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Pique n' your interest

Stress case

About a dozen years ago in high school I had to write a book report on Catcher in the Rye.

Haven’t we all had to write a book report on Catcher in the Rye at one time?

Anyway, the day before this report was due, I rushed home from school in a panic. I still had a good 50 or so pages to read and then I had to come up with an eloquent book report somewhere in the range of 750-1,000 words. How was I ever going to get all this work done I thought to myself.

By dinnertime, as the panic was starting to bubble near the surface, I declared to my family that I was so "stressed out" I just didn’t know what to do with myself. I couldn’t eat, which was a sure sign there was something wrong. I couldn’t sit down and think. And I was getting more and more upset by the minute.

Immediately my dad asked me why I had left things until the last minute, which is always something you want to hear.

Then he asked what could possibly be so stressful in my life that it was ruining my appetite and sending me into near hysteria?

Truthfully, he said, he’d never heard of this word "stressed-out" before. It simply didn’t exist when he was my age.

I think it’s certainly fair to say that he knows about the word now after his heart surgeon warned him that job stress and other life stresses are a major contributor to heart disease.

I figure at the rate I’m going these days, I’m definitely due for some heart palpitations in the next year or two.

Though I eventually managed to sit down and write that book report on Catcher in the Rye that night, I have yet to learn how to manage my stress.

I’ve always wanted to be one of those blasé people that meandered through life with nary a concern in the world. You know the type.

As it turns out though, I’m very highly strung, which gets compounded by the fact that I’m somewhat disorganized and fairly emotional.

Let me give you a little slice of my life these days.

Office desk:

Last week I decided to change my office space around so that I could look out the window and be inspired to write great things or daydream, whatever the case may be.

The little switcheroo drew a few of comments about my new Feng Shui workspace and I agreed with my colleagues, as though I knew what that really meant.

As it turns out, my desk is just as cluttered and messy facing north as it was when I was facing west.

My desk, or at least the clutter that makes up my desk, is stressing me out. I envy all those people with an uncluttered desk.

Health:

This week I woke up on Monday morning and decided that I was going to eat healthier this week and really take the time to prepare my lunches and make a balanced dinner. I vow to do this every Sunday night/Monday morning. It’s part of a general routine of fooling myself.

Last night I had a Dr. Pepper and four pieces of Juicy Fruit for dinner and the Juicy Fruit doesn’t even count because I didn’t swallow it.

Tonight I had a cup of tea and several handfuls of Triscuits, which happened to be open in the newsroom.

Even though they weren’t mine, I couldn’t help reaching into the cracker box every time I passed by, which reminds me, I should probably buy my colleague Andrew Mitchell some more crackers. I’ll just add that to my never-ending list of things to do.

My general health or lack thereof, is stressing me out.

Friends:

I have a very good friend who lives in Australia who has probably left me five phone messages in the past two weeks. I haven’t been at home for any of those phone calls. More recently she wrote me an e-mail demanding to know why I hadn’t called. I managed to fire off a quick apology along with a solemn promise to call her on the weekend and reply to her snail mail letter too. Neither of those things had happened by Monday morning.

Another friend who lives in Germany is turning 30 years old on Sunday. I bought her the perfect card three weeks ago. It’s still sitting in my bag, unwritten. I don’t suppose it’s going to get there on time now. In fact, I don’t suppose I’m ever going to send it.

My friendships, and the fact that I’m neglecting them, are stressing me out.

Exercise:

Well I’m just not even going to dwell too much on this topic. Thankfully, I wised up this year and cut out a major stress contributor in my life

– the Vancouver Sun Run. Now I don’t have to worry that I’m only on Week 1 of the 13-week training schedule just days before the event.

Still, I can’t put off my first mountain bike ride for very much longer.

That’s stressing me out.

I could wax on about all the other stress factors in my life but I think I’m really the only one who’s interested in reading about them and stressing myself out even further.

Here’s what I’ve come to realize.

This time is one of our busiest at work. We all know that once the World Ski and Snowboard Festival is over, there will finally be some time to clear off our desks and take a breath.

Still, as much as I hate to admit this, I think I’m one of those people that thrive on stress.

I like feeling the pressure. I like having a never-ending list of things to do that never seems to get any smaller.

Is there any other possible reason why someone would live like this?

When I think back to that 13-year-old who couldn’t eat because of a 750-word book report I envy that girl. Little did she know what stress was all about!