Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘observations’

Things I actually like, Part 2

Posted in humour, Lifes Observations, tagged , on October 19, 2010| 1 Comment »

This is an addition to Things I Actually Like.  I decided to add to this list because somehow I hurt my hip, not a big deal, it’s not like the majority of my job is bending or lifting, or reaching oh wait, add counting and that is pretty much my job.  In any case when you have pain everything is more annoying than usual.  I don’t count my crohn’s as pain, okay I do but that is normal everyday, not out of the ordinary.  My point is that a little positivity doesn’t hurt…much.  And this excludes the obvious such as friends and family.

1.  I love it when my eyes open at four in the morning and realize I am heading into Sunday and not Monday.

2. I love it when I wake up feeling no pain.  On the odd occasion that does happen, first I have to convince myself that I am really awake, and once I’ve established that I am awake I have to establish the fact that I am alive.  However once I establish that I’m indeed awake, pain-free and alive and it is Saturday or Sunday it feels pretty darn good…makes it even better if there is a possibility of sex. (especially the one in the winter).

3. I love it when my wife says something funny and it takes me a moment to get it.  Like just this moment for example, the dog was begging for candy but we were not sure where the candy was so my wife says to the dog, “One second Sequoia and I’ll find your candy”  No, it is not candy for dogs, it is candy for people, for us, but suddenly it has become the dogs candy. It took me a minute to realize what my wife said.  Of course the candy is not enough, now the dog is licking what is left of my wife’s popsicle.  No, the dog is not spoiled.

4.  A job done well. Okay that just seems like something you are supposed to say.  I guess it depends on the job.  Sometimes I honestly don’t care. 

5. I love it when I get to ‘5’ on a list like this and can’t think of anything else to add to the list.

6. I love sarcasm, (see number 5)

7. I love the fall, and I love getting the leaves off my lawn before my anal retentive neighbour gets his cleared off,  (a rare occasion)  I once had a competition with one of the technicians I work with, we were competing to see who could mow the lawn the least.  I won, hands down.  

8. I love people who use the word ‘ignorant’ wrong.  Such as, “That guy was rude to me, how ignorant!”  I’m not sure why it amuses me, it just does.

9. I love when a meal is so good I get saddened when it starts to noticeably disappear from my plate.

10. I love when my dog is so content she rolls over onto her back, paws in the air and starts to snore.

Read Full Post »

What Next?

Posted in Lifes Observations, tagged , , , on August 26, 2010| 3 Comments »

My grandmother liked tell the story of the first time she saw an automobile.  She was young and living in England  and somebody came down her street in a horseless carriage.  Everyone got to go for a ride, when her turn came it scared her, how could it possibly be moving on its own? So she jumped off.  To my knowledge she never did learn to drive.  I always envied that particular generation.  Imagine having lived before the advent of the automobile.  Then seeing the first ones, and living well into the next century.  I thought never again will the world see such an amazing transformation. 

So the other night my wife and I were lying in bed reading electronic books on our ipods…

The other day I was telling a story to one of my co-workers and had to stop in the middle and explain that at the time there were no cell phones.  A few minutes later I had to explain that there were no computers either. 

Sometimes I feel old. Is this how my grandmother felt , what of her grandmother? 

And what will my grand nephews and nieces see?

Read Full Post »

70th Post, And All The World Is A Stage

Posted in Lifes Observations, tagged , , , , on July 6, 2010| 8 Comments »

It is the end of June and for the life of me I don’t know where the summer went.  It seems like I just posted my 60th post, and here I am ten posts later, The season is simply moving much to quickly.

The following are some random thoughts on my writing experience.

Since my 60th post I have started to write ideas down. I have yet to use one idea I’ve actually written down, but I will continue the excercise because one idea leads to another.

I’ve found that the blogging community is quite giving, recently I’ve had two people give me a ‘shout out’ so to speak.   Jeeney who found me through my sisters blog had some very nice things to say and writes on some very interesting topics.  Also this guy in Chicago, picked up my Technology blog and thought it worth re-posting.  He is a mac tech guy and has some interesting tricks and tips on his page.  Both of these ‘shout outs’ has gained me a few new viewers.  I have to admit I do not read a lot of other people’s blogs although I am going to start.  I do follow the ones to the right of this post and I hope for that list to grow.

As I’ve stated before I’m always checking my stats, every time I turn on the computer I check them and read all the comments and it is always a thrill when somebody new comments.  It is also a big thrill when a faithful reader and good friend comments who has never commented before such as in the case with Jesse on my language post.  I’ve known Jesse for some time and he has read my blogs since I’ve started blogging so it was great to see his comment.  And of course I always love and appreciate my regular commentors.

