scottcourtice.ca

It Started at the Dinner Table

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 07:33:10 -0400

Health, family, and career have been set up. Next up is community and politics. I think I covered my interest in community involvement in the last post, so to set this section up I’ll share a bit about what shaped my interest in politics.

It started at the dinner table talking politics and current events with my parents. My grandparents and my great-grandfather added to the chorus, talking politics at family gatherings. In all of those conversations I was engaged as an equal, and everyone listened and cared about what I had to say – being valued and listened to, and returning the favour in kind, really shaped me as a person and informs my approach to politics and public discourse to this day.

We had a political sign on our lawn every election – not just a little one, but a sign of the huge honkin’ (or ‘Hockin’) variety. (If you’re under 35 and get that joke, we may be kindred spirits.) My parents didn’t actively campaign during elections, but they dragged me along when they voted and we always had an election night party. I think my first time voting was a bigger deal to me than the other traditional firsts that most young Canadians look forward to. So yes, I guess it is safe to say that I’m a ‘politics guy.’

My family supported the Progressive Conservatives party, but in the days before Mike Harris and Stephen Harper. I clearly remember the day after Bob Rae was elected Premier of Ontario. My dad was almost inconsolable, threatening to move the family to Alberta. Dad eventually calmed down, but I think he found the changes that followed to the Ontario PC Party and the disintegration of the Federal PC Party to be much worse than having an NDP government in Ontario. He, like many others, lost their party and have unhappily voted Liberal ever since.

I was raised with an ethic of fiscal conservatism and personal responsibility, but with a clear value set that ‘we are our brother’s keeper’ and have collective responsibilities to our neighbours and to society. I went to university and the political allegiances of my childhood changed from blue to red, and I refined by beliefs related to the importance of ethical free markets, fiscal discipline, and personal responsibility, balanced by smart regulation and strong collective values.

I can be hard to pin down on the political spectrum, but I consider myself to be a ‘pragmatic progressive.’ I’ll save a blog post to explain what that means, as it’ll explain a lot about how I approach public policy issues. In short, I believe in the power of ideas that have the potential to move society in a positive direction, regardless of where they come from. I also tend to support politicians with my time and money who share this belief, because I believe that intellectual curiosity, reasonableness and flexibility are traits that should be encouraged in public discourse and in our political leaders.

Megan also grew up in household that talks politics around the dinner table, so we’re following suit with Ava. I think Ava may be one of the most politically aware 4 years olds in London. We take her to the polling place when we vote, but we also drag her to political rallies; we introduce her to political leaders, she watches political shows with us, and she listens in as mom and dad talk about current events. Soon enough she’ll be joining in those conversation as well, just as we were engaged by our parents growing up.

All that to say that I’ll be using this blog to write about public policy issues affecting the community. I will always share my thoughts in a positive and solution-focused way. I refuse to denigrate a political or community leader, but I will make no apologies for offering thoughtful policy advice on issues affecting the community. I consider it a civic obligation to share viewpoints with our elected officials and with each other, but I also believe that we must afford the same respect we hope to receive in return to our elected officials and those we disagree with.

I hope you consider both the tone and content of my blog to be a small injection of reasonableness during a time when political discourse seems to be anything but. I also hope you enjoy my thoughts, and look forward to engaging with you online or over pints.

Queen's - Come for the Tam o' Shanter, Stay for the Life Education

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 08:00:05 -0400

With health and family done, next on the list of topics to set up is career. To understand why I’m a non-profit guy, you need to know that all roads lead back to Queen’s University.

When I started university I was enrolled in the Concurrent Education program at Queen’s, and I was on my way to becoming a High School history teacher. I went into the program primarily because I felt that I needed a defined job at the end of the university rainbow, not because I thought teaching was a calling in life. Really, I just didn’t want to disappoint my parents, so being a teacher seemed like a safe bet. I thought it would be very easy for my mom to explain when she was asked “so, what’s your son up to these days?”

The great thing about university, if you experience it the way I think you should, is that you become a very different person coming out than when you were coming in. Going in my views were wrapped up in the values and beliefs of my parents, so I was pretty conservative in my political outlook and didn’t really know much about anyone or anything that didn’t conform to my experience of living in quaint and agreeable Oakridge. I spent a number of summers on my grandparent’s farm in Saskatchewan where I learned how to shoot a rifle, fish, drive a tractor, and do lots of other rural things. But despite playing farmer for a few months a year, to say that I was anything other than sheltered, suburban kid would be a stretch.

