A Personal Blog
From My Life
Cooking: Spicy Cranberry Stuffing
Dec 8th
I was recently down visiting #thecrush’s family for American Thanksgiving, so thought I’d cook a little bit. I ended up doing more than just this recipe but really any cooking makes me happy. This is partially because cooking is fun / I can impress the family, and partially because the freeform, untrained way I cook just fundamentally annoys #thecrush. So all in all it’s worth it!
The standount “what the hell is he doing?!” recipe was definitely my spicy cranberry stuffing concoction. I didn’t manage to take pictures, but it worked out really well (I saved some of the broth to ensure the stuffing stayed moist while baked):
Ingredients
- 1 package of bacon, lean
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1-1.5 cup celery
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 medium onion
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 (16 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
- 1 (4 ounce) jar jalapeno peppers
- 1 (4 ounce) can green chile peppers
- 1 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc)
- 2 (14 ounce) packages cornbread stuffing mix
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
Prep
- Cook bacon til crispy
- Drain bacon on towel
- Crumble bacon
- Chop celery, onion
- Mince garlic
- Dice jalapeno, green peppers, soak in honey
- Toast pecans, walnuts (together, cinnamon/nutmeg/butter)
- Mix stuffing per directions, add chicken stock, stir til moist
- Cook stuffing til brown on top, 30-40 minutes (9×13 baking dish)
- Cool stuffing, cut into small squares
- Prep chicken broth and heat
- Preheat oven to 375
Cooking
- Melt butter in LARGE skillet over medium-high heat
- Cook celery/garlic/onion until onion caramelizes
- Add wine until heated, then cranberry/peppers
- Cover til boiling
- Remove from heat, add nuts/bacon
Stuffing Mix
- Stuffing in bowl
- Add ingredients
- Add chicken broth to taste
- Bake if necessary (too wet)
Conclusion
While I wouldn’t actually recommend using this recipe, it was alot of fun, tasted nom (everyone but #thecrush enjoyed it) and had everyone wondering what “that silly Canadian” was doing.
Good times!
Help Save a Guy, Help Save a Puppy, Help Save a Mo(ustache)
Oct 5th
This is not a prostate gland:
Not a Prostate Gland
That’s because every picture I could find of a prostate gland was disgusting. So for today’s discussion, imagine the above suuuuper cute puppy is, in fact, a prostate gland. Now, you wouldn’t want this prostate gland to die now would you? That’d be sad.
Now imagine how sad it’d be if every guy you loved had a puppy this cute attached to him, and if their puppy got really sick and died they would die too. Now we have not just dying puppies, but cute puppies and beloved dudes dying at the same time!
About Movember
From the site:
Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month. The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for prostate cancer. Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days.
A non prostate courtesy of #thecrush
Why I’m Helping
Besides a deep love for all puppies (mine in particular), the reality is that men’s health causes sometimes don’t get enough attention. That’s nobody’s fault, but given my puppy could one day get sick, as could the puppies attached to my two kids, I figure it’s my duty to do what I can. Even if “what I can” means “making a fool of myself”…
Cause… Erm, this boy can’t grow facial hair. Even to save my puppy.
But I’m doing it anyways. I’m growing a Mo (moustache), or my attempt at one, and taking on public ridicule cause it’s the right thing to do, it’s fun and, hell, it’s for charity so even the public mockery will be pretty low key.
And you can too!
Want to Help?
I’m helping run the digital program for Movember Toronto. And we’re mobilizing. Now. There are lots of real world events we’ll be supporting across towns. Numerous challenges to organize across the digital space, and a whole whack of silly, sexy and odd pictures of Toronto Mo’s to take, post and promote.
It is our goal to raise $1MM in Toronto for prostate research. And to do that, we need every Mo Bro and Mo Sister (girls that either love healthy puppies or love guys that have healthy puppies) to mobilize.
For now, we’re creating teams to spearhead awareness, fundraising, laughter and maybe a puppy flashmob (I’m quasi serious) across the Greater Toronto Area. So if you love puppies or dudes or just want to see way more Mos next month, here’s what you can do:
- Suggest a new team
- Suggest someone for an existing team
- Suggest a sponsor or partner
- Suggest an event
- VOLUNTEER for an of the above
- Choose a team you’d like to lead or co-lead (see below)
The MovemberTO Teams
Here’s my brainstorm (names subject to change), along with Melissa Smich and Michael Nus who are Co-Captains and spreading the word:
- AgencyMosTO: Work at an agency? Which agency will have the best Mo? Which one will raise the most puppy-saving money? Which one will produce the oddest puppy-sized replica of yours truly?
- GenYYZMos: Part of the younger generation? Just cause your puppy is young, doesn’t mean it can’t be awesome. Step up and show how much you love puppies, and sexy guys in Mos!
