This is a continuation of my previous post as I felt it was becoming too long. So here is my second story. This one is not humourous like the first one but rather it illustrates the degradation of society. Again it takes place as I was walking to work, only a dozen or so yards metres from the first incident.
I was on the right most side of a group of weary-eyed morning commuters when some yahoo cut in front of all of us on an angle. The group was avoiding a puddle so I followed suit and was a couple steps away from a barricade on the right when this guy went by me. The space he tried to get through was apparently not big enough for him to go through and we bumped shoulders. No big deal, it happens all the time, especially in crowds. I continued on forgetting the entire incident when I felt a smack to the back of my head. It was the yahoo who bumped into me.
Despite what you might think by reading my posts, I don’t consider myself confrontational. I don’t attack people when they do stupid things but rather I just ignore them and curse to my friends or write a post about it. This time I was not going to let it go. I turned around and confronted this yahoo but he backed away and headed to where he dropped his bag. When I reached him he wasn’t as tough as when my back was to him so nothing further happened.
Who does that though? Who goes on the attack for a mere shoulder bump? I guess this just shows where this world is heading. Our first reaction is turning towards aggression not compassion or benevolence. I don’t really see why we’re trying to save humanity because in all honesty, there isn’t much humanity left in this world.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Stupid Is As Stupid Does!
Well, I am sitting at work, practically bored to tears again so I thought I should write something to occupy my time. I re-thought my driving lessons series and decided to cancel them after the pilot episode. I didn’t find them very effective since last night some idiot decided a red light was not really meant for him and continued to turn his truck and the 80 foot flatbed trailer he was hauling behind him while I was going straight through an intersection on a very green light. Anyhow, I digress. Today I am going to write about some recent incidents that happened to me while walking from the train station to work, just to illustrate the degradation of society.
The first episode is perhaps the funniest and truly illustrates how stupid people are. (It would have fit in with my second driving lesson had I continued that poorly written series). Everything this day was as it usually is. I was disturbed from a dream by my alarm way to early in the morning, heck the birds weren’t even up yet; I spent an hour on the train having my sleep disrupted by elbows in my side every five minutes (the length of time it took the idiot beside my to look at the pictures in the paper); and I fought through a crowd of people way too eager to get to work just to get out of the station. Once I survived that, I was on my way to the office, walking as slow as I possibly could of course. A little jaywalking here, some alley hopping there, a jaunt through a parking lot or two and I’m at work. Seems pretty basic but on the day in question the unwritten rules of walking seemed too much for one unlucky individual and she ended up with a story to tell her colleagues.
I was approaching an intersection, walking on the right hand side of the sidewalk, (which, unless I missed a memo somewhere, is the appropriate side to be walking on, just like driving in North America) and noticed two women walking towards me. I stayed my line making it quite clear I was not going to move as I was walking where I should have been. The lady on my right noticed me and stepped further to my right and out of my path creating a gap for me to walk through. With that gap I had no need to take evasive actions and thought I would slip right through with no worries. Would you not think the same? It happens that way all the time and in fact, Hollywood makes fun of that type of occurrence a lot. The second women noticed me, thanks to her friends warning, and instead of walking straight or even taking a step to my left to ensure avoidance, this yahoo took a step to my right and ended up directly in my path. We met as she stepped onto the curb so the resulting collision knocked her backwards off the curb, arms flailing everywhere.
I sort of felt bad at first but as I got to thinking about it, I decided it was her own fault. She was the one who stepped into my path while her friend was smart enough to move. If I am walking on the wrong side of the road and see someone almost twice my size coming towards me with not indication they are going to deviate from their path, I make sure to give them a wide berth. I try not to get into that position in the first place but sometimes it’s unavoidable. By the time I crossed the other corner I was fighting back a bout of laughter.
