February 15

NATIONAL FLAG DAY OF CANADA

While most of the world is recovering from the after effects of chocolate, wine or champagne or both, and quite possibly strenuous exercise, Canadians will be celebrating the birth (creation) of it's own National Flag.

Until the single red maple leaf was approved by the House of Commons and finally the Senate in December of 1964, Canada did not have a flag the country could call it's own. Although a national flag was proposed before 1964, it took the determination and actions of Lester Pearson to finally accomplish this feat. The creation of the national flag of Canada was a major step for Canada to become more of a single, unified country with less reliance on the British Empire.

On February 15, 1965, the Canadian Flag was raised on Parliament Hill for the first time, fully acknowledged by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada. Canada further removed itself from the grips of British reign in 1982 when Pierre Trudeau created Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms by replacing the old BNA Act. Enough of the history!

The Canadian Flag is a symbol that we Canadians can rally behind; it symbolizes both our French and English roots and the various issues we overcame to create the best country in the world. Of course, our country is not perfect and there are still areas where our great country can improve, but overall it is a great country. So on February 15 take the time to reflect on our history, take pride in where we, as a country, are and continue to help make our country great.

It's Like Having Teeth Pulled

Well, today I had my wisdom teeth removed, all four of them. Only two were in dire need of being removed but I figured, much to the delight of both dentists (my regular dentist referred me to a dentist more accustomed to performing this procedure), since I will already be suffering from two gaps in my mouth, why not make it an even four. Four is a great number anyhow and seems to have some connection to my life overall.

I had very little fear at all going into this procedure since they were going to administer a general anaesthetic so I wouldn't feel a thing. After all, I had recently been given an anaesthetic when I had the gastroscopy done and have fond memories of that situation. Even though I learned a few things from that, this dentist visit was nowhere near as pleasant.

The morning started out okay. I got to the office in lots of time and did not have to wait that long before I was shown to the chair. The nurses were nice and explained things to me nicely. But then they started into things. After attaching the BP monitor, the burses gave me laughing gas. When they were describing it to me, the gas sounded nice but that was not the case for me. Instead of being relaxing it made me a little panicky. Flashbacks of some movie I saw at an all-night drive in back in high school attacked my mind and prevented me from enjoying the drug (sorry I can't remember the title as I was comfortably numb at the time).

One of the nurses eventually asked if I was okay and I quickly responded in the negative. They reduced the amount of gas being pumped out and I heard the dentist, who had recently entered the room, make a comment about the way nitrous oxide affects people differently and then there was nothing. I woke up in a different room, not sure how I got there (thankfully this was the first time in my life I have ever been a victim of this) and the nurse went to get my mom and baby Alan so I could leave.

This is where my teachings from the gastroscopy came to my assistance. When the nurse told me to sit up and put on my shoes, I didn't rush to it like it was my first panty raid, oh no, I took my sweet ass time as if I was a bottle of wine in the process of being aged to perfection. I would like to think I saved myself a little embarrassment today. I eventually got up, with a mouth that felt like it ballooned to astronomical proportions, stumbling like a drunk with a nurse acting like my friend who drew the short straw and had to help me to my car.

Thankfully that was over but now comes the hardest part, the healing process. The post-op instructions say I must eat but then goes on to say I can only eat soft food. The list they so nicely provided consisted of pudding, yoghurt, jell-o, ice cream (I can live with this one), pasta (overcooked pasta at that I am sure) and eggs. No steaks, pork chops, chicken breasts, ham, or anything that resembles real food. So I have to suffer for at least 48 hours (isn't that a movie title) and possibly 72 hours without real food and I will have to be careful what and how I eat until my mouth is properly healed. All this just so I can floss. Hardly seems worth it now but I guess it is still better than dentures at age 35.

Side note: I finally went to see the specialist again yesterday to get the results from the gastroscopy and it seems I am not dying nor is there a nice quick easy fix for my problem. Nope. I will just have to lose weight and hope that solves it. I guess my liquid diet will help this out.

