Linked To A King

A few days back a friend wrote a note on facebook asking people to add memories of their time together. Immediately I thought of our occasional lunch trips to Burger King. Surely there are better memories than our BK trips, even though these were lots of fun, to share with her. Trying to think of better times to actually type out I stumbled on the realization that my life has been linked with the ‘king’ of burger joints for quite some time.

Way back in high school a group of us frequented the local Burger King almost daily during our spare and lunch. Lots of fun was had both at the restaurant and on the drive. Plus it was a great escape from the school area and all the crap that went with it. Then when I went to university there was a Burger King close to where I was living (and not far from the school) that I made full use of. They also gave a deal to students so that was an added bonus. That was where I almost met my Burger Queen. (A fun drinking story I will get to later). The next year one of my housemates found a BK that was open 24 hours so we were able to fill our hunger at all hours, even if it was a 20 minute drive. We frequently did at 2 or 3 in the morning. Even my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) entertained our midnight cravings of BK and drove our drunken asses the 20 minutes a few times a week.

After all this, I guess I can just go ahead and add my BK story in answer to my friend’s query. As sad as that may seem.

Groundhog Day: Another Custom With a Lost Beginning

Being curious about where the Groundhog Day custom started and having lots of extra time on my hands I decided to look it up on wikipedia. As with most of our customs, Groundhog Day has several theories on how it came to be but none are really stated as the one. Whatever the beginning is, it is pretty sad that we need an oversized rat to give us some hope that winter is ending even though these predictions are even less accurate than the ones professional forecasters give us. Winter has about six more weeks left to it regardless of what Punxsutawney Phil, Wiarton Willie, or any of their other furry counterparts have to say…or should I say what the officials at these various locations have to say.

January 2009 Quotes

Small beginnings of any good thing...are to be cherished and cultivated.
- William Dawson (former Principal of McGill)

It's only natural for people who consider themselves deprived to dislike those who seem to have everything.
- Isaac Asimov (Nemesis)

the simplest explanation is usually the truest.
- Robert Jordan (The Eye of the World)

A man must know when to retreat from a woman...but a wise man knows that sometimes he must stand and face her.
- Robert Jordan (Lord of Chaos)

Men really were…inconvenient…at times. The best of them found ways to say exactly the wrong thing at the wrong momet
- Robert Jordan (A Path of Daggers)

…every one who receives the protection of society owes a return for the benefit, and the fact of living in society renders it indispensable that each should be bound to observe a certain line of conduct towards the rest.
- John Stuart Mill (On Liberty)

A place for everyone and everyone in their place, chosen for them according to their talents and the needs for society.
- Robert Jordan (Lord of Chaos)

Women did strange things to a man's head.
- Robert Jordan (Winter's Heart)

Every man had his limits…and a man pushed to them was especially dangerous…
- Robert Jordan (Crossroads of Twilight)

Might as well try to drink the ocean with a spoon as argue with a lover.
- Stephen King (The Drawing of the Three)

Disappointment was never a thing you looked for, but it had a wonderful way of clearing the mind.
- Stephen King (Wizard and Glass)

Wonders are many, but none,
none is more wonderous than man.
- Gilbert Highet (Man's Unconquerable Mind)

The Lord helped those who helped themselves.
- Stephen King (The Stand)

…maybe the greatest talent of all is the talent to work.
- Brian McFarlane (Best of the Original Six)

You are safe in any reasonable sense, but no one is absolutely safe.
- Isaac Asimov (Prelude to Foundation)

At odd and unpredictable times, we cling in fright to the past.
- Isaac Asimov (Foundation's Edge)

Peter: So I'm sitting in my cubicle today and I realized that ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So it means that every single day you see me, that's on the worst day of my life.

Dr. Swanson: What about today? Is today the worst day of your life?

Peter: Yeah.

