Making It Up As I Go Along #373

A little switch around. I’m moving story ahead of weekly stuff. And will see how things go. More changes may come, we’ll see. Anyway, back from BC and getting back to normal.

Three Women

Trips always have a way of leaving me unsettled. And this one is no different. After six years in Ottawa, I still don’t feel as comfortable here as I do in Newfoundland or BC. Newfoundland is understandable. I grew up there. There are places there I’ve been hundreds or thousands of times. BC is different. And it’s what makes the Ottawa discomfort all the more uncomfortable.

I feel more at ease and at home in Vancouver airport than I do in any place of Ottawa. The mountains of the interior are comfortable like a blanket over you while you lay on the sofa on a blustery winter day.

Even the lack of French is a relaxing thing. I don’t have any beef with the French. I am friends with several French people and I don’t begrudge them speaking their language. But it is just one more thing to be considered here. People have to pay attention to those around them when they begin a conversation… to see if the language the conversation will be in will leave someone on the outside looking in. In BC, such a consideration is not necessary. In Ottawa, simply picking up the phone when it rings can cause a complication.

That being said, my flight to Vancouver from Castlegar was half full of South Koreans… and Vancouver Airport has signs written in a language that I couldn’t begin to fake my way through. Sesame Street and school gave me enough French to get the gist of a conversation or sign. Maybe if Sesame Street came with Muppets living in New York’s China Town, I’d have a fighting chance.

If places to live were girls, Newfoundland would be exotic and stormy. Sometimes hard to live with but never boring. BC would be beautiful with lots of curves and a laid back personality. Ottawa would be nice looking, but hardly beautiful or exotic. And her personality would be very reserved and slightly coolish. Not Happy Days, the Fonz cool, I’m talking about distant and stand offish cool.

This is all, obviously, in the eyes of the beholder. Lots of people like Ottawa. I like Ottawa myself. I just can’t get as close to it as I can the two places on either coast. We all have different types of friends. Close friends that you share everything with. Comfortable friends you can be yourself around. And work friends who you can get along with fine, but will never share any real closeness with. Ottawa is a work friend for me. I mean this is the only place I’ve been where people make a point of keeping friendships in check. It’s only here where I’ve heard people say “I’ve got enough friends, I’m not interested in making more.” This is where, if your friend quota is met, it doesn’t matter how interesting you find the next person, or how well you get along with them, they can not become a friend. Maybe next year, if one of the current friends is cut loose, but not now, sorry. Now if that’s not stand offish, I don’t know what is.

Now, I’m reserved and a touch aloof. But if we’re keeping our regions and cities in the context of women, that doesn’t mean I want a place just like me. That’s just boring. I’d rather be in a place that tries to bring me out of my shell… not confine me in it.

The question is what to do. If oil or waiting on tables isn’t your life, Newfoundland doesn’t offer much. Sure there’s the arts community but doing enough there to make a living is not at all easy. And I wouldn’t know the firs thing to do in BC.

So I’m left in a rat race. Where the work I do now is interesting but where politics and perception play key roles. I work in a place where job advertisements that ask for two years of experience won’t actually tell you it wants two years of experience. They’ll give presentations on this stuff. Two years are several. More than five years is extensive… or some such term. Everybody knows that they mean they want two years experience. But nobody is willing to just straight out say… “two years experience”.

I know it’s a game. And two years experience cloaked as “several years experience” isn’t the most complicated code to crack. But it’s a game I tire of. And I can’t say that two and a half weeks of BC… or, put in my work terms, several weeks of BC… has fuelled my desire to play the game.

THURSDAY (June 18)…

--- Nelson for some shopping with mom and dad. Did some lunch there too and hung out at a park.

FRIDAY (June 19)…

--- I’m home most of the morning alone. Waiting to tee off in golf with Duff… hoping rain stays away… and alone because Edena, mom, dad and the girls have gone off to some Hot Springs.

SATURDAY (June 20)…

--- Family pictures at Millennium Park. Other than that, I do a little drive around with mom and dad to Syringa Park. On the way back, we stop to check out some used books and CDs. I get three books for under $8.

SUNDAY (June 21)…

--- Mom and dad leave in the morning. It was nice with all of us. I likely won’t see mom and dad again until the fall.

--- Hang around the house the rest of the day. Putting clothes into the closet mom and dad had occupied and watching some golf on TV.

MONDAY (June 22)…

--- Quiet morning around the house watching golf. This is to be a lazy day.

--- Go out when Edena comes home. We do some shopping (some swim wear and a protective sleeve for my Blackberry) and then a walk with the dog in the evening… with a few drops of rain falling around us. It’s cool and wet most of today… unusual for here at this time of year.

TUESDAY (June 23)…

--- Hot springs time. It’s really relaxing. We have supper before it in Nelson as well. A nice evening.

WEDNESDAY (June 24)…

--- Quiet day. I almost ruin a new shirt by putting it in the dryer and shrinking it. But a trip back to the wash and the proper lay to dry helps out and I avoid the hardship of it all.