Tidbits

Mistakes

Recently the lyrics to Hungry Heart by the Boss, Bruce Springsteen, have been stuck in my mind: “I took a wrong turn and I just kept going”. Throughout my life, I have made several mistakes (wrong turns) and, looking back, most times I have erred in my judgement I had a chance to go back to the spot and try again but instead I kept plugging on full speed ahead. I guess this doesn’t really matter now since things turned out alright but I just needed to get it off my chest. As the saying goes, ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’; I guess a lifetime of wrongs (albeit small wrongs) do make a right.

Beware the Army of Doves

During one night earlier last week, Tuesday night I think, the Army of Doves landed on Front Street in Toronto and affixed warning signs to pretty much everything, walls, poles, even newspaper boxes were used…or abused. I do not know what this group stands for or why they targeted Front Street, but from the way the red circular signs smoothered everything in sight, it seems this group means business. Until the Army makes their intentions known, I would tread lightly and watch your back.

Always Thinking?

I heard a news story on the radio last week discussing a recent survey. (Do people not have anything better to do than do pointless studies?). This particular study proved that we humans are always thinking. Whether it is about how that girl practically exposed herself in the train on the way to work or what to cook for dinner or if we managed to lock the door before leaving, our minds are never blank. I don’t know about any of you but I frequently feel as if my mind is blank…I guess not. I guess you can’t respond to the question ‘what are you thinking about?’ with a simple ‘nothing’ anymore.

Comedic Relief

Last week (a lot seemed to happen last week) I was telling my mom how my throat was sore again. Here’s a snapshot of the conversation:

Me: My throat is sore….again!
Mom: ….Maybe you’re allergic to something in the building at work.
Me: Like what? Work?
*after the laughing subsided*
Me: Oh wait I don’t really do any work there anyhow.

A Short Reprieve

As tomorrow is my last day of work for 4 months, I am getting more excited by the minute. This is; however, a touch on the sad side too for there is a group of friends I will leave behind. I am making it sound as if I am about to die when it is almost the opposite. I am sure my life will increase by a number of years by not having to suffer through the agonizing journey to and from work nor dealing with idiots once I reach my destination because we all read that article stating idiots in the workplace affect one’s health.

Back to the topic before I totally lose all hope of getting somewhere with this post. For the past month, all I have really thought about is that I get a reprieve from the daily torture of work and the morons I work with/for; I never once thought about the good people I won’t be seeing for 17 weeks. These people, these friends are my ‘saving grace’ while I wither away everyday staring into the monitor. They know what it is like there, know the people I deal with, and are going through some similar situations that I went through. In other words, they can relate to me and I to them. They listen to my rants and either sympathize, make a joke about the situation or person involved, or remind me of their situation, which sometimes offers a little relief to my woes.

I wish they all could join me but unfortunately, that will not pay their bills so it is not practical. Besides, if they did join me I would not get updates on the Employee of the Year award nominees (for which we had one the first day back to work this year and 3 nominees by the end of the first week of 2007). It is going to be a tight race this year, so tight we may need to add more categories. My time off will go by extremely quick so I will be back to work before I want to be and be subjected to the mind numbing stupidity once again. Until then, to my comrades in arms, Godspeed.

GO Trainisms

Since I didn’t have to go to work today and therefore, not subjected to the uncomfortable ride on the GO, I thought it fitting to list some indiosyncracies that people who ride GO have. Some of these quirks and habits are traits of every form of public transit but I think there will be some unique to the GO trains (at least unique to the GTA).

I shall start with some very common and quite ordinary practices witnessed on public transit. The people that mind their own business by sleeping, reading, quietly listen to music or quietly engage in conversation with a friend. These traits are very boring but are very good qualities to have (unfortunately some days they are quite rare).

All the aforementioned traits have evolved into less than ideal qualities. The generally quiet task of reading a newspaper can create more noise than some conversations and we all know about those who like their music at ear splitting volumes (I fall into this category sometimes when I need to drown out the LOP’s). The LOP’s are short for the loud obnoxious people. These people think that every single person in the train car wants to hear every word they say, as if they alone know the best movies to see, places to visit or the best way to get rid of transients or their views on anything else the mindnumbing free papers see fit to print.

