Making It Up As I Go Along #304

MONDAY...
— Work is normal... not much to talk of. Changes in the office are afoot.
— A few e-mails and some TV after work... all pretty boring on a freezing cold day.

TUESDAY...
— Snowy day means 45 minutes driving to work and an hour coming home from it. Blah!
— Lunch at HQ with Kiyomi and Jonathan is good and work is okay but slow going stats wise.

WEDNESDAY...
— Work is work. Fine but a bit slow going.
— A few e-mails and stuff in the evening.
— I see that St. John’s is about to lose it’s junior hockey team. No more Fog Devils. Hockey has been poorly marketed in St. John’s for many years now. A city that used to prize itself on being fans of “old time hockey” yet the die-hard fans were taken for granted and marketing all went towards 12 year old fans of Britney Spears. In the end, the die-hard fans actually did ‘die’ as fans. And you were left with a stupid name on a team marketed to non hockey fans. And too many people wanted the AHL out and the QMJHL in with the delusion that regular season junior hockey was the same as the World Junior Christmas tournament. When they saw high school hockey, they walked away. I feel bad that my home town no longer has a hockey team... but I’m not surprised in the slightest. The ‘hockey’ people of St. John’s have been doing their best to ditch hockey for a long time now.

THURSDAY...
— All sorts of things going on today. I have a meeting... start feeling like a cold is coming on... and get info on how AFIS will be over the next little while. Cutting down to 3 teams in a few weeks and I’ll take on a new task for a little while. The more variety the better.
— After work I go do some shopping. I had a gift card from a CD/DVD store and decided to add to it with my own cash so I got three CDs and a DVD. Not half bad.

FRIDAY...
— Work is broken up by breakfast for Leslie’s birthday and a new task for me, putting together the latent ident board. Still not feeling great but the cold isn’t beating me yet.
— Hockey pool stuff after work. I get a couple of pretty good players in the mid-season redraft and hopefully it’s enough to pull me away again, as others are starting to catch up lately.
— Home for some TV, naps, and pizza.

SATURDAY...
— Quiet day around the house. Up early... out of bed around 7:00. A couple of e-mails, several naps, and some movies and all-star hockey stuff on TV.


All Your Beliefs Stuck to the Bumper of Your Car
Hillary Clinton regained momentum in the race to represent the democrats in America’s presidential race by shedding a tear. “It made her appear human” was the basic media sentiment of the event. Discussions ensued as intelligent people tried to verify whether or not the tear was real or a staged piece of acting.

A southern citizen told the interviewer that he won’t be able to vote for Obama because the name is too close to Osama and you just can’t be too careful.

George Bush creamed John Kerry because Kerry spent too much time wanting to think through and discuss all angles of issues while Bush pushed for the decisive thirty second sound bite answer.

Iraq had weapons of mass destruction... until it was proven they didn’t... at which time their people needed to be liberated.

The internet is the greatest information tool yet created... and the most popular use of it is to watch minute long amateur comedy clips on YouTube... where we can watch cats tackling each other or babies laughing uncontrollably.

Global warming is the greatest threat our planet has ever seen. Or it’s a cooked up scare tactic used for making money by left wing scientists. Which side you believe depends largely on which type of conspiracy theory you’re most willing to accept as reality.

Democracy works. It does. You vote for the individual or party that you are most comfortable with and, if enough of you are in agreement, that individual or party will represent you and your point of view.

The problem with democracy, is too many people are too willing to shut off their brains and allow easy access to free information to guide us. It just all depends on which information supplier gets to you first... or which one makes it easiest to understand the message.

Fox News is “fair and balanced”... because they say so.

CNN has “the best political team on television” and are working at “keeping them honest”. Again, we know this because that’s what they tell us.

And people are guilted into the process. The media keeps harping that “it is your duty to vote.” It’s just too daunting an idea to suggest the important part... “it’s your duty to understand what you’re voting for.” Those swayed by attack adds and phantom tears only hurt the process.

Our attention span has gotten too short as a society. If a political message goes beyond a sound bite, it’s fighting an uphill battle to even be heard. Feelings of support for causes (be it cancer or fighting troops) are expressed via magnet on the back of your car in the shape of a ribbon. Most who buy these magnets have no idea if the money they spend is going towards the cause. And they feel as though the fact that they have that magnet sticking on the back of their car proves that they are actually supporting something. Perhaps some are. I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who’s doing real things to hope for the welling being of a family member who’s in harms way in a foreign land. But I suspect too many put these things on their cars cause they think it’s how they can do their part.

