An early Update in reverse order... story before the week for those that have been e-mailed about the story who’d have no interest in the daily gibberish.
Season’s Greetings!
Tis the season to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. So from me and mine... well... no kids yet... umm... and the wife isn’t on the scene either... girlfriend... umm, no... girl I’m sort of dating?... well... no, not that either... and even if there were, wouldn’t that be the perfect way to end any possibility of more. Go to a movie with a nice young lady then include her in wishing my friends and family a Merry Christmas... "From me and the girl I just met..." I’m not crazy! Alright... so... from me and... the dog? Nope. Cat? Uh uh. Turtle? Fish? Hamster?... Plant? HD TV? Oh dear oh dear.
Alright, let’s start this over again. Merry Christmas to you and yours... from... ME... and... my... Surround Sound Stereo Home Theatre System (that’s as good as I’ve got. Crazy I may not be... but loser... here I am!).
It’s been a year of firsts and changes. I am still living in Ottawa. And I’m still in my cookie cutter condo out there in Orleans. Orleans... the land that’s at least twenty kilometres from everything. Where I’m able to go to a hockey game in Montreal quicker than Ottawa. Where you legally are obligated to drive to anything (as sidewalks have been removed for added driving space).
With all the Orleans dissing, there is still a pleasantness to my place. To be able to come home at night and hear the crickets chirp. To see the carefully cultivated ‘forest’ at the edge of my suburban pond getting destroyed by a beaver. And to walk the neighbourhood late at night, and only come across rabbits in my travels. This is all rather nice. Although beats me how on earth a beaver made it’s way into the Avalon subdivision and slipped into the man made pond. Either way, I’m routing for the beaver to hold on to his home and keep the interest for the neighbourhood on the upturn.
I’ve been looking at other homes. Houses in Vanier, Houses in the west end of town, and condos all over. Almost made an offer on a cool condo with a view of Parliament. I tried to be wise and responsible by talking to friends and family first. My talking cost me the offer as the place was gone hours before my call to the agent. Maybe I’ll be moved by this time next year... maybe not. We’ll have to see.
I’ve had changes at work. When the rest of the office rejoiced at the thought of ditching shift work for straight days, I asked to go straight evenings. And there I stayed for a good six months, working the evening shift happily. It didn’t do much for the social scene but it did wonders for the sleep routine. At the tail end of the straight evenings, I was joined by another. Annick kept the evening interesting and made me the envy of many a male co-worker. Dayshift almost came to an end from the male side of things when Annick joined the evening.
From there I put my name in to leave AFIS and go to CPSIC. To my surprise, they said “yeah, good idea.” And off I went to CPSIC. Don’t ask me what CPSIC means... I’m on holidays and have pushed such knowledge out of my brain. But it remains on the same floor in the same building and includes some work with fingerprints. Only now, where a mistake in AFIS was frowned upon with a little scolding, a mistake in CPSIC has the potential of execution or deportation. We deal with INTERPOL and the FBI. We even deal with America’s Most Wanted! Lots of phone calls about priority work... phone calls where us new guys can say “umm, let me see... I think... can you hang on a minute?”
In truth, CPSIC has been fun. I’m picking it up slowly but surly. I have gone from a member of a team in AFIS... to a loner in AFIS... to a partner in CPSIC. Phil, who I had spoken with probably six times in the last five years is now the closest thing I have to a wife. Poor Phil to be included in such a comparison. But he’s my partner and we have to co-ordinate time off and share daily duties. We’re together twelve hours a day, four out of every eight days. For yes, my week is now eight days long. CPSIC means you work four straight twelve hour days followed by four days off.
Enough work. I’ve traveled this year as well. Three times I’ve flown from Ottawa. Three times I’ve flown to Newfoundland. It may not be James Bond like excitement. Perhaps Cairo, Baghdad and Hong Kong would sound more impressive than St. John’s, Rocky Harbour and Red Bay... but it has still been good.
In May I was due for a ten day trip to St. John’s. Time to lay low in the home town with the parents. Air Canada decided ten days was too much and, after a cab ride to the airport with bags in hand, I’m told to go home for two days... then I can go. Bless Air Canada for taking care of me so.
In July I return to Newfoundland. This time to a house full of family. Edena, Duff and the girls are there awaiting me. And with mom and dad in tow, we take two cars and drive across the island, and up to Labrador. No summer road trip is complete without a cold. So while others wear shorts and t-shirts in mid twenties weather, I’m fleeced and jeaned with a fever. Drugs get me through and all I really miss is supper in St. Anthony. No disrespect meant for St. Anthony, but little, if any, sleep was lost over that sacrifice. I ended up losing a fleece on this trip though. Probably left it somewhere in a feverish daze. Poor fleece, I miss it so.
I return to the world of softball this year. Everyone around me calls it baseball... but it isn’t. It’s far from baseball. It’s very softball. Very slowpitch softball. Very recreational slowpitch softball. And five games into my softball comeback, even recreational slowpitch is too much for me. I sprain my hamstring legging out a triple.
The doctor told me that such an injury on an 18 year old would keep them off for two days. A 28 year old would miss two weeks. And a 38 year old would be out of action for two months.
