A Canadian consulting, running and eating plants in the Big Apple
On Christmas Day this year, with nowhere to travel and no family to gather with, I decided, like the last few times I’ve been in Winnipeg, to find a volunteer opportunity. Because of Covid, the few missions and kitchens that were still offering spots were either sold out, or very restricted in terms of what…
On the surface, 2020 has been a horrendous year. Covid, lack of travel, lack of human interaction, working disruptions, and general fear and negativity have certainly produced challenges. However, our lives have continued to move on, albeit, in weird circumstances. If you actually looked back on the year in detail, I’d be willing to bet…
There are countless books, documentaries, seminars, articles and blogs about habits – forming good ones and eliminating bad ones. If you’ve ventured into this space at all in the last couple of decades, which has vastly accelerated in the last couple of years, you probably picked up on the basic principles: Start with small changes…
The amazing 8-day trip to visit Dan, Steve and Finn in Toronto came to a close with an incredible weekend of fun. With Dan and Steve off work, we could all play with Finn, help with building furniture, make delicious food, and catch up with some awesome conversations. Saturday was a ton of fun: Dan…
Yesterday was definitely casual Friday as Finn and I were a bit more lazy. Towards the end of the day we had lots of fun though: Played hide and seek Re-enacted our favourite scenes from Home Alone 2 – Finn has an incredible memory for the quotes which I thoroughly appreciate He casually remarked to…
The fun continued on with Finn today while getting a nice break to watch some sports. Two NFL games plus an Arsenal win made for some solid entertainment, and Dan getting off work a bit earlier allowed for ample play time in the kitchen. Finn activities: Playing with magnets Playing baseball and soccer in the…
Yesterday was a bit more lazy as it was a gloomy, rainy day in Toronto. Activities with Finn included: Completing his 200 piece puzzle! Watching Monsters Inc. Playing tons of cars in his room Chilling on the ipad Putting our snowmen out of their misery with our feet before they fully melted Outside of Finn…
Tuesday was a long day with Finn as we had to manage around very busy, meeting-filled days for Dan and Steve. But Finn was an absolute champ and we took part in a flurry of activities to keep positive and entertained: Played with cars… a lot! Watched a couple shows on the ipad Completed a…
Monday was the first full shift of hanging with Finn, having a ball and trying to give Dan and Steve some space and quiet time to work. We had an absolute blast. Activities included: Drawing on a chalkboard Building a Lego firehouse Completing two puzzles Watching Cars 3 and Finn providing me with all necessary…
Sunday was an absolute blast. I woke up around 8 and played with Finn in his room with some of his favourite race cars. We pumped up a soccer ball and kicked it around in the basement for a little while. He’s got incredible foot-eye coordination. Dan and Steve made a delicious Sunday brunch with…
I am officially on vacation for the US Thanksgiving week and it’s off to an amazing start!!! After 10 months without seeing Danielle, Steve or Finn, I flew up to Toronto on Saturday for a proper visit. After some flight cancellations and being re-routed through Detroit, I arrived at their newly purchased Toronto home around…
This past Friday, like many Fridays during the pandemic, I hopped on a Zoom call around 10pm ET with four of my closest friends back in Winnipeg. We waffled about the usual: Covid, the Masters, our families, our work; but the best part of the call was when we fell onto the topic of our…
Anyone I’ve spoken with over the last two months knows that my current consulting gig has been fairly insane. While it’s quieted down a bit over the last three weeks, the first six in the role were ridiculous – long hours, stresses, and often feeling a little chained to my laptop. Of course part of…
It’s been well-documented that journaling is a helpful tactic for improving mental health. It allows you to get thoughts out of your head and down on paper, can provide a chance to make your intentions concrete, and at the very least, it gives you 5-10 minutes away from electronics! It wasn’t until I heard a…
Haven’t done a little recap in a while and since things are changing in NYC so quickly, I thought I’d look back on memorable activities from the last couple weeks. I ended up bailing on the wedding I was going to attend in Minnesota over Labour Day weekend. It’s a real shame as I attended…
I received the first compensation statement in my professional life in over 8 years last week. Essentially it’s the letter that comes out each year outlining the raise and/or bonus you’re set to receive based on a variety of factors. In this post, my attempt is to walk you through my thought process leading up…
There may not be another plant-based meal that has saved me in a pinch more than chickpea salad. It takes less than 5 minutes to make, uses ingredients that can be stored for weeks and is filled with health benefits, so I thought I’d share here to encourage others to try it on a busy…
What an experience this past weekend was. I took my first two days off from work since early February, and took my first flight in more than 4 months. I’ll try and recap the weekend, the travel, and anything else that was eventful. AIR TRAVEL The flying experience was incredible and extremely safe. Much like…