The first episode is perhaps the funniest and truly illustrates how stupid people are. (It would have fit in with my second driving lesson had I continued that poorly written series). Everything this day was as it usually is. I was disturbed from a dream by my alarm way to early in the morning, heck the birds weren’t even up yet; I spent an hour on the train having my sleep disrupted by elbows in my side every five minutes (the length of time it took the idiot beside my to look at the pictures in the paper); and I fought through a crowd of people way too eager to get to work just to get out of the station. Once I survived that, I was on my way to the office, walking as slow as I possibly could of course. A little jaywalking here, some alley hopping there, a jaunt through a parking lot or two and I’m at work. Seems pretty basic but on the day in question the unwritten rules of walking seemed too much for one unlucky individual and she ended up with a story to tell her colleagues.
I was approaching an intersection, walking on the right hand side of the sidewalk, (which, unless I missed a memo somewhere, is the appropriate side to be walking on, just like driving in North America) and noticed two women walking towards me. I stayed my line making it quite clear I was not going to move as I was walking where I should have been. The lady on my right noticed me and stepped further to my right and out of my path creating a gap for me to walk through. With that gap I had no need to take evasive actions and thought I would slip right through with no worries. Would you not think the same? It happens that way all the time and in fact, Hollywood makes fun of that type of occurrence a lot. The second women noticed me, thanks to her friends warning, and instead of walking straight or even taking a step to my left to ensure avoidance, this yahoo took a step to my right and ended up directly in my path. We met as she stepped onto the curb so the resulting collision knocked her backwards off the curb, arms flailing everywhere.
I sort of felt bad at first but as I got to thinking about it, I decided it was her own fault. She was the one who stepped into my path while her friend was smart enough to move. If I am walking on the wrong side of the road and see someone almost twice my size coming towards me with not indication they are going to deviate from their path, I make sure to give them a wide berth. I try not to get into that position in the first place but sometimes it’s unavoidable. By the time I crossed the other corner I was fighting back a bout of laughter.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Driving Lesson 1 - Approaching Intersections
It has become apparent as I drive the short distance from my house to the GO train station that people have forgotten what to do when approaching intersections. I'd like to share my knowledge and enilighten the ignorant.
Stop Lights:
When approaching an intersection one may come across a set of indicator lights. A red light at an intersection means stop. It's really that simple. For those who want to turn right on a red light, they may do so only when there are no cars approaching the intersection. This is really not rocket science, after all, they let 16 year olds get behind the wheel of vehicles.
Stop Signs:
When one approaches a stop sign they are to come to a complete stop (I believe the drivers handbook even says that one is required to wait three seconds after stopping before resuming). There is no such thing as a stoptional stop sign; drivers are required to stop at all stop signs.
There are various other little nuances with respect to stop signs but I don't want to cofuse anyone so I'll let this sink in before adding anything too complicated. This is the end of driving lesson 1, lesson 2 will be on multi-lane driving.
Stop Lights:
When approaching an intersection one may come across a set of indicator lights. A red light at an intersection means stop. It's really that simple. For those who want to turn right on a red light, they may do so only when there are no cars approaching the intersection. This is really not rocket science, after all, they let 16 year olds get behind the wheel of vehicles.
Stop Signs:
When one approaches a stop sign they are to come to a complete stop (I believe the drivers handbook even says that one is required to wait three seconds after stopping before resuming). There is no such thing as a stoptional stop sign; drivers are required to stop at all stop signs.
There are various other little nuances with respect to stop signs but I don't want to cofuse anyone so I'll let this sink in before adding anything too complicated. This is the end of driving lesson 1, lesson 2 will be on multi-lane driving.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Picture Perfect
There is nothing worse then when food looks better than it tastes. The Tin Roof Brownie Blizzard Cake from Dairy Queen does not fall into this category. Being a member of the blizzard fan club (yes, they have a blizzard fan club), I am privy to occasional emails from Dairy Queen promoting a blizzard as the “Blizzard of the Month”. This month I received an email advertising the “Blizzard of the Month” as, you guessed it, the Tin Roof Brownie Blizzard. Included in the email was a picture of the blizzard and the blizzard cake to entice the recipient. The picture worked; I was totally captivated by the cake and almost ran out the door and bought one right then. I didn't buy one then but yesterday circumstances allowed and, let me tell you, the cake was as good as advertised, if not better.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Welcome to my Universe
Yesterday someone asked how my universe was going. To that I basically replied nothing has changed and left it at that. I thought since I have not posted to this blog much in the past few months, I should expand on the status quo answer.
