Perspective
Looking down through small window
Model landscape drifts by
Toy cars scooting along
Ant farm roads
Just sitting there comfy
With drink in hand
Peering down
The model too small for any sign of people
Looking up from a walk
The deep blue sky canvases
With soaring white sea gulls
And one, quicker than the rest
A roaring gull
Shooting through the flock
Banking with a reflected sparkle
And rushing off towards the horizon.
From there
The world is a peopleless model
From here
The plane mistaken for a gull
And from higher still
A blue and white ball
Backed by blackness
With neither plane, car, walker or gull meaning anything
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Making It Up As I Go Along #475 (week)
Delay on the story… so just the week portion for now. Too tired and been too busy the last few days and my head isn’t into it right now. Should have something done tomorrow. If not then, it’ll be Sunday.
THURSDAY…
--- Day shift. Across for lunch with Shannon… Montreal Smoked Meat… mmmm mmmm. Physio right after work. Getting tired of physio. But shoulder is feeling quite good as of late.
--- Cereal for a late supper and some PVR’d TV before bed.
FRIDAY…
--- Work. Hang with Megan and Melissa a bit at lunch. Some evening TV and I fall asleep on the sofa for a few hours before bed.
SATURDAY…
--- Rocky movies on the Movie Network. Rocky 4 is likely the cheesiest, silly, addictive movie ever made. Through it, we learn… the Soviet Union was evil. And one American boxer can change the world.
--- Night shift alone. Kind of busy until close to midnight and then a drop off to quiet.
SUNDAY…
--- Second night shift. Slow night.
MONDAY…
--- Wake to the news of Jack Layton’s death. Not a nice thing to wake to. Politics need more of him… not less.
TUESDAY…
--- Walk the pond and around some of the neighbourhood townhouses, just to get a feel for back yards.
--- Work at my bedroom. Shredding some papers that have been up there for years and boxing some books.
--- Felt an earthquake today. The 5.9 quake of Virginia is felt this far as a prolonged swaying. My bike even falls over in the kitchen nook.
WEDNESDAY…
--- Head to Parliament to pay respects to Jack Layton. Quite an experience… felt important, but one that you wish you never do again. Layton will be missed.
--- Walked to the grocery store earlier in the day… got a few things and did some laundry. So it’s a busy day altogether.
THURSDAY…
--- Day shift. Across for lunch with Shannon… Montreal Smoked Meat… mmmm mmmm. Physio right after work. Getting tired of physio. But shoulder is feeling quite good as of late.
--- Cereal for a late supper and some PVR’d TV before bed.
FRIDAY…
--- Work. Hang with Megan and Melissa a bit at lunch. Some evening TV and I fall asleep on the sofa for a few hours before bed.
SATURDAY…
--- Rocky movies on the Movie Network. Rocky 4 is likely the cheesiest, silly, addictive movie ever made. Through it, we learn… the Soviet Union was evil. And one American boxer can change the world.
--- Night shift alone. Kind of busy until close to midnight and then a drop off to quiet.
SUNDAY…
--- Second night shift. Slow night.
MONDAY…
--- Wake to the news of Jack Layton’s death. Not a nice thing to wake to. Politics need more of him… not less.
TUESDAY…
--- Walk the pond and around some of the neighbourhood townhouses, just to get a feel for back yards.
--- Work at my bedroom. Shredding some papers that have been up there for years and boxing some books.
--- Felt an earthquake today. The 5.9 quake of Virginia is felt this far as a prolonged swaying. My bike even falls over in the kitchen nook.
WEDNESDAY…
--- Head to Parliament to pay respects to Jack Layton. Quite an experience… felt important, but one that you wish you never do again. Layton will be missed.
