Michel's Thoughts and More.......

A New life in Montréal (or La Vie de Nouveau à Montréal)

2006-08-19T11:40:00.000-04:00

OK, so I don't think it's a big secret. A couple posts back, I wrote about an afternoon I spent in Montréal. Then I wrote about how I was taking a roadtrip to go spend the night in Montréal. That was 2 weeks ago. Yesterday, I returned again to spend another day in Montréal. And I had a great time as usual.

So just for the record, Toronto is no longer my favorite city and has fallen to second place, but it is still a great place, especially as far as English speaking or North American standards go. My favorite cities are:
Montreal
Toronto is second.
Gatineau (Québec) is third
Ottawa is my fourth favorite (what the heck)
Kitchener-Waterloo is no longer my next favorite. WHile I'm sure it's a great city, I've kind of lost interest in K-Dub. I'm still trying to decide my 5th favorite city but I'm sure it will be either Rigaud, Vaudreuil-Dorion, or Longueuil. They are au Québec and K-Dub is not.

Yesterday, I'm sitting in Montréal, just having a bite to eat, watching the people go by, and having a great time, of course and I had a crazy thought. What if I quit my job, just picked up and moved here? Crazy thought, but it would be a dream come true. Montréal is such a beautiful city. The people are so nice and so much fun and what the heck, they are so cool. It just seems like a very laid-back place where no one ever has to go to work (well many people in Montréal do work, obviously). But it seems like so many other just have the time to kick back, sit in a pub on Crescent Street, dine at a nice restaurant on St-Laurent or maybe just sit down and have a coffee on a patio somewhere on Ste-Catherine Street..

But then again, it all comes back to work. Word has it that work is hard to find in Montréal and many people end up working and competing for minimum wage jobs. Which is why, I guess so many of them don't work and have time to go shopping or go for coffee.

But Montréal does have many places where I can go to the bezult.

I went across the St-Laurent River (known as the St Lawrence when it gets to Ontario) and drove to Longueuil and down Boulevard Taschereau, which is one of the longest commercial strips I've ever seen. Just one big store, power centre, strip mall, restaurant or car dealership after another and it went on for miles and miles and miles. Not to mention traffic light after traffic light for the intersections to get in and out of these places.

There was also Ville St-Laurent, another of my favorite neighborhoods in Montréal. Basically, it looks like Lebanon, and has the people to go with it. That's because it has a very diverse ethnic demographic, including more people of Middle Eastern descent than anywhere else in Canada. I wouldn't mind living in that part of town.

So that's Montréal and hopefully one day I can realize my dream and move there. Not to mention, McGill is a nicer campus than Ottawa U. Also, there's riding the Metro. One day, I want to go to Montréal, buy a day pass and visit every Metro Station. All 65 of them. Montréal's Metro Stations are supposed to be very interesting in height, depth and appearance.

Ah, le Québec!!!!!!!!!!

Roadtrips of August the 5th

2006-07-31T11:45:00.000-04:00

All right, we are deep into summer but unfortunately, I'm starting to see the end of it with the Back to School sales so it's time to enjoy the best of it while we can.

So what have I been up to? Well, I've met up with Nick! Newman and he's thinking that he would like to move to New York and hey, I think that's cool because you know me, I love big cities, plus I could go there and visit and possibly book myself tickets to go see David Letterman or Conan O'Brien. But that won't be until next summer at the earliest.

Plus my security and parking enforcement career came to and end almost as quickly as it started. One night of patrolling a dead-end residential street enforcing no-parking and another night sitting under a set of speakers, making sure no one sneaks into the festival the back way. Can't be very good for you.

And there was the trip to Montréal. But apparently there's more beyond Montréal. Yes, it's called Longueuil....

This Saturday will be the August 5th and you know what that means. Actually you don't unless you remember silly stuff like I do. This Saturday night will be the one year anniversary of the roadtrip to Toronto where we had an accident on the Don Valley Parkway. I was with Erik, Annie, and Kristi that night and I was getting a ride to Nick! Newman's place in Toronto. It was a fun roadtrip and we all had a great time and let's face it, I don't go on many roadtrips and I was introduced to a very good group called The Go-Go's that night and songs such as "Our Lips are Sealed". But we had an accident on the Don Valley Parkway and had to spend a nightmare of a time at the Collision Reporting Centre in Scarborough (East End Toronto). A better account of that night can be read here on this post from last August.

This summer has been different. I haven't seen much of anyone all summer and I'm definitely not going to Toronto anytime soon. Sad, isn't it? The one thing that will remain true is that I am going on a short road trip this Saturday August the 5th.

Like last year, this trip will be at night and the hopeful departure time is around the same time, sometime between 5 or 6. But the differences are:
1) I'm going to Montréal, not Toronto, which means only a 2 hour drive.
2) I'm travelling alone, which may get lonely but I also get to pick the music.
3) I'm very confident my car will not overheat (before or during the trip).
4) I'm somewhat confident about leaving on time.

Of course, I'm hoping that an accident will not be in the cards though. A repeat of last year's accident would not be good and I don't want to have to spend time in a Montréal collision reporting centre. These things always make me nervous about going on trips out of town, which may be what keeps me from going on most trips. But it will do me good to get out of town for the night. Now all I have to do is make sure that I have a roadtrip planned for Sunday, August 5th, 2007.

And for those of you who I haven't seen in awhile, well I hope we will cross paths again soon.

Until next time........ take care of yourselves and each other.

Michel goes to Montréal

2006-07-17T11:33:00.001-04:00

A couple blogs back, there were complaints about my choice of words on a certain issue. So I'm introducing this new notation.

[X Y] - X and Y separated by a line in square brackets. This is read X or it is read Y. It is not read "X and Y", "X or Y" "XY" or "XIY". Read one word or the other, depending on how you feel.

The reason being is that, once again, this weekend I was in the [province nation] of Québec as I finally had the chance to return to Montréal. It is a wonderful city. I drove there and it only took me about 3 hours to reach a parking space in downtown Montréal. On the way down, I drove through Rigaud and Vaudreuil-Dorion, 2 very good cities. I then had to keep trying several routes to reach downtown because of traffic. I drove through the dangerous Dorval circle, and drove through Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, which is nicer on the outside than Ottawa's airport and is named after the best Canadian prime minster ever. The scary part about driving at the Montréal airport is the fact that planes can land and take off, right beside you in some spots, making it sound like an explosion. Once I finally made my way through Cote-des-Neiges, which has many new Canadians, I finally made my downtown. I should make the complaint though about Québec's highways and roads and about how lanes just disappear sometimes. At one point, I was following the right lane, only to have the lane end on me, just short of a concrete wall, and having vehicles in the 2 lanes beside me, one of which is a bus.

If you're ever going to Montréal on a weekend, don't forget to ask me about the downtown lot where you can park for $5.00. It's right across from La Baie, known to most anglophones as The Bay. Despite the rain, it was a nice walk along Ste-Catherine which is known for its' many high-end (and low-end retail outlets) and strip clubs. Many strip clubs.

Once I'd realized I'd walked too far, I hopped on the Metro and rode back a bit. It's reasonably priced at $2.50 a ride. And I think I like the Metro better than the subway in Toronto. The stops are called out by a computerized voice (prochain arret: Station McGill) as opposed to Toronto where the conductor mumbles the stop into his loudspeaker (St Clair, St Clair). And of course, just like in Toronto, there was the inevitable guy sleeping with his mouth open, and drooling.

I'm not much for shopping but nonetheless, Montréal is just a great place to take a walk and just do some, people watching, as well as enjoy the festivals such as Juste Pour Rire (Just for Laughs). I also had the chance to dine chez St-Hubert, which beats Swiss Chalet any day. I was also very impressed with how well people spoke English in Montréal. I wasn't impressed with the homeless guy who wanted people to spare some change so that he could go to the strip club and get a lap dance.

I was able to visit Old-Montréal for a bit. I'm always impressed by this area because it has such a European feel to it. Back on Ste-Catherine, I met a girl from Longueuil and had the opportunity to spend some with her. Nice girl with red hair. But I decided that since she was in Longueuil and I was in Ottawa that I wouldn't take it any further.

All in all, it was a great day and remember the following things:
1) Anything you've heard about Québecers being arrogant, forget it. Montrealers are some of the nicest people ever.
2) Many Montrealers speak English as well as French.
3) The driving in Montréal is horrible
4) Beware on Autoroute 520 (cote de Liesse), there is one lane that pretty much goes into a wall without warning.
5) Au Vieux Duluth, Mikes and St-Hubert are all great restaurants.
6) The homosexuale village is on Ste-Catherine Street between Beaudry and Papineau. And I tell you I have never seen so many men sit down together for coffee at Second Cup in my life.
7) If you so prefer, you can make your way to Six Flags La Ronde and ride the rides all day.

Do yourselves a favor. Make your way to Montréal at some point this summer. You won't be sorry. It's a great place to celebrate a great [province nation]. And remember Gilles' Duceppe's words "Quebec is a nation and therefore needs its' own state".

Vive le Québec libre.

2006-07-03T11:38:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, I celebrated the national holiday of Québec. This past weekend, I celebrated Canada Day.