- StartupMosTO: Startups rawk at doing a tonne with very little. The startup community here in Toronto rawks… so let’s show the world what we can do when we put our minds to it! Besides, we don’t want those AgencyMos raising more money, do we?!
- BrownMosTO: Okay, I’m brown. I know you can’t tell, but it’s true (well half brown). So I want to see my community mobilized. Besides, few people on the planet grow better body hair than the brown man! (present company sadly excluded).
- Others? Let me know your thoughts! What communities should we reach out to? The gay community? Musicians? Artists? Hipsters? Suburbanites? Baby boomers? People named who’s first name is Dave?
The Wrap-Up
Puppies are cute. Prostates are not. Proof:
A cute puppy. Not a cute prostate.
Save a puppy. Email me (jeremy@netmobs.com) or call (416 726 3602) to get involved. Or just leave a comment here. Tweet it. Spread it on Facebook. Let’s mobilize Toronto for the good of all cute guys, all cute puppies and all (un)cute prostates.
How to Participate
And Follow @MovemberTO (yes it’s still being turned on, one step at a time!) on Twitter for more updates!
Go to Movember.com and Register. Join the MovemberTO team.
My Top 10 Weight Loss Secrets
Oct 4th
In March of 2008 I weighed 265 pounds. I was fat. Obese even. And on the verge of a heart attack. Thanks to my doctor’s advice I made changes, tried lots of things and now, 30 months later, I’m at nearly 195 pounds. I’m not done yet, but losing 70 pounds means people want to know what works. So here are my tips, based on years of figuring out the lifestyle that works for me.
Today
30 months after I started this journey, I weighed in at 197.5 pounds this morning. My body fat is under 20% (from 55%). I’m wearing 36 jeans, size Medium shirts, and I’m thinner than I’ve been since I was a teenager.
And since I’ve been putting my journey on Twitter, people have started to ask for tips and such. My responses are generally glib, but I’ve decided to post this to help a little bit, since I know when I was starting my journey that glib responses didn’t help.
My Top 10 Tips for Losing Weight
- My biggest tip: Change a habit every month, something small: small changes add up. Cut fast food one month, stop eating after 8pm another month, split portions into two meals another month, drink more water another month. Small changes matter.
- Eat early, don’t eat late: the earlier you eat, the sooner your metabolic whatever kicks in. The earlier you stop eating, the longer your body spends processing the day’s food and then your body fat during sleep.
- Sleep properly: when you sleep, you burn fat. So get that 8 hours. It’s good for you and for your weight.
- Don’t drink beer: yeah, uh, this should be pretty obvious. I do vodka, which is all sugar, but it’s less calories and carbs and all that useless crap your body doesn’t need. Also beer means consuming way too much liquid late in the evening, which is just silly in the first place.
- Have an active support system: weight loss as a private journey is bound and determined to fail. I’ve blogged, used services and used Twitter. Twitter worked for me, find out what works for you.
- Celebrate your victories: I couldn’t have lost 70 pounds if I’d set out to lose 70 pounds. Set targets that are achievable (10-20 pounds per target) and then celebrate those victories. My friends and family, via Twitter, celebrated too.
- Have multiple motivations: don’t just make it about weight loss. Track your waist size, take measurements, really track anything you can cause that number on the scale isn’t the only thing changing. Take pictures to show how stuff looks even if it isn’t changing on the scale.
- Eating better is easier than exercising more.
- Walk more. I listen to music and walk for an hour or two, checking email, making notes to myself and generally chilling. Relaxation in general is good for you, so kill two (or in my case 5) birds with one stone. Yoga might be better for you. Do something that combines relaxation with exercise without requiring a huge commitment (like 3x per week at the gym, which is hard to sustain).
- More meals, smaller meals: eat more often, but less, and stop eating when you’re full.
Ultimately losing weight is a lifestyle change. It’s not a diet (though those help sometimes). It’s not an exercise regime (though having more muscle mass means burning more calories). It’s not a number. I’ve found a lifestyle that works for me. It won’t work for you. So alot of the above is geared towards helping you find that lifestyle.
There will be plateaus. There will be weight gains. And it’s definitely a long term proposition (it’s easy to see the 70 pounds of weight loss as a big number, but it’s over thirty months… if you have more than 25 pounds to lose, half a pound a week on average allows you to have some ups and downs without stressing out).
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing: you can do it. It will be hard. But with the right support system, a flexible plan and a focus on the long term it is more than possible for you to lose any amount of weight.
A Diary of My Workcation / Life
Aug 31st
This is a reflective post. No real content, so if you aren’t a friend or don’t really care what’s going on in my life feel free to move on. I’m a blogger, I’m allowed a narcissistic post once in awhile! What follows is a fictitious timeline of some of the things that’ve been going on in my head over the last few weeks.
