The Privilege of Clocking Out
Last week, I started working in direct support full-time again, after 15 months away. Yes, it needs some form of adaptation to get used to the “boxed” schedule, but it also helps with cadence, routine, and organization. It requires a shift in mindset. I now prepare my lunch the night before. I get ready to…
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Bigger Than My Fear
A climber with a fear of heights is more common than you’d imagine. For half my adult life, I climbed—and I had a terrifying fear of heights. But I did it anyway. Why? My passion for the great outdoors was bigger than my fear. Still, the fear could paralyze me from time to time. I…
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The Roads You’ll Never Travel Again
I love travelling. When I was young, I wanted to go places, but the opportunities didn’t come easily. As I grew older and found my independence, I made my own way—sometimes by travelling for free, sometimes by paying my own way—but I made it happen. In my early twenties, I ended up in northern Argentina,…
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The Books I’m Reading Now
Instead of listing all the books I want to read—there are too many for that—I’ll tell you about the last two books I read and am reading right now. The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed by John Vaillant Around 20 years ago, I moved to Alberta and started attending the…
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Discovering Vernon’s Hidden Stories at the Greater Vernon Museum & Archives
Land Acknowledgment I acknowledge that I am gathering on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the syilx / Okanagan people, who have lived on this land since time immemorial. I also recognize the Sinixt people and their traditional lands. I honour the syilx / Okanagan people and the Sinixt people as the original stewards…
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Five Things I Do For Fun
Who doesn’t love a good list? Here are mine—five things that bring me joy (not in any particular order): 1. Reading Reading is my oldest habit. I’ve been devouring books since I was a little girl, sitting on urban buses winding through Rio de Janeiro. A good book in my hands means I’m never really…
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The Beauty in the Ending: Why I’m Becoming an End-of-Life Doula
I started my year studying a new subject—or maybe an old one, depending on how you look at it. I enrolled in a course to become an end-of-life doula with Douglas College in Vancouver, BC. Thirteen years ago, my husband passed away. Since then, I’ve thrown myself headfirst into grief—reading dozens of books, studying the…
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When You Need the North
As I write this, it’s the end of 2025, and I have been reflecting on the past, thinking about the future. I recently made a fundamental change in my professional life, returning to being a full-time Happiness Engineer after over a year as a lead. There are many reasons for this shift, but probably the…
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A Man Who Shaped How I Work
Describe a man who has positively impacted your life. This is my last post of 2025, and this question couldn’t be more perfect! As I explore my career choices inside Automattic, one essential thing comes to mind: I certainly want a role that will spark joy and profound satisfaction in my professional life. Working long…
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The Mindful Art of Letting Go
What could you do less of? When someone asks what you could do less of, your first instinct is probably to think about tasks—the endless to-do list, the obligations piling up. But when I really sat with that question, I realized the answer wasn’t about productivity at all. It was about presence. I could do…
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Rediscovering Myself Through a Year of Writing
What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year? I will start with my New Year’s resolution—something I don’t usually do. But this year, I decided to write a blog post a week, and so far I am ticking off every week. Only three blog posts to go! Or two, after…
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A Journey That Started at Sea
Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it? My father has a paralyzing fear of planes. It’s not something he dreams of overcoming—travel itself has never appealed to him. I suspect he was always this way, but age only made it worse. Yet somehow, growing up in his house, I became…
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Helena artmann - life coach 