As fall races, including the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon have continued to be cancelled, and with the tasty summer air consistently heating up New York City beyond 30 Celsius, I figured it was time to attempt to cross-off one of my Covid checklist items and run 26.2 miles, the equivalent of a full marathon. I’ve…
Being back in New York City has been fantastic. The weather has been very hot, and the city is slowly becoming more alive with plenty of restaurant patios setup for socially distanced eating. Parks and running paths have also been pretty packed with everyone trying to dust off the quarantine cobwebs and enjoy the sweltering…
I’m finally back in my East Village apartment in Manhattan, writing another blog post. It feels weird after spending 18 days away in Connecticut among two different sets of friends, to now be alone in a very small apartment, needing to think about grocery shopping, laundromats, and cooking for one! While I was still working…
This week was interesting. I’ve continued to thoroughly enjoy my time in Connecticut staying with my friends Dom and Jen. It’s basically been a fantasy camp – running nearly every day through the rural hills and trails, enjoying the perfect weather, swimming in their pool, playing snooker, and feeling a lack of stress about work.…
For someone who gets bored of surroundings quickly and loves to travel, the fact I stayed in NYC for more than three months is pretty hard to believe. I arrived back in New York from my project, before the firm – and basically the country- halted all travel, on March 13th. This past week, I…
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about choices and outcomes. What a weird way to start a blog. There are two contributors to me thinking about these topics: 1) Nassim Taleb’s book I recently finished, Fooled by Randomness, and 2) The Covid-19 pandemic An overall theme of the book, or essay, as he would call…
I’ve experimented a lot with morning routines in the past because they are so overly-written about and each one claims to be the secret sauce for overnight success. I don’t buy into any of that garbage but I am in favour of a morning routine, providing it’s simple, for two reasons: 1) It reduces decision…
Happy Monday everyone. I know there’s plenty of sad news coming out of the US right now, so before I start the post I’ll just let everyone know that I’m safe. While some protests have been happening, along with some tense police vs. protesters altercations, I haven’t been anywhere near them. Walking around today I…
With no sports on television aside from Korean baseball, and the end of their Netflix queue quickly approaching, people are generally hungry for new content to consume. Even I have joined not one, but two book clubs to expand into the fiction landscape which I intentionally avoided in the past. That’s what’s so unique about…
Things in New York City are still really strange. As we’ve passed the half-way point in May, we are approaching 200,000 confirmed cases and more than 14,000 people have now died in this City from Covid-19 – staggering statistics. Every time I continue to get complacent and develop an “I’m done with this” attitude, I…
Today was the nicest day of 2020 as the temperature rose to a sunny 26 Celsius. No wind, blue skies, and thousands of masked people out exploring parks, walkways and grocery stores in Manhattan. While I did need to pick up groceries for the week, I was enticed by the weather and extended my walk…
As I mentioned last week, I’ve found it surprisingly easy to develop a routine during the lock-down. My morning routine, sleeping pattern, and workout regiment have probably been more consistent than any time in the last decade. I’ve also developed a pretty solid eating routine, particularly during the week. Time is always a constraint, and…
This past week has been the most difficult for me yet. My fifth straight week working from home in my apartment. Fifth straight week absent of collaboration in the workplace – something I clearly require as a source of energy and motivation. Fifth straight week without being on an airplane, and without experiencing the vibrancy…
I have become very familiar with my ~500 square foot apartment over the last two weeks. Like everyone else in the world, I’ve been doing my best to stay sane, while doing my part in social distancing to try and get this virus under control and give our healthcare system a fighting chance. Living in…
One year ago today, I packed up two suitcases in Toronto, said goodbye to Dan, Finn, Steve and Arnold Tutoring, and got on a plane to New York City to move into my apartment and begin life as a management consultant. It’s been an incredible ride filled with ups and downs, new experiences, new friends,…
I’ve been thinking a lot about stress lately, particularly in the context of work. It’s almost a laughable industry joke with consultants that getting an email or text from the partner causes more heart-racing than anything else in your life. While I’ve done a good job of not caring what position people are in on…
Anyone who texted, emailed, or called me between January 31st and February 8th, likely experienced a significant delay in my response because I was essentially off the grid, and often under the influence for a week in the desert. For 9 months (no exaggeration), seven of my friends and I have been planning our (now…