I primarily write for myself, but I do need an audience, after all if I didn’t I would just write in a diary and lock it all away.  Of course what would end up in a diary would be a far cry from what ends up on here, but that is another story.  I was once listening to an actor who said that he acted for the love of acting. I know plenty of magicians who you have to pay NOT to perform and still they will find a way.  I understand it, I’m not sure I can explain it all in a few words, but I can certainly understand the feeling. While I can’t say that I enjoy the writing process, I do enjoy the finished product.  That often worries me because in the end I hope to write a book, get paid, retire…you know, live the dream.  A common thread I hear from writers is that they love to write. The point being, can you act without an audience, is there satisfaction in it?  I imagine there is, there are plenty of magicians who don’t perform, same as singers I am sure.  But I imagine deep down we all want that audience. 

Training a husky, (stick with me there is a point) is not like training a lot of other dogs.  Other dogs want to please you, for a husky the first thought is always, what is in this for me.  Now when I look around I’m always thinking, hmm, how can I work that into a blog. Years ago I was walking through down town Vancouver with Greg Frewin.  Every now and again Greg would stop and take a picture of the strangest things, a lamp-post here, a mailbox there.  Finally I had to ask him what the deal was.  It turns out he viewed everything as a potential magic prop, and when something caught his eye he took a picture.  I should point out that Greg is not only a truly amazing magician he is also an extremely successful magician.  

Perhaps at 44 years old I’m finally understanding Shakespeare when he says, ‘All The World Is A Stage’

Read Full Post »

Love An Honest Innocent Answer

Posted in humour, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 29, 2010| 1 Comment »

This past weekend my folks, one sister and my four-year old nephew were visiting from Canada.  It was also our 9th wedding anniversary, so we decided to have a little BBQ at our house, in all there were about 25 people and I think it is safe to say we all had a good time.  I lit a fire in the fire ring so we could make smores, the boy, (my nephew) was very interested in this process and pulled up a chair close to the fire,  he was making it quite clear in all his wiggling that he wasn’t overly comfortable. A co-worker/friend and I were standing off to the side where we overheard the following conversation between my sister, and her son. (who she calls in her blog, ‘the boy’)

My sister: walking up to my wiggling nephew and taking the seat beside him, “Boy are you okay?” 

Boy: “Yes”

“Boy you are wiggling around and can’t keep still, what is wrong?”

“My underpants are sticky”

His underpants were sticky because it was hot, and he was wearing long pants rather than shorts to protect him from mosquito bites. My friend went hysterical, he loved the honesty and simplicity of the answer.  Although we work together and see each other just about every day he clearly hasn’t been paying attention.  For my family such an answer is typical, even so I have to admit there was a poetic beauty about it, especially coming from a four-year old. 

Yesterday I was sitting in my office at work, my co-worker was in the other room helping out one of the technicians.  I always keep an ear open just in case there is something I need to deal with.  I heard the following conversation:

Technician: “Hey, what’s up?”

Co-worker: “My underpants are sticky!”

I almost died laughing.

Read Full Post »

Remembering The Important Things.

Posted in Lifes Observations, tagged , , , , on April 11, 2010| 13 Comments »

Friday was a bad day.  I bent down to tie my shoe and my back went out.  During the week we hit temperatures of  80 degrees , Friday it was snowing  and the heating system took a dump.  In the end however, our problems were not so bad.  Bear, a dog that had been lost for 7 weeks was found, We called the repair guy and our heating system is up and running.  I went to the doctor on Saturday and I’m  now on Vicodine and Flexerol, (yes this is going to be a short post) and while my back still hurts it doesn’t seem to matter as much.  In trying times you just have to remember things could always be worse and you have to remember whats important.

Read Full Post »

Just Breathe

Posted in Lifes Observations, tagged , , , , , , on March 25, 2010| 5 Comments »

I was asked today how I dealt with stress.  My first thought? I just stuff it down till it’s a burning, churning boiling knot in my gut.  While I admit that does happen on occasion it is not my usual method or is it?  I suffer from Crohn’s and when I think about things that are unpleasant my stomach tends to hurt. For the most part I can tell when its a stress related kind of thing because I can usually will the pain away.  If it is something I’ve had to eat or simply the disease roaring its ugly head willing the pain away doesn’t work.

Lately I’ve been undergoing quite a bit of stress.  My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore then it usually does, but my jaw hurts each morning from clenching my teeth.  So how do I deal with stress?  The question alone is stressing me out.

Does blogging help?  I gave myself two rules when I started blogging, first no rants, second no blogging about work. I have failed on both counts, a few of my posts are metaphoric in nature and not only are they rants, they are rants about work.  It is strangely thrilling for me to tell a story from my life and have it ‘secretly’ mean something else.  I guess its true that the best place it hide something is in plain sight.

So, how do I handle stress? I do have a few techniques.