Two months later, after a round of physio, I return to full time action. So I’m a 36 year old in a 38 year old body. Excellent. My wonky shoulder reminded me of age when my hamstring got better. But still softball in the summer was fun. Running around (or limping around in some games) the field was good. And the glove didn’t have too much rust after seven years away.
The fall has continued with softball. We played under a dome, on field turf... so it was a brand new game. My hamstring problems were well behind me and I was able to help guide the team to a 2 and 11 won/loss season. At least we get a good draft pick.
In other sports news, the Beijing Olympics gained a spot of worldwide dominance. I vowed to watch none of it. It seemed the torch relay was a sign of the horror to come. When torch relays include orders such as shoot to kill, you know the vision of peace among men that the Olympics is supposed to embody is long gone.
But watch much of the games I did. Swimming events and wild Chinese architecture drew me in. I’d sit there waiting for the next footage of an Olympic venue. The Swimming Cube, for one, was mesmerizing. So while others tuned in for national glory, I tuned in for Chinese architecture. Typical guy I am. I at least refused to watch the pretty Chinese girl lip syncing while the ugly Chinese girl was taped singing. Olympic Milli Vanilli... it’s what the dream’s all about.
In politics, Hillary Clinton made me cheer for Barrack Obama, and Sarah Palin made me cheer for Tina Fey. While, in Canada, Stephen Harper made me... well... he made me hate Stephen Harper. Most politicians lie. They’re mostly two faced. Stephen Harper has shown such a gift for lies and two facedness that it actually made Canadian politics interesting. What would Harper do next? Who would he slander and bully? Tune in to find out.
So that brings me to now. In Newfoundland on my third trip home in the year. Bringing the Ontario snow with me and taking it easy in my home town. Hoping this letter finds you and yours well.
Merry Christmas
Chris, and the Home Theatre System.
FRIDAY...
— Downtown for lunch and some shopping with mom and dad. Gifts bought for all... not much surprise involved for Christmas day as we all tried on things that ended up bought... but it’s still good and a nice day.
— Take it easy around the house in the evening. It’s cold for St. John’s... wind chill in the -20s.
— Only three spam e-mail today. New record as of late. Nice to hear the e-mail notification and have it actually mean a real person has gotten in touch with me.
SATURDAY...
— Pretty quiet day. Do some laundry and go with dad to pick up some A&W for supper. We play cards with Wince and Brenda in the afternoon and the just among the three of us in the evening. A fire in the fireplace as well... and a bit of hockey on TV to end the day.
SUNDAY...
— Lazy day... sleep until around 11:30... watch some TV... have a bath.
— Out to supper with mom and dad at their friend’s place. Good food and some cards to end it.
— 2nd straight 2 spam day... yee ha.
MONDAY...
— Pretty quiet day. Wake to snow and wind and rain... so it’s not a day that makes you want to go out doing stuff. Lunch with Morrissey is delayed to supper and the weather isn’t too bad by the time that happens. We go to Boston Pizza and catch up. He’s actually the first of my friends I’ve seen since coming home. I’ve been a hermit.
TUESDAY...
— Feeling a bit under the weather. Throat nearly scratchy... nose almost congested... energy slipping. The battle’s not yet lost but it feels like a fight is brewing when it comes to my health.
— Shopping... a little downtown... a little at the mall... a bit at Chapters... then home for KFC supper and some TV.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Making It Up As I Go Along #350
THURSDAY...
— Feeling off today. Wake at 2:30 and don’t sleep anymore until 10:30. Stomach isn’t great either.
— Stay home from work, sleep much between 10:30 and 1:00. Feeling better soon after that.
FRIDAY...
— Sleep alright tonight. In to work in the morning and I’m on my own today... partnerless. Of course, having Debbie there supervising is good, she helps out when things get busy in the late morning and early afternoon.
— Nap for close to an hour at 9:00 tonight. But that’s fine as I need to stay up late to change over to night shift tomorrow.
SATURDAY...
— Lazy day around the house with a movie on DVD and some relaxing.
— Work in the evening. Get there before 5:30 today and am on my own until 10:30. Pretty quiet night. I do the gym around 1:00 and Phil and I hold down the fort for the rest of the night, with little incident.
SUNDAY...
— Sleep until 12:45. Not used to waking up in the afternoon... even if I don’t go to bed before 6:00 AM.
— Softball... we win??? We do, it’s weird. A bad team we play against though. Still, a nice way to end it for me as I miss the last game due to Christmas.
— Work alone. My first full shift by myself. Pretty slow night with one weird thing that I mostly take care of but leave some to go over with Keith at shift change.
— A 10 km line of traffic heading into the city when I’m heading out to Orleans at 6:00 AM. Bus strike is playing havoc with those on regular work schedules. It would be hell to be in that line of traffic.
MONDAY...
— Around the house day. I’m up around 11:00 and do some laundry, watch some TV, put on a movie, and get a pizza come in. Packing for the trip in the evening.
— Lowest spam day in years on the e-mail. 10! It must be the coming of the end!