It’s superficiality, through and through. Too many of us wish to not go beyond it. It’s too easy and comfortable. And too many exploit this for the purpose of making a buck.

It goes from the most important aspects of life, like politics and personal freedoms, to the least important parts of life.

I’ve always been struck by TV commercials for hair dye. They speak about how a man should make sure his true self is seen, that people aren’t caught up by the grey they see. So how would a man show his true self? How do you present yourself to the world in honesty and the most genuine of terms? You cover up your grey hair.

That’s how we do things too often. Be it a political movement, a cause, a military conflict, or personal appearance. We cover up our imperfections and present an image... a superficial mask... and we sell it as what’s genuine and real. It’s happened so much, in so many aspects of life, that even the smartest of people is accepting it as the normal. We nod our acceptance and click the computer over to YouTube again so we can bask in the glory of wrestling kittens.

Making It Up As I Go Along #303

MONDAY...
— Quiet time around the house in the morning. Work in the evening with Martin and Kiyomi. A fun night with the time flying by and not too bad of stats too.
— Some groceries and e-mails when I get home.

TUESDAY...
— A movie in the morning. Work with Kiyomi and Martin in the evening. Frankie is there for a few hours as well. Not a bad night over all. I work an extra hour to build some vacation time... and Kiyomi and I are by ourselves from about 8:45 to 10:45.

WEDNESDAY...
— Decide to stay home today and use that vacation time. Just a day off work rather than going from evening shift to day. Movie watching and e-mails with laundry mixed in there. I head to the garage with the car in the afternoon, just for a service, and take it easy in the evening.

THURSDAY...
— Long day due to a lack of sleep. I last looked at the clock at sometime around 2:00 AM last night and went to work with less than four hours of sleep.
— Lunch at HQ with Melissa, Megan and Trevor.
— I file today. If you’re going to be tired, that’s the job to do.

FRIDAY...
— Claire’s birthday today. Little imp.
— Work is okay. Lunch at HQ again, with Melissa and Shannon.
— Nap for a bit in the afternoon and go to the movies with Karl. We grab supper and then watch American Gangster. Pretty good.

SATURDAY...
— Quiet day. Some laundry, e-mails, and movies. And then an evening of hockey.


No Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Die
Bond villains usually play their roles by a formula. Each James Bond movie has two main villains. There’s the cool, calculating one. The one who thinks through the options before making the decision of how to proceed.

This villain will converse with Bond much like two friends sitting in front of the fire. The difference being the villain will then get up and walk away, remembering to flick the switch on the laser, or other such doomsday device on his way out. It’s done as casually as flicking off a light as you exit a room... only this time, James Bond... and millions of others... are going to die.

The other villain is less one for thought and dialogue and more a character of action. He or she is out there. They’re unpredictable and come up with outlandish, yet funny, punch lines. They’ll throw all conventional wisdom out the window. They can’t be bothered with such trivialities... they’ve gone destruction on the mind and it’s time to get the ball rolling.

Children are Bond villains.

I have two nieces. Fraser is very much the cool and calculating one. She’ll sit quietly, listening to what you have to say. All the while, she’s planning her next move.

Claire, is Fraser’s henchwoman. Younger and more willing to take the risks. To borrow a phrase from a Simpson’s episode... Claire will kill you five times before you hit the ground.

Rebelliousness is in Claire’s nature. She can’t help herself. Much like that villain who throws all caution to the wind, Claire will go for it.

I remember some five years ago, when Claire was visiting my parents house. A little water fountain sat in the sunroom, right next to some potted plants. Claire, being only five years old or so at the time, had great fascination with the fountain. She’d often go to it with a little cup and scoop out a quick drink. And she also found ways to incorporate the nearby plants into the equation as well.

Not that she’d aim to destroy a plant. She hasn’t reached super villain ruthlessness... not yet. But potted plants do contain dirt. And the combination of dirt and water proved too much of a temptation.

Claire would scoop handfuls of dirt from the plants and deposit it into the fountain of water. It was a plan doomed from the start and guaranteeing her being caught, but she did it non-the-less.

This would happen on more than one occasion. My sister, Edena, would walk into the room, look over at the fountain, and then bellow to Claire. A stern warning would follow... “don’t ever do that again!” And Claire would agree... sheepishly... to cease and desist.