Breathing!

Many moons ago on the way to the hospital an EMT gave me some breathing techniques.  Just getting more oxygen into your lungs does a body good.  Secondly concentrating on the breathing allows you to focus on breathing and not on the pain.  It’s like a magic trick. When I get frustrated over a particular task, or when things start to come at me all at once I just stop, take a few breaths and bring everything into focus and only then do I continue with the task at hand. 

Hope/trust

At some point I just have to take a leap of faith and know that it will all work out.  I am not fond of flying. But I have hope that the pilot really doesn’t want to die either.   So I’ve shifted the responsiblity to the pilot, doesn’t mean we are not going down in flames but it does mean there is nothing I can do about it so why waste my time worrying over it, right?

I do have an underlying faith that one way or another everything is going to work out.  What other choice is there?

 Yes I know, it’s all so much easier said the done, but then again I have to ask, what other choice is there?

Read Full Post »

How stupid do you need to be?

Posted in Lifes Observations, Uncategorized, tagged , , on March 19, 2010| 2 Comments »

My last post got me to thinking about good old INS.  I had one unpleasant experience with them, I won’t go into details but lets just say I paid for a travel visa which they never gave me, and they never give money back, it is simply chalked up to a ‘processing fee’.  Eventually I did get a travel visa but that was part of a whole other process. 

I like INS they are a major player in keeping this country as safe as it is from countries that really don’t like the USA.  obviously I don’t know the inner workings but from what I’ve learned and observed  they have incredibly difficult jobs with limited resources (although they do wield a ridiculous amount of power) they seem to do their jobs well and have always been polite and courteous to me.

As in my last post about INS, this post is not really about INS and it’s not about Sequoia, it’s not even about animals.  It’s about stupid people.

To get the full impact I have to guide you through some of the steps involved with going to an INS services building.  You just don’t ‘show up’  You go online with your issue and fill out the proper forms you find out exactly what documentation you will be needing and you hit send.  Then you wait, and when you are done waiting you wait a little more.  Eventually, in the mail you will get a letter telling you exactly when and where your appointment is and a reminder of what documents you will need and how much it is all going to cost. 

For those of you going through this, or may be going through this in the future here is a tip.  Make an INS file and keep up with it, and bring it every time you go to INS,  even though you may have submitted everything, and they acknowledge that they have it, if you get there and they don’t have it you are screwed.  Doesn’t matter why or who, simple fact is if for any reason it’s not in the file it is your problem not theirs.

If you show up at the INS office without the appointment letter you are not getting in the front door.   I’ve been there in the cold and they don’t care.  You wait in a line outside and they walk down the line and ask to see id and the letter.   They let a few people at a time into the front lobby where you empty your pockets take off your jacket and head through the scanners.  No backpacks, strollers, food nothing extra. 

Once inside you hand your letter to the check in person and they hand you a number and point you to the chairs where all the other cattle sit.  And sit is what you do.  So you may have number 17 and they call 15, alright two away you can already smell home but surprise the next number called is 125. WTF? so you go to the little window woman and before you even open your mouth she says,

“Was your number called”

“No but…”

“Please sit in the chairs till your number is called”

“But they called number 15 and….”

“Please Sir, sit down and wait until your number is called”

“but…”

“Sir, we are doing everything we can to move this along, now please sit down and wait for your number to be called”

“Bu…”

“Sir!”  At this time one usually notices at least one the two officer’s  easing over to you from opposite directions with their gun hand resting on the butt of their pistol.  Most people manage to sit down without any further problems, most people.

The thing is,  while they give out the numbers sequentially in order of arrival, each number is then registered with the department  you need to see.  So you may have number 17 you don’t know which department the other numbers are for. The guy holding  15 may be in for green card renewal, but lets say the 17th guy through the door is in for a travel visa and the 125th person through the door is also in for a green card renewal.  Well  they may be done with 15 so that department has a space open now so 125 gets called before 17.   INS doesn’t tell you this, but it doesn’t take long to figure out and when you do its clear as mud.

Keep in mind if an INS agent thinks for any reason that you are a threat of any kind they can make your life miserable, they can make it so deportation is the least of your problems. 

So there I sat counting the ceiling tiles when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a gentleman stand up and walk towards the counter, but no number had been called, collective gasp!  We watched as he made his way to the check in clerk.  unfortunately I have to say this was after 9/11 and this gentleman happen to be from the middle east, complete with turban.  I couldn’t hear what he was saying but I have a pretty good idea as the check in woman said, ‘Sir, please take your seat” he didn’t, instead he started to argue, again I heard the check in woman “Sir take a seat and wait for your number to be called”  Again this guy argued, clearly he was not about to sit down.  I don’t know if he saw the agents approaching,   I don’t know if he saw two more coming through the door with their fingers wrapped around their holstered pistols.  What I do know is that in less than a minute he was quietly being ushered through some heavy doors and nobody involved looked very happy.

