Making It Up As I Go Along #644

Stuff, and a Rant

Back to Latents and away from CPSIC.  So it’s back to writing every Sunday… Though that may get broken up a bit two Sunday's from now as I’m off to Florida on the 18th and there until the 27th.  How much writing I do there is up in the air.  Probably not a whole lot.

Work wise, I’m completely torn now as far as my long term plan.  My first few blocks back in CPSIC I was feeling energized by it.  Thinking I’d like to go back there full time.  But each block after that became less appealing… And by the end, I’m looking forward to returning to Latents where I can put on headphones and listen to podcasts while I focus in on one task rather than get bounced from the here and there that comes with CPSIC.  But a return to two day weekends and set break times… And the lack of independence… Will probably all have me itching for a move again in relatively short order.  In the end, the best I can figure is I’ll probably want a rotation of a year or two at a time in each department.  But who knows.

Sign of aging… My joints do not appreciate the transition season between the cold months and warm.  Things are starting to warm up now and my knees, back and shoulders are all pretty creaky.  Dead of winter, the creak isn’t there so much.  And in the heat of summer, it’s all pretty loose.  But right now… A snowshoe leaves me hobbling for the rest of the day and crawling out of bed is a pretty ungraceful scenario.

Already watched three spring training baseball games on TV.  Good to see the green grass and shorts and t-shirts in the stands.  Nice to know I’ll be among it all in a few weeks.

Getting pretty tired of my neighbour I share the driveway with.  He’s not a nightmare by any means.  Twice this winter he has snowblowed most of my side of the driveway as well as his.  But still there are those moments of irritation.  There has been the green compost bin that he had decided to leave outside his garage door… Right at the divide of our properties.  Sometimes it would wander onto my side and I’d have to push it back away.  I’m not even sure what he’s doing with it.  There is stuff in there… But he never puts it at the curb for pickup by the city.  And, speaking of what gets put at the curb, last month he put his garbage out on the wrong week (in Ottawa, garbage is picked up every second week).  Normal people would bring it in again the next day.  Not him… It say there for the full week.  And yesterday, his step father came over for a while.  How do I know this?  Because he was parked in my driveway for around two hours.  

I felt like going out, ringing the bell, and telling him to get the truck out of my driveway.  And perhaps I should have.  But at the time, I was in the house watching baseball.  I didn’t feel like making a special trip out the door when I wasn’t actually going anywhere.  But I hate the idea that I need to go ask someone else's permission to leave my own house too.  This better not become a habit.

And the rant continue, with… Community Newspapers.  These are those free papers we get.  In Orleans, there are two (The Orleans Star, and Orleans News).  In reality, these things are flyers disguised as community papers.  You get about three pages of community articles (one of the three pages likely being dedicated to the life of a local real estate agent).  The rest of the paper is advertising and flyers.  

I know I shouldn’t worry about these papers.  And for the longest while I didn’t.  I had emailed both publications, politely asking to be removed from the delivery list, and they nicely capitulated.  

But lately, neither paper seem too concerned about my wishes.  And they both seem to go through delivery people on a bi-monthly basis.  New people means I’m right back in the delivery zone again.  And a new e-mail would be needed to remind them I don’t want their Spam.  

Cause that’s all this stuff is.  It’s e-mail spam in slow mail form.  Walked to my door each week and filling up my recycling bin.  This week I left it in my mailbox and e-mailed them again… Telling them to send the carrier back around to take it away.  That was Thursday night.  Today is Sunday afternoon and the rag remains in my mailbox.  And my e-mail ignored.  

I deal with enough advertising in my life.  I remember when TV used to be ten or twelve minutes of content with either a thirty second commercial break for sporting events… Or a two minute one for regular programming.  Today, it is close to a fifty fifty split for many programs.  I’ve watched things on my PVR where I can see I’m getting seven or eight minutes of content followed by five minutes of commercials.  

Anyone who follows any sports in bombarded with advertising.  The building the event is played in is likely named after a company.  And TV technology has given us advertising spaces on the end board glass of a hockey game and hitters background of a baseball game.  Even a power play is “brought to you by (insert name here)”.

And most internet articles and links come with advertising pop ups.  While companies I’ve used (airlines, Amazon, Mountain Equipment Co-Op) all e-mail me on a daily basis.

So I’ve decided I don’t want more stuff.  I don’t want it delivered to my home.  I’ve never asked for it… Never agreed to it… And specifically told them to take it away.  And yet this is the world we live in, where the economy and business take priority over the individual.  

So that leaves me with snowshoeing.  The sun is out, the air is still, and advertisers have yet to claim space upon the bark of a tree.  My forest hasn’t been brought to me by any company yet.  And the tracks of rabbits, voles, squirrels and coyotes are the type of advertising I like.  They’re advertising the community of nature.  Now… That’s a free flyer I’d gladly take.