I’ve written before about how much I love New York, and being home now for a while I’m between projects has continued to enforce that feeling. I figured I haven’t done a Big Apple post in a while so I thought I would highlight a few of the experiences I’ve taken advantage of over the…
2020 is officially underway, and it began for me with 10 straight days of work, running the final launch for the client on my first project as a consultant. All things considered, working from December 31st – January 10th and staying in a hotel (actually two hotels) for ten nights was perfectly fine for me,…
Social media seems to force us to post about our 2020 New Year’s resolutions and how this next decade is going to be different than the last.While I fully support personal growth, development, and prospective thinking, it’s important to reflect on the past twelve months and highlight all of the amazing experiences (positive and negative)…
It’s been exactly a month since I boarded a plane to meet up with my bro-in-law Steve Rombough in Lisbon, Portugal for a week of exploring, laughing, eating drinking and relaxing. It’s always nice to have some time before reflection on a trip like this because you’re not clouded by the recency affect and don’t…
My Uncle Keith used to joke with me that nobody actually knows what actuaries do in their jobs. They simply use complex terminology, fancy math formulas, and have their own Society so that insurance companies keep hiring them and paying them fairly well. The mystery of what day-to-day work looks like is even more present…
With the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon two weeks behind me, I thought I’d share a quick recap on the event (for anyone looking to participate in a RNR marathon in the future), my performance, and what I’m thinking about moving forward from a running and overall fitness standpoint. Short Version: I completed the…
Things are going really well at the moment. Work continues to be fun and challenging and I’m continuing to learn and improve. I’m starting to find more of a groove in New York (when I’m there), and I’m really digging the busy travel schedule. But I’m ready for a break. Last week was intense and…
In two days I’ll attempt to run the Las Vegas marathon. I’m really excited about it. I love Vegas, I’ve been here 17 times, and I’ve always thought about pairing my passion for running with my second favourite town in the US. I initially registered to create more discipline in my exercise routine. I was…
Life throws emotions at you all the time, many of which are recognizable based on certain situations, senses or environments. I’m currently in an Uber at 4:15am headed to Toronto Pearson airport and have that familiar lump in my stomach. It’s a combination of guilt, sadness, and questioning. I’ve felt it for the last ten…
After five straight weeks on the road, I completed two weeks in a row at home. That’s two weeks of sleeping in my own bed, cooking my own meals, commuting to an office, riding the New York subway, and trying to build a routine. I was initially a bit sour about being home, particularly for…
A couple weeks back I was fortunate to have a few visitors to town and set a new record for number of people to sleep over in my apartment in one night – four total! The weekend was construed over a passion for the late 90s rock band Incubus. Back in 2017 when I was…
I’m back in New York for a week and couldn’t be more excited. Five straight weeks of travel with visitors nearly every weekend has been amazing, but I’m ready to try a routine for a week or two and get life in order – particularly considering I’m running a marathon in just over a month’s…
When three couples come to visit, I can’t help but write a recap newsletter to let everyone know just how much fun we had. Nesbitt and Andrea arrived at my house on Friday at 5pm. We grabbed some supplies for the weekend, I took them on the 8-second tour of my apartment and we were…
Over the last few years, like most people, I’ve tried to make an effort at reducing my carbon footprint. Everyone knows there’s too much plastic on this planet and we’re producing way too many fossil fuels so it’s nice to see people making conscious changes where they can. I eat a plant-based diet as animal…
Dave and Dwenda came to visit New York for six days and it was an absolute whirlwind. Filled with delicious meals, sight-seeing, plenty of daily steps and cocktails, their trip went by super fast but I’m so glad they were able to make it. I moved away from Winnipeg 10 years ago and my parents…
I’m currently on day four of a rare twelve-day stint home in NYC and it feels pretty glorious. As much as I love traveling for work, it’s nice to go to a grocery store, do some home-cooking, and take a small break from LaGuardia airport! It’s also nice to take a breath and reflect on…
Like a punch in the face the humid heat of Austin, TX hit me from the moment I landed at the airport on Monday night. It was my third time to the city and I’ll easily categorize ATX into my top five American cities. The perfect mix of great food, culture (the live music capital…
While I’m certainly not the MOST traveled person you might meet, I have taken 30 flights and stayed 37 nights in hotels during the first four months of my job. In that time I’ve honed my travel routine and have observed a few things traveling with colleagues and sharing war stories. So here’s a few…