I shall finally end this stupid post with a couple unique traits of the GO train. These two unique traits of riders are known as the ‘runners’ and the ‘walkers’. I have never followed the ‘runners’ philosophy but I must admit I do follow the ‘walkers’ method from time to time. The runners are those riders who line up at the door before their stop so they can be the first ones out. Once out these people run towards their car in hopes of avoiding the parking lot mayhem. Just imagine this for a minute now. Business people in suits, dresses and skirts trying to run in heels with bags or briefcases floundering at their sides. This phenomenon is actually quite amusing. The walkers are those who walk from car to car to get closer to an exit on the platform.

I hope I have added some humour to your day without making you dread the ride home or back to work the next day.

Don’t Call Me Mr. Mom!

My wife has found a job and now I will be in charge of taking care of baby Alan and getting things done around the house. As you can imagine I am looking forward to being away from work, and the idiots associated with work, for 4 months, especially since I get to spend time with baby Alan. Even though taking care of the baby will be fun, I am also very nervous about it. After all, I have performed the various tasks like cleaning, dishes, laundry, and cooking before (even though I haven’t had to do any of it in the past 7 months) but I have never taken care of a baby before. In fact, I have avoided babies and underage children all my life.

Today and tomorrow I get a sneak peek at how my days with baby Alan will be spent since my leave does not officially start until Feb 5. So far the day seems to be going pretty good, I even got to sleep in a bit this morning, although I didn’t hear Alan stir last night but woke to my wife trying to put him back to sleep. That will need work in the future. I was warned that feeding the baby will take up most of my day and I am quickly finding that out first hand. After all, he does eat 6 times a day (according to the meal planner my wife made for me to follow).

It is time for another episode of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues so I shall sign off now. I will try to update on my progress and maybe even post some pics from time to time in the next four months (I will try weekly updates but past history suggests that is not likely).

Letter to My Train Buddy

My Dear Train Buddy,

I only have a few train trips left until my lengthy absence from work and with you working late, you were unable to join me on the train ride home tonight. Without you for company, I felt so exposed and vulnerable, even though we usually just listen to our iPod’s and venture into the depths of our own thougts or emptiness…and sometimes dreams. I will miss our adventures getting to the train but I will not miss the actual ride at all.

Since I am writing to you now, I should apologize for abandoning you for such a long time. I know you understand. I also hope your train rides without me are more fun than mine was today...and a lot quieter.

Sincerely,

The Shuster

Let’s Go Bandits!

At long last the National Lacrosse Season is in full swing. The endless torture of waiting for the season to start has been replaced by pulse pounding, end to end excitement. Hard hits fast paced action and more goals in one game than the professional zebra racing (NHL) gets in a night. Okay that last part is a bit of an exaggeration but there still are a lot of goals.

Since the end of last season I have been sporting a Buffalo Bandits hat proudly but recently I have been questioned about it (being in Toronto that is to be expected even though ninety percent of Torontonians don’t have a clue what lacrosse is or that Toronto even has a team; thanks 905 for supporting the team). On Friday as I was leaving work, I was stopped and questioned about the aforementioned hat. At this time I proudly flashed my Bandits jersey, in a similar fashion to Superman revealing the S on his chest, and tried to explain why the Bandits over the Toronto Rock (that is Toronto’s team for those who don’t know). I don’t feel I gave a satisfactory response so I shall try to better it here and now.

I will start with why not Toronto. The team captain seems like he belongs in a nursing home rather than playing a sport other than lawn bowling (I mentioned this to the questioners Friday and they chuckled); the fans in Toronto are more concerned with being seen than watching the actual game (there are many exceptions but in a crowd of 16K they seem immaterial); the game announcer doesn’t seem to understand a thing about lacrosse or getting the crowd into the game; the sound system in the ACC is set up with way too much bass that one can barely make out any words when one speaks (and seeing as they have an in game announcer this feature is pretty important); and to top things off, they went ahead and traded possibly the best player in the league and the teams true captain (Colin Doyle) before the season started.

Now for the why to Buffalo. First of all, I like the way the HSBC arena is set up, the club seats are actually good seats; everyone involved seems to be very knowledgeable of lacrosse and are friendly; the fans are crazy and don’t need the announcer to start every cheer; the music is at a good level and the sound system is properly equalized; the Bandits have two of the best players in the league (Tavares and Steenhuis) and have a couple young guys who look like they will become stars in the league (Powless and Bucktooth); and overall it is such a better atmosphere in Buffalo. In past years I went to Buffalo and I felt myself wanting to cheer for Buffalo just because it was so electric in the HSBC.

