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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 12, 2011)
in other words july12 Voice From the Crowd: The Secret to Happiness By Miles Wickstrom I gotta admit it – I’m a sucker for simple questions with elusive answers. So here’s one for you: what is the secret to happiness? Just so you don’t stress out too much, by the end of this article, you will have the solution to that age-old mystery. I stumbled upon the key to happiness while flying to Boston one Sunday morning in 1997. Back then, the security people weren’t nearly as traumatized as they are today by tubes of toothpaste or bottles of water and since the body cavity searches were kept to a minimum, I actually made my connection in Denver on time. I had the good fortune of sharing a three-seat row with one other traveler. I tell this story to people today and they just naturally assume I’m making it up because nowadays there’s no such thing as two people in a three-seat row, is there? No. Today, you’re far more likely to end up with three people whose combined body mass index is roughly equal to five people in a three-seat row. I like to think of that as the airline industry’s ”super size me” equivalent at McDonalds. My seatmate turned out to be a practicing psychologist named Rodger who was going to an annual conference in Boston. I was heading to Boston to lead a three-day seminar at a different hotel. Now, I don’t normally engage people when I fly, especially on an early Sunday morning flight. Being an antisocial curmudgeon is a contributing factor, but here’s the real problem. Sunday flights to the East Coast leave Portland at 6AM. That means I have to get to PDX by 4:30AM. That means I have to set my alarm for 2:00AM. (Did I mention this was all happening on a Sunday morning?) Depending on which airline I use, it is necessary to catch a connecting flight in Salt Lake City, Denver or Minneapolis. At a minimum, that’s five hours in the air, three hours in airports (if everything goes right), three time zones, all the while knowing that on Monday I’ll have to deal with 200 people with 300 different issues each… do the math, and you’ll see why hiding behind several crossword puzzles is a whole lot safer than taking the risk of talking with a stranger. Yet Rodger and I hit it right off because, while we were on very different career paths, we were essentially in the same business. Rodger’s specialty in the field of psychology is stress management. My specialty in the training industry at that moment was time management. What neither of us realized until that flight was how interwoven those two topics were. We discovered that the people who came to his practice seeking to reduce their stress levels tended to be rather poor at managing their time. Likewise, people who came to my practice seeking help in managing their time tended to be stressed out way beyond what was normal even by 21st century standards. That discussion led us to two conclusions: 1), you can’t talk about stress reduction without talking about time management, or vice versa. And 2), you can’t talk about time management without also talking about lifetime management. That’s where the role of happiness comes into play. Somewhere over the Midwest at the altitude of 37,000 feet we talked about happiness. I remember chuckling about what Jack Palance told Billy Crystal in City Slickers (“it’s just one thing”) and Rodger said, “Actually, he was half right. The secret to happiness is not one thing. It’s two things. Identify your values, then support them behaviorally.” Identify your values, then support those values with behaviors. Can it really be that easy? I tell you what - let’s take that theory for a test drive Can it really be that easy? I tell you what - let’s take that theory for a test drive and see if it floats. 2011 and see if it floats. I don’t want to see any guilty looks out there because I’m not here to embarrass anyone, but how many of you value action, yet practice complacency? How many of you value thrift and have a wallet filled with maxed out credit cards? How many of you claim to love your families, yet readily admit to spending a whole lot more time at work than you do at home? How many of you see yourselves tomorrow as being greater than what you are today, AND have taken one small concrete step to assure the image you see in tomorrow’s mirror is different than the reflection you saw this morning? When our values and our actions are incongruent, the logical outcome is internal conflict, also known as unhappiness. Fourteen years ago, a complete stranger on a flight from Denver to Boston taught me one of the greatest life lessons I ever learned and I wrote this today to share his very simple wisdom: if you want to be happy, identify what it is that you truly cherish, your deepest and most closely held values, then objectively compare what you value with what you do. The degree to which they balance is the degree to which your life is fulfilled. P&C Construction New Vernonia K-12 School REQUEST FOR BID Bid Package Four (BP-4): Photovoltaic System Bids Due 2:00 PM PST, July 26, 2011 Bids for the “VERNONIA SCHOOL DISTRICT – PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM: BID PACKAGE FOUR (BP-4)” will be received by the Con- struction Manager/General Contractor (CM/ GC), P&C Construction, 2133 NW York St, Portland, OR 97210 by the time and date listed above. Faxed bids will be accepted. Questions regarding the proposal shall be in writing and directed to Kevin McCall at P&C Construction by fax (503.667.2565) or e-mail (kmccall@builtbypandc.com). Late bids will not be accepted. The scope of work for this bid package in- cludes, but is not limited to, a full design / build Photovoltaic System on the roof of the new Vernonia K-12 School in Vernonia, Oregon. It is anticipated that work on site will commence in September 2011 and must reach Final Com- pletion no later than April 12th, 2012. Beginning on July 12th, 2011, bid documents may be examined at the offices of P&C or ob- tained electronically by contacting Rosanna Williamson at P&C Construction (503.665- 0165 or rosanna@builtbypandc.com). Bid- ders must ask specifically for documents titled “VERNONIA K-12 SCHOOL – ADDEN- DUM#13 CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS”. The photovoltaic system will be fully designed and installed by the bidding subcontractor. Bids will be reviewed based on total watts gen- erated for no more than $328,000. Bids over $328,000 will not be accepted. There are no drawings or specifications specific to the pho- tovoltaic system. You will have access to the full set of construction drawings / specifications and should note that there are specific areas called out on the roof for the placement of the photovoltaic system. The photovoltaic system will need to be metered and tied into the green screen as part of this proposal. Provide an Al- ternate #1 for a lease to own option if one is available. and performance bonds covering the faith- ful performance of the subcontract and the payment for all obligations arising hereunder should such bonds be requested by P&C. P&C reserves the right to reject any proposer not capable of securing said bonds. This is Davis-Bacon Job. Subcontractor will pay weekly (no exceptions) and will pay the higher labor rate between BOLI (April, 2010), or Davis-Bacon (OR100038 MOD 7 REVISED 08/27/10 OR38). Therefore, subcontractor agrees to meet all guidelines and regulations set forth and in accordance with governing authorities. NOTE: Certified payroll reports must be submitted to contractor as a condition for payment. Subcontractor is required to submit originally signed (ink signature) certified payroll. All bidders must be registered with the Construction Contractors Board and in compliance with all other licensing requirements at the time of submission of their bids. P&C Construction, on behalf of the School District, reserves the right to: reject any and all proposals; reject any proposal not in compli- ance with the bidding procedures and require- ments; reject for good cause any proposal that would be in the public’s best interest to do so; and waive minor irregularities in any or all pro- posals. There will be no public opening of bids. P&C Construction is an equal opportunity employer and is actively seeking proposals from minority, women, disadvantaged, and emerging small business enterprises. A sample P&C subcontract is included in the bid documents. Therefore, subcontractors must clearly make note of any exceptions to the subcontract prior to bid due date and time. P&C will consider and exceptions taken to the P&C subcontract when analyzing bids and making a selection for the firm that will perform All bidders must be able to furnish payment the work outlined in the bid package. 15 Vernonia True Value 503-429-6364 • 834 Bridge Street • Mon-Sat 9:00-6:00 • www.truevalue.com Family owned & operated for over 40 years
