Wisdom from a children's book?

There is a line in a children’s book I once read, The Magician’s Nephew, that indicated that when things go bad they continue to do so but then when things get good again they get better and better. Well, when things start going good for me I hope I can survive the party’ cuz let me tell ya, it is going to be like flying around the world in first class with no need to work another day in my life kind of party. Wait a minute. That last bit about not working another day of my life sounds kinda like death. Damn, if I have to wait until death for the good to start happening I should have a long time of things getting worse ahead of me.

Boredom returns!

Well, I am back to writing posts here so that can only mean one thing. Yep, you guessed it. Boredom has returned to my work life. For the past many months work has been fullfilling busy and I have not had time to spend jotting down the insignificance of my life. That has changed again, perhaps only for a short time, but as long as I don't let the boredom numb my mind I will write again.

Wrong place, wrong time?

When some random tragic event happens to someone, regardless if the person's actions were their typical actions or some deviation from their norm, people often say that the person was in the wrong place at the wrong time. On my walk into work this morning, as I watched the horde of jaywalking minions carry on with nary a thought for their own safety, this phrase popped into my head and I began to wonder about the use of this phrase. This phrase cannot be used unilaterally in all seemingly random tragedies. Being in the right place at the wrong time or the wrong place at the right time is just as likely to end in tragedy as is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Being in the right place at the wrong time opens a person up for tragedy as any subsequent event that occurs would happen at a time when the person should not be where they are. In the event the person is early, anything could happen to the person while they are waiting for the right time that would not have happened if the person was on time. Likewise, any event that happens when a person is late to the right place would have possibly been avoided if the person showed up at the right time since theoretically; they should no longer be in that place.

Looking at things the other way, being in the wrong place at the right time, does not reduce the likelihood of tragedy. If one shouldn't be in a certain place then it really doesn't matter the timing as they shouldn't be in that place to begin with. Taking this deviated phrase at face value, is there ever really a right time to be in the wrong place?

When random tragedies happen we should not jump to the conclusion that it is simply a case of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time; other explanations are just as likely. But I guess it is easier for the masses to comfort themselves with a catchall phrase than to actually look for meaning. After all, who really wants to believe that tragedies can happen to anyone at anytime rather than on those rare occasions when some poor soul is somewhere they should never be at that given point in time. We would rather just write it off as bad luck, forget about it and continue on with our own lives without a second thought. Keep to the same routine day in and day out and nothing bad will happen. Time to put my rose coloured glasses back on and get back to my regular scheduled program.

More things I am not going to miss

Since I have time on my hands, here are some things I am not going to miss while I am off work. Driving to the GO station and hoping the train is on time; the constant pounding of elbows and bags into my side, arms and legs while riding the train; the other annoyances public transit offers, i.e. smells, loud obnoxious people...; getting to work and having nothing to do; working with idiots; taking the train home and hoping it is on time; taking the train home and hoping I actually get home; and those inconsiderate drivers at the GO parking lots.

So in general, I am not going to miss a damn thing about my work / commute while I am off. This is not to say I am going to thoroughly enjoy the five months with screaming kids and never wish I was at work. Nope, I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying I am not going to miss coming to this workplace.

Not much spirit here

Apparently it is St Patrick's Day but one would not know it to look around here. Looking at the people in my little office space here one wouldn't know it was a green day at all. From the 20 or so people here, only myself and one other person is wearing green today. Come to think of it I didn't notice much green on the train ride in either but most people were still had their jackets on (if that would even make a difference).

Where has our spirit gone? Are we so wrapped up in our own little, insignificant lives that we cannot break out of our shell for just one day. Can we not come together in the middle of a work week and celebrate one nation of people, a nation who enjoys the occasional drink, fisticuffs, music, dancing and just life in general? Can we not enjoy one day where we can act silly, dress in any shade of green, drink beer dyed the same colour and hope to share in the Irish luck.

I am not one to go out and act silly but I will definitely get behind a nation of people whose stereotype, whether true or not, is to have fun and enjoy life, even if only for a day. So get out and enjoy the green beer, you might actually have a good time and perhaps you will experience a bit of the Irish luck on this magical day.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Should be starting now

This is about the time my countdown to freedom chaos and dirty diapers should be starting; however, I am already into my fifth week of counting down. After today I will have 105 actual working hours left. That translates into 15 days or just under 4 weeks. Although I am really looking forward to not coming into work, I am starting to get worried about the taking care of kids part. With some upgraded software being implemented at work soon, my next few weeks should be busy enough at work that time won't seem so painfully long as the first four plus weeks have.