For those of you who haven't made it to the Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa among the hundreds of thousands of people, you're missing something else. Now coming from me, someone who would rather be in Toronto or Montréal than here in the boring conservative government city of Ottawa, Canada Day is the one day of the year to be in Ottawa. They really know how to have a great party. But I recommend you walk downtown since parking will be hard to find and I refuse to tell people to take OC Transpo (go back a couple blogs).

Well this Canada Day, I was fortunate enough to see and do:

Kyle Riabko live in concert.
The chicken cooking demonstration at Major's Hill Park brought to you by the Chicken Farmers of Canada.
A diving show, again at Major's Hill Park
Some time at Rideau Centre.
And who could forget those girls who were giving free hugs with the purchase of a bottled water? I, however, don't believe in buying bottled water since good water is readily available in a water fountain.

Eventually, I made my way across the river to Gatineau to go watch the fireworks by the water behind the Museum of Civilization. I was able to take the bus over since Gatineau is serviced by STO and not OC Transpo. There, I joined some people from the C & C, ate from the Museum's cafeteria and watched the fireworks. And I tell you, they outdo themselves every year.

Walking back to the car on Chapel Street in Sandy Hill wasn't so pleasant. Many people were drunk and needed to be arrested, not to mention it soon started to pour rain.

My real complaints about Canada Day were:

If you're going to drink beer, either throw the bottle in the appropriate trash or recycling container or leave it as is on the ground. Why do you have to throw it to the ground and shatter it?
Cops searching bags everywhere as though we were at the Canada-US Border. Like, I think that such unreasonable searches violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

So that was Canada Day. And now the Ottawa Public Library (form some reason) is open on this holiday Monday, while most other offices, banks and schools are closed. How fair is that? But the upside.... the radio and the newspaper said that we were closed so there was almost nobody in the Sunnyside Library all day.

My portable MP3 music player went on me last night. I lost the battery cap that's needed to hold the little AAA battery into place. So I went chez Best Buy (and that's not Best Buy but chez Best Buy if you know what I mean) and considered getting myself an iPod, or some other good player with a capacity of 512MB or more. After talking to the salesgirl named Chloé, who spoke mostly French and didn't speak English very well (not required to work chez Best Buy), she convinced me to be open-minded towards players other than iPod. Keeping in mind that iPod had an internal battery and the cost involved to change it after 2 years, I decided to go with a nice old-fashioned MP3 player that takes 1 AAA battery and would allow me to drag and drop the songs onto the F drive. It's 1GB and didn't cost more than about $120 plus GST and TVQ. So everything worked out well. And now I can listen to all my favorites from 70's, 8o's 90's and whatever.

Until next time, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Michel On The Rocks (Un Bon St-Jean)

2006-06-26T11:50:00.000-04:00

And it was a great St-Jean Baptiste Day after all. A wonderful day to celebrate le Québec. Just think of all the wonderful things it has to offer. The only thing that almost ruined it was when Stephen Harper announced that Québec was not a nation. It is too a nation!!!!! Gilles Duceppe said so. At least it's a nation in the French context of the word because it has a separate language, culture, heritage and territorial integrity. One to be proud of.

So I decided to take a drive, a short road trip if you will. I decided I would drive down the Ottawa River on one side of the river, cross over to the other side and drive back on that side. Now there are two ways to do this. I could head west towards Renfrew and drive back towards Gatineau (Aylmer) but I don't care much for the town of Renfrew or the upper Ottawa Valley so I figured I would head east.

Heading east means to take the former Highway 17 out of Orléans, going past Petrie Island (the wonderful beach we frequented last summer). Past Orléans, it's a nice two-lane highway with a speed limit of about 90 km/h most of the way. And the nice thing about Eastern Ontario is that once you get east of Ottawa, it looks like and feels like you are au Québec, with the churches and the poutine stands, except for the fact that technically, you are still in Ontario.

In the old days (pre 1960s), one would take old Highway 17 to get from Ottawa to Montréal. It's a nice drive. When I got to the town of Rockland, I left the highway briefly to drive by Tucker House, which you may remember as the house where the C & C had their retreat back in January. It was funny to see the house in summertime. It didn't look as nice as it does in wintertime. Nor would it be as exciting. I kept driving past the towns of Wendover, Plantagenet and Alfred (the one part where you have to slow down to 50 km/h). Once you get past Plantagenet, you begin to see a lot of quaint little restaurants which are usually family owned and are always a nice alternative to chain restaurants . Many of these places are poutine stands. Shortly past Alfred, you'll arrived in the francophone town of Hawkesbury (the most bilingual town in Ontario). It's a town of people who love their Giant Tiger. It's also cool because it has a few stores that you can usually find only au Québec such as the Jean Coutu pharmacy and Restaurant Mike's. And from Hawkesbury, comes the best part of the trip, the part where I take the bridge and go over to Québec. The uncool part is when you come into Hawkesbury from Québec, the first thing you see is the motorcycle dealership and the people who hang out in its' parking lot.

Once in Québec, you enter the town of Grenville, which basically has a liquor store, a market, a couple dépanneurs, a couple schools, the smallest movie cinema ever, a bar, the mandatory "big church" and an abandoned strip club. A sleepy town, if you will, but I guess that's because of the holiday. The town seemed empty except for the seniors playing lawn bowling and the people at the dépanneur buying their fireworks and their booze for the big St-Jean celebrations. And at one dépanneur, I experienced my first walk-in beer fridge. No, I wasn't buying beer, just looking for a washroom. I just thought the walk-in fridge would be refreshing on a hot summer day.

So I drove out of Grenville, and had a spectacular view of the hills of Québec. That's another thing Québec has over Ontario: a more interesting physical geography. Let's face it, compared to Québec, Ontario is flat.

I headed west to drive back towards Ottawa on the Québec side along Route 148. I am now about halfway between Ottawa and Montréal and I arrived at la Rivière Rouge. There, there is places where people can camp overnight and as it was a holiday weekend in Québec, the camping was very popular. I paid some lady $2 so I could park the car at the campground while I went for a hike along the river. It was a bit of a walk downwards to the river. Down below, the bridge where the highway and the neighboring railway ran seemed very high. This river was beautiful. It flowed through a granite gorge and was surrounded by pine trees with many small pools for swimming and large smooth rocks. The current was quick and nearby was a small waterfall. On the rocks were people swimming, sunbathing, fishing, barbecuing, having a beer, listening to CKTF at full volume. There was even a group of, well I think they were white water rafters, but I didn't see a raft, so I don't know. It was beautiful. It just made me think, this is a great way to celebrate St-Jean Baptiste, this is what summer is all about. Well worth my $2.

So I got back in the car and started to drive back towards Gatineau and Ottawa. I drove through many small towns including Montebello (home of the world famous Chateau Montebello, of the same family as the Chateau Laurier or the Royal York Hotel) as well as Thurso, which is known in the Outaouais, for its paper plant smell, which is actually the town's "bathroom" residue. Finally, I arrived in Gatineau, and stopped at a chip stand for a great Québecois tradition. It wouldn't St-Jean without it. I had a poutine and a Pepsi, the ultimate Québecois meal. I then stopped at a nearby beach, took a nice walk along the beach (well back and forth because the beach wasn't that big), and made a nice volleyball serve to a bunch of guys who wanted me to throw back their ball. Then it was getting late and was time to go home.

Now that is what St-Jean-Baptiste is about. Québec is a rich and beautiful place and I hope to see a bit more of it this summer.

Oh and finally, with every great road trip comes a soundtrack. Most of these songs are from 1980 because it was a Summer of 1980 retrospective show on the radio. Some noteworthy songs from this trip, not all from 1980:
Rock Lobster by the B-52's
Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen
Love on the Rocks by Neil Diamond (now he has a great voice)
Echo Beach by Martha and the Muffins
Putting on the Ritz by Taco
Shout by Tears for Fears
Savin Me by Nickelback
1980 was also the first time the phrase "Don't Try This at Home" was heard on a show of stunts called That's Incredible, after a woman attempted to hang on to a flying blimp with only her teeth

It's a National Holiday!!!!!! (La Fête Nationale)

2006-06-21T10:12:00.000-04:00

OK, so after those last couple of posts on boycotting OC Transpo , I've actually had a couple people come up to me and tell me that they took a bus ride or two without paying. Good for you!!! We must stand up to OC Transpo. I am also happy to announce that Nick! Newman has still not ridden OC Transpo since his incident.

Today, I have another rant for you. And if you currently work for the federal government in Ottawa or have in the past, especially during the summer, then this blog is for you.

This coming Saturday is June the 24th, which is St-Jean Baptiste Day , better known as Québec National Holiday (La Fête Nationale du Québec). Originally a religious holiday to honor St Jean-Baptiste, the patron saint of Québec, it was declared Québec's National Holiday in 1977 by René Levesque and his PQ government, and has become a day to celebrate the diversity and achievements of Québec. In a way, it's like Canada Day but to celebrate Québec, a nation worth celebrating!!!!!!!

So what's my problem? Well, while the holiday is celebrated by francophones all across Canada as well as a celebration of French Canadian culture in the United States, the day only has official holiday status au Québec. Official holiday status means that all government offices, schools, libraries, post offices, businesses etc... are closed. Unfortunately, for me here in Ontario, it means having to go to work unless I use a day of vacation leave, which is just wrong. Even worse, the day falls on a Saturday this year, so those government employees get Monday of as well.