25 July, 2009
Woke up. Realized I was about to leave my baby, my team and my family behind. Panicked. Ate poutine. Panicked. Ate ice cream. Passed out. Panicked. Wrote emails to team, bloggers, partners, etc. Scheduled to send out on 27th. Felt like shit. Ate more ice cream.
26 July, 2009
Didn’t sleep last night. Probably won’t sleep tonight. Oddly feeling okay with that. Feeling like maybe I deserved to be punished, and not in a good way. Flying out to begin my “workcation” before shit hits the fan with my quitting. Want to be “on the ground” and away from Toronto when it happens.
27 July, 2009
Image via CrunchBaseWow, okay, wow. My two biggest fears were that a) nobody would notice I’d left and b) that I’d get absolutely lambasted. Given TechCrunch/WSJ/NYT coverage (and lots more besides), clearly A wasn’t an issue. And outside of a douchebag or two and a few disgruntled ex-employees B wasn’t an issue either. Spent about 4 hours dealing with the swell of coverage.
Then I walked away from the computer for the afternoon. Figure I might as well practice this workcation thing sooner than later. When I came back, there was stuff to respond to, but what had to be said had been said.
30 July, 2009
Image by Laurie :: Liquid Paper via FlickrCame back online to find hundreds of emails, tweets, DMs, etc either offering support, jobs or saying “we should meet”. When pressed on what we should meet about, response is invariably “no, really, we should meet”. Wondering if folk actually think I’m in the mob due to new branding around the consulting agency.
3 August, 2009
Head to visit best friend in Raleigh for a week. Manage to “catch” epic allergies. Like 6 drugs and still doing 2 boxes of kleenex a day type of allergies. Don’t sleep much. Spend no more than 3 hours a day online. 1 hour catching up on client stuff, 1 hour on leaving b5 stuff and 1 hour trying to figure out whattf I actually want to do!
5 August, 2009
As is a 10-year tradition, I continue to beat my best friend senseless at football video games. This despite the fact that he nearly went pro and feels football in his bones and that I actually have no clue how football even works. I mean, come on, they’re running … why can’t a touchdown be called a home run? Geeeeze.
Realize that it might be easier to figure out things I don’t want to do than things I do. Ponder this over the world’s best burger and fries. Come out with the fact that I don’t want to:
- Become a hairdresser (my hands shake)
- Start another bootstrapped startup (a revenue generating or funded startup is fine… and I’ll also almost certainly do a from-scratch startup at some point in the future… just not now)
- Move to LA
7 August, 2009
After getting plastered with best friend’s buddy (who spent most of the night trying to explain to me how to make a coke-can bong), head back to best friend’s apartment, with new buddy, to play more football. Lose a game to best friend. Kick buddy’s ass in ways that won’t be repeated. Realize I also don’t want to move to Dubai to lead the “North American Strategy” for a major UAE media holding company. As insanely cool as that’d be (if for no other reason than regularly being able to fly in one of those wicked tricked out planes, first class), I’d be too far from my boys, which I’ve decided totally ain’t cool.
Image by Anirudh Koul via Flickr9 August, 2009
On plane on the way to London, UK, to visit friends, realize I also don’t want to join a big media company in a “strategic” role (big paycheque = nice; politics all day long = not so much… I’d rather Get Shit Done). That said, there is a very large, very strategic role, in a media company that I’m holding out for.
11 August, 2009
Much drinking, much relaxing, much curry make me realize I’m gaining weight. Decide I won’t care until I’m back. Entered workcation at 225 pounds. Currently over 230. Realizing that I do need everything in moderation, including weight-loss. At least right now.
12 August, 2009
Wake up for the first time without any stress at all. It’s taken me 2+
Image by bitzcelt via Flickrweeks to let all the stress from b5 and changes and stuff wash off of me. Realize that 2 weeks isn’t really that bad given marriage failing, taking 60%+ pay cut, leaving job, handing baby over to new CEO, new girlfriend, boys getting older way too fast… This sense of “relaxing” (new word to me) comes and goes over the next two weeks.
Some days I hyperventilate with stress, some I don’t even get out of bed. It takes until the 18th of August for me to actually stop this cycle of up/down-ness. My therapist (how weird is that to say) is confident I’m coming out of the “valley”.
16th August, 2009
Last night in London, and I decide not to get drunk. Realize I often used to get drunk to destress. But since I’m not stressed, I can just go chill with friends. We catch a movie, chill, and just “hang” (a foreign concept to me) until the very wee hours of the morning. I get lost on the way back to my hotel, confusing Leicester Square with Covington Gardens. Thankfully a bum is more than happy to walk me to my hotel in exchange for my watch. Very kind of him. Joke’s on him, it’s just a spiderman watch.