--- Walked to the grocery store earlier in the day… got a few things and did some laundry. So it’s a busy day altogether.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Making It Up As I Go Along #474
Thunderdome Pond Walking
Two days in a row I walk the pond
Only to return ulcered
Anxious
And shell-shocked
Dozens of two wheeled monsters
Howling demonically as they go
Complete with rub on tattoos
And Popeye cigarettes
Family gangs
Walking shoulder to shoulder
Slowly with blackened sunglassed eyes
Sending you scurrying into the brush
Roaring mechanical mayhem
Passing you by and spinning back towards
Blowing dust clouds where grass should be
Its screams drown out the frightened birds
Gulls launching attacks at you
Over running the ducks
Demanding those bread crumbs
Of which I have none
WEDNESDAY…
--- Work is ok. Lunch with Sarah is Thai food and hear from mom and dad… they’re coming for the end of August. I’ll have some family help with the preparing to move. Good parents they are.
THURSDAY…
--- Dayshift alone. I’m really tired up until lunch… eat with Kiyomi and then perk up for the rest of the day.
--- Physio after work. And a shwarma for supper after that. A nap and some TV for the night.
FRIDAY…
--- Night shift. Fairly quiet evening and not much going on before it either.
SATURDAY…
--- Some baseball on TV in the afternoon with my nap to go with it. Night shift again… this time me alone.
SUNDAY…
--- Stop to see the new place on the way home from work. Bed by about 7:00… up at 11:00… baseball on TV and a walk of the pond followed by movie night. The Commitments is a classic.
MONDAY…
--- Walk to Farm Boy for groceries. Play some video games and watch a ball game in the evening. Organize some old bills for shredding as well.
TUESDAY…
--- Physio, laundry, and more shredding of old bills and such. A walk in the evening is busy. That pond, at the wrong times, is like Thunder Dome. Skateboarders, biking kids, dogs, families walking shoulder to shoulder… it felt like I was going to be run over, bitten, or shoved into the bushes.
Two days in a row I walk the pond
Only to return ulcered
Anxious
And shell-shocked
Dozens of two wheeled monsters
Howling demonically as they go
Complete with rub on tattoos
And Popeye cigarettes
Family gangs
Walking shoulder to shoulder
Slowly with blackened sunglassed eyes
Sending you scurrying into the brush
Roaring mechanical mayhem
Passing you by and spinning back towards
Blowing dust clouds where grass should be
Its screams drown out the frightened birds
Gulls launching attacks at you
Over running the ducks
Demanding those bread crumbs
Of which I have none
WEDNESDAY…
--- Work is ok. Lunch with Sarah is Thai food and hear from mom and dad… they’re coming for the end of August. I’ll have some family help with the preparing to move. Good parents they are.
THURSDAY…
--- Dayshift alone. I’m really tired up until lunch… eat with Kiyomi and then perk up for the rest of the day.
--- Physio after work. And a shwarma for supper after that. A nap and some TV for the night.
FRIDAY…
--- Night shift. Fairly quiet evening and not much going on before it either.
SATURDAY…
--- Some baseball on TV in the afternoon with my nap to go with it. Night shift again… this time me alone.
SUNDAY…
--- Stop to see the new place on the way home from work. Bed by about 7:00… up at 11:00… baseball on TV and a walk of the pond followed by movie night. The Commitments is a classic.
MONDAY…
--- Walk to Farm Boy for groceries. Play some video games and watch a ball game in the evening. Organize some old bills for shredding as well.
TUESDAY…
--- Physio, laundry, and more shredding of old bills and such. A walk in the evening is busy. That pond, at the wrong times, is like Thunder Dome. Skateboarders, biking kids, dogs, families walking shoulder to shoulder… it felt like I was going to be run over, bitten, or shoved into the bushes.
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Making It Up As I Go Along #473
Summerless
Today is August the 9th and it’s the first time I’ve heard a national weather person actually specify what I’ve been hearing out of St. John’s for months… no summer.
I tuned in to the St. John’s CBC feed and heard that, since June, there have been a total of ten days where no rain has fallen in St. John’s. And the temperatures have regularly been in the 10 to 15 degree range. Yet, from a national point of view, this nine weeks of dreary weather has gone largely ignored.
Sure, the St. John’s weather gets mentioned each day during the National Forecast segment of the news… but it’s been one offs. They hadn’t tabulated the numbers nationally.
And it got me thinking what the difference in reaction would be had the summer St. John’s has been enduring was in Toronto instead.