Dr. Swanson: Wow, that's messed up.
- from Office Space

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
- John Denver (Take Me Home, Country Roads)

The human mind naturally adapts itself to the position it occupies.
- Charles Hibbert Tupper

Some praise at morning what they blame at night;
But always think the last opinion right.
- Alexander Pope (An Essay on Criticism, Part II)

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.
- Alexander Pope (An Essay on Criticism, Part II)

She saw the world through the eyes of a child
Yes she's seen it all and she knows they're all lies
- Soul Asylum (Eyes of a Child)

...a woman who had taken a man to her bed always looked at him with that light of ownership in her eyes after.
- Robert Jordan (The Fires of Heaven)

...women would believe anything about a man so long as it was bad. And the worse it was, the more they had to talk about it
- Robert Jordan (Winter's Heart)

A woman would do a thing until you were sure she always would, then do something else just to fuddle you.
- Robert Jordan (A Crown of Swords)

Stories have power. Gleeman's tales, and bards' epics, and rumors in the street alike. They stir passions, and change the way men see the world.
- Robert Jordan (Winter's Heart)

Random Quote

Weekends here, good God almighty
Baby, lets get drunk and be somebody
- Toby Keith (Get Drunk and Be Somebody)

Now That's Dedication

I actually cut my lunch break short today to get work done. Is that dedication or what?

I then took a couple minutes to share this with you all. Hmmm.

Waiting

The commute in to work today went fairly well today until we approached Union Station and the train slowed and agonizingly inched forward. Impatient to get off the train (not so much to get to work though) this ten minutes felt like an eternity. Whenever you have a machine that is capable of high speeds go slower than an easy jog, time always seems to stand still.

Wanting to see what the delay was all about I scoped out the scene and saw nothing. That's right, all the tracks inside Union Station were abandoned. Nary a soul was stirring, at least on the side I was looking at, the side with all but three tracks on it. After straining my neck some, I saw our predicament. There was a train on our track. So we waited outside of Union while the other tracks sat empty. They did eventually fill up, some even emptying again, while we waited but that didn't make me feel any better about the situation. Finally, our number was called, "Seinfeld table for four", and our workday began.

Just A Man

So today is the day the world changes. Barack Obama gets the keys to the White House.

I for one am not buying all this hype. President Obama does not have lightning bolts shooting from his ass nor can he run faster than a speeding bullet. He is just a man. Just a man with ideas. Some will turn out to be good ones, others bad ones. If he survives his first four years, he will get another four. That's all folks. Then he will go on to make millions speaking at conferences and holding seminars. And our tiny insignificant lives will be no better for him having served his term in office.

So President Obama, enjoy your moment in the spotlight and best of luck living up to even half the expectations that have been put on you. If I am proven wrong so be it, I don't claim to be very intelligent, let alone a political expert.

Browsing the Headlines

While on lunch I like to browse the news and today I found a couple headlines on thestar.com that I just couldn't resist commenting on.

"GO predicts normal schedule for afternoon commute"
- translation: riders can expect the usual delays but they will be far shorter, or at least far fewer, than the ones experienced this morning.

"Lincoln will be at heart of Obama's inaugural"
- would inauguration not be a better form than inaugural in this context?

Answer to My Riddle

I think I have gotten the only guess that I am going to get so here is the much anticipated answer to my riddle:

I am a GO train

(it's mostly green anyhow)

I hope you all, meaning, I hope Stinky T had fun trying to solve my somewhat obscure riddle.

After Christmas Let Down

Several months ago a co-worker came up with a nickname for me and has been using ever since. That is until the new year started.

In early December I decided I needed to figure out a nickname for this person in return. A week went by and I had nothing. A second week went by and I thought I had one, even if I thought it was too Hollywood, but as it turned out, that nickname has been used and tarnished already. So I was left to ponder once again.

I set myself a deadline of Christmas to figure out a nickname for this person, you know, to serve as a kind of present for him. As of now I still have no nickname for him and the lack of creativity on my part has let down my coworker so much that he has stopped using my nickname when we pass in the halls. If only his name was more conducive for just adding a “y” at the end… I don’t think he would have let me get away with something so simple anyhow.