So I ask, how stupid do you really need to be?

 

Read Full Post »

Simple Explanations

Posted in Lifes Observations, Uncategorized, tagged , , on March 8, 2010| 3 Comments »

Seasoned magicians will tell you that some of the best effects have the simplest explanations. 

I’ve always had this fear of looking out the window only to find somebody looking back in, it is a fear I attribute to my brother.  When I was a child and home alone (although my mother was right next door) there was a thump on the window and a skull appeared on the glass. Terror ensued.

Of course the explanation was simple. My brother had forgotten his key, to get my attention all he could think to do was lob a snowball at the window which consequently broke into what looked to me like a skull.  Remember I was young.

Years later I was heading down stairs to the basement when I happen to glance out the window, and there, just on the other side were these yellow/green orbs hovering a few inches over the ground staring into my basement.  Once my heart restarted I was able to glance back at the window and the orbs were gone.

Coming home from school a few days later I noticed a few cats hanging around the basement window.  Yup, my orbs were the eyes of cats who were prowling the neighbour hood at night.   I had acquired 12 doves from Peter Reveen  I housed them in a cage in the basement by the window.   A few neighbourhood cats had taken quite the interest in the doves and would check in on them nightly.

Once again clean simple explanations.  Whats my point?  Keep it simple, you don’t always have to dig deep.

Read Full Post »

So Exciting

Posted in Lifes Observations, tagged , , on March 3, 2010| 5 Comments »

Many moons ago my parents, (who own Perfect Magic) used to host a magic convention in Montreal each year.  It was a big deal some of the biggest names in the industry would attend.  I won’t list them here as most of you are not magicians so it wouldn’t really mean anything to you, and those that are magicians can click here  to get the full list.  After the convention we would have a party with the invited guests (magic dealers, lectures, performers and friends who helped us out) and have a grand ole’ time.

At one such ‘after’ party a friend of my mothers, said to my Mother, “I envy you, you know all these entertainers and its such a different sort of life it must be so exciting!”  My mother laughed and replied, “What are you talking about?  We go to work, we figure out what we are going to eat for dinner, we watch tv and we go to sleep then wake up the next morning and do it again. It is you who lives the exciting life, you’re a teacher, you travel you’ve seen the world, now that’s exciting!” My mothers friend laughed and said, “Not really, we go to work, we figure out whats for dinner…”

Last night my wife and I were eating dinner at Denny’s with what has now become the Tuesday night crew.  After reading my blog one of our new found friends commented that we live such an exciting life compared to theirs.  I said, “not really,  we wake up, go to work, figure out what we are going to do for dinner…”

Read Full Post »

Snow dog

Posted in Lifes Observations, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 10, 2010| 9 Comments »

Seriously
What can she possibly be thinking about

I told myself when I started writing this blog that I would not do stuff like this.  But I think I will and I won’t make apologies.  My wife, myself, our dog and six cats are inside on this blustery cold night.  We are all well fed and warm.

Sequoia is very lucky, if she wants to get out of the snow, the wet and the cold she certainly can.  If she takes one step backwards she is out of the falling snow as she is on a covered deck.  A few more steps backwards and she can jump onto her lounge chair.  She also knows that if she wants in the house all she has to do is let out a few howls and we would let her come inside.  The simple fact is she likes to be out in the snow and the cold.  She is after all, a husky, and this is the season of the husky. One shake of the coat and all that snow is gone.  Slip your hand past the guard hairs and she is dry.  During this season you can’t even feel her skin due to the thickness of her undercoat.  If you call her she just turns her head and gives you the ‘come on let’s go play in the snow look’  She will not go hungry and there is always clean water available for her.  

Not all dogs and cats are this lucky. There are thousands of dogs and cats suffering out there without homes, they don’t have fresh water or a steady supply of food they can’t get out of the elements and they are without a voice.  The majority are alone and unwanted.  Please take a moment and give them a thought.  If you are a pet owner and have not yet had your pet spayed or neutered then get it done, tomorrow.  Believe it or not your pet does not need to experience parenthood, that is your ego, your emotion not your pets.  Truth is there are enough pets already out there for everybody to own numerous times over.  Don’t deny them that chance by just adding to the pet population, adding to the problem.  If you are looking for a pet then adopt one from the SPCA or any shelter.  Want a purebred?  Guess what for every breed of dog there is a rescue organization that deals exclusively with that particular breed. Not only are they purebreds they are a fraction of the cost and more important they need a home.  Please don’t be a part of the problem, contemplating a pet? Excellent, but be a part of the solution.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

%d bloggers like this: