http://www.bouncebackcafe.com Dedicated to finding useful, resilient solutions to life's adversities. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:03:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/out-of-a-pickle-and-into-a-pastiche-854 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/out-of-a-pickle-and-into-a-pastiche-854#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:01:20 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=854 Today I invite you to turn on your sound, click play on the following YouTube video and hum along, let the video play in the background while you read on… ...Continue reading » Out of a Pickle and into a Pastiche]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/out-of-a-pickle-and-into-a-pastiche-854/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/agg/in-the-spirit-of-encouragement-we-applaud-our-843 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/agg/in-the-spirit-of-encouragement-we-applaud-our-843#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:01:46 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=843 I love reading my morning newspaper… no, not for its in-depth news coverage nor for its entertaining columnists, but for its daily dose of thought-provoking and insightful comics.  So when my most recent delivery bill arrived, very wrong again, I was exasperated and believed I’d have to cancel my subscription. So I called expecting the worst.  (How’s that for leading with pessimistic, negative beliefs?)  And, to my delight, the service rep agreed that the bill was wacko and fixed it.  Just like that.

Applaud Our Heroes

So in the spirit of PattiAnn’s post on Encouragement let’s all STAND UP AND CHEER for all the hard working, rational, reasonable and empowered service reps of this world… Hoorah for them!!! ...Continue reading » In the Spirit of Encouragement, We Applaud Our Heroes, Persist Through Our Pity Parties, Relish Our Pickles, and Get Unstuck by Widening the Pipeline]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/agg/in-the-spirit-of-encouragement-we-applaud-our-843/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/still-living-with-uncertainty-789 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/still-living-with-uncertainty-789#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:01:20 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=789 Well, the big trip is over.  I have gone to visit my father and nothing is changing.  Not that Dad hasn’t changed, he has.  Just that not enough has changed in the underlying situation to allow us to make any decisions about the best way to proceed. For as long as I’ve known him, Dad has had a temper.  His response to unexpected circumstances was to rage.  If you happened to be close by, you became the target.  He was never physically violent that I am aware of, but then he is a little guy – under five feet, wirey and muscular but at a distinct disadvantage when it came to taking on most of the world. ...Continue reading » Still Living With Uncertainty]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/still-living-with-uncertainty-789/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/living-with-uncertainty-751 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/living-with-uncertainty-751#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:01:34 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=751 Throughout our lives we are confronted with situations that we just need to get through.  Things that are out of our control, and that can only be resolved with the passage of time, can make us feel anxious.  In my case, it’s my father’s rapidly worsening dementia.

Dealing With Dementia

Dementia is a difficult condition for both the patient and the caregiver.  For some period of time, the person with dementia is not really capable of taking care of themselves, but also won’t allow you to take care of them.  You are in a position of “damned if you do and damned if you don’t”: concerned about their safety while trying to facilitate their autonomy. ...Continue reading » Living with Uncertainty]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/living-with-uncertainty-751/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/stumbling-up-the-bounceback-path-713 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/stumbling-up-the-bounceback-path-713#comments Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:01:19 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=713 I’ve got some new mountains to climb.  And they’re scaring me. My guess is that many of you are, like me, experiencing the following: just as I encounter a precipice, just when I need to make a leap of faith, I find my bounceback juice is running low. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to let the bastards get me down!  I’m just going to take a deep breath and figure it out as I go.  And take it one step, one day, one little win at a time. And gift myself with the occasional wallow without getting stuck in the quicksand. I’ll stumble up the bounceback path, by God I will! ...Continue reading » Stumbling Up the Bounce Back Path]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/stumbling-up-the-bounceback-path-713/feed 1 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/ovh/bouncing-back-from-technical-adversity-600 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/ovh/bouncing-back-from-technical-adversity-600#comments Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:07:37 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=600 It was bound to happen eventually.  I worked in the computer industry for years and eventually, you get bitten by a bug.  Sometimes they’re little and sometimes they’re big.  Although we were down for several hours, this didn’t turn out to be a big one, just something not under our control.  Up to this point, our hosting service has done a good job of maintaining availability.  Sometime earlier today, they ...Continue reading » Bouncing Back from Technical Adversity]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/ovh/bouncing-back-from-technical-adversity-600/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/in-defense-of-sadness-591 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/in-defense-of-sadness-591#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:01:27 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=591 You’re probably wondering what the heck I’m doing.  I just wrote Ending the Happiness Deficit and now I’m defending sadness.  Am I crazy?  Well, maybe just a little. First let me clear one thing up.  Despite what your average Thesaurus will tell you, I don’t agree that sadness is the opposite of happiness.  For me whining is the opposite of happiness.  We choose to whine.  We take a perfectly good day and make it into an unhappy one.  Disagree with me if you must, but I’m declaring whining to be the opposite of happiness. ...Continue reading » In Defense of Sadness]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/in-defense-of-sadness-591/feed 1 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/snap-out-of-it-511 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/snap-out-of-it-511#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:01:11 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=511 In my office bookcase I treasure a small, petit point pillow featuring the whimsy of clever, self-taught author & artist, Mary Engelbreit.  I keep it there, in my line of sight, to help me get through those AAAARRRRGGGHHHH moments. You know, when you get the blue screen of death on your ’puter, or the phone rings for the umpteenth time and you feel like singsong-answering, “grand central station, how can I help you?” ...Continue reading » Snap Out of It!]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/snap-out-of-it-511/feed 3 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/too-much-of-a-good-thing-391 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/too-much-of-a-good-thing-391#comments Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:01:39 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=391 Last night I caught a quick segment of the TV show Dancing with the Stars.  It struck me, as I watched Shawn & Mark’s Jive – waaaaaay too many Polka Dots!  Too many, too many.  Exuberant dancing yes.  But too many polka dots! And it got me to thinking: how often do we do too much of what we’re good at JUST BECAUSE we are good at it???  I teach a management class to graduating university seniors and I cite a French company that is preparing its managers to lead globally – to work in other countries and be successful – by helping them see the line they cross when using their strengths (whatever they may be) too much. ...Continue reading » Too Much of a Good Thing?]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/too-much-of-a-good-thing-391/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/a-break-from-responsibility-388 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/a-break-from-responsibility-388#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:01:53 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=388 I’ve made a decision.  I’m going to be irresponsible – at least for a little while. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just feel stuck.  Life goes on day-to-day, some days good, some not so good.  The interesting thing is that here I am in the middle of this new blog venture, and yet I’m looking for some major change that will make me feel “better.” ...Continue reading » A Break from Responsibility]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/a-break-from-responsibility-388/feed 0