For one, there’d be fancy entry graphics and music every time the story would be introduced on the national news… and that introduction would come at the top and bottom of every hour.
Indeed, menacing, horror music with images of bundled Torontoians trudging through the streets… with stories displaying hard done by businesses, dependent on the summer tourist dollar.
Wrestler style mayor, Rob Ford, would angrily be blaming the weather on those left wing, climate change pinkos. He’d proclaim, once and for all, that climate change does not exist… indeed… how could it? Not when Toronto has it so bad.
And no Toronto tragedy would be complete without a Live Aid style concert. Where else will the city get the money lost from the reduction of café patio clientele?
The government would supplement the cost of bringing back the Rolling Stones. Coldplay would join them… giving lead singer, Chris Martin, a chance to wax on into his microphone… telling the people of Toronto to be strong… before breaking in to the ever inspiring “Fix You”.
Alas, St. John’s is not Toronto. And the national attention has been non-existent. Rather than a major news push with theme music and custom graphic intros, we see an interview with the local softball scheduler on the regional broadcast. And even he isn’t speaking with alarm over the tragic loss of the season. It’s more of a subdued acceptance with a touch of optimism.
“We got lucky during the tournaments… it didn’t rain too much then.”
And when asked if he’d ever do the scheduling again, after such a horrible summer, he answered “well I’ve done it this long, I’m sure I’ll manage.”
Brave soul. Oh how I admire you. How the rest of the country would admire you too… if only the national news were to acknowledge your existence. If only Chris Martin could see you. The shame of it all.
The tragedy extends beyond softball however. The local news goes next to a beach. Where water slides sit empty and the grasses grow over as if covering up a long forgotten artifact of a past civilization. The manager of the place stands in front of the cameras, chuckles, and says “b’y, it’s pretty quiet it’s true.”
Does no one see the pain? How will he put food on his family’s table? Send in the Stones… for the love of God! Send in the Stones.
A tourist is found in a restaurant. She smiles and says “It’s pretty cold.”
Ironically, this tourist is from Toronto. She doesn’t realize how close to a benefit concert she came… if only the weather gods had struck down her city instead of her vacation spot.
It seems the only people outside of Newfoundland who have any feeling for the pace that summer forgot are those who are originally from there. The rest of the nation is blissfully unaware. And all I can do is offer my bed to family and friends, pleading with them to leave the island, if only for a few weeks. Get some summer in ya, ya poor things. You may not get a benefit concert… but you’ll be able to slap on a t-shirt and some sun block. And you’ll be able to know for sure, that at least someone on the mainland is thinking of you.
TUESDAY…
--- Work… bloody day shift. Hate waking so early. Still make it okay.
--- From work to physio makes the day long and drawn out. Not home for the night until 8:00. Quite a while after leaving the house at 5:20 this morning.
WEDNESDAY…
--- Nasty day shift. Ugh. But lunch with Annick, Shannon and Sarah is fun and supper out with Janice a good way to unwind.
THURSDAY/FRIDAY…
--- Nights at work. Very busy on Thursday… I work pretty non-stop until 2:30 in the morning. Sort of busy Friday, but much less so. By the end of work Saturday morning, I’m pretty tired and ready for some time off.
SATURDAY…
--- Up around 10:30 and feeling sort of jet lagged. Some TV and laziness.
--- The battery on my blackberry is becoming unreliable. Fully charged when I wake at 10:30… yet dead by 2:00 in the afternoon. Yesterday it was fine all day. My only thought it that I likely left a webpage working when I closed my browser and it kept working for an hour. Who knows? Can’t wait for my blackberry contract to end this winter.
--- Two laps of the pond and the phone is fine after the second charge. Maybe it was something left running. A few movies and some baseball round out the night.
SUNDAY…
--- Pretty quiet day. Mostly around the house watching movies. Lost in Translation remains one of my five favourites… and Deathproof remains a hoot.
MONDAY…
--- Buy a shredder today. Getting rid of old bills now. Also off to Physio and some groceries with a walk of the pond. Pretty hot out there.
Today is August the 9th and it’s the first time I’ve heard a national weather person actually specify what I’ve been hearing out of St. John’s for months… no summer.