Now federal government employees, it's your turn but again I need to use a little bit of background here. As anyone knows, Ottawa is a government town and most of the federal government's offices and operations are based here in Ottawa. Federal jobs are meant to be spread out equally in the National Capital Region, which includes Gatineau. In the 1960s, it was decreed that since Gatineau (then Hull) is part of the National Capital Region (and I couldn't agree more), then a certain amount of federal jobs had to be in Hull. So buildings and office complexes went up, and certain departments and it's jobs were moved to the Québec side.

Now, you federal government employees, depending on which department you work for, your office may be on the Québec side or on the Ontario side. If your office happens to be on the Québec side, you get June 24th off as a paid holiday (and Monday off this year). If your office is on the Ontario side, then guess what? You have to go to work on the 24th. Because your office wasn't relocated to the Québec side. And Ontario doesn't have a National holiday (or a Provincial holiday) of its' own.

In other words, do you think it's fair that on June 24th that if you're in Ontario, you have to work and your counterpart just across the river in Gatineau gets the day off with pay (not to mention a long weekend in some years, including this year and next)?

Think about it, and take the time out to enjoy la St-Jean Baptiste.

Boycott OC Transpo

2006-06-12T15:35:00.000-04:00

Sorry, it's been awhile since the last blog, I was almost worried the blog was dead.

But Mike Kruszelnicki complained that he's bored at work without my blogs so I had to finally write one just so that Mike would have something to do at work.

All right, you should read the blog about fare inspectors or bullies for this one to make complete sense but even if you don't read the last one, you should still get by.

Recap: I told you in the last blog to boycott OC Transpo. Go back and read it if you want to know why.

But what will you do if you boycott OC Transpo? How will you get around? Well, my friends, if you use your imagination and are willing to try something new, I can give you many suggestions to get around. Some are more practical than others. Some may work for some people and not for others. Some may only work during certain weather or certain times of year.

1) Drive
There are many ways to do this. You can borrow the car from your parents or from a friend. For shorter time periods, you can rent a car. There are also car sharing services. If you're in school, you may have to wait until you graduate to be able to buy a car. But it's also good to keep in mind that you can get a nice used car for only a few thousand dollars. And they're everywhere. If you're in school though, you may have to hold off on this option. If you don't have a licence, you may still be able to get someone to lend you a car, depending on who you know. But it is better to have the licence. If you live in Ontario, you will have to go through graduated licensing, but keep in mind that it is nothing more than an excuse for the province to get more money off of you by charging you to take an extra examination or two. Once you get your G1, and have had some practice, you should be set to drive. I won't endorse driving highly though, with the cost of gas, the insurance costs as well as the environmental implications. If you must drive though, why not carpool and spend time with some good friends?

2) Cycle
Who doesn't love to ride a bike? Keep in mind, that in the summer of 1996, Nick! Newman and I went everywhere by bike. Bikes are fun and very inexpensive to own and maintain. Ottawa is also the best city in the world to go for a bike ride with our extensive network of bike paths. It's not hard to bike either. If certain people I know can come up with the stamina to bike to Camp Galillee near Renfrew, then anyone can bike around town. For some people though, this may not be feasible in the rain or through most of the winter. See the end for the roads that you can't bike on. Don't forget the rules of the road and your helmet :)

3) Rollerblade
Same concept as bikes. The paths are great for it. Just stay on the sidewalk with this one. Again, check the end for places you can't rolerblade

4) Walk
And your body needs the exercise. We should be learning to walk small distances instead of bussing, or driving. The average adult should walk 10,000 steps a day. And you can walk almost anywhere except certain places listed at the end. And please, do not walk along railroad tracks and cross only at designated railway crossings.

5) Waterways
If you get your boating licence, you can get navigate most of the Rideau Canal, the Rideau River and the Ottawa River all summer long. And those waterways do cover a good part of the city so you can boat around no problem. In the winter, the Rideau Canal becomes the world's largest skating rink, so you can strap on those skates and make your way down the calanl to get to your destination. It's good exercise too.

6) Hitchhike
The women may not want to try this. But if you stand at the side of the road and hold out your thumb long enough, I'm sure someone will pick you up. Keep in mind that you may not hitchhike on any of the places listed below or near any prison. And it's a great way to make new friends.

7) Company vehicle
You can get a job driving for a company (preferably with a company that provides the vehicle). You can do delivery services, courier services. You can work for Rogers and drive one of those big red vans. You can work for your municipal Public Works department. You can drive a bookmobile. You can even drive an ambulance or a police car. I'm sure the company won't mind if you use it to run a few personal errands or visits (unless you're driving a police car or ambulance and there's an emergency in progress).

8) Fly
Get your pilot's licence and get a plane. Apparently it takes a while and is expensive but Erik Tolonen would know more about that. Just make sure that all your destinations have sufficient runway space for takeoff and landing.

9) Live someplace where you don't have to take OC Transpo
Like Toronto, which unlike Ottawa is a world-class city with a world class transit system. You can ride the subway and it doesn't take forever, nor are you subject to delays because of bad weather or traffic. You can live in Montréal and take the Metro or ride the buses of K-W or wherever. Closer to home, you can live in Ottawa but on the Québec side in Gatineau, where you can ride the STO bus system, many routes of which cross the river into downtown Ottawa. Even better, you can just live near your work, friends and other activities and be able to walk places in just a few minutes

10) Make friends with someone who has a car. Not only will you not have to take the bus, but you can make a new friend or two and hope that they will end up driving you everywhere you want to go (which strangely enough, actually does happen in some friendships). It helps to have a common interest or a common workplace because this way, chances are that sometimes you'll both be going to the same places.

So there are many solutions. Don't let OC Transpo put you into a position where you seem like you need them. Please note that I can not be held responsible for any damage, injuries, or other problems that may arise by taking these other forms of transportations.
Finally, keep in mind that you may not bike, walk, rollerblade, or hitchhike on any of the following roads:

The Autoroutes au Québec (they're usually freeways with-two-digit numbers)
Any Highway in Ontario, which has a number starting with a 400. (ie. Highways 401, 416, 417, 403 etc...)
The Gardiner Expressway, the Don Valley Parkway or Allen Road in Toronto.
The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) in the GTA and Niagara regions.
The EC Row Expressway in Windsor.
The Conestoga Parkway in Kitchener-Waterloo

Happy travels

26 Years and Counting

2006-05-14T14:18:00.000-04:00

Last year on my birthday I wrote all about how I wish that it were 1985 again. You know, Springsteen, Madonna, way before Nirvana, there was U2 and Blondie, and music playing on MTV. The point, I was and still am preoccupied with 1985. Well Degrassi Junior High didn't come along until 1987 but that's beside the point.

The 80's were great times, except for the fact that I couldn't cross the street without an adult to hold your hand. Now I'm crossing the street, municipal boundaries, provincial boundaries and hey even an international border or two. So why am I unhappy? Well, because I'm halfway to 52 and except for getting down in the Public Library, I've accomplished practically nothing except going to Toronto and back a few times, taking advantage of a few really good gas prices and finding ABBA Gold for $9.95. No career (well the Library is a great place so that kind of makes up for it) although I believe strongly in sitting back and watching the wheels go by.

Socially, things have looked up since I started going to Rideauview C & C back in 2003. I have lunch plans every Sunday, somewhere to go and even learn a few things at the Friday night studies and some great activites here and there. Most importantly, people to talk to be and listen to. But I still lack female companionship and with weddings and couples popping up like tulips outside Sunnyside Library, it's a concern. Now at a study last fall, Bassem did say that biblically, Paul said it's alright to be single. That's a teaching I appreicate and carry with me day after day. I mean, do I really need to be in a relationship? Well, the world says I do. Family members ask. "When are you going to meet a nice girl, get married and have grandchildren?" This brings on the ever bearing question, have I not fulfilled my purpose in life if I don't give my mother grandchildren? To give my family grandchildren in return for bringing me into this world? Sounds harsh, but some days I feel this way. And I'm not against women or meeting women in any way. I love women!!!! But will I need to meet someone to fulfill my purpose in the time that I have left in this world? Will I be the last single guy left in the current C & C "roster"?

And my birthday itself. It falls on a Tuesday, which doesn't do me any good because it's hard to plan anything on a Tuesday. Last year, it fell on my birthday and I ended up just going to work and then going home to watch the series finale of Everybody Loves Raymond. This year, there won't be any worthwhile series finale to watch on my birthday.

Happy birthday? We'll see.

P.S. If you're not reading this on the 16th of May, you're not reading this on my birthday.

Fare Inspectors or Bullies?

2006-05-08T11:33:00.000-04:00

Hello Hello, it's a beautiful day and it's going to be a beautiful week. So what's new in my life?

There is a little over a week to my birthday and I'm going to be 26. I'm getting depressed just thinking about it.

Anyways, I had the chance to dine with Nick! Newman at Pizza Hut on Saturday and he told me this horrible story about he went to take an articulated bus (you know, one of the long buses) after transferring off another bus and boarded the back door, which you can do if you have tickets, a bus pass or a transfer. But he had misplaced his transfer (like who holds onto those things?). Fare inspectors boarded the bus to check that everyone had proof of payment (which again is unfair because there was no advance warning that there was going to be a fare inspection) but Nick! was unable to produce his transfer. And just because he didn't hold on that stupid little piece of paper, which is easy to lose because it's so small, the fare inspector fined him $150 on the spot.

Now, I ask you this. Where's the justice here? First off, these inspectors board the buses regularly to perform these "surprise" fare inspections, which aren't fair to those who already threw their transfer away on the first bus. This is considered the equivalent of those police officers that hide at the side of the road and then pop out of nowhere to ticket you. At least if you know they are there, then you will slow down. Or even worse, is when police officers drive around in civilian cars to catch speeders. Then these fare inspectors come down on you for not having these tiny pieces of paper and they fine you $150 which is more than ridiculous for a $3 bus fare. Some of those riders don't have $150 to dish out on a fine and these fare inspector bullies give them a hard time. Basically, OC Transpo fails to post this policy about holding on to your transfer, then hires these fare inspectors to come on and bully passengers who can't produce this transfer, and in some cases, wake up people who are trying to catch a nap on the commute home. What's the point of the $150 fine? I don't know because OC Transpo is already funded through municipal taxes, bus fares as well as some funding from both the Ontario and Canadian government. So the extra $50 is just a way to pick on the "little people". You, the riders!!!!

And come on, I'm sure most of you have been wronged by OC Transpo at one point or another. Either by a bus that didn't show up on time in the middle of a minus 30 degree day in January or maybe a bus that didn't show up at all, by a driver who leaves you waiting while he/she leaves the bus to use the bathroom or get a coffee. Maybe a driver was just rude to you when you were a few cents short of correct fare or simply needed directions. Or maybe you have been bullied by the fare inspectors or those OC Security who slap with you a fine for crossing the Transitway or riding your bicycle, rollerblades or skateboard in a Transitway Station. That's just ridiculous. There is no danger in crossing the Transitway or in riding your bicycle, rollerblades, or skateboard in the Transitway Station.

So what to do? Well, the best thing to do if possible, is what Nick! Newman is suggesting to do. Boycott OC Transpo. Yes, boycott it completely or boycott it partially. The truth is, everytime you get on a bus, they chalk up another number in ridership. The less you get on a bus, the more you will lower ridership, and maybe they'll re-think this whole fare inspector business. Find alternatives. Borrow a car, walk, cycle, carpool, hitchhike, rollerblade, fly. Especially for shorter trips.

And keep in mind that OC Transpo is no world class transit system. It's slow, the buses are always late and it's poorly designed and is long overdue to build a subway. It pales in comparison to Toronto's subway, Montreal's Metro, or Vancouver's Skytrain and of course, another point in showing that Toronto is a better city than Ottawa.

Don't forget when you put your $3.00 bus fare into that box in the front of the bus, you're also paying the highest bus fare in Canada.

And if you remember anything, remember boycott OC Transpo!!!! DOn't be the bully's next victim.

That's all for today. So until next time when I'll probably be 26, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Moving Day (or Days)

2006-05-01T11:31:00.000-04:00

Just a few notes.

1) For those of you who forgot or just didn't know. My birthday's in 2 weeks on the 16th of May. I will then turn (sigh) 26.
2) I picked up this month's issue of Toronto Life (I know, big surprise that I read Toronto Life). There's a nice long article about the Don Valley Parkway. I've only scanned through it but I'll have more to say once I actually read it.
3)I was forced to sit another episode of Grey's Anatomy. Not only is it boring but it is heathen and Jen Palmer will back me up on that.
4) The girls now want to go to Creation, a big Christian music festival in Mount Union, Pennsylvania. Sounds like a fun roadtrip and a good time but I don't want to camp for 4 days, I don't want to pay $10 to take a shower other than a cold one and given the problems I usually have getting into the United States, I'm better off to stay here in Canada.

Au Québec, an annual tradition takes place on July 1st called Moving Day. Most leases in the province start or end on this day and pretty much all renters move on that day, causing a major headache for moving companies. Here in Ontario, I would say there are several Moving Days which occur during 2 big periods. One is the end of August, into September, through Labour Day weekend and into that first week in September. This is where all the students move to town.

The other period was actually this past weekend, the last weekend of April. I walked through the downtown neighborhood of Sandy Hill yesterday after the C & C Potluck, the moving trucks were everywhere with the last exams having been written on Saturday and the Winter semester now over. It was a beautiful day for it too and hey you've got to love those guys who drag their couches onto the front lawn and just sit and relax and watch all the traffic, action and maybe girls go by. Makes me wish I could put a nice "broken-in" couch on my front lawn.

I approached Ottawa U where the moving was even more intense because there's so much moving to be done over such a small area since the residences are so crammed together. Young students along with their parents were filling up cars, vans and trucks to the brim with over a year's worth of stuff. It's sad in a way. I've always enjoyed going to the University and taking a walk (well Ottawa and not so much Carleton) and it's like a small city to me with all its' buildings and people and departments and now with summer coming and all these students leaving, it becomes like a ghost town, once filled with life but no more. Friendships are separated, either for the summer or even permanently for those graduating. The wonderful school clubs, the cafeterias, the residences, all gone now, until September. As I walked through the University Centre, the place that once housed career fairs, club tables, dance festivals, Jesus Week events and more, is now empty and hallow with the execption of the occasional loner or staff member passing through. The spring Moving Day here is truly an end and a sad one too. However, the other moving Days in the Fall are happy because many people come back and even move to town and hey it just means there are more new friends to be made out there. Yes, if April is a time for endings then September is a time for new and happy beginnings (even if it does mean the end of summer).

And hey, if you don't believe all this stuff about endings, just walk past all those garbage dumpsters and you'll see the tossed course notes, the couches which have been duct taped so many times that you wonder what its' original color and fabric was like, the obsolete computers and television sets, and finally just stand there as those cars, trucks and moving vans drive off into the sunset, most of them headed towards 417 West....

Now let's just see what the summer has to offer. I'm hoping it will be up there with last summer but we'll see.

And just some important dates to remember
May 16th - My birthday. Just don't forget it's there, that's all I ask.
June 1st - South Central District Library opens on Lorry Greenberg Drive. Be there, it promises to be an innovative Library. Official opening ceremonies follow on June 20th.

Can You teach Me Bout Tomorrow

2006-04-24T11:48:00.000-04:00

Well, it's on to Year 2 of this blog and I just want to tell you that if you missed the A-to-Z 1-year anniversary of this blog, you can still catch it... but there is no birthday cake left.

Last night was another night of hanging out at the girls' house and watching... well stuff on TV and of course (roll eyes) Grey's Anatomy. But at one point, Colleen mentioned the lyrics to a song she was singing and I just knew that I had to figure out. So I took the lyrics, went into the bathroom (between the others, the TV and the dog, there was no way I could think in there) and came out just a few minutes later with the song. The song is called Time by Hootie and the Blowfish and it was the 4th song from their first album Cracked Rear View back in 1995. And that will be today's Song of the Day.

Time, why you punish me?
Like a wave bashing into the shore
You are so in my dreams

Time, why you walk away?
Like a friend with somewhere to go
You left my crying

Can you teach me about tommorrow
And all the pain and sorrow
Running free
Cause tomorrow's just another day
And I don't believe in time

Time, I don't understand
Children killing in the street
Dying for the color of a rag
Time, hey there red and blue
Wash them in the ocean, make them clean,
Maybe their mothers won't cry tonight

Can you teach me about tomorrow
All the pain and sorrow
Running free
But tomorrow's just another day
And I don't believe in...

chorus:Time is wasting
Time is walking
You ain't no friend of mine
I don't know where i'm goin'
I think I'm out of my mind
Thinking about time
And if I die tomorrow, yeah
Just lay me down in sleep

(chorus)

Time, you left me standing there
Like a tree growing all alone
The wind just stripped me bare, stripped me bare
Time, the past has come and gone
The future's far away
Now only lasts for one second, one second
Can you teach me about tomorrow
And all the pain and sorrowRunning free'
Cause tomorrow's just another day
And I don't believe in time

(chorus)

Time, why you punish me?

The first 3 songs from this album were Hold My Hand, Let Her Cry and Only Wanna Be With You.

So the evening started out watching hockey, with munchies all over the coffee table, mostly stuff the dog wasn't supposed to eat, but ate anyway such as fries, popcorn and so on. Pizza was then ordered from Pizza Pizza and paid for by credit card of course. The funny thing is, they guarantee you that the pizza will be there in 30 minutes or less and it's funny when the pizza arrives exactly 30 minutes after you order it. Unfortunately when the pizza is late, the cost of it comes out of the driver's pocket and personally I could never bring myself to take that money out of his/her pocket especially when those drivers make minimum wage and have to pay for their own gas.

We then attempted to watch Saved! which stars Mandy Moore, the kid from Home Alone and a few others. It was supposed to be a movie about a bunch of Christian kids going to a Christian school. Fact is, the first 5 minutes was not only bad, but not very Christian at all. So that was out.

Then it was time to sit through Grey's Anatomy. Let me just start by saying this. I respect a person's right to decide which TV shows they like. Let me also say that with this right, I believe in the person's right to catch the weekly episode of this favorite show, especially when the next episode won't make sense otherwise. And if you like someone or some people enough, then you'll definitely respect this right and even sit through this show sometimes. And as for me, I enjoy my peers' company enough to sit through Grey's Anatomy some Sundays at 10. I can't really say why I don't enjoy the show. I mean I can't point out anything in particular, I can't really justify if it's just plain stupid and I can't say that I'm not in support of soaps becasuse I've watched the Young and the Restless on many occasions with Nick! Newman and even gone to meet its' stars on a couple occasions when they came to town. Getting back to Grey's, I'm just going to say that I don't enjoy hospital dramas (sorry ladies). It's nothing personal, I wouldn't watch General Hospital either.

So that's it and next in line apparently is a bunch of movie marathons for the summer. Now while I don't think summer is the best time for it, I do think that marathons can be fun if yuo do the right marathon. An 80's Movie Marathon which would feature films like Pretty in Pink, 16 Candles, Breakfast Club or others is a great idea, especially since I'm all for anything from the 1980's. Other marathons such as Back to the Future or Indiana Jones would also be a good idea especially since you can now go out and buy or rent the trilogies on DVD. A marathon of Star Trek movies would not be a good idea and I just started laughing, thinking about those who are obsessed with it and those who travel miles to go to those conventions where you walk around wearing Spock ears all weekend. Thankfully, Holly said that that marathon will not happen.

And I'm interested to see how all these movie marathons are going to work out whether I show up for all, some or none of them.

One-Year Anniversary

2006-04-17T11:09:00.000-04:00

All right boys and girls, this is it!!!! The 1 year anniversary of this blog. I've actually been writing this thing regularly for one year. And so much stuff has happened. In fact, I actually got a cake for the occasion and was going to invite all of you over a party (including those of you in K-W, Montréal or wherever) but I kind of ate the whole cake myself last night, so I'm sorry there will be no party after all.

Well it's been a year and sad as it is, I feel like throwing a birthday party for this blog. When you look back at the past year of games, studies, roadtrips, laughing, crying, weddings, birthday parties, Christmas, school plays, libraries, car accidents, beaches, potlucks..... it's been nothing but a good time. And now it's time to celebrate it. I almost thought of doing another year-in-review but decided that kind of time and effort should only be done once a year. So this is going to be a best-of celebration, in A-to-Z form. These are the best defining moments of the blog:

A is for Abba, basically the group from the 70's, whom this blog revolved around musically. And all because of that one day last August. And so many great songs too. Things only got better when I purchased their Gold album for $9.99. But hey, musically this blog loved The Go-Go's as well.
B is for this blog, the very thing that we're celebrating here today. And hopefully, there will be more blogging to come. Some say that blogging is so 2005, but it doesn't have to be. If you have a blog, go to your blog and write after you read this!!!!!!!!!!
C is for the C & C, the College and Careers group and all the good times had there. Fridays and Sundays and sometimes more. The studies, the games, the activities, and sometimes just the pure wackiness that goes down. Thanks for everything if you're from the C & C.
D is for the Don Valley Parkway, the ever-congested highway in Toronto that connects the downtown to Highway 401, where we had that accident on that warm summer night last August at the Lawrence Avenue exit. Difficult times but a great roadtrip.
E is for Erik who was actually the first person to post a comment on my first blog posting last year. He was also there, along with Kristi and Annie in that Don Valley Parkway accident.
F is for the Fake Prom, which took place the night after that accident at the Gladstone Hotel on Queen Street West in Toronto. Traci Waxman attended the Prom and won a prize for the best individual dancing. All in all, Traci Waxman had a great Fake Prom!!!!!
G is for the Golden Girls, the Golden Girls, the Golden Girls. It was a great show that ran on NBC on Saturday nights from 1985 to 1992 and still one of my favorites. Dorothy was mean, Rose was dumb, Blanche was sexy and Sophia was sarcastic. Now I just have to buy the seasons on DVD. And now a couple great lines from that show (more or less):

Rose (with a pitcher and glasses of juice for company): Dorothy, should I set this down somewhere?

Dorothy: No, Rose!!! Go down to the corner and open a stand!!

Dorothy: My daughter is marrying a doctor........in the Bahamas

Dorothy (to her daugther Kate about inviting ex-husband Stan to Kate's wedding): Listen, if it means that much to you to invite him, I'm willing to keep the peace. Now call up the dirtbag and tell him he can come.

H is for Hull, Québec, that beautiful city across the river from downtown Ottawa. It is no longer called Hull, for it now part of Gatineau. It is a beautiful place where I have spent hours of my time and includes the Canadian Museum of Civilization, a Maurice Richard monument, le Casino, Les Galéries de Hull shopping mall and the best poutine ever at La pataterie Hulloise at the corner of St-Joseph and Montclair.
I is for the Ice, which along with the snow was the very bane of my existence this past winter, and every winter for that matter
J is for Jesus 24 Hours, the little homeless black man, with the hand-stitched clothing who always carried a sign stating that Jesus would return on the 24th of the month. He often went to the Library to read the Bible in French. He was banned for 6 months this past November when it was discovered he was going to the bathroom in plastic bags and leaving them lying around the Library.
K is for Kitchener-Waterloo, also known as K-W and K-Dub, and a region which I was fascinated with for a good part of the last year. Click here to see why. The visit is on hold indefinitely and of course, many great people live there. And Kitchener-Waterloo has TWO Future Shops.
L is for the Library, especially the Sunnyside Library, where I work and there are so many great books, CDs and movies. It can also be the Rideau, St-Laurent, Alta Vista, Rosemount, Elmvale Acres Libraries or whatever Library. It can even be the Toronto Public Library, the Waterloo Public Library or even your local library.
M is for Michel, me, the one who made this blog all possible and who, accroding to people can write a good blog. I'm glad I can somewhat bring a gift of entertainment to those around me.
N is for Nick! Newman, who will one day be a successful and famous actor and who enjoys film, dance, theatre and song and is also a big fan of The Golden Girls (see the letter G). Once living in the glamour and lights of Toronto, he has now been forced to move back (for now) to the boring government of Ottawa.
O is for Ottawa, the city where most of this blog's adventures took place and where me and most of the blog's readers live. Many love this city and in a recent blog, went up against Toronto. But let's face it, Ottawa is good but it's a boring government town and will never live up to the lights and glamour of Toronto.
P is for Potluck, the many potlucks I've been through at C & C. When Christians get together for a meal, many a time it's going to be a potluck, especially at the end of the month or at Christmas and closing banquets
Q is for Le Québec , the best place ever. And yes it's a nation in the French sense of the word because Gilles Duceppe said it's a nation. There are many wonderful cities like Montréal, Québec, Gatineau, Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, Saint-Hyacinthe, Lachute, Vaudreuil-Dorion and the list goes on. And then there are the many things that go with Québecois culture such as Céline Dion, la poutine, les dépanneurs, keeping your maiden name when you get married and more.... But remember. it's not a country. It's only a nation in the French context of the word.
R is for Rent , the movie based on the musical that we recently watched at Coté's. And it's been five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes since I started this blog, give or take 1440 minutes.
S is for Swiss Chalet, where we went on many Sunday nights as a large group and were served week after week by Jen the waitress. And although many of us have recently retreated from Swiss Chalet, I vow to back this holiday season for the Festive Special. But according to Nick! Newman, S should for Swiss Chalet's competition, Saint-Hubert (roughly pronounced Saint-You-Bear, it's a Québec-based restaurant) because it beats Swiss Chalet any day and Nick! Newman and I dine there often. And who doesn't love the Saint-Hubert rooster logo? Unfortuately for us, most of the locations are only au Québec There ar 2 locations in New Brunswick and 4 here in Ontario. Those 4 include one in Toronto, one in Cornwall, one in Orléans and one here in Ottawa. Here in Ottawa, it can found on St-Laurent Boulevard near the intersection of Innes, just a few minutes south of St-Laurent Shopping Centre.
T is for Toronto , the best city ever. Not much to say, since I dsicussed many of these things in the Toronto vs Ottawa blog but as far as I'm concerned Toronto was the winner. And remember when I say Toronto, the fun begins in Oshawa to the east, Burlington to the west, Richmond Hill and Markham to the north and the south... well... I guess as soon as you leave St Catharines by boat... (or in some cases the ferry from Rochester, New York)
U is for Ultimate , the game which many of the readers here love to play in the summer and which I prefer even more to watch than to actually play since I am athletically challenged. And as a public service to Erik, I'll just send you to get in touch with him if you want to play this summer.
V is for Vacuum, which I had to do that night at Brenda, Becky and Amy's house because their house was not clean to my liking.
W is for Waterloo, that wonderful city beside Kitchener and the better side of Kitchener-Waterloo and home of the wonderful University of Waterloo which keeps sending us co-op students. And then of course there is Waterloo by Abba.

Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war

Waterloo - Promise to love you for ever more

Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to

Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you

Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo

X is for XXXX, which is the national pasttime au Québec and that's just because there aren't many words that start with X (sorry, exciting and extravagant don't start with an x, they start with an e). And yes, I said NATIONAL pasttime. Walk down Ste-Catherine à Montréal and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Y is for you , the wonderful readers who keep reading and commenting (both online and in person). Without readers, I wouldn't have any reason to write this blog and would stop now. Keep reading, my friends.
Z is for Zellers, where Nick! Newman and I went on The Best Day back in 1996 at Billings Bridge. We threw a big bouncy ball around in the toy department until an employee named Patrick came along and asked: "Are you guys looking for something or are you just looking for trouble?" Needless to say, 10 years later, Patrick still works there.

So that's it, that's the celebration. Oh and I know those letters stand for other things but this is what I've written. You don't like it... write your own but I like what I wrote.

And here's to another year of blogging which will hopefully be just as eventful.

The C & C Picture Show

2006-04-13T11:36:00.000-04:00

Hello all

Beautiful weather we've been having, isn't it? And as I mentioned in the last post, the snow always makes one last appearance in April. And it did!!!!! But just a small one. And now it's nice again.

So yesterday I got this fascination with the band Trooper. They're a Canadian band from the 70s' and are best known for songs like Raise a Little Hell and I'm sure some of you know We're Here for a Good Time, not a Long Time. Actually the fascination began when my boss Yvonne down at Sunnyside Library started carrying on about how she went to one of their concerts back in the day. But I have too much to say to worry about a Song for the Day so I'll leave you to enjoy the band on your own. Oh and they also won the Juno for Best Group in 1980.

A long weekend is also coming up, which means lots of chances to get out and enjoy myself. With the Library closed on Good Friday. And the nice thing about living in Ottawa is that while everything is closed here, most stuff is open across the river in Gatineau, Québec, where I can go to shop, eat, play, walk and maybe even climb.

So last weekend, the C & C had the closing banquet for 2005-2006 and a great time was had by all. There was a potluck meal. That same day, I also had my first shopping experience at Food Basics to buy some kaiser rolls for the banquet and I learned that there are no bags at that store and that I would have to carry my purchase out in a cardboard box. But the meal at the banquet turned out to be good. Following that was a message from Keith Blair, the singing of some songs and hey, when you actually combine the musical talents of those in the group who have it, you can actually have a band.

Finally came Mike Kruszelnicki's retrospective slideshow. And my hat goes off to Mike for spending so much time and effort putting together the slideshow by getting pictures from the events of the year and setting the slideshow to music. And not to toot my own horn, but my hat also goes off to me for learning how to use that camera, taking all those pictures and then staying up until 1:30AM to transfer them to Mike over Hello. In the end, we got a great slideshow looking back at great events such as the fall hike in the Gatineaus, Gross Night, Halloween, Christmas Shoebox night at Dollarama, New Year's Eve, the January weekend retreat at Tucker House, the Coffeehouse, Curling and miscellanous pictures from apple picking, last summer's events like Canada Day, the summer study at Darcie's, Ultimate Frisbee and more.

It wasn't so much about the quantity of the pictures (except at 1:30AM when all I wanted to do was go to bed) but that those pictures put together more than a slideshow. They're about the past 10 months or so of good times. I kept thinking about what a great year it's been and how lucky we are to be able to get together, read, study, have fun and love one another. About how in September, when summer (and August) was over, I thought nothing would be fun again until next summer. About how it felt like just yesterday, we started a new year in C & C and now it's over. Finally, it's about how devoted those who plan the studies and events are to making this group work. If you planned or helped plan a study or event this year, I want to shake your hand. Good job!!!!!

There's probably more to say in that last paragraph but the words aren't coming to me right now so if you think you know what I left out, hit that Comments button and write.

So now summer is coming, and hopefully it will be a good time like last summer (especially last August). A summer study is in the works apparently. Some will be going home for the summer, some will be going on missions trips, some will be going traveling just for fun, some will be going to summer school and the rest of us will be working. But hopefully, in between, we can plan some good times. And who knows, maybe we'll be able to meet some people who will visit us for the summer (either by co-op or traveling).

For me it may mean road trips to wonderful places like Cornwall and especially Montréal, but we'll see what gas prices hold. Obviously, I'll hope to take a trip of more than a day. Maybe I'll go to Toronto again but I doubt it will be as eventful as last time, especially with Nick! Newman not living there anymore.

I'll keep you posted on the summer of 2006. But now, it's time to go watch Degrassi Junior High. Later!!!

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes

2006-03-28T15:35:00.000-05:00

My goodness!!!!! The weather is just beautiful outside on this Tuesday afternoon here in Ottawa. We are sitting at a high of 12 degrees in the sunshine. It's kind of funny though, how that would be considered pure crap once summer has just arrived. And I'm sure you're all enjoying it. But here's a scary statistic for those of you here in Ontario. The snow always comes back for one final and sometimes big appearance. And in the past 70 years of Aprils, only 2 of them have been snowless. So if you're a betting person....... Not to mention, they're getting some snow in Newfoundland as we speak.....

All right, song of the day. You might know this one and you might not. it's called Seasons of Love

COMPANY
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Moments so dear
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure - Measure A Year?
In Daylights - In Sunsets
In Midnights - In Cups Of Coffee
In Inches - In Miles
In Laughter - In Strife

In - Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure A Year In The Life?

How About Loooooooove?
How About Loooooooove?
How About Loooooooove?
Measure In Love

Seasons of Loooooove.
Seasons of Loooooove.

Joanne
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Journeys To Plan

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure The Life
Of A Woman Or A Man?

Collins
In Truths That She Learned
Or In Times That He Cried
In Bridges He Burned
Or The Way That She Died

ALL
It's Time Now - To Sing Out
Though The Story Never Ends
Let's Celebrate
Remember A Year In The Life Of Friends

Remember the Loooooooove
Remember the Loooooooove
Remember the Loooooooove
Measure In Love

Joanne
Measure, Measure Your Life In Love

ALL
ohhhhh!!!!
Seasons Of Love~~~~~~~~~~~~
Measure Your Life In Love:

When I first heard that song the other day, I pulled out my calculator to see how long it takes for those minutes to pass. Sure enough, it's one year in minutes.

So for those of you who don't know, that's the opening song for the play Rent. And this past Sunday night, Mike K, Jason, Jen Esau, Côté, Holly, Julie, and myself got together and watched the DVD movie of it. Why would Mike, Jason and myself sit and watch this movie? Because when you're a bunch of guys outnumbered by a bunch of girls, you'll pretty much do anything that they pressure you to. And even though I don't usually do musicals, I don't mind them at all. I mean if I didn't watch it with people from Rideauview, I'm pretty sure I'd watch one with Nick! Newman.

So the above song is the opening number from the movie and it's also the song that will play over and over if you leave the DVD menu running. The second number was called "Rent". And the chorus there is "How are we going to pay last year's rent?" For those of you who are renting a house or an apartment from another person, you can start singing that to them if they start bugging you to pay any rent that you're behind on. It's also a good time to point out what makes musicals so special. Musicals can take a line, a sentence, whatever...... and turn it into a whole song. In real life, you and your landlord are there wondering how you are going to pay last year's rent. In Rent, they turn it into a song. And I'm pretty sure that there are musicals that do this. But I haven't seen too many musicals. If anybody can tell me any more examples of this, I'd really appreciate it.

The movie progresses, I catch a quick snooze since I usually wake up early on Sundays. The gang ordered pizza. Oh, here's a tip. If you want to order pizza and don't have cash, call Pizza Pizza, they'll take a credit card payment when they deliver your pizza.

The movie eventually ends. And the final shot is of the black guy and it is noticed that he is wearing nail polish. The conversation then turned to whether girls liked gay men. I guess, by gay, there was a bit of an assumption that guys who might wear nail polish, who enjoy shopping for clothes, who enjoy fashion to the same extent that women do and more. Personally, I find nothing wrong with these guys, whether they're gay or not. Men and women have been confined too long to roles where men are supposed to enjoy sports and action films, and girls are supposed to enjoy chick flicks and clothes shopping. Personally, I would rather go clothes shopping than play sports. and so would many other guys. And to any guy who would rather hit up Holt Renfrew or Simons than play sports, good for you!!!!! And I think Côté thought the same thing. The girls will love it when you put time and effort into shopping for clothes and getting dressed. And it won't necessarily mean that he's gay either. Yorkville or Sainte-Catherine, anyone?

Oh and in case it wasn't obvious through this writing, Côté enjoyed the viewing of this film more than anyone. After all, she did get to see the real thing on Broadway in New York.

Cake, Ice Cream, Games and More

2006-03-20T17:12:00.000-05:00

No this post is not about a birthday party I went to.

First things first, the song of the day: a tradition which I haven't done for awhile. This is a Rod Stewart song from 1971 called Mandolin Wind from Every Picture Tells a Story. The mandolin is played in this song and it's from the good old 1970s. A pretty, innocent-sounding ballad, if you will.

When the rain came I thought you'd leave'
cause I knew how much you loved the sun
But you chose to stay, stay and keep me warm
through the darkest nights I've ever known
If the mandolin wind couldn't change a thing
then I know I love ya

Oh the snow fell without a break
Buffalo died in the frozen fields you know
Through the coldest winter in almost fourteen years
I couldn't believe you kept a smile
Now I can rest assured knowing that we've seen the worst
And I know I love ya

Oh I never was good with romantic words
so the next few lines come really hard
Don't have much but what I've got is yours
except of course my steel guitar
Ha, 'cause I know you don't play
but I'll teach you one day
because I love ya

I recall the night we knelt and prayed
Noticing your face was thin and pale
I found it hard to hide my tears
I felt ashamed I felt I'd let you down
No mandolin wind couldn't change a thing
Couldn't change a thing no, no

The coldest winter in almost fourteen years
could never, never change your mind

And I love ya
Yes indeed and I love ya
And I love ya
Lordy I love ya

OK, boys and girls, won't be long til summer is here. Can't wait to break out the roadtrips to nearby towns. The bad news is that I've officially cancelled my trip to Kitchener-Waterloo until further notice and Toronto may not even happen since Nick! Newman is no longer living there and I won't have a place to stay. What else is new? Nick! Newman has just returned from a trip to Hong Kong and Bangkok. You can read about his adventures here on his blog. I've also been watching Degrassi Junior High quite a bit on DVD. A great show from the 1980s!!!! The 80s were a great time for the clothes, the music, the hair and just a simpler time in general. However, I do feel that Wheels is in need of a beating, as do Joey Jeremiah, Arthur, and Yick Yu. And Mr Raditch the English teacher was just a jerk in general. But check it out if you can. It's on Showcase weekdays at 12:30 PM.