Later that day, the fountain would hold a fresh batch of dirt and Edena would come one step closer to an aneurism.

I remember the conversation as if it was yesterday...

Edena scolds, “didn’t I tell you not to do that?”

Claire, head down, responds, “yes.”

“Then why do you keep doing it?”

“Mom!” Claire’s frustration builds as she answers, “I can’t help myself!”

All it will take is Fraser’s desire to harness Claire’s natural tendencies and there will be no stopping my lovely nieces. The only possible challenge for them will be if they run into my unofficial nephews.

Jim and Kristann’s boys are as fiendish a duo as my nieces. What may give them the edge is that there is a third of them. I’m still not sure which way Jake (the youngest) will go. But Sam (the oldest) and Will have picked up the Bond villain formula as well.

Sam is a lad of action, but he also takes time to sit and develop a plan. And he takes great delight in the misery of strangers.

I remember Jim and Sam once coming to pick me up for lunch. I hop in the passenger seat next to Jim and Sam sits in his booster seat in the back. It seemed more like the office set up of a Bond villain. Allowing Sam to sit back and survey all the goings on around him as the lackeys turn knobs on machines and give the countdown to destruction. All Sam was missing was the white cat that he’d calmly be stroking while his master plan comes to fruition.

In this case, a drunk man is walking down the street as we’re about to leave. He stops and leans against a telephone pole, and begins to heave there on the sidewalk. Jim and I look on with a degree of disgust and sympathy for the guy who’s obviously not having one of his better days. Sam glances over at the action on the street and begins a maniacal laughter that grows and grows with each laboured breath. It’s the laughter of a mad man whose plan is coming together.

Will, on the other hand, is quick to take drastic action. He’ll leap into a situation without thinking of the consequences. If it feels right, he’ll do it.

On one occasion, I went to watch him play soccer. When the games are over, Jim, Kristann, Sam, Will and I all walk out towards the parking lot. We stop at the cars to discuss our plans to meet up again later that day.

Will, with glee in his voice and happiness radiating from his soul, suddenly proclaims “Uncle Chris, I’m going to punch you in the bird!”

And with that he forms a fist and makes a leap for my.... mid-section.

Fortunately for me, I do enough of a dodge and Kristann is quick enough to cut off a second attempt. But Will felt this was the most fun activity since... well... in his case... probably since the soccer game some five minutes earlier. But, for Will, it was all about the challenge and consequences be damned.

So these are the children I know best. Bond villains... all of them. And why is it that today’s society is so geared towards the children? It’s not due to love or a feeling of fulfillment. It’s fear.

Every parent wants to stay on their child’s good side... it’s their only hope of survival, in case James Bond fails to come out on top.

Making It Up As I Go Along #302

MONDAY...
— Work in the evening again this week. It’s okay.
— Very foggy today. Lots of snow on the ground plus warm air above it... and you see nothing. Kind of like home.
— Listen to dad’s radio time on the CBC archives tonight. His memories of Christmas make for fine listening indeed.

TUESDAY...
— Another warm, foggy day. Do some laundry and hang out some in the morning. Work in the evening is okay. And a late night walk. First one in a few months... out for about an hour and ten minutes and I see a falcon or, more likely, an owl flying around in the meadow.

WEDNESDAY...
— Windy day and work is a pain. Nothing really in particular, I’m just not in the mood to work on fingerprints. Stick it out though.

THURSDAY...
— Ann-Marie, Sue and I at work. Sue and I hit the mall for supper... and the shift with the three of us is pretty good.

FRIDAY...
— Work is okay but a little slow. We do supper out tonight as a send off for Linda. So it’s an extended meal time on a Friday.
— Home for some TV and e-mails.

SATURDAY...
— Quiet day around the house. Fire trucks come to the building backing mine though... seems like a false alarm but it gets you on your toes.
— Few movies, couple of e-mails, and hockey in the evening make for a relaxing Saturday.


Lighthouse Weather
A hazy fog hangs over the land.
Only the distant, echoing of the seaside horn is missing.
That horn housed in a cliff top tower,
shining light brightly into the opaqueness.

Below, the sea whispers against the rocks.
It skirts in and around the crags and crevices.
Then retreats out the way it came,
leaving dampness until the next intrusion.

Damp air against my face.
Hiding the world beyond my fifty foot bubble.
Shadows of buildings and trees appear for a second,
then fade back into the grey.

