

All in all, these movies have one common element - adventure and for the most part, travel. Looking back, I fondly think of the way my imagination played off of the simple (most likely, Los Angeles) sets, in an effort to escape the commoness of suburbia.