OK, so about that cake. Last night, after evening meeting, a bunch of us just wanted to hang out so it was suggested that we go to Amy, Brenda and Becky's house out on Cobden Road for games and snacks and stuff. But I guess everyone wanted some really good snacks so after I pointed the 3 girls to the nearest Loeb that was open til either midnight or 24 hours, we were on our way. I arrived at the girls' house before the girls even did and found the Dale Frew, Ryan Frew and Erik already there. Then I realized that the room was not clean to my liking so I asked Dale to point me to the nearest vacuum cleaner so that I could vacuum the living room before the others arrived.

The 3 girls finally arrived and were very grateful for my vacuuming job. It wasn't until later that I realized that maybe I should have vacuumed the kitchen as well. Nonetheless, the girls oudid themselves on the snacks. There were cookies, and McCain Deep and Delicious Chocolate Cake, as well as a McCain pie, ice cream (Neapolitan, mint chip, and Turtles). And of course, who can forget the juice? And it was a great turnout. Mostly C & C's but we also had some of the high school kids from the youth group, as well as the over 30s who usually go to Swiss Chalet on Sunday night. Strangely enough, Steve Burbidge didn't show up, I'm wondering actually if he ended up at Swiss Chalet and just waited.........

And then we broke out the games. It wasn't until we discovered the cabinet in the living room full of games waiting to be played. Card games, board games...... so many games!!!!! Some of the high schoolers played cards. Then some of us decided to play (Electronic) Catch Phrase, except for Jen Palmer who didn't believe in Catch Phrase. You know that game, where one person holds up the electronic unit which beeps while the others try to guess the words. And then there is a certain rush from playing that game. Of course, that beeping gets on your nerves after awhile, and some people can tolerate it more than others. Unfortunately to make things worse, Guesstures was also on the table and as a place to put my hands, I kind of hit the button that starts that game and we had 2 games beeping at once. Let's just say that I couldn't figure out how to turn it off after that so I had to just stuff it under a couch cushion to tune out the beeping. When Catch Phrase, one of the high schoolers suggested that we play Charades. I think that was when I decided to retreat back to the kitchen to see what was going down in there.

I can see why it was a good time. I mean who doesn't love Turtles or mint chip ice cream? And after 2 and a half years with this group, I've come to a conclusion that when Christians meet for fellowship, they love to play games. Otherwise it's hard to meet a group of 20somethings that like to play board games. I tell you, when we opened that cabinet of board games, it felt like we stumbled upon hours of fun. It seems like at our group and some other groups that I've visited or read about, they've always had games and a good time was had playing the games, and sometimes a rush came while playing the games. Now my last question is this. Sometimes there is no large cabinet full of games. Actually there may not be any games period. So in those cases and even otherwise, why aren't more people playing Duck Duck Goose? I mean, think about it:

You can't forget it at home
It's easy to play and easy to learn for those who don't know how to play.
You can play it anywhere, provided you have enough people make a large-enough circle.
It can be a few minutes or you can play all night.
From all the running and chasing, you can get a rush during the game.
It's fun!!!!

So, if at a loss of what game to play, think Duck Duck Goose.

Oh and at around 10:30 ish that night, after a traditional telling of high school horror stories, I called it a night and drove home.

OK, that's it. And the way things are going, I don't know when I'll be back. But I promise I'll be back. Later.

If you don't have something nice to say, say it often.

-Ed the Sock

The Best Day

2006-03-03T16:05:00.000-05:00

First things first. We're going to be trying something new here. Apparently I've been asked either in the comments or in person about terms that I've used in my blogs. For example, just before Christmas, Jen Palmer asked me "What is a Don Valley Parkway?". And yes, I was able to give her a clear and concise answer. In a recent blog, I used a glossary to define terms that I used in my blog and it was a good idea and I'll probably do it again sometime when I want to put my own take on a definition.

But sometimes, I may use, say, a Toronto-specific term. So from now on, when I think that a term should be defined, and I see no need to have to write out a definition, the word will be underlined with a link to a place where you click on the underlined word to find out more.

Examples:
Kitchener-Waterloo is a great place.
We drove on the Don Valley Parkway that night.
They played paintball.

So, if you want to know more, click on the link. I'm not a dictionary or an encyclopedia.

I really have nothing intelligent to talk about today so I'm going to go back in time and talk about a day that Nick! Newman and myself refer to as The Best Day. Now The Best Day doesn't exactly refer to the best day of my life. That may have been one of my trips to Toronto or a time with C & C or even days from high school (but I doubt it). However, the best day refers to Saturday July 6th,1996. It may have been the following Saturday on the 13th so don't quote me on that.

1996 was a great year and you can look for me in the future to write about great stuff that happened to me and/or Nick! Newman in the 1990's. 1996 was the summer we used our bicycles to get around pretty much everywhere in Ottawa. That was also the last summer Nick! Newman rode a bicycle. I think we just overdid it that summer. We were only 16, didn't have driver's licences (neither of us got a G2 until we were 20), and we didn't have summer jobs that year. Nick! Newman however would go on the following summer to work at the Giant Tiger. I would spend at least a couple more unproductive summers. Nonetheless it was a great summer and you'll hear more about it in the future, but for now..... The Best Day.

It was a Saturday and we went riding our bicycles that day. Songs that were popular that week included "You're Making Me High" by Toni Braxton, which I recently found out was actually a song about masturbation and one of my personal favorites (and everybody's to this day), Macarena by Los Del Rio. I can assure you that I am not doing the Macarena as I write this blog. That afternoon, me and Nick! Newman hopped on our bikes and went to a whole bunch of places or maybe just a couple of places. The first place we went was to Billings Bridge Mall. That summer, I was trying to set a record for the number of consecutive days with visits to Billings Bridge. Sadly enough, that summer it only peaked at 26 but in 1997, I set a new record when I visited Billings Bridge every day for 274 days in a row. So that took care of that day's trip. And for that day only, I changed my name to Tony Braxton. Billings Bridge was a great time especially loitering in Zellers, where we even went to the toy department and threw a ball around until some employee named Patrick came along and asked. "You guys looking for something or are you just looking for trouble?". Needless to say, I think Patrick is still working there to this day.

It's all at the bridge. It's at Billings Bridge!!!!!!

I had no idea what we did for lunch that day.

After Billings Bridge, we rode over to nearby Vincent Massey Park, where the annual CHEO Teddy Bear's Picnic was taking place. The Teddy Bear's Picnic was mainly for kids, but it has concerts (local singer Wayne Rostad usually shows up), rides and a place where you can bring your favorite teddy bear and they try to fix it for you if it's broken (no I didn't take a teddy bear to that picnic). Nick! Newman and myself decided to ride the rides, just a couple and while we rode that, I went back and forth from singing "You're Making Me High" and the "Macarena". For the Macarena, like most people, I didn't know the Spanish words so I just sang the English excerpts:

I am not trying to seduce you...

When I dance they call me Macarena
And the boys, they say que soy buena
They all want me, they can't have me
So they come and dance beside me
Move with me, chant with me
And if you're good, I'll take home with me.

Now don't you worry about my boyfriend
The boy whose name is Vitorino
I don't want him, couldn't stand him
He was no good, so I...ha,ha,ha,ha,ha
Now come on, what was I supposed to do?
He was out of town and his two friends were soooooo fine.

I am not trying to seduce you.

Great song, although I don't think I'd walk around singing it today.

So the Best Day basically consisted of a fun time at Billings Bridge and the Teddy bear's Picnic with Nick! Newman and me, Tony Braxton. I am also saddened to say, that in recent years, the Teddy Bear's Picnic has been moved out of Vincent Massey Park over to the grounds at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General.

OK, that's it for today. Don't forget to vote for Toronto vs Ottawa in the last blog if you get the chance.

Oh, and all links to blogs on the sidebar are now up to date, and slightly rearranged. Those of you were near the bottom may find yourselves near the top now. Nick! Newman's Photos are now posted. I recommend those because Traci Waxman had a great Fake Prom!!!!! And Nick! Newman's Blog is good, as it is the making of a star!!!!!!

Toronto Vs. Ottawa

2006-02-16T11:02:00.000-05:00

No, this post has nothing to do with hockey. (well maybe a bit)

As you all know (I hope), I live in Ottawa and have lived here all my life. I know a few good people but let's face it, I'm bored. But as many of you know, I love Toronto very much and I think it's one of the best (if not the best) city in the world. I know, I know, I'm being a traitor to my city. But I've lived here all of my life, and if the situation were feasible, I'd be ready to give Toronto a try. But here today, I'm going to fight for both cities because I'm not saying Ottawa is a bad place, I'm just saying that Toronto is better. So I'm going to outline Pros and Cons for both cities. And if you've been reading my blogs so far, you know that I like lists...... So here we go, the Battle of Ontario!!!