TUESDAY...
— Travel day... leave Ottawa 4:30 PM Tuesday... arrive in St. John’s 2:15 AM Wednesday. You can get in to outer space quicker than that. Air Canada... oh my... oh dear... in Montreal, flight’s delayed due to mechanical problems and the fact that the pilots are stuck in Ottawa an extra hour... we board the plane an hour and a half late... annoyed. Then we find out that Air Canada didn’t realize that the trolley full of luggage was also meant to go aboard our flight. So after we get on board, the grounds crew slowly and deliberately put the bags on. One at a time on the conveyor belt... watching the bag go up and into the plane... and then on to the next one. We are sitting on the plane for another full hour while the sloth crew keep this up.
— Lots of turbulence out of Montreal and some more in Newfoundland.
— Dickheads (pardon the language... but sometimes it’s just right) sitting behind me. Two... yes, it’s right again... dickheads who have been working in Alberta (one on the oil rigs and the other in construction). They are yelling and laughing and swearing to each other all flight long. So much swearing that it doesn’t even make sense. “I f’n told her to f’n go the f home and then what f’n sh*t she said back made me f’n sh*t my f’n pants.” I’m not kidding... this is how they talked... and loud. It wasn’t even in angry tones though. Just all matter of fact like. And they’d laugh loudly when they’d finish each story. I hated them by... about... New Brunswick. Lots of flying left between New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
— See mom at the baggage carousel at 2:30 or so. We even got delayed getting off the bloody plane... the ramp didn’t work right away. So the dickheads behind me were then getting on their cell phones (lovely invention that cell phone... allows you to share every conversation you ever have... no matter how minuscule and insignificant, with a plane full of strangers. “WALLY”, yelled one dickhead, “WHERE the F are YA?” “I’M STUCK on the F’n PLANE!”
— Thanks to Air Canada, I now know what my own personal hell is.
— Bowl of cereal with a little chat to ma and pa after that. Odd to be up chatting with the parents at 3:00 AM... but there you go, another Air Canada Miracle.
WEDNESDAY...
— Up at 11:15 today. Woke up not knowing where I was. Go with dad to visit uncle Wince and Brenda... go for some groceries too... then hang around home where Wayne and Sylvia come for a visit. I’m tired today though... perk up as the night goes but hoping I have real energy tomorrow.
THURSDAY...
— Fairly lazy day. I sleep until 9:30 but snooze on the sofa until close to 1:30. Dad and I head downtown for lunch and take a look at the city from Signal Hill.
— Supper and the Christmas tree to put up... then mom, dad and I watch A Christmas Carol... or Scrooge... or whatever they call the 1951 movie.
Dorval
Montreal’s airport has a weird way with me. I’ve had some of my most frustrating times there. I’ve sat waiting for a plane staying outside of security for a good eight hours, tucked in a corner reading until being overrun by a great swath of middle easterners who seemed unimpressed with the idea of buffer space... they literally came on top of me.
Dorval Airport has also been the scene where I’ve been stranded by Air Canada... I was sent out from there to a hotel for two days before I could leave.
I’ve also had interesting, almost mystical times in Dorval. A delay one summer night, due to a great lightning storm outside. The terminal I was in at the time was mostly empty and I sat alone at a bank of seats, looking out at the night sky, watching the world light up and rumble for hours.
And I’ve had a lunch, alone on a soft winter’s night. Looking out the great windows as I ate, seeing the sky go from the light blue of day to the fuzzy purple of evening. Distant city lights flickered and the lights of incoming planes, brightening from star like specks to great headlights of incoming air ships, brought a peace with them. People were making their way to loved ones at a festive time of year.
This year, Dorval gave a bit of the good with a bit of the bad. There were the fools of the grounds crew. People acting as sloths as they deliberately loaded luggage on the plane, piece by piece... one at a time... not adding one til the other was gone. All this after they thought the plane was already loaded. Someone looked over and saw an airport train of baggage sitting there on the tarmac and they said “hey, what about that stuff?” So there we sat aboard our flight home, for an extra hour, as they wheeled up the bags and began the slow motion dance.
But there were also moments of insight and meditation that night as I waited for my plane home.
How often do we see people? The same people that is. Today my mind got going on this due to activities in Ottawa that took Montreal to percolate them.
When I check my bags at Ottawa, a woman checks my info, makes sure of the bags I’m checking, asks if I packed them myself... the basic run through.
Forty minutes later, passing from security to the gate for my flight, the same woman checks my boarding pass. She smiles and tells me “Don’t worry, I won’t be in Montreal.”
I chuckle at the comment yet find it odd. That’s because it takes me another twenty minutes to realize it was the same woman I had dealt with upon my arrival at the airport. Had she said nothing when checking my boarding pass, I’d have never placed her and would have sworn I dealt with two different people at Ottawa airport.
In Montreal, I sit and wait for my flight home. I get to thinking of all the people around me. Without the mind jogs like the one by the woman in Ottawa, how many strangers have I come across again and again?... each time thinking it was the first.
