New Year

Day Two of 2022

Posted on by Josef Havelka

This year has started off like most of my previous years. Relaxing and lazy. My wife and I are enjoying some tv marathons and video games. Kids are still home from school- they even get an extra week for added Covid Protection. The food is still in abundance and the house is at a good level of cleanliness.

Later this evening I will be back at work for my regular work week. A stint of night shifts to get the year under way. Night shifts in the winter aren’t too bad. Of course nights are a bit colder and make your teeth chatter. However, I get home in the morning while it’s still dark, which makes it easier to fall asleep. I miss out on what little sun there is for the day. Sometimes I’ll sleep with my blinds open because the light doesn’t bother me.

But as the month and year move forward, I realize that again I have no Resolutions to work on. Perhaps it’s the fear of failure that prevents me from wanting to change anything. Or maybe I just like my comfort zone. I also tend to just “fix” myself when I really need it. Quitting bad habits or starting new hobbies- I just do that when I feel like it.

The one thing I do at the start of January is start a new toothbrush. This year we went fancy pants and got the Philips Sonicare cordless electric toothbrush. Normally I just open the one my dentist gives me. So an electric toothbrush is new and different. Healthy teeth and gums are important.

That’s it for my quick thoughts about day 2. No real changes. Nothing super exciting. Just dental care.

Avoiding 2021…

Posted on by Josef Havelka

My year is starting off great. I have been avoiding the first day of the year and almost completely missed it.

A late night of watching movies meant that I was going to sleep in. And did we ever. We were out of bed at 1:30pm. And had no ideas for what to do on our first day of the New Year. But losing half of it to sleeping was a great way to avoid it.

I figure if I sleep more, less bad stuff could possibly happen. That’s sound logic right? Perhaps tomorrow I can really get motivated. My wife has given me her old FitBit (again). She tried this almost five years ago and I shared in How exercise is going to kill me. But five years later, I’m really feeling old.

In all honesty I am proud of my hardest accomplishment- no drinking. I made it through one of the toughest seasons by remaining sober. That is not like the old me- previously I would’ve shared a bazillion photos of booze and fake smiles. Maybe this new me will get better use from his FitBit. Considering I put it on at 3pm, I did get 6665 steps in. A bit shy of the daily 10k but it’s a start.

2020

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Welp. It’s here. 2020.

The roaring 20’s have begun! I’m excited about this decade and I don’t really know why. But today is starting off sunny compared to the torrential downpour yesterday. So at least that’s a good start. Oh and I’m going to take a nap as well.

Pretty sure the kids will nap as well. They were up all night long watching High School Musical films with their friends.

I’m also impatiently waiting for next year so I can make a bunch of Dad Jokes about 2020. That’s what really matters. Puns and jokes. And maybe less cursing. Those are next year’s resolutions because I forgot to make some for this year.

Are you ready for 2020? What are your aspirations and resolutions?

Good First Day Of 2019

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I had a good start to 2019. I woke up. Always a great way to begin any day.

Then I went to work. Which means I have a job that helps keep my family clothed and fed.

I finished reading a book. I love Felicia Day. She’s like my celebrity crush- sort of. More like a really cool friend crush. The kind where we could hang out and play Munchkin and then not talk for months. Anyways, I digress. I finished her autobiography. I also miss reading. Time to pick up more books.

I also played some old school video games. On a system I wasn’t going to buy. But it was a total impulse purchase just before Christmas. And I had fun playing the Super Nintendo games again.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a cheese fondue dinner as a family. We try and have it every New Year’s Day.

To end the day- I watched some tv with the family before bed. We watched some “Community” and “Parks and Rec” pointing out other shows that we recognize the actors from.

It was a good start to the year. I hope to have many more days like this.

2018 In Review

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I went back and took a look at my year of blogging.  I found some interesting stats about my daily musings.

I wrote 88,008 words all year.  An average of 241 words per post.  Not too shabby. Until I looked at 2017.

In 2017, I wrote 103,847 words for an average of 285 per post. uh-oh

Going back to when I first began blogging in 2016 (which I started Jan 18th) I wrote 127,373 words that first year. For an average of 374 words per post.

Clearly, my writing needs more work going into 2019.

Back to my year in review.

My top 5 viewed posts were:

Data Hogs I got a lot of comments on social media about this one. Seems like there are others like me who want better data coverage in Canada.

What To Give… This one was a tough day of parenting. I shared more feelings than facts here. It’s funny though, I used the same title later in the year for my thoughts on Christmas.

Penzer Parkour Park Which was published in June 2017. Chances are it was people looking up the park itself and stumbled on my blog.

Life Lesson Apparently I wasn’t alone in having to let kids make decisions that they need to learn from. Again, parenting can be tough.

Tied for 5th were these two blog posts:

Trip Planning at Age 11 Even though later in the year our son had to learn a tough lesson, back in January he helped plan our trip to Tokyo.

Dinner Train This was one of the most fun dates I have had with my wife. We look forward to doing it again!

I had numerous blog posts that I was happy with. However, they kind of fell into the middle of the pack. I enjoyed writing about Tokyo and traveling. As well as trying to write more positive and uplifting style blogs. Of course not everything was well received.

My worst 3 performing ones (because I don’t want to share 5) were:

Where Was My Father Figure in those 1980’s Movies? The title was kind of long. I wonder if that helped with my word count for the year?

A Day To Myself I guess people didn’t want to hear what I do when I have time to myself.

Just Music This one is so short that you could’ve been able to read it in the preview without even opening up the blog.

In looking at all of my blog posts, I am unsure of what it was about them that made them stand out or not stand out.

  • Was it the keywords?
  • The day/time I posted?
  • How I shared them?
  • The content?

I’m not sure if there is an answer as to why or why not a post is successful. Having a chance to look back at my year, I have a few goals to set up for 2019.

WRITE MORE- Obviously I was getting lazy or rushed when it came to my writing. The more I write, the more I felt the need to just get it out there. Time to fix that curse and get back to perfecting my posts before publishing.

DO RESEARCH- I need to see what I can do to get my writing out there more frequently. What I have read in  the past seems easy, but I feel that I am taking that knowledge for granted.  As I mentioned earlier, What is it that can make me stand out more?

READ MORE- I need to start reading more blogs. I have a few that I follow and truly get some great inspiration from. I want to find more authors out there that I can share ideas with and read about their experiences.

I shall continue to write every day.  I find it relaxing and a good exercise in clearing thoughts out of my mind. I hope that my reads continue to read about the thoughts on my life.

I also hope to expand my readership level. that being said, if you like any of my posts, please share them amongst friends or on social media. I’d appreciate it. And a big thank you for following along and commenting! All the best for 2019 to everyone out there!

(715 Words!)

New Year- Same Old Me

Posted on by Josef Havelka

So 2016 ended in a whimper.  The weather forced my wife and I to stay home which was just as well.  My kids and a few of their friends marathoned through the Harry Potter films.  This is a tradition they have been doing for five years now.  Over the past few years, I was usually working the night shift.  Some how this year, I ended up being off unexpectedly for the weekend.  Not going to complain… 

Having an extra day to reflect on New Years past, I figured I’d share a bit.


Starting at age 13, my parents let me stay up until midnight and drink a flute of ginger ale as we watched the countdown to the new year.  Shortly after, I’d head to bed.  One year, my parents decided to invite some of my father’s Czech friends over for dinner and to celebrate.  This did not go as planned.  

My father had been working hard on a fancy dinner for most of the afternoon.  When his friends arrived, they had a few drinks and talked and laughed.  As my father was about to finish making the meal, our guests mentioned they wanted pizza instead.  My sister and I within earshot totally agreed with the idea.  My father’s friends then used my sister and I’s enthusiasm against him.  Pizza was ordered.  My dad grumbled and a few more drinks in began to make the night a tad more miserable.  Minutes after midnight, my father told our guests to leave and ended the night.

A few years later, I spent New Year’s Eve at my girlfriend’s place.  I was under age, but we enjoyed a sparkling apple juice as we wished each other a Happy New Year.  I walked home shortly after midnight and called her from my bedroom phone and we talked into the wee hours of the morning.

At age 18, I drove into Vancouver with three lovely ladies and wandered the streets wishing people Happy New Year’s.  We ended up at a bar where a guy was buying rounds all night long.  Since I was underage and the DD, I enjoyed my colas.  The girls I was with had a great time enjoying free drinks.

When I was 20, we had an awful snowfall (I wrote about that: Snowmageddon) and my parents had left the house in charge of my sister and I.  So we had a huge party.  People were wrecked.  Barf everywhere, my sister got so angry she smashed a beer bottle on the ground and punched a hole in the wall.  Most of us remained pretty calm, playing cards and enjoying drinks.  

I believe it was the year or two after, that a friend of mine invited everyone out to a recording studio for drinks.  It was a very casual and lounge feel.  Intimate and fun.


The year 1999 had me getting paid a few hundred dollars to be a designated driver to my boss at the movie theater.  He had planned a huge party and I volunteered my time (I also wanted money) to assist.  The party was held at the movie theater and the excitement was prior to the event starting when someone had dropped a stink bomb in the lobby early on in the evening.


The following year (2000 going into 2001) I spent with my wife in bed.  It wasn’t romantic in any way.  I was suffering from the flu and we were watching “Toy Story” followed by “Flesh Gordon and the Cosmic Cheerleaders”.  Don’t ask.  I was on heavy meds for the flu trying to stay awake to wish my future wife a Happy New Year.

Since then, most of our New Year’s festivities are arranged last minute.  I usually end up working, but in the off chance I’m not, we don’t get wasted.


I prefer to enjoy Christmas with my family.  New Year’s Eve never meant much to me.  I’m not sure why a lot of people decide that Jan. 1st is the day to set goals.  It sets people up for high expectations and greater feelings of failure.  Especially if you need to wait for a date to arrive to start accomplishing your goal- then clearly it doesn’t mean that much.  

I quit smoking cold turkey over a decade ago.  I didn’t need to wait for January 1st to attempt it.  I began my blog end of January just because I had an urge to start it.  I’ve been diligently working on it now everyday since then.

So here we are entering 2017.  Just another day.  Except that I had to shovel the driveway.  That’s not normal in the outskirts of Vancouver.  But just another day nonetheless.