I stand by my answer that nothing in my life has changed. I still have the same job, same wife and same kid. Job still sucks, wife still works crazy hours so I don’t see her much and my son still doesn’t let me make dinner (although he is becoming quite the little man). The journey to and from work each day is perhaps the worst of all, although my actual job is a close second. People on the train still smack me with their purses, bags, newspapers, feet, arms, elbows, and their entire body in general. Unfortunately, no super models have smacked me with their breasts on the train but there is still hope. Once off the train and on my feet, people still cut me off (to which I end up walking on them or tripping them up because it is hard to stop a hippo once it’s in motion), and people still walk into me (sometimes just shoulder bumps and other times the result is a little more amusing, to me). When I get to work I continue to do mindless work that I have to explain to those coworkers I work closely with several times a week.
As for the few hours of fun I get at the end of each week, I still travel up the QEW to see the Bandits play at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, I saw my first hockey game at the Air Canada Centre last week, and I was able to attend Friday Night Fights at the Rogers Centre (the Jays home opener). Why are there fights at a baseball game? I don’t know. I guess the ‘fans’ were outraged that they paid money to watch these men, who make more money per pitch then they make in a week, play a child’s game. Oh wait, I forgot to mention the idiot that wanted to race me and my 4 cylinder car down the 407 in his/her (couldn’t see the driver) midsize V6 car. I should have raced; I just know I would have won.
So that is the long and short of my life.
I stand by my answer that nothing in my life has changed. I still have the same job, same wife and same kid. Job still sucks, wife still works crazy hours so I don’t see her much and my son still doesn’t let me make dinner (although he is becoming quite the little man). The journey to and from work each day is perhaps the worst of all, although my actual job is a close second. People on the train still smack me with their purses, bags, newspapers, feet, arms, elbows, and their entire body in general. Unfortunately, no super models have smacked me with their breasts on the train but there is still hope. Once off the train and on my feet, people still cut me off (to which I end up walking on them or tripping them up because it is hard to stop a hippo once it’s in motion), and people still walk into me (sometimes just shoulder bumps and other times the result is a little more amusing, to me). When I get to work I continue to do mindless work that I have to explain to those coworkers I work closely with several times a week.
As for the few hours of fun I get at the end of each week, I still travel up the QEW to see the Bandits play at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, I saw my first hockey game at the Air Canada Centre last week, and I was able to attend Friday Night Fights at the Rogers Centre (the Jays home opener). Why are there fights at a baseball game? I don’t know. I guess the ‘fans’ were outraged that they paid money to watch these men, who make more money per pitch then they make in a week, play a child’s game. Oh wait, I forgot to mention the idiot that wanted to race me and my 4 cylinder car down the 407 in his/her (couldn’t see the driver) midsize V6 car. I should have raced; I just know I would have won.
So that is the long and short of my life.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
March 2008 Quotes
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination. - Tommy Lasorda
Love is an attempt to change a piece of a dream world into a reality. - Theodore Reik
Fortune favours the brave. - Publis Terrence
In wars, boy, fools kill other fools for foolish causes. - Robert Jordan (The Eye of the World)
’Lydia’, he said, and wet his lips again.
‘What, darling?’
‘I have suspected something for many years. Now I am sure.’
‘My poor Morris! What?’
‘There is no God,’ Morris said, and fainted.
- Stephen King (Apt Pupil)
Looking back, we see it is often casual choices which chart a path to tragedy. - Anne Rule (The Stranger Beside Me)
A man who loves money is a bastard, someone to be hated. A man who can’t take care of it is a fool. You don’t hate him, but you got to pity him. - Stephen King (The Stand)
In one ultimate moment of lucidity it seemed to me that we were damned souls wandering in the half-world, souls condemned to wander through space till the generations of man came to an end, seeking their redemption, seeking oblivion – without hope of finding it. - Elie Wiesel (Night)
We are all born mad. Some remain so. - Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot)
Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. - Darryl Brock (If I Never Get Back)
A man’s mouth gets him in more trouble than his pecker ever could, most of the time. - Stephen King (The Green Mile)
And I don’t believe that people automatically have a right to what they want, no matter how badly they want it. Not every thirst should be slaked. Some things are just wrong. - Stephen King (Bag of Bones)
Once crazy goes past a certain point, you’re on a turnpike with no exit ramps. - Stephen King (Bag of Bones)
Consider well the seed from which you grew;
you were not formed to live like animals
but rather to pursue virtue and knowledge.