To my parents’ great credit, I think they realized that I needed to expand my perspective. They encouraged me to turn down my acceptance from Western and take a much more expensive option, Queen’s University. After a visit to Queen’s with my dad the decision was cinched. I fell in love with the campus and the tradition, and decided that I needed to go outside of my London comfort zone. Don’t get me wrong, Western is a great university – but living at home and being in familiar territory would not have given me the experience that I needed. I really didn’t want to be those kids on 90210 after High School, spending all my free time hanging out at the Peach Pit After Dark.

I learned a lot at Queen’s, but the most important lessons came outside of the classroom. My political views changed dramatically as I studied history and political theory, guided by faculty who weren’t afraid to challenge their undergraduates. But my worldview really changed outside of the seminar room, during countless late-night debates with classmates who came from different cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, and countries. There’s something a bit mind-blowing about a 3am political debate, Poutine in hand, still well imbibed, with the kids of cabinet ministers, Supreme Court justices, trades people, first generation immigrants, sheltered kids from Oakridge, small business owners, and CEOs of a fortune 500 companies. That was Queen’s. We came from different backgrounds, but we all had an impact on each other. I’m sure the rose coloured glasses I was issued during Orientation Week have become rosier over the years, but it was a very cool experience that was a big part of shaping who I am and what I believe.

I could write for hours about Queen’s, so what were my key lessons? I learned that being a High School history teacher wasn’t for me. I also discovered that business wasn’t my thing. Instead, I decided to focus my career in the public service or the non-profit sector. I also developed a sense of responsibility to stand up for issues impacting my community, but learned the important lesson of picking the hills I’m willing to die on very, very carefully. This sense of responsibility led me to put my name on a ballot three times at Queen’s, winning twice; all three elections were very humbling and terrifying experiences – but the campaign, and the service that followed, helped me grow a pretty thick skin and allowed me to make a contribution to my community. I also learned that I don’t enjoy running in elections, but am pretty good at governing – so most of my service ever since has been on non-profit Boards and other community projects that don’t involve asking for votes, but still involve making a contribution through service, particularly through governance. If the circumstances are right and I think I can make a difference I may try elected service again someday, but trust me when I tell you that I’m in no rush. I know exactly what I’d be getting myself into!

After graduating from Queen’s in 2002, I’ve been working in non-profits and loving it. All of my work experience has allowed me to advance issues that I care about, and work alongside very committed and passionate people. My experience working in the sector hasn’t been all puppy dogs and ice cream – despite outside appearances it can be just as competitive and cut-throat as the for-profit sector – but on the whole, it aligns with my personal values and life circumstances. My mom can’t really explain what I do during the day. “Something about universities and government,” she probably says. Sorry Mom! Joking aside, she knows I’ve found my calling, which makes her proud.

OK, so there you have it. For obvious reasons I’m not going to blog about the specifics of working at the University Students’ Council, other than to say I love my job immensely. I will blog about career development generally, from the perspective of a 30 something young professional who is learning every day how to be a leader and a good colleague.

Our Modern Family in the City

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:00:05 -0400

Now it’s time to set up the family section of the blog. Politics and career are up next.

The most important thing you need to know about family is that at any given time, there’s no place on Earth I’d rather be than with Megan and Ava. Megan is my best friend; we share similar values, we set goals together and we look out for each other. Ava keeps me smiling and makes me hopeful for the future. I don’t feel more comfortable, happy, or at ease than on a Saturday night, wearing comfy pants, Ava snuggling in my arms with the family iPad, glass of red wine in my hand, and talking – usually in an animated tone with lots of hand movements – about the events of the preceding week with Megan.

Megan and I also have plenty of interests, passions and acquaintances that we keep separate from each other. We’re married, but we’re also our own people. Maintaining a degree of independence means that I’m never the ‘husband of…’ and Megan is never the ‘wife of…’ That doesn’t mean being a friend to me means that you’ll never be a friend to Megan, but assuming that we share a brain probably guarantees that you’ll be a friend to neither.

Before Megan hit me over the head and dragged me into her cave (I may tell that story later), I was focused primarily on myself. I had no interest in getting married or having kids and all of my career goals involved jobs that would have forced me to focus most of my attention on work. Megan really changed all of that, almost overnight. Our courtship was short; not love at first sight, but we knew that we had something very special early in our relationship. To my great fortune she saw past my terrible fashion choices, my frequent absent-mindedness and my workaholic, political nature. Megan, of course, is perfect so going gaga for her was easy.

Every decision I make – taking on a volunteer commitment, evaluating my career, or deciding if I’m going to go out for drinks after work – is run through the family lens before adding any other variables. I have absolutely no hesitation turning down opportunities if I judge them to run contrary to the best interests of my life with Megan and Ava. Megan and I care about our community and friends, but they don’t come within a country mile of our life together and our love for Ava.

I’m not going to blog about our marriage – that’s between us, and it isn’t any of your business! Instead, my focus is going to be about being a befuddled dad to a growing little girl, and the joys and horrors that come along the way. I need plenty of material for the first young man or lady she brings home to mom and dad – and definitely need material for my big speech if she ever ties the knot.

Confessions of a recovering cheeseburger-aholic

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 10:00:05 -0500

As a quick refresher, I’m going to be blogging about four main topics: family life, the London community, health and wellness, and career. Before diving right in, I’m going to set up each topic with a bit of background. I’m going to start today with health and wellness, which has been a major focus for me over the past five months.

I turned 33 in October, but I felt much, much older.

My blood pressure was starting to creep up, my weight was entering ‘I live in Mississippi next to a Chuck E Cheese’ territory, I wasn’t sleeping very well, and I just felt awful. Two weeks after my birthday, I took part in the United Way Stair Climb. By the time I got to the top of the stairs I was a sweaty, wheezy, felt-like-I-was-going-to-die mess. Not good.

The main driver of my health decline was a pain in the ass (literally) arthritic condition, Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). I’ve had it since I was 16, but the condition started to worsen when I graduated from university. I’ll spare you the sob story about living with the condition, and just say that exercise wasn’t something that I felt like doing very often, even though exercise was the very thing that I should have been doing to make my situation better. Instead, I used food to make me feel better. I used it to deal with stress and to deal with pain. Unfortunately, the more I ate the heavier I got, which put more pressure on my joints, leading to more pain, leading to more eating. Not a virtuous circle.

Fast forward to today, five months later. My blood pressure is normal. My weight is way down. My energy is way up. I still have stress and pain due to AS, but I’m no longer managing it with chips and cheeseburgers. Oh, and I have muscles, which is kind of cool. I feel much younger. I feel in control of my health. I can shop at nicer clothing stores. I just feel good.

So I’m going to spend some time blogging about how I went from that sad day at the top of One London Place to where I am today. I’m probably very much like you. I have plenty of demands on my time and lots of excuses why it is hard to make health a priority. Hopefully my journey over the past five months will drive the point home that anybody can do this. I can promise you it has nothing to do with sweating to the oldies. But sweat does play a part. As my Foursquare friends may have noticed, early mornings have also played a part for me. More on that later.

After I’ve told that story, I’m going to continuing sharing my health and wellness experiences. It’ll motivate me to keep making progress because there’s no better motivator than “I need something to blog about!”

I have returned, but with a new focus.

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:00:05 -0500

I’ve taken a really long break from blogging, but I think the time has come to start up again. When I was blogging all those moons ago my focus was politics, particularly local politics. I’ll still write about politics, but I’m going to broaden my horizons and write about other things in my life that drive me and inspire me.

So the new blog, what is it about?

I’m going to write about my ongoing journey to be a better partner to Megan and dad to Ava, a better community member, a more healthy and happy person, and a more productive and effective colleague at work – and importantly, how to balance all of those things. My posts will loosely fall under one of those four categories, though I’ll probably throw in some pop culture from time to time as well.

A disclaimer: the blog’s new direction will result in some pithy, self-indulgent drivel – apologies in advance for that. I also hope that I’m insightful from time to time; at the very least, hopefully you’ll have some laughs at my expense.

The selfish reason for changing the blog’s direction is that I want a place to keep all of my happy moments, ah-ha moments, and ‘wow, I really screwed that up badly’ moments in one place. I also really, really miss writing outside of work, so this will help me scratch that itch as well.

So here we go. Hope you enjoy.