I tuned in to the St. John’s CBC feed and heard that, since June, there have been a total of ten days where no rain has fallen in St. John’s. And the temperatures have regularly been in the 10 to 15 degree range. Yet, from a national point of view, this nine weeks of dreary weather has gone largely ignored.
Sure, the St. John’s weather gets mentioned each day during the National Forecast segment of the news… but it’s been one offs. They hadn’t tabulated the numbers nationally.
And it got me thinking what the difference in reaction would be had the summer St. John’s has been enduring was in Toronto instead.
For one, there’d be fancy entry graphics and music every time the story would be introduced on the national news… and that introduction would come at the top and bottom of every hour.
Indeed, menacing, horror music with images of bundled Torontoians trudging through the streets… with stories displaying hard done by businesses, dependent on the summer tourist dollar.
Wrestler style mayor, Rob Ford, would angrily be blaming the weather on those left wing, climate change pinkos. He’d proclaim, once and for all, that climate change does not exist… indeed… how could it? Not when Toronto has it so bad.
And no Toronto tragedy would be complete without a Live Aid style concert. Where else will the city get the money lost from the reduction of café patio clientele?
The government would supplement the cost of bringing back the Rolling Stones. Coldplay would join them… giving lead singer, Chris Martin, a chance to wax on into his microphone… telling the people of Toronto to be strong… before breaking in to the ever inspiring “Fix You”.
Alas, St. John’s is not Toronto. And the national attention has been non-existent. Rather than a major news push with theme music and custom graphic intros, we see an interview with the local softball scheduler on the regional broadcast. And even he isn’t speaking with alarm over the tragic loss of the season. It’s more of a subdued acceptance with a touch of optimism.
“We got lucky during the tournaments… it didn’t rain too much then.”
And when asked if he’d ever do the scheduling again, after such a horrible summer, he answered “well I’ve done it this long, I’m sure I’ll manage.”
Brave soul. Oh how I admire you. How the rest of the country would admire you too… if only the national news were to acknowledge your existence. If only Chris Martin could see you. The shame of it all.
The tragedy extends beyond softball however. The local news goes next to a beach. Where water slides sit empty and the grasses grow over as if covering up a long forgotten artifact of a past civilization. The manager of the place stands in front of the cameras, chuckles, and says “b’y, it’s pretty quiet it’s true.”
Does no one see the pain? How will he put food on his family’s table? Send in the Stones… for the love of God! Send in the Stones.
A tourist is found in a restaurant. She smiles and says “It’s pretty cold.”
Ironically, this tourist is from Toronto. She doesn’t realize how close to a benefit concert she came… if only the weather gods had struck down her city instead of her vacation spot.
It seems the only people outside of Newfoundland who have any feeling for the pace that summer forgot are those who are originally from there. The rest of the nation is blissfully unaware. And all I can do is offer my bed to family and friends, pleading with them to leave the island, if only for a few weeks. Get some summer in ya, ya poor things. You may not get a benefit concert… but you’ll be able to slap on a t-shirt and some sun block. And you’ll be able to know for sure, that at least someone on the mainland is thinking of you.
TUESDAY…
--- Work… bloody day shift. Hate waking so early. Still make it okay.
--- From work to physio makes the day long and drawn out. Not home for the night until 8:00. Quite a while after leaving the house at 5:20 this morning.
WEDNESDAY…
--- Nasty day shift. Ugh. But lunch with Annick, Shannon and Sarah is fun and supper out with Janice a good way to unwind.
THURSDAY/FRIDAY…
--- Nights at work. Very busy on Thursday… I work pretty non-stop until 2:30 in the morning. Sort of busy Friday, but much less so. By the end of work Saturday morning, I’m pretty tired and ready for some time off.
SATURDAY…
--- Up around 10:30 and feeling sort of jet lagged. Some TV and laziness.
--- The battery on my blackberry is becoming unreliable. Fully charged when I wake at 10:30… yet dead by 2:00 in the afternoon. Yesterday it was fine all day. My only thought it that I likely left a webpage working when I closed my browser and it kept working for an hour. Who knows? Can’t wait for my blackberry contract to end this winter.