I’m sitting and waiting, looking out the large windows where I had previously been alone, watching lightling storms in the summer. Now the place is teaming with people. As I look out at the night’s activities on the runways, I’m getting the ghostly images of passers by behind me. I see all shapes and sizes reflected against the night... walking slightly blurred and translucent. Have I ever seen any of them before? I find myself occasionally turning and looking over my shoulder, making sure that the ghosts in the glass are actual people passing only a few feet behind me.
Three years ago, I sat in that café looking out at the purpling sky as planes drifted in for a landing. Today I sat there again. At the same window, in the same spot. Were some of the people who passed by me today passing by me then? I recognize noone, but I was also completely clueless of a woman I saw twice within forty minutes... twice in three years would be too much for me to comprehend.
Rarely I’ve seen individuality that stood out to me among the crowds. I remember a few weeks of driving to work along the busy highway from Orleans to Ottawa. And in those few weeks, there was a unique pick up truck. The pan was covered with a home made wooden molding. And in those few weeks, I drove past that truck four or five times. Meeting up with the same vehicle in a sea of cars. How many other cars do I pass by each day without knowing it... due to their lack of originality?
So I’m there in Dorval Airport, contemplating how alone we are. I’ve passed hundreds of individuals on this day, how many of them have I truly seen for the very first time? And how many have I passed, either here or in some other place before? A person I pass in Montreal’s airport, I may have stood behind in a line at Tim Horton’s in Ottawa.
In the grand scheme of things, we’re probably not surrounded by perfect strangers half as often as we believe. Sometimes, like with my oblivion regarding that Ottawa airport employee, our aloneness is just our own doing.
— Feeling off today. Wake at 2:30 and don’t sleep anymore until 10:30. Stomach isn’t great either.
— Stay home from work, sleep much between 10:30 and 1:00. Feeling better soon after that.
FRIDAY...
— Sleep alright tonight. In to work in the morning and I’m on my own today... partnerless. Of course, having Debbie there supervising is good, she helps out when things get busy in the late morning and early afternoon.
— Nap for close to an hour at 9:00 tonight. But that’s fine as I need to stay up late to change over to night shift tomorrow.
SATURDAY...
— Lazy day around the house with a movie on DVD and some relaxing.
— Work in the evening. Get there before 5:30 today and am on my own until 10:30. Pretty quiet night. I do the gym around 1:00 and Phil and I hold down the fort for the rest of the night, with little incident.
SUNDAY...
— Sleep until 12:45. Not used to waking up in the afternoon... even if I don’t go to bed before 6:00 AM.
— Softball... we win??? We do, it’s weird. A bad team we play against though. Still, a nice way to end it for me as I miss the last game due to Christmas.
— Work alone. My first full shift by myself. Pretty slow night with one weird thing that I mostly take care of but leave some to go over with Keith at shift change.
— A 10 km line of traffic heading into the city when I’m heading out to Orleans at 6:00 AM. Bus strike is playing havoc with those on regular work schedules. It would be hell to be in that line of traffic.
MONDAY...
— Around the house day. I’m up around 11:00 and do some laundry, watch some TV, put on a movie, and get a pizza come in. Packing for the trip in the evening.
— Lowest spam day in years on the e-mail. 10! It must be the coming of the end!
TUESDAY...
— Travel day... leave Ottawa 4:30 PM Tuesday... arrive in St. John’s 2:15 AM Wednesday. You can get in to outer space quicker than that. Air Canada... oh my... oh dear... in Montreal, flight’s delayed due to mechanical problems and the fact that the pilots are stuck in Ottawa an extra hour... we board the plane an hour and a half late... annoyed. Then we find out that Air Canada didn’t realize that the trolley full of luggage was also meant to go aboard our flight. So after we get on board, the grounds crew slowly and deliberately put the bags on. One at a time on the conveyor belt... watching the bag go up and into the plane... and then on to the next one. We are sitting on the plane for another full hour while the sloth crew keep this up.
— Lots of turbulence out of Montreal and some more in Newfoundland.
— Dickheads (pardon the language... but sometimes it’s just right) sitting behind me. Two... yes, it’s right again... dickheads who have been working in Alberta (one on the oil rigs and the other in construction). They are yelling and laughing and swearing to each other all flight long. So much swearing that it doesn’t even make sense. “I f’n told her to f’n go the f home and then what f’n sh*t she said back made me f’n sh*t my f’n pants.” I’m not kidding... this is how they talked... and loud. It wasn’t even in angry tones though. Just all matter of fact like. And they’d laugh loudly when they’d finish each story. I hated them by... about... New Brunswick. Lots of flying left between New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
— See mom at the baggage carousel at 2:30 or so. We even got delayed getting off the bloody plane... the ramp didn’t work right away. So the dickheads behind me were then getting on their cell phones (lovely invention that cell phone... allows you to share every conversation you ever have... no matter how minuscule and insignificant, with a plane full of strangers. “WALLY”, yelled one dickhead, “WHERE the F are YA?” “I’M STUCK on the F’n PLANE!”
— Thanks to Air Canada, I now know what my own personal hell is.
— Bowl of cereal with a little chat to ma and pa after that. Odd to be up chatting with the parents at 3:00 AM... but there you go, another Air Canada Miracle.
WEDNESDAY...
— Up at 11:15 today. Woke up not knowing where I was. Go with dad to visit uncle Wince and Brenda... go for some groceries too... then hang around home where Wayne and Sylvia come for a visit. I’m tired today though... perk up as the night goes but hoping I have real energy tomorrow.
THURSDAY...
— Fairly lazy day. I sleep until 9:30 but snooze on the sofa until close to 1:30. Dad and I head downtown for lunch and take a look at the city from Signal Hill.
— Supper and the Christmas tree to put up... then mom, dad and I watch A Christmas Carol... or Scrooge... or whatever they call the 1951 movie.
Dorval
Montreal’s airport has a weird way with me. I’ve had some of my most frustrating times there. I’ve sat waiting for a plane staying outside of security for a good eight hours, tucked in a corner reading until being overrun by a great swath of middle easterners who seemed unimpressed with the idea of buffer space... they literally came on top of me.
Dorval Airport has also been the scene where I’ve been stranded by Air Canada... I was sent out from there to a hotel for two days before I could leave.
I’ve also had interesting, almost mystical times in Dorval. A delay one summer night, due to a great lightning storm outside. The terminal I was in at the time was mostly empty and I sat alone at a bank of seats, looking out at the night sky, watching the world light up and rumble for hours.
And I’ve had a lunch, alone on a soft winter’s night. Looking out the great windows as I ate, seeing the sky go from the light blue of day to the fuzzy purple of evening. Distant city lights flickered and the lights of incoming planes, brightening from star like specks to great headlights of incoming air ships, brought a peace with them. People were making their way to loved ones at a festive time of year.
This year, Dorval gave a bit of the good with a bit of the bad. There were the fools of the grounds crew. People acting as sloths as they deliberately loaded luggage on the plane, piece by piece... one at a time... not adding one til the other was gone. All this after they thought the plane was already loaded. Someone looked over and saw an airport train of baggage sitting there on the tarmac and they said “hey, what about that stuff?” So there we sat aboard our flight home, for an extra hour, as they wheeled up the bags and began the slow motion dance.
But there were also moments of insight and meditation that night as I waited for my plane home.
How often do we see people? The same people that is. Today my mind got going on this due to activities in Ottawa that took Montreal to percolate them.
When I check my bags at Ottawa, a woman checks my info, makes sure of the bags I’m checking, asks if I packed them myself... the basic run through.
Forty minutes later, passing from security to the gate for my flight, the same woman checks my boarding pass. She smiles and tells me “Don’t worry, I won’t be in Montreal.”
I chuckle at the comment yet find it odd. That’s because it takes me another twenty minutes to realize it was the same woman I had dealt with upon my arrival at the airport. Had she said nothing when checking my boarding pass, I’d have never placed her and would have sworn I dealt with two different people at Ottawa airport.
In Montreal, I sit and wait for my flight home. I get to thinking of all the people around me. Without the mind jogs like the one by the woman in Ottawa, how many strangers have I come across again and again?... each time thinking it was the first.
I’m sitting and waiting, looking out the large windows where I had previously been alone, watching lightling storms in the summer. Now the place is teaming with people. As I look out at the night’s activities on the runways, I’m getting the ghostly images of passers by behind me. I see all shapes and sizes reflected against the night... walking slightly blurred and translucent. Have I ever seen any of them before? I find myself occasionally turning and looking over my shoulder, making sure that the ghosts in the glass are actual people passing only a few feet behind me.
Three years ago, I sat in that café looking out at the purpling sky as planes drifted in for a landing. Today I sat there again. At the same window, in the same spot. Were some of the people who passed by me today passing by me then? I recognize noone, but I was also completely clueless of a woman I saw twice within forty minutes... twice in three years would be too much for me to comprehend.
Rarely I’ve seen individuality that stood out to me among the crowds. I remember a few weeks of driving to work along the busy highway from Orleans to Ottawa. And in those few weeks, there was a unique pick up truck. The pan was covered with a home made wooden molding. And in those few weeks, I drove past that truck four or five times. Meeting up with the same vehicle in a sea of cars. How many other cars do I pass by each day without knowing it... due to their lack of originality?
So I’m there in Dorval Airport, contemplating how alone we are. I’ve passed hundreds of individuals on this day, how many of them have I truly seen for the very first time? And how many have I passed, either here or in some other place before? A person I pass in Montreal’s airport, I may have stood behind in a line at Tim Horton’s in Ottawa.
In the grand scheme of things, we’re probably not surrounded by perfect strangers half as often as we believe. Sometimes, like with my oblivion regarding that Ottawa airport employee, our aloneness is just our own doing.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Making It Up As I Go Along #349
Next write up should be coming from Newfoundland. I’ll try to stick to the time frame... so expect it up around December 18th. But with travel and times back home, it may be off a day or two one way or the other.
WEDNESDAY...
— Work day. I’m alone for part of the day and it goes fine... busy but fine. And I sleep okay before work too, which is good.
THURSDAY...
— Work is sort of busy but not too bad... Phil did more than me though, so likely a busier day from my partners point of view.
— Spaghetti with Ruby after work and some TV for the night. I’m trying to stay up late now to get going for night shift. I’ll be alone part of tomorrow night... so it may get boring.
— I’m hating politicians. They should never be called “the right honourable” ever again... these clowns don’t deserve that kind of respect.
FRIDAY...
— Lazy day, sleep much of it to adjust to shifts... meet Laura at Grace O’Malley’s for some drinks and a snack before work. Cara Lee is there with us... it’s good to see Laura again.
— Work much of the night alone. Phil goes after 9:00 and then it’s just me until 5:45. Not a bad night either. Nothing blew up on my watch.
— Could have had an accident on the highway on the way to meet Laura. Slick roads and the cars in front of me broke hard to look at the flipped over car in the ditch. I had to break hard not to hit them and the anti-lock breaks and snow tires saved the day.
SATURDAY...
— See Ruby when I get home, say goodbyes and go to bed. Wake up around noon, with her and Lee gone. Watch a movie in the afternoon (Cloverfield... I kind of like it... some holes in the realism they try to create but a pretty cool horror movie). Off to bed again after that and sleep about an hour. Get some stuff ready and head to work.
— Work is half and half. Not a very good start to it... makes it annoying for a while... but it seems to settle as the night goes. I do the gym at 11:30 and Phil leaves for the night after I get back... so from 12:30 to 5:40 I’m on my own.
— Drive home is slow with snow on the ground... it’s neat to see the fresh rabbit tracks around the building going to the car... but the drive isn’t so nice.
SUNDAY...
— Up around 1:00 with the power out. It’s back at 2:00 and I’m lucky... several in the area were out until 7:00 tonight.
— Cold... -15 without wind... likely -25 with it... to -32 with the wind tonight.
— Softball stinks. Our team is probably the worst team I’ve ever been on. I’ve enjoyed making plays on the field and I like the guys but I’m tired of being on a bad team that’s willing to talk positively about a 23-5 loss against an average team. Looking forward to adding some new people for the winter league... and really looking forward to getting outside again this summer. Maybe I’ll look at getting on with a more competitive league as a single player... I’ll see but I don’t want to be accepting of lopsided losses as if we did alright. It’s a lousy attitude and helps create the losses in my mind.
MONDAY...
— Very lazy day. I watch a movie and snooze several times. Watch some of that True Blood show in the evening. It’s too cold out to go outside the door... around -17.
TUESDAY...
— Bad weather day. I stay in all day and watch much of the True Blood series on On Demand. Pretty good.
Christmas Travel
A week away from family time
With food and hugs and chats,
Or will Air Canada mess it up
And send me to Iraq.
A week away from the sea
With salty moisture on the air,
Or will Air Canada screw it up
And fly my west of here.
A week away from familiar hills
Places I’ve often been,
Or will Air Canada muck it up
And send me to the city of sin.
A week away from home cooked food
Where weight will pack right on,
Or will Air Canada botch it up
And send me to Hong Kong.
You never know with Air Canada
Every trip is so uncertain,
You may not even go anywhere
And wind up back where you’re startin’
I’ve been on trips that take two days
It’s really not that far,
But Air Canada can find a way
To make flights like drive by car.
So a week from now I’ll try it out
I’m hoping to get lucky,
If not I’ll spend the Christmas cheer
In an airport in Kentucky.
WEDNESDAY...
— Work day. I’m alone for part of the day and it goes fine... busy but fine. And I sleep okay before work too, which is good.
THURSDAY...
— Work is sort of busy but not too bad... Phil did more than me though, so likely a busier day from my partners point of view.
— Spaghetti with Ruby after work and some TV for the night. I’m trying to stay up late now to get going for night shift. I’ll be alone part of tomorrow night... so it may get boring.
— I’m hating politicians. They should never be called “the right honourable” ever again... these clowns don’t deserve that kind of respect.
FRIDAY...
— Lazy day, sleep much of it to adjust to shifts... meet Laura at Grace O’Malley’s for some drinks and a snack before work. Cara Lee is there with us... it’s good to see Laura again.
— Work much of the night alone. Phil goes after 9:00 and then it’s just me until 5:45. Not a bad night either. Nothing blew up on my watch.
— Could have had an accident on the highway on the way to meet Laura. Slick roads and the cars in front of me broke hard to look at the flipped over car in the ditch. I had to break hard not to hit them and the anti-lock breaks and snow tires saved the day.
SATURDAY...
— See Ruby when I get home, say goodbyes and go to bed. Wake up around noon, with her and Lee gone. Watch a movie in the afternoon (Cloverfield... I kind of like it... some holes in the realism they try to create but a pretty cool horror movie). Off to bed again after that and sleep about an hour. Get some stuff ready and head to work.
— Work is half and half. Not a very good start to it... makes it annoying for a while... but it seems to settle as the night goes. I do the gym at 11:30 and Phil leaves for the night after I get back... so from 12:30 to 5:40 I’m on my own.
— Drive home is slow with snow on the ground... it’s neat to see the fresh rabbit tracks around the building going to the car... but the drive isn’t so nice.
SUNDAY...
— Up around 1:00 with the power out. It’s back at 2:00 and I’m lucky... several in the area were out until 7:00 tonight.
— Cold... -15 without wind... likely -25 with it... to -32 with the wind tonight.
— Softball stinks. Our team is probably the worst team I’ve ever been on. I’ve enjoyed making plays on the field and I like the guys but I’m tired of being on a bad team that’s willing to talk positively about a 23-5 loss against an average team. Looking forward to adding some new people for the winter league... and really looking forward to getting outside again this summer. Maybe I’ll look at getting on with a more competitive league as a single player... I’ll see but I don’t want to be accepting of lopsided losses as if we did alright. It’s a lousy attitude and helps create the losses in my mind.
MONDAY...
— Very lazy day. I watch a movie and snooze several times. Watch some of that True Blood show in the evening. It’s too cold out to go outside the door... around -17.
TUESDAY...
— Bad weather day. I stay in all day and watch much of the True Blood series on On Demand. Pretty good.
Christmas Travel
A week away from family time
With food and hugs and chats,
Or will Air Canada mess it up
And send me to Iraq.
A week away from the sea
With salty moisture on the air,
Or will Air Canada screw it up
And fly my west of here.
A week away from familiar hills
Places I’ve often been,
Or will Air Canada muck it up
And send me to the city of sin.
A week away from home cooked food
Where weight will pack right on,
Or will Air Canada botch it up
And send me to Hong Kong.
You never know with Air Canada
Every trip is so uncertain,
You may not even go anywhere
And wind up back where you’re startin’
I’ve been on trips that take two days
It’s really not that far,
But Air Canada can find a way
To make flights like drive by car.
So a week from now I’ll try it out
I’m hoping to get lucky,
If not I’ll spend the Christmas cheer
In an airport in Kentucky.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Making It Up As I Go Along #348
TUESDAY...
— Crazy day. Work and car to the garage for winter tires... walking to the car after work and walking back again after finding the car still isn’t ready... then a ride back again from Annick and finally get the car and home a mere 15 hours after I left.
WEDNESDAY...
— Wake at 2:45 and don’t get back to any real sleep. I’m exhausted at work... the last few hours being a struggle.
— Groceries and crashing after work.
THURSDAY...
— Sleep until around 10:00. Some TV and then to Mazda for 1:00. There until close to 3:00 for a service... which gets annoying.
— Straight home for nap time... up by 4:45... then time to get ready for work.
FRIDAY...
— Work was alright last night. Had pizza with Melissa and kept steady but not super busy through the night. Even had company as a homicide happened in Ottawa and a police officer came by with prints of one of the victims for us to ID.
— Up around 11:15 this morning. Ruby and Lee arrive about an hour later. We chat a bit before they go to visit other friends until Sunday... then it’s nap time for me and work to follow.
— Work goes fine. Hit the gym around 2:30. And forget my pizza in the fridge when I leave... so it’s probably a trip by the office to pick it up tomorrow. I’m supposed to go to the movies near there anyway.
SATURDAY...
— Quiet day around the house (sleeping until about noon). Then off to supper and a movie with Sheila and Janice. Religulous is pretty good.
SUNDAY...
— Up around 8:30 this morning. Kind of tired but still up.
— Ball at 5:00. We lose again... mostly some fun still but I’m tired of the idea that we’re accepting of a loss like we’ve gotten.
— Ruby and Lee are here when I get home. We have supper and watch a little TV.
MONDAY...
— Around the house... get some groceries with Ruby... and watch lots of politics on TV. Looks like Harper may get tossed and a coalition government will take over. But who knows. It’s the biggest political mess I’ve ever seen but it’s all Stephan Harper’s fault. He got stupid and greedy and backed the other parties into a corner. The result was either he’d be the equivalent of a dictator, or they’d push back.
Oh Canada!?!?
Never have I seen politics in such a sorry state. I don’t even mean in my own country... any politics. George Bush and the boys look professional compared to this lot. And the problem is, there’s no right answer to any of it.
Stephen Harper has been and now has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, to be a lying, arrogant and stupid man. He may have book smarts but politics is as much about being wise in your dealings with people. It’s probably more about being wise with people than being intellectually intelligent. And Little Stevey Harper is a six year old who thinks he knows better than the adults in the room. He’s mean spirited and vindictive... the man’s a bully.
And because of the traits that make Stephen Harper who he is, we’re left with a laughing stock country.
The other three political parties are now looking at cooperation in order to wrestling the government away from the elected party without another election. It sounds undemocratic. Maybe it isn’t. In the last election, 65% of Canadians who voted didn’t want Harper. But it’s at least a very different spin on democracy. Forever is it changed, the idea that because you got more votes than anyone else, you win. Now it’s possible that the losers can come together and overtake the winner.
It’s a dangerous ball to start rolling. Governments in Canada have been dysfunctional for a long time now, this just brings on a new tool to be used in maintaining the dysfunctionality.
So we have a party that’s heading by a man who has tried running a dictatorship accusing the other parties of a coupe. I feel like I live in some Central American nation where the president dresses in military garb and only his top generals can be trusted.
El Presidente Harper, lock yourself in your room... they’re coming to get you.
Only in this case, rather than a strong and rebellious Rambo type soldier, the leader of the revolt is a mild mannered university professor type. How far can you push... how much sand can you kick in the face of Stephane Dion before he fights back? Harper has found out.
So we have the mild mannered professor who has already announced his departure joining with the Socialist with the support of the Separatist. And they all are trying to take down the Dictator. It’s the most bizarre political game in the world today. Over the top movies making fun of political dramas would be tagged as too unrealistic and too over the top if this was fiction. But it’s real. It’s really happening.
Personally, I’m for giving the coalition a try. Why not? Harper as proven, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he can not be trusted. He can promise the world now and there’s no reason to believe him. And I fear the possibility of that man ever having a majority government. He really will become dictator.
If we don’t go with the coalition, what option remains?
God I wish Canada had an Obama.
— Crazy day. Work and car to the garage for winter tires... walking to the car after work and walking back again after finding the car still isn’t ready... then a ride back again from Annick and finally get the car and home a mere 15 hours after I left.
WEDNESDAY...
— Wake at 2:45 and don’t get back to any real sleep. I’m exhausted at work... the last few hours being a struggle.
— Groceries and crashing after work.
THURSDAY...
— Sleep until around 10:00. Some TV and then to Mazda for 1:00. There until close to 3:00 for a service... which gets annoying.
— Straight home for nap time... up by 4:45... then time to get ready for work.
FRIDAY...
— Work was alright last night. Had pizza with Melissa and kept steady but not super busy through the night. Even had company as a homicide happened in Ottawa and a police officer came by with prints of one of the victims for us to ID.
— Up around 11:15 this morning. Ruby and Lee arrive about an hour later. We chat a bit before they go to visit other friends until Sunday... then it’s nap time for me and work to follow.
— Work goes fine. Hit the gym around 2:30. And forget my pizza in the fridge when I leave... so it’s probably a trip by the office to pick it up tomorrow. I’m supposed to go to the movies near there anyway.
SATURDAY...
— Quiet day around the house (sleeping until about noon). Then off to supper and a movie with Sheila and Janice. Religulous is pretty good.
SUNDAY...
— Up around 8:30 this morning. Kind of tired but still up.
— Ball at 5:00. We lose again... mostly some fun still but I’m tired of the idea that we’re accepting of a loss like we’ve gotten.
— Ruby and Lee are here when I get home. We have supper and watch a little TV.
MONDAY...
— Around the house... get some groceries with Ruby... and watch lots of politics on TV. Looks like Harper may get tossed and a coalition government will take over. But who knows. It’s the biggest political mess I’ve ever seen but it’s all Stephan Harper’s fault. He got stupid and greedy and backed the other parties into a corner. The result was either he’d be the equivalent of a dictator, or they’d push back.
Oh Canada!?!?
Never have I seen politics in such a sorry state. I don’t even mean in my own country... any politics. George Bush and the boys look professional compared to this lot. And the problem is, there’s no right answer to any of it.
Stephen Harper has been and now has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, to be a lying, arrogant and stupid man. He may have book smarts but politics is as much about being wise in your dealings with people. It’s probably more about being wise with people than being intellectually intelligent. And Little Stevey Harper is a six year old who thinks he knows better than the adults in the room. He’s mean spirited and vindictive... the man’s a bully.
And because of the traits that make Stephen Harper who he is, we’re left with a laughing stock country.
The other three political parties are now looking at cooperation in order to wrestling the government away from the elected party without another election. It sounds undemocratic. Maybe it isn’t. In the last election, 65% of Canadians who voted didn’t want Harper. But it’s at least a very different spin on democracy. Forever is it changed, the idea that because you got more votes than anyone else, you win. Now it’s possible that the losers can come together and overtake the winner.
It’s a dangerous ball to start rolling. Governments in Canada have been dysfunctional for a long time now, this just brings on a new tool to be used in maintaining the dysfunctionality.
So we have a party that’s heading by a man who has tried running a dictatorship accusing the other parties of a coupe. I feel like I live in some Central American nation where the president dresses in military garb and only his top generals can be trusted.
El Presidente Harper, lock yourself in your room... they’re coming to get you.
Only in this case, rather than a strong and rebellious Rambo type soldier, the leader of the revolt is a mild mannered university professor type. How far can you push... how much sand can you kick in the face of Stephane Dion before he fights back? Harper has found out.
So we have the mild mannered professor who has already announced his departure joining with the Socialist with the support of the Separatist. And they all are trying to take down the Dictator. It’s the most bizarre political game in the world today. Over the top movies making fun of political dramas would be tagged as too unrealistic and too over the top if this was fiction. But it’s real. It’s really happening.
Personally, I’m for giving the coalition a try. Why not? Harper as proven, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he can not be trusted. He can promise the world now and there’s no reason to believe him. And I fear the possibility of that man ever having a majority government. He really will become dictator.
If we don’t go with the coalition, what option remains?
God I wish Canada had an Obama.
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