252 to go!

252 hours of work to go until I am off and the long weekend is here for me. Monday is Family day so get out to your local CHL rink to catch some cheap hockey fun with the family. Monday is also Canada's flag day so wave those flags proudly. Oh yeah, the Olympics are a day away. Go Canada!

Walking around the great city of Toronto

A friend of mine recently spent a short time living in downtown Toronto and his thoughts of that experience were not very favourable. Sure there is a lot to do in the land of failed sports teams for those who have the money to do any of it. Those with limited funds can still find things to do providing they can afford the $6 round trip on the TTC or don’t mind spending half the day walking to where they want to go and back. But that is not really the point of this.

The one thing that my friend commented on is something I have grown used to and perhaps even become a part of while traveling or wandering downtown. He said that everyone walked with their heads down and never made eye contact with anyone else. On the occasions he tried to exchange pleasantries with any passerby they either ignored him altogether or gave him a look as if he belonged in the looney bin or might rob them. People so wrapped up in their self; so entrenched in the greed and self importance that has infected what was once a great city that they cannot even be pleasant to their fellow citizens.

This is all too familiar to me. Sure I have been sucked into the negativity that seems to seep up through the pavement of the cracked sidewalks and pot-holed streets and have long ago stopped trying to make eye contact with everyone I pass by; I have even gotten to the point where I do not get out of the way of people who are too busy in themselves to notice anything other then their own two feet or their blackberry but I try to be pleasant to those who have yet to succumb to the poison and still knows how to be friendly.

Let’s just hope this is not the way of the future or the world will become a really lonely place.

The countdown is on!!!

A few months ago our second child was born and my wife started her maternity leave. Just like with our first child I will be once again sharing the parental leave portion. My leave has recently been approved at work making April 9th my last day.

With nothing else to really look forward to I have already begun my countdown. As of 11 AM today I will have just under 38 actual working days; 263 hours; or 15,780 minutes of ‘actual’ work left until my leave. With plenty of vacation time still to use my actual time here will be far less.

So what if I am a little too excited about leaving this place. Five months off work starting prior to the start of spring and lasting to just before summer officially ends. What a perfect time to not have to work. Even better than not working is not having to take the GO train at all for 5 months. I think I have reason to be this excited. The only downfall: with my countdown starting so early, the last 38 days are going to seem excruciatingly long.

Hold the volume

I don't like loud people.

They are usually very distracting (maybe disruptive is a better word) and in most situations very annoying. From my experience they are all more than ready to put in their own opinions, especially when they are not involved in the conversation, and are generally hasty in everything they do.

Another conundrum: noodles or soup?

This past weekend my son, my wife and I went to the in laws Saturday and returning home Sunday, arriving just in time for dinner. Now, if we had thought about it in advance we would have taken something out of the freezer and put it in the fridge Saturday morning before we left so we’d have food to cook upon our return. Of course that didn’t happen so we were stuck searching high and low for food to eat.

Not wanting to order out we settled on packages of Mr. Noodles to eat. Thinking this would not be enough for us I suggested having soup to go with it but my wife rejected that saying that we were already having soup in the Mr. Noodles. I countered saying that it was not soup but noodles so we could still have soup. I mean, the name itself suggests it is noodles and not soup. Perhaps this will be another of those eternal conundrums. Or maybe there is a simple answer that eluded us in our “jetlagged” state.

Nightmare!

Last night I had the worst of all nightmares. I was driving my truck on the highway and was pulled over for essentially warning other drivers about the presence of police. The officer somehow locked my ignition so I had to leave my truck on the side of the highway but he was nice enough to offer me a ride. During that ride I saw the list of lame infractions he had written me up for and so I started questioning him about the validity of them. Apparently my arguing worked because he agreed to drive me back to my truck and let me drive it home.

Up to this point this dream wasn’t so bad but it was about to change in a hurry. As we approached the spot where my truck was sitting I noticed a line of cars parked on the shoulder including a fire truck and an ambulance blocking one lane of traffic. Once my truck came into view we saw the accident: right where my truck sat. The officer stopped at the end of the row of cars and I got out and walked to my truck only to find it more resembled an accordion than a motorized vehicle.