This year I am torn between the two teams. I have been a Rock fan since 1999 when I happened to catch a game on tv one weekend while channel surfing but in the early ‘90’s I watched the Bandits on a local Buffalo station and have followed them since I was reminded of them in 1999. I recently came to the decision that Toronto is my team and once they wizen up and get rid of the geriatric case (Veltman) I will return to them. Until then I am a Bandits fan. Let’s Go Bandits! Wooooooooow!

Changes

Change – the process of becoming different.

Most, if not all, of us are constantly changing or have, and at the very least, we all have gone through one major change in life. Many people actively seek to change themselves in some way, usually for the better, or at least, what the person perceives as being better, while most of us change gradually over time without trying or even wanting to, as a result of the events and situations we encounter throughout life. Most of the time change happens without the person even having a clue it has happened until another points it out to them (and they go through the various steps of denial, reflection, acceptance and in some cases a fourth step is needed, that of apology).

Change is seen differently by everyone; some people see change as a good thing; for others change is bad; while still others see change as necessary. Only a few see change as an inevitable consequence or advantage of what TLC calls “Life Lessons” (I’m sure they even have a cute little figure for this topic). I have come to the conclusion that no matter how one sees change, one cannot successfully alter their self while actively trying to, others will not allow it.

Throughout life, each decision helps shape one’s inner being, character and attitudes towards everything. Each successive decision is based on precedents set by previous decisions as well as any new variables (except in the justice system). These decisions in turn shape and reshape the person and over time creating a reputation. This reputation, built up over time, will be strongly held in the conscious minds of others that any attempt to change this perception will be met with criticism. There are even some clever cliché’s made about this: “a leopard can’t change it’s spots” is one that I heard recently.

With this type of attitude from others why should one even try to change? Even though change is always happening ‘behind the scenes’, change seems to be an impossible task for someone to consciously attempt. If any of you know someone who is trying to change something about them, please be as encouraging as possible and try not to send any negative vibes in that person’s direction. Change can happen but it won’t overnight, it is a gradual occurrence so be patient and don’t make it harder for the person with your negative comments.

Yet Another Classic

I think I need to set this one up for you all. Like all the others thus far, I wrote this song in high school and it was based on true events. At the time this was written, someone was running around killing people in a town in British Columbia. To add to this I was starting to get into some heavy music (Cannibal Corpse) that deals with the grotesque side of things. I have warned those of you I work with that you may see me in a different light after reading this and I really didn't want to post this but I cannot disappoint the few readers I have.

Murderous Ways

I feel myself slipping away
I fight to stay awake
Because as I drift to sleep
My thoughts become clearer
My urge to kill awakes
As I jump to my feet
I walk zombie like
Towards the kitchen cupboard
It's too late to turn around
The need for death is strong at hand

I leave the house
My victim soon to be found
Thoughts of death haunt my mind
As I attack them from behind
They never see me coming
With my knife in hand
They only feel my wrath
And never see my face

They have no chance to run
As I drag them to an alley
I feel their bodies tense
And know how scared they are
Nothing matters to me
'Cuz I enjoy the pain they feel

I take pride in my kills
And know they can't find me
No evidence is left behind
Except the rotting corpse
The blood soaked body lies
Waiting to be found
So more lives can be affected
By my murderous ways
No one's left unscarred
By my murderous ways.

I personally like the last few lines, as it was the basis for the song. When murder happens, especially serial or multiple murders, the fear of more murders grips the entire area and holds the citizens hostage. In this instance, I was slightly affected by these random attacks and I was miles or rather kilometres away from the actual events. I cannot even begin to imagine how those directly affected by events similar to the one described above really feel but they definately are not alone in their fear and anger.

I just want to emphasize that the feelings and thoughts in the above song lyrics have never really entered my mind other than for this song. Sure I have wished certain people were dead but I never considered helping them along at all, well at least not seriously and no where close to as savagely as described here. I hope I have put everyone's mind at ease so I don't receive any strange looks from behind pillars or desks.