I finally arrived back in my apartment late Thursday night after yet another LaGuardia-induced flight delay of 3 hours, capping off a wonderful two weeks away featuring vacation, friends, family, and plenty of work in five different cities. Dallas was much more chill this time. My first work trip to Dallas featured very late nights…
I’m writing this from a hotel room in Las Colinas, Texas in the middle of a two week stretch away from New York City. I left New York 4 hours late last Thursday (LaGuardia gets backed up easily) and missed my connection in Toronto to Winnipeg by less than five minutes. Of course it was…
I finally feel like I’ve been living up to the name of this website lately! Since my last post, I came home from Toronto and had another solid week of work from the New York office. As we worked towards the biggest day for this project I’m working on (July 1st) it also meant a…
Last weekend I experimented with the first weekend jaunt to Toronto to see my old stomping grounds, and visit Dan and Steve and Finn. I left work around 4 on Friday, walked to Penn Station from Rockefeller Center, then took the NJ Transit to Newark airport. Newark is the furthest airport from midtown Manhattan but…
As summer rolls around, I’ve found myself considering what my last six summers looked like: slow business, strategizing, casual hours, but worry-filled. Worried that clients wouldn’t return for the new school year. Worried about paying rent over the summer, and worried about growing bigger the next year. This summer is different so far. First of…
It’s been a crazy two weeks for work, friends, and extra-curriculars. One thing I’ve really noticed is when you travel during the weekend it can be difficult to feel like you’ve had a break at all. I wouldn’t trade these trips for anything, but when you have zero routine, Monday seems to come quickly and…
Timelines is something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. There are thousands of small decisions we make everyday and a handful of decisions we make throughout our lives which would be considered “big” such as a career choice, a career change, moving cities, buying houses or having children. It seems to me that every…
I had to let a week go by to reflect on the incredible visit I had with Dan and Steve over Memorial Day Weekend. As we planned, it was extremely action-packed, but still left time for aimless wandering and spontaneity. For anyone visiting NYC in the near future, I would recommend this strategy: plan to…
Working for a professional services firm (like a law firm, or accounting practice or consultancy) is very different than working in “industry”. Most people in industry work in sales, or marketing or finance and they’re trying to improve the sales, marketing or finance of the company they work for. I don’t have a job like…
It’s been a minute. I’m currently writing this from 38,027 feet in the air – what a world we live in! The last two weeks have been filled with several air miles, some solid work, learning, and probably a bit too much fun. During the week of May 6th I was in Atlanta for work…
Happy Sunday! I’m back in NYC and have been here since Thursday night after a hectic week. I left Birmingham on Sunday afternoon and arrived at LaGuardia only to be picked up by my buddy Tyler. He swung by as if he was a veteran Uber driver and we headed from Queens into the East…
Hello from Birmingham, Alabama! If you’ve never traveled to the deep South of the USA, I highly recommend it. The people are incredible, the food is outstanding, and it almost feels like you’re in a different country. Of course there are some sad states here – homelessness, zero sense of healthy foods or exercise –…
This was a busy week on both the work and play side of life. My team of four people that I’ll be working closely with over the next five months came to New York this week and we all huddled in conference rooms on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This allowed me to gain some valuable…
Two weeks of work and two weeks of living in NYC are in the books. It became very apparent this week that work is going to be intense, I’ll need to be on my game, and that getting on projects is a bit of a game itself. The exciting news is that I just got…
While I’ll likely be traveling a decent amount in this new role, for now I’m soaking up the fact that my home office is inside one of the world’s iconic office buildings – 30 Rockefeller Plaza. I literally get out of the subway in the morning, walk towards Radio City Music Hall, then dart into…
Last Friday I boarded a one-way flight from Toronto to New York to start a new career and new adventure. Usually by my age, you’ve accumulated a lot of stuff. “What will you do with all your stuff?” is one of the most common questions I received when I told people about the new move.…
I won’t be the first blogger to say this – moving sucks. Regardless of your living situation, if you don’t have to move, life is good. Boxes, packing, hiring movers, coordinating elevator schedules, paperwork, not a single part of it is fun. The same can be said for moving to/in New York City – and…
For the second time in my life, I’m leaving my homeland of Canada behind for our friends south of the 49th parallel. When I was 23 years old, having just finished university, I moved out of my parents house and accepted a job in Hartford, CT, 3000 kms from my prairie Canadian home. It was…