I guess that’s what I get for watching the “Demolition Derby” special of Mythbusters before going to bed.

It's all downhill from here

For those of you who are anxious for summer to arrive, Sunday is your day. Keep in mind that after Sunday the days begin to get shorter. After Sunday's peak of almost 15.5 hours of sun, we will see a little less daylight every day until we get to just over eight hours of sun on December 21, 2009. Too bad you didn't stop whining long enough to enjoy the lovely Spring we had because after Sunday, it will be all downhill.

Tax harmonization might lead to good thing

I have never been for this tax harmonization taking affect in Ontario on Canada Day next year but in reading an article on it today, there might be some good that comes out of it after all, even if it is done to fool us, the consumer.

According to this article on thestar.com, "Some Liberals are urging the premier to embed the HST...in prices". Now even though this would be done to hide the taxes to reduce the outcry from the consumers, I think this is a great idea. In fact, I think this should have been done a long time ago when the GST came to be (and seat sales on flights but that is another situation all together). The reason this wasn't done before though was because it would be seen as the government being deceptive and trying to hide the taxes, the exact thing being proposed now. Interesting how government opinions change to suit their needs, isn't it?

Taxes are unavoidable in this economic system, we know that, or at least we should, so we don't need to be reminded of it every time we purchase something. My main concern when I buy that new pair of shoes or food for dinner is the total amount leaving my wallet not how much of it goes to the various levels of government. Can we opt out of paying any tax if we think the amount is too high? No, so there is no reason the tax cannot be hidden in the posted amount. The receipt will still give everyone the ammunition they need to complain about taxes. While they are at it, they should force prices to end in either a 5 or 0 so the penny can be retired too.

It's a bad day when...

...photocopying is the most exciting part of it.

Liquid sludge

I can't remember whose slogan was 'good to the last drop', be it Nabob's or Maxwell House's or possibly even Nescafe's, but I put that to practice today. On a rare occurrence I ventured to the dungeons here at work and bought a french vanilla cappuccino, jumbo size of course. For those who don't drink coffee or the sweet cappuccino drinks, they are mixed from very sugary flavoured powder and if one does not constantly keep the drink swishing around, the powder doesn't completely dissolve and settles to the bottom of the cup. Well, with a jumbo cappuccino there is more powder to flavour the water with and when not vigilantly stirred, there is more powder to settle at the bottom.

That is exactly what happened to me today. I was working while drinking the cappuccino so my attention wasn't solely on ensuring my drink was mixed properly. The end result was a large amount of liquid sludge waiting at the bottom of my cup. Of course I couldn't let all that sugar go to waste so I drank it. Well, I tried to drink it but near the end I had to use my finger to help shovel the remnants into my mouth. It was good at the time but I am now starting to regret my decision. Ugh!

Savings amid tax harmonization

Recently the Ontario government agreed to harmonize the GST and PST taxes into one tax. This tax will now apply to more products and services than before because some of those products that were exempt from GST will not be exempt from the HST. In essence, this harmonization will cost each Ontario citizen more money to live. At least I can save $20 by not buying a new wallet because I am not going to have any money to put in it once this tax is implemented. Guess I’ll have to start shopping in the US soon.

Useless Fact About Me

I realized something about me while having my blood stolen from me in the name of health. I have different views when it comes to seeing blood depending on the circumstances. I have no problem seeing blood when it is being taken from me with a needle but I don’t really enjoy seeing it from a cut, at least not in large quantities. In other words, I would make a terrible crime scene investigator, cop, health professional and any other occupation that may come into contact with large quantities of blood. Good thing I am an office bitch then, I guess.

Why Won't You Stop

The other day I went to a walk in clinic to have a spot on my back checked out. It had been bleeding for at least a day and showed no signs of stopping, even though the leak did slow down. So there I am sitting in the waiting area with no obvious signs of sickness while the others were sitting with swollen ankles/feet, swollen eye and various cough, sniffles and sneezes. I felt like quite the idiot. The spot on my back was so small and the blood was flowing so slowly that it paled in comparison to the needs of the others.

Anyhow, the spot was nothing and they pretty much had the bleeding stopped before I left but to get even with me for wasting their time, they made me take a blood test.

A Great Start

There is not much better than starting the day with cold pizza leftover from the night before. I just wish that short-lived moment is not the best part of my day but it likely will be.