- Dante
The fatal tendency of mankind to leave off thinking about a thing when it is no longer doubtful, is the cause of half their errors. - John Stuart Mill (On Liberty)
One who holds a true belief without intelligence is just like a blind man who happens to take the right road... - Francis MacDonald Cornford (The Republic of Plato)
Nobody controls his own life,…The best you can do is choose to fill the roles given you by good people, people who love you. - Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game)
…people need to strive. They are happiest when they are working toward a goal. - Bob Cullen (Why Golf?)
…most natives,…saw life as a journey. What one did was not a statement about whether the person was good or bad. It was more a reflection about where one was on the journey and an indication of what had to be learned if the journey was to continue. - Tony Hollihan (Great Chiefs: Volume 1)
How harmful overspecialization is. It cuts knowledge at a million points and leaves it bleeding. - Isaac Asimov (Prelude to Foundation)
The closer to the truth, the better the lie, and the truth itself, when it can be used, is the best lie. - Isaac Asimov (Foundation's Edge)
Love is an attempt to change a piece of a dream world into a reality. - Theodore Reik
Fortune favours the brave. - Publis Terrence
In wars, boy, fools kill other fools for foolish causes. - Robert Jordan (The Eye of the World)
’Lydia’, he said, and wet his lips again.
‘What, darling?’
‘I have suspected something for many years. Now I am sure.’
‘My poor Morris! What?’
‘There is no God,’ Morris said, and fainted.
- Stephen King (Apt Pupil)
Looking back, we see it is often casual choices which chart a path to tragedy. - Anne Rule (The Stranger Beside Me)
A man who loves money is a bastard, someone to be hated. A man who can’t take care of it is a fool. You don’t hate him, but you got to pity him. - Stephen King (The Stand)
In one ultimate moment of lucidity it seemed to me that we were damned souls wandering in the half-world, souls condemned to wander through space till the generations of man came to an end, seeking their redemption, seeking oblivion – without hope of finding it. - Elie Wiesel (Night)
We are all born mad. Some remain so. - Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot)
Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. - Darryl Brock (If I Never Get Back)
A man’s mouth gets him in more trouble than his pecker ever could, most of the time. - Stephen King (The Green Mile)
And I don’t believe that people automatically have a right to what they want, no matter how badly they want it. Not every thirst should be slaked. Some things are just wrong. - Stephen King (Bag of Bones)
Once crazy goes past a certain point, you’re on a turnpike with no exit ramps. - Stephen King (Bag of Bones)
Consider well the seed from which you grew;
you were not formed to live like animals
but rather to pursue virtue and knowledge.
- Dante
The fatal tendency of mankind to leave off thinking about a thing when it is no longer doubtful, is the cause of half their errors. - John Stuart Mill (On Liberty)
One who holds a true belief without intelligence is just like a blind man who happens to take the right road... - Francis MacDonald Cornford (The Republic of Plato)
Nobody controls his own life,…The best you can do is choose to fill the roles given you by good people, people who love you. - Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game)
…people need to strive. They are happiest when they are working toward a goal. - Bob Cullen (Why Golf?)
…most natives,…saw life as a journey. What one did was not a statement about whether the person was good or bad. It was more a reflection about where one was on the journey and an indication of what had to be learned if the journey was to continue. - Tony Hollihan (Great Chiefs: Volume 1)
How harmful overspecialization is. It cuts knowledge at a million points and leaves it bleeding. - Isaac Asimov (Prelude to Foundation)
The closer to the truth, the better the lie, and the truth itself, when it can be used, is the best lie. - Isaac Asimov (Foundation's Edge)
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