THURSDAY to SUNDAY (June 25 to 29)…

--- Putting it all together cause too much stuff. Travel from BC to Ottawa after a last day with Edena and family. Duff and I climbed the rock outcrop by their place and I get a golf shirt at the local pro shop.

--- See Mt. Rainier from the air. There was thought of driving there on this trip but we opted for Lake Louise instead. The flight into Vancouver has Rainier jutting out of the clouds and the flight out of Vancouver sees us pass by again, at a higher angle. It has a way of holding the attention.

--- Home I do little. Mess with the computer, which seems very low on memory and needs a new hard drive I think, get basic groceries, and hang around the home.

--- Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett die on the same day. I feel bad for both, and am surprised about him. But I can’t say I’m going to start proclaiming either one of them as a favourite that I’m crushed about losing. I paid little attention to the life of Farrah Fawcett. And disliked much of the life of Michael Jackson. But I do find myself thinking back to the days of me laying on the living room floor with headphones on and the Thriller album blasting in my ears. Take away the Michael circus… I miss the enjoyment of that album and those memories.

Making It Up As I Go Along #372 (just week)

No story right now. In the middle of a big BC trip and just figured I'd put down what has been going on for the last little while. More to come later.

FRIDAY (June 5)...
— Hobble through the day as the knee is pretty swollen and sore. Work goes okay, but by the end of it, I’m tired and ready to lay down.
— Evening at home with a ball game and a bag of ice. Real exciting I know, but needed.

SATURDAY (June 6)...
— Knee improves through the day but still not super. Work is alright... quiet day and I actually do a few hours of AFIS work as well as CPSIC.

SUNDAY (June 7)...
— Knee isn’t good enough to go at fastpitch today. I go watch some before work anyway and the team is looking pretty good without me on the field.
--- Work is fairly slow... not unusual for a Sunday.

MONDAY & TUESDAY (June 8-9)…
--- All under one because it’s all one day to me. Up at 10:20 AM Monday… don’t get my afternoon nap… just not real sleepy.
--- Work and ball in the evening. We win at ball and I hit my second homer of the year doing it. Knee’s a bit sore still but still improving.
--- End work at 5:45 AM Tuesday… call a cab and get to the airport. Fly out of Ottawa around 8:00. Two movies on the plane to Vancouver. Then the plane to Castlegar… arrive in Castlegar around noon local time (3:00 PM Ottawa time).
--- Groceries with mom and dad and supper at home with everyone… and I’m a zombie that ends up having to go to bed at 8:00 PM local time (after being for 36 hours and 40 minutes).

WEDNESDAY (June 10)…
--- Up at 7:00. So that ends the sleep marathon of 11 hours. Still fuzzy in the head though.

THURSDAY (June 11)…
--- To Trail with mom and dad for lunch at Gyro Park. Nice spot with a beach along the Columbia River.
--- Some shopping stuff after that and BBQ for supper at home.

FRIDAY (June 12)…
--- Groceries with dad in the morning. Golf with Duff in the afternoon. And we have supper at the course that night… watching the Pens win the cup just after we’re done.

SATURDAY (June 13)…
--- House day. Did little. A few groceries and hang out around the house… with a walk in the evening.

SUNDAY (June 14)…
--- Off to Creston in the morning with mom, dad and I aiming for Lake Louise, Revelstoke, Nakusp and some other communities along the way for the next few days.
--- The nature reserve in Creston is quite nice. I get a broom to be shipped to me from Crawford Bay. We see a very light, beige, black bear along the road. And stop in Cranbrook for the night.

MONDAY (June 15)…
--- Long day of driving and staring at the surroundings. Kimberly for breakfast, then Kootenay Park, Banff Park and a few hours at Lake Louise. The weather holds for the most part and mom, dad and I have lunch at the Chateau Lake Louise.
--- From there it’s off to go through Yoho National Park and in to Golden. We check out the town but decide to move on and we drive through Glacier Park and stop at Revelstoke for the night.
--- On this leg of the trip we see three goats, about a half dozen deer, and a mother bear with her cub.

TUESDAY (June 16)…
--- A little shopping in Revelstoke before moving on. Down to Nakusp for lunch and a slow trek from there to Castlegar. I’m quite tired by the time we get to Castlegar but it was a great run through the Rockies and the National Parks. One of my favourite areas to be.

Making It Up As I Go Along #371 (story)

Not sure when the next update will come. I may do some writing while in BC, or I may wait and do it when I get back. It all depends on how busy stuff is and how much quiet time there is and such. So next update could be just about anytime between June 12 and June 28. Something will definitely be out by the 28th.

With that, a shorter story to go with the last update.

How to Tell Your Friends
People around here just don’t get it. You know who you’re dealing with when you discuss the things you miss about home. The ocean... the sea... I miss the sea.