Growing up, fog was cursed.
Wreaking havoc with ball games.
Lasting for weeks on end,
imprisoning us from the outdoors, even when you’re there.

But in this inner city.
Far from the sea.
It brings memories and comfort,
a rare treat lasting for a day, then gone.

Odd the things that transport you back home.

Making It Up As I Go Along #301

MONDAY...
— Early morning to work. Work is okay and is done by 11:00 thanks to the boss giving us a really Happy New Year.
— Relax for a bit... do some afternoon writing... and Karl comes by at 7. We have pizza and hang for a while before going off to see I Am Legend at the movies. I like it... good flick.
— Some alone time to end the night... with falling asleep on the sofa ending it.

TUESDAY...
— Watch the Bourne Identity in the morning... hard to believe I’d never seen it before but it’s good.
— Outdoor NHL hockey in the afternoon.
— Bourne Supremacy after that... and the Bourne Ultimatum to end the night.

WEDNESDAY...
— Junior hockey on TV in the morning... then to work for the evening shift. Cold day out there. Around -18 with a wind chill around -29.

THURSDAY...
— Hang around the house in the morning... too cold outside again today.
— Work is okay. I plug in to the music for much of it and keep the talking down to a minimum.

FRIDAY...
— Not feeling super in the morning. Tired and kind of sore. But as work goes, I get better.
— Super is Thai food with Trevor and Sheila today. Not too bad.

SATURDAY...
— Do nothing for much of the day, but then get busy. Leave just after 3:00 to get Janice, Sheila and Nicole. We’re at the hockey stadium by 4:30. Supper and then the Tampa Bay vs. Ottawa game. Good game, Ottawa wins 4-3 in overtime. Home again by 11:30 after all the traffic and dropping the girls off again.
— Canada wins cold again at the World Junior Tournament. Beating Sweden in the final game. I only get to see the first period before having to leave for the night out.


Can You Spare Some Change
Change. It goes on all around us, at all times. Today, for the first time since July, I changed the background on my computer. No longer are the icons for “My Computer” and “Firefox” and “Wordperfect” atop a snowy BC mountain. Today, they line the stands of a hockey stadium, with a giant Canadian flag being passed through the upper deck (for those on my blog, the picture attached to this piece).

One year ago, I was just finishing up my stint supervising a team of eight people in CNI. Today, I’m a member of a team back in AFIS and CNI has fewer than eight people in its entirety, the two supervisors included. It’s moved to a different room within the office and there’s no longer shift work there.

One year ago, I was on pretty bad terms with someone I see as a pretty good friend... and we were about to become teammates in AFIS together. Today, she no longer works with the RCMP and is preparing for work in Toronto... and we’re as good of friends now as we’ve ever been.

One year ago, there were close to sixty people in my current department at work. Today, there are just over thirty, with several still unsure what the future holds for them.

Two of my good friends got married within the last year and families sprout up all around me, both through people at work and friends from home.

Some things seem to never change. Or, if they do, only slightly. I have a few friends here in Ottawa who I can rely on just as much as I ever have in the past. They’re always there with a smile and desire to catch up even if we’ve gone just a few days without seeing each other.

I have friends back home and in other cities. They remain close, despite the distance. My sister and her family are there in BC, and my parents still back in the only house I knew growing up.

Not a great deal has changed with me. I remain in the same house and as single as ever. I probably have too many of the same old pairs of socks that I had last year... and the same old t-shirts that are only good to wear under sweatshirts or sweaters. I still hate getting up at 5:15 in the morning. I still hate looking at a clock and deciding its time for bed. And despite a summer of walking and more concern for what I eat, I’m pretty much the same size as I was the year before too.

I did go with a goatee for three weeks. It’s gone again now... too grey and shaggy. But maybe it’ll be back someday.

And I do have a new car. The red Echo is gone and a black Mazda is there... in the same ol’ parking space.

Advertising remains all around me. Most of the e-mails I receive are spam, most of the phone calls I get are telemarketers, and most of my mail goes straight into my paper recycling.

So what does it all mean? I don’t know. I’ve been struck by the changes and sameness of the past year I guess. And left to wonder what the next year will bring. I guess these are the thoughts of someone whose had a busy few weeks around the New Year, and a rainy quiet day to settle down in front of the computer.

And this week’s update may not be terribly funny, or overly poetic... but it is a bit of a change. And that’s the way things go.