--- Two laps of the pond and the phone is fine after the second charge. Maybe it was something left running. A few movies and some baseball round out the night.
SUNDAY…
--- Pretty quiet day. Mostly around the house watching movies. Lost in Translation remains one of my five favourites… and Deathproof remains a hoot.
MONDAY…
--- Buy a shredder today. Getting rid of old bills now. Also off to Physio and some groceries with a walk of the pond. Pretty hot out there.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Making It Up As I Go Along #472
Pebble Beach
Grey blue high peaks
Across blue swells
Under light blue skies
Tufted cottony white
Distant deer bask lazily in a lush clearing
Hidden orcas patrol unseen gorges
Eagles glide silently overhead
A giant peak’s snow intermingles with the cotton
And here I sit
Atop a great washed up log
Among the smooth worn cobbles
Watching sand fleas explore my foot
MONDAY…
--- Back to work. It goes ok for the most part.
--- After work I get the e-mail from Budget Rent a Car. They feel we owe them another $1300 for ‘damages’. Budget is a slimy, untrustworthy organization who treat customers worse than any company I’ve ever dealt with.
TUESDAY…
--- Slower and harder getting out of bed today and work is slow too.
--- Insurance company does not get back in touch with me today after I forwarded the Budget BS to them yesterday. Possibly not a good sign.
--- Late trip to physio. There from 7 PM to almost 8:30. Almost fall asleep there.
WEDNESDAY…
--- Night shift is busy. At it steady until about 2:30 in the morning… with walk in finger prints and shoe impressions and the fax machine going off… and on and on.
THURSDAY…
--- Sleep until about 11:30. Some TV follows. Night shift is quieter than yesterday.
FRIDAY…
--- Physio and a few groceries. Taking it easy around the house beyond that.
SATURDAY…
--- Three laps of the pond today. And some TV.
SUNDAY…
--- Walk to the grocery store and back again… bit of a shoulder test with the full bag and it’s alright.
--- Watch the Blue Jay game with Alomar’s number retirement. Good time… full house at the dome, a win, and a fine tribute to the best second baseman of all time.
--- An evening walk of the pond. Two laps today… but coupled with the 45 minutes to walk to the grocery store, get the food, and walk back… it’s an active Sunday.
Grey blue high peaks
Across blue swells
Under light blue skies
Tufted cottony white
Distant deer bask lazily in a lush clearing
Hidden orcas patrol unseen gorges
Eagles glide silently overhead
A giant peak’s snow intermingles with the cotton
And here I sit
Atop a great washed up log
Among the smooth worn cobbles
Watching sand fleas explore my foot
MONDAY…
--- Back to work. It goes ok for the most part.
--- After work I get the e-mail from Budget Rent a Car. They feel we owe them another $1300 for ‘damages’. Budget is a slimy, untrustworthy organization who treat customers worse than any company I’ve ever dealt with.
TUESDAY…
--- Slower and harder getting out of bed today and work is slow too.
--- Insurance company does not get back in touch with me today after I forwarded the Budget BS to them yesterday. Possibly not a good sign.
--- Late trip to physio. There from 7 PM to almost 8:30. Almost fall asleep there.
WEDNESDAY…
--- Night shift is busy. At it steady until about 2:30 in the morning… with walk in finger prints and shoe impressions and the fax machine going off… and on and on.
THURSDAY…
--- Sleep until about 11:30. Some TV follows. Night shift is quieter than yesterday.
FRIDAY…
--- Physio and a few groceries. Taking it easy around the house beyond that.
SATURDAY…
--- Three laps of the pond today. And some TV.
SUNDAY…
--- Walk to the grocery store and back again… bit of a shoulder test with the full bag and it’s alright.
--- Watch the Blue Jay game with Alomar’s number retirement. Good time… full house at the dome, a win, and a fine tribute to the best second baseman of all time.
--- An evening walk of the pond. Two laps today… but coupled with the 45 minutes to walk to the grocery store, get the food, and walk back… it’s an active Sunday.
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