With that, some... people I naturally get drawn to... nod with a shimmer in their eye. They say something like “it must be amazing”. Or “I love having summer vacation by the ocean.” They appreciate that there’s something special about it. And it makes me feel privileged to have lived by it for so long. A vacation gives you a glimpse... but all vacations simply create an event. Part of what’s special about the sea comes with the non-event of it. When you just happen to drive by it on a routine trip.

It’s these trips that show how the sea is always there, co-existing with us, sharing the day with you and me. Those people who understand why one would miss the sea have a subconscious knowledge of all I’ve spoken of here. Even without knowing it, they realize the what the sea represents, how it’s big and mysterious.

Then you have those who simply don’t get it. If you tell them that you miss the ocean, they don’t share in your sense of loss. They don’t comprehend the mystery. Instead, they try to suggest replacements for you. They try to equate the magic of the sea with that they have experienced. They tell you that you’re within driving distance of a lake or river.

For these people, they believe you’re simply missing a body of water. They believe if you can get somewhere where you can remove a shoe and slip a toe through the coolness, that’s good enough.

These people don’t have a sense of mystery. They don’t see the world for how big and powerful it is.

A lake can be entertaining and appealing. Some lakes can bring a sense of mystery with them as well. Loch Ness leaves you to wonder what surprises may lie beneath the surface. But, by in large, a lake or river is a pleasant feature... not an awe inspiring one.

Standing at the edge of a sea, you look out and get grabbed by the size of it. From Newfoundland, even with a telescope, you wouldn’t be able to see Ireland because of the curve of the earth. You know something is big when the earth’s curve comes into the though process.

Looking out to the sea is like looking up at the stars. It’s never ending.

There is the history of the sea. Knowing that the cliffs you stand on are the same cliffs explorers first saw after weeks, or months of emptiness. You feel as though the ghosts of famous explorers are about to drift through the fog. Vikings, Spaniards, the British and French... exploring their world. A world that’s no different than what you look out at in the present day.

The sea is alive. Almost literally. The waves cresting on the shore, the swell that eases as far as the eye can see. The wind blowing across it. It’s as an animal, breathing.

And anything can be down there. Beneath the waves and into the deep. A graveyard for generations of sailors, warriors, explorers, slaves. Rich and poor, peoples of all faiths and cultures. There are members of virtually every race and culture of person through history, buried at sea.

Gorges that run deeper than the Grand Canyon. Mountains that are higher than Everest. And creatures bigger than dinosaurs... all are out there in the sea.

It is a bit of everything. Life, history, geography. Power and beauty. A weather creator and natural divider. How can anyone seriously compare it to a river?

Making It Up As I Go Along #371 (week)

Story is delayed. Here’s the week but things have been busy. I hope to have a story done by Saturday night.

THURSDAY...
— Work is alright. Not super busy but I’m sort of tired too so nothing wonderful either.
— Rainy and windy today... rains out our fastpitch game tonight. Just as well in the middle of day shift for me... and it allows me to spend time with Ruby and Lee when they arrive tonight. We do a small supper and chat some.

FRIDAY...
— Sleep well but work is a bit off. I eat too much or something not right or something... the stomach has lead in it for much of the day.
— Supper with Ruby and Lee and then a movie with Lee.
— Some stay up late time for me... tired but pushing through.

SATURDAY...
— Quiet day with getting up around 10:00 and some TV with a nap in the afternoon.
— Off to work in the evening. Get pizza there with Terry and Phil and work is pretty quiet for tonight.

SUNDAY...
— Quiet around the house for me before work. Some TV and a nap.
— Work is quite quiet tonight. Just me. In fact, after 11:30, I’m the only one in the building until some of the fools start wandering in at around 4:30. To voluntarily start your work day at 4:30 in the morning, when you could be doing it at 7:00 or 8:00, is a definite sign of a lack of a real life.

MONDAY...
— Sleep until 11:30, then up and at them... well... up... and at the TV for a bit. Still pretty tired and it’s cold outside!
— Fed up with the weather. Rain socks in this evening. All ball games are either getting rained out (already two fastpitch games rained out) or in the cold. We’re rained out tonight... big surprise, we aren’t informed until arriving at the field. Blah!

TUESDAY...
— Downtown with Ruby for a bit, then meet Lee for lunch and a quiet evening at home. Watch some hockey to end the night, maybe Pittsburgh can make a series of it.

WEDNESDAY...
— Quiet early day. Ruby and Lee go to lunch while I go to the dentist. They come back with a BBQ. So now I have a nice little electric BBQ for the balcony. Burgers tonight... summer is here.
— Play RCMP slowpitch. We lose but I get a chance to hit the ball around some. My defense in the outfield is not what it used to be. Let a few balls get through me and my arm, although improving from a pain point of view on throws, is very much an infielder arm. The long tosses just aren’t there right now.

THURSDAY...
— To Melissa’s with Ruby in the day, then lunch and a walk around the pond.
— Ball tonight. I do badly. Got a hit but made two errors and a mental mistake that’s as good as an error, and we lose. The return to fastpitch comes with bumps.