Image by Eneas via Flickr22 August, 2009
Preparing to head home, after more workcationing while landing a new client, gaining weight (232 at last check) and starting to book meetings. As I book meetings and figure out what excites me, I realize they all have a few key things in common. They all:
- Involved being entrepreneurial, even if it was inside a larger company or an agency
- Involved Getting Shit Done, whether by leading products/projects or by helping clients get Big Wins
- Had freedom and flexibility to do conferences and such, assuming they add value and that I’m continuing to Get Shit Done
- Had me learning something I’d never done before
- Were local (ie: no further than NYC/Montreal/Ottawa). I have 2 boys, and don’t want to be any further than that from them
24 August, 2009
Image via WikipediaArrive home in Toronto after hellacious travel home, involving missing bus. Missing another bus. Then paying 200$ for a cab ride home cause I just didn’t fucking care anymore. Intend to sleep. Can’t sleep. Intend to clean. Don’t clean. Decide to go out to local party to actually show my pretty face. Am honestly unsure if anyone will care. If they do, should they? If they don’t, should they? Decide to just hang with friends, not let the stress creep up on me and not get drunk. Cause, y’know, I don’t need to cause I’m not stressing.
Party starts slowly, but picks up once I steal @verneho’s nametag and wear it around for an hour. He doesn’t realize I have his nametag, even after we go “searching” for it together. Even after taking pic with him and I in it, me wearing his nametag. Pic is epicly good. I’m gonna have it bronzed. He still claims he knew the entier time. Riiiight ;-)
Night was great. Folk seemed happy I was back. Convos with friends were great. Ended the night when someone convined random chick it was my birthday. Also convinced her my name was Jorge. Pronounced “Whoregy”. She sang “Happy Birthday Dear Whoooooregyyyyy” twice too often.
27 August, 2009
After nearly 20 meetings last week, and half a dozen offers, I was able to trim my list down to 5 positions. Each of these are exciting in some way or another, each of them are more than just “a job” that I’d take for a year, and each of them are with companies and teams that I could invest myself in in a real way.
The positions are everything from EIR in a VC firm to leading a digital media agency to taking the helm of a startup that’s about to raise funding and that I really believe in, in a space I love.
Now
So why write this post? Mostly because I’ve talked to a half dozen people over the last two weeks that are stuck on the “what do I really want to do?” question. So I thought I’d share some of my ruminations. Because while blogging’s matured and become less freeform over the last few years, I figure as an “old timer” I’m allowed to occasionally just freestyle it. Maybe no value to anyone but me, but yeah.
Lessons I Learned While Gone
But, seeinng as how blogging HAS become more polished, I figured I’d share some lessons I learned while I was away on workcation:
- Figure out what makes you smile, and do more of that
- Figure out what makes you stress, and do less of that
- Don’t be afraid to fail (I used to live by this, but sometime in the last year I lost it)
- Sleep
- Friends and family matter
I figure if I can’t do/have those 5 things in a job, it’s not really worth doing.
I also learned that girls in New Orleans still flash their boobs, even if it’s not Mardi Gras. And it’s generally not worth seeing. Girls Gone Wild has skewed the number of hawt chicks flashing in New Orleans. It’s fiction! Fiction I tell you!
Anyways, it’s great to be back. This week will be a week of decisions. But more importantly, this week is a great week to practice balance.
Workcations: My First Step in Finding Balance
Jul 28th
I’ve always said I could work from anywhere. I’ve decided to see if that’s really true by trying out a “workcation”, basically a vacation where I work… or a work schedule where I take a vacation… Or, in essence, go somewhere vacationesque and work no more than 3-4 hours a day.
Sure, part of this is an attempt at finding balance. But mostly it’s hoping that this “workcation” thing actually works. Cause if it does? I can do this more regularly. From the beach… from a mountaintop… from a canoe… It’s not about slacking, it’s about that awkward place between “I don’t have time to take a vacation” and “I don’t have the unction necessary to work”.
So, yeah, while I figure out what I’m looking for, what’s missing, what I want next? I’m gonna work from the beach, from the lawn chair, from the porch, from the bed. I might even work from the bathtub.
Here are my basic rules for workcationing:
- Go somewhere you aren’t surrounded by workish people (ie: this isn’t a staycation where you reduce your work hours)
- Go out and meet people, it’ll help stretch your horizons a little bit
- Read
- Work no more than 4 hours a day
- Don’t “check” your email/phone after 8pm
This is the beginnings of my question to find some sense of work/life balance. How do YOU find work/life balance?
Other Work/Life Balance Articles- There is No Work-Life Balance, Only Work-Life Choices (queercents.com)
- The Long Weekend Off (realfreelancelife.com)
- Life Balance: The Snapshot of Your Life (beyondhorizoncoaching.com)
- Work-Life Balance Interview (feld.com)
- The Dangers of Working 24/7 (markevanstech.com)