TORONTO
Pros
1) Toronto is the known as the centre of the universe. At least I like to think so.
2) More chip stands and hot dog stands on street corners, many of which stay open all night during the summer. In Ottawa, all you can find is Subway on every corner.
3) Has an international airport that actually goes to international destinations... Ask anyone who's flown out of Ottawa to go abroad and they'll tell you they had to transfer at some point.
4) Great food. Upscale restaurants. Lots of ethnic diversity and lots of places to get good junk food, which is good for people like me who like junk food.
5) Better slate of professional sports (the Leafs, the Raptors, the Blue Jays)
6) Beautiful beaches on Lake Ontario and on the Toronto Islands. In Ottawa, Mooney's Bay and Petrie Island is as good as it gets.
7) Big enough to have 2 area codes.
8) Lots of cool neighborhoods to hang out in (ie, the Annex, the Entertainment District etc...)
9) Jobs with employers other than the Federal government.
10) Many large Canadian companies are headquartered here, or in Mississauga or Brampton. It is the economic centre of Canada.
11) Good nightlife, great nightclubs, especially down at Peter and Richmond.
12) The big Chapters at John and Richmond (doesn't compare to the one on Rideau in Ottawa)
13) The theatre scene. All the good shows go to Toronto and stay for a long time (Phantom, Mamma Mia, Lord of the Rings). Not to mention comedy theatres like Second City.
14) All the best concerts go to Toronto.
15) Great attractions and museums (Hockey hall of Fame, Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario Science Centre, Toronto Zoo)
16) Paramount Canada's Wonderland (that one alone is special)
17) Multi-ethnic society and neighborhoods (Chinatown, Little italy, Koreatown, Little India.....) and more......
18) A shorter drive than Ottawa to K-W, the Muskokas, Windsor, Detroit, Niagara and Buffalo.
19) Great shopping. The Eaton Centre, the huge Bay downtown on Queen Street and on Bloor Street as well, the hip and cool stores on Queen Street West, the great deals in Chinatown or just going out to Yorkdale or Sherway Gardens.
20) The CN Tower vs. the Peace Tower. Sorry, I think the CN Tower is nice and more exciting.
21) Great transit. Taking the subway is fun, You can wait for the subway underground without getting wet or cold. You can get to most places in Toronto without a car.
22) For the most part, the GTA didn't vote a Conservative MP and the City of Toronto didn't vote a single Conservative in the recent election.
23) Many great TV shows are filmed here (remember Ready or Not, Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Today's Special or Train 48?)
24) The Leafs are better than the Senators.

Cons
1) Increasingly violent. 2005 in Toronto was known as the Year of the Gun.
2) Urban sprawl. Houses are going up at an alarming rate in Mississauga, Brampton and Markham.
3) Traffic from hell and I'm not just talking about rush hour but even at 10PM on a Friday night(just try driving on the Don Valley Parkway, QEW, the 401 or the Gardner) or even worse taking the 400 north to Cottage Country on a summer long weekend.
4) Living to work. It's OK to go home once you're done work for the day.
5) The cost of Living, rents and mortgages. The commute from K-W to Toronto is starting to look pretty good)
6) Homeless people, left and right.
7) For some reason, most of Canada hates Toronto. Well I can understand if you're from Montréal, it's such a close competition between the 2.
8) Pollution, smog days last summer, one right after the other.
9) Have you seen the Saturday editions of the Toronto Star? I mean, who has time to read that????

OTTAWA
Pros
1) The pace is mush slower here and people are more laid back.
2) The Byward Market. Such a beautiful, lively place , at night or during the day.
3) Much safer, less of a chance of being hit by stray bullets.
4) Skating on the Rideau Canal in winter. It beats jogging on Toronto's waterfront or skating in small circles around the rink at Nathan Philips Square.
5) Winterlude. I don't like winter but Winterlude is cool. Toronto's Winterlicious Festival??? Sorry, never heard of it!!!!
6) Despite a population about one fifth of Toronto’s, Ottawa has produced many more successful NHLers than Toronto. Do you know Steve Yzerman?
7) Frank Clair Stadium is a football field with charm, history and character, while the Rogers Center more closely resembles something between a hospital and an airplane hangar.
8) Ottawa didn’t have all of its important buildings burned to the ground by American soldiers during the War of 1812.
9) Ottawa doesn't have to call in the Military to help clean up after a snowstorm.
10) Less traffic on the Queensway. In Ottawa, we actually get to work in less than a hour every morning.
11) Ottawa is across the river from Québec. Lots of good poutine over on the Québec side. The closest Toronto comes to good poutine is at Harvey's. Also, Ontario and Québec sometimes differ on laws, values and viewpoints. If you don't like a law in Ontario, go over to Québec, it may be legal there.
12) The proximity to Montréal. That alone is a great pro.

Cons
1) Toronto is more of a 24 hour city. You can find stuff open well into the night as well as many 24-hour supermarkets. Ottawa tends to shut down at 8PM and the downtown turns into a ghost town at night and on the weekend once all the bureaucrats have gone home to the suburbs.
2) Our winters are much colder. Toronto hasn't seen much snow or cold this year.
3) Ottawa has lost to Toronto four of the past five seasons in the NHL playoffs.
4) Ottawa has many great restaurants but Toronto has more and a better variety.
5) Ottawa lacks a subway station, which can mean waiting for buses outdoors in the cold for long periods of time, and longer travel times in bad weather. Ottawa is also more spread out than Toronto, and getting from one end of town to the other by public transit in Ottawa can take at least twice as long as it does in Toronto.
6) it's harder to get a decent job in Ottawa if you don't speak French.
7) The Senators play in Kanata, not in downtown Ottawa, unlike the Leafs, who play smack dab in the middle of downtown Toronto. Getting to the hockey games and many concerts can be a hassle and long.
8) More people outside of Canada have heard of Toronto.

And the winner is............. well you decide. Hit the comments and make your case.

Je déteste le Saint-Valentin

2006-02-07T17:15:00.000-05:00

Hello friends

As my title implies, I don't really like Valentine's Day all that much, and yes this is going to be another one of those rants and raves about single people on Valentine's Day.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against love, people in love, couples or even marriage. I'm not a person who hates. I believe we should all love one another, as the Bible says. But there comes a point where those in love, as well as those pushing Valentine's Day are making those people who arent in love (like single people) feel inferior and worthless. Like myself. And when you're single like me, Valentine's Day can be cruel, even worse than New Year's Eve. It's nothing more than a holiday that's pushed by Hallmark, Hershey's and florists around the world. Brothers and sisters who are single, it's time for us to take back February 14th!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you who are in love, that's great. But isn't love a year-long event and not one that you have to put on parade every February 14th.

Here are some ways we can boycott Valentine's Day.
1) Wear black, lots of it. It doesn't have to be a camouflage thing or a funeral getup. Just basic businesswear black. Maybe even like something you'd wear to church.
2) Boycott Hallmark and go to Carlton Cards instead. (Cartes Carlton for our Québecois readers)
3) Go the Mayfair Cinemas across from Sunnyside Library and see King Kong, which is playing that night. That's one of the last movies in the world I would have expected them to play on Valentine's.
4) Get together with a bunch of your (single or not) friends and have an anti-Valentine's Day party. It doesn't have to be anything bad, just a nice party with friends.
5) Burn hearts in front of your neighbor's home. Do it well away from the house to avoid fire damage to the house or property. I do not encourage arson or fire damage to property of any kind.
6) Screw Hershey's Kisses. Turtles taste better anyways.
7) It's not just about Hallmark and Hershey's..... it's also about the diamond companies.
8) Have a dance party either with friends or on your own. If you're on your own, may I suggest Abba!!!! There's also Marvin Gaye, Donna Summer or the Bee Gees..... Those CDs are all great for having a dance party in your home.

The day after Valentine's Day, proceed to your nearest Wal-Mart, Zellers or Shoppers Drug Mart (Pharmaprix for our Québec readers) and take advantage of the 50% off or more sales on chocolate.

Please keep in mind that I'm not against love. I mean, just last May, I wrote a blog about loving another after Keith Dow gave a study on the topic. And I meant every word, about loving another and making sure to remember that those are feeling unloved or lonely. And actually, that's what I would encourage most people to do this Valentine's Day, to take a few minutes, or even an hour or two and remember those who may be feeling unloved or left out on that day. I'm sure most of us know someone like that. Remember to love one another equally. If we must partake in Valentine's Day, it shouldn't be about red greeting cards, and chocolates and negligees and fine wines and sex toys and so on. It should be to return to the true meaning of love.

It also shouldn't be a race to meet someone simply because someone else (whether it be friends, family or Hallmark) keeps bugging you "When are you going to meet someone?", "When are you going to settle down?"

And if you don't buy that, get this.... Half the population (male or female) is single. And why not?

Single people have more time to have fun, more time to work, more time to serve God etc......

A while back, Bassem gave a study at C & C about love, sex, marriage and divorce. I came out of that with one thought that continues to follow me. The study was on 1 Corinthians 7:
If you're single, it's alright to be single. God sees the single and the married equally. If you're married, it's alright to be married. But if you're single, don't try to live like you're married. (1 Corinthians 6-9). If you're married, don't live like you're single (that one doesn't need to be explained. It speaks for itself)

And finally, get this. Last night (Sunday), we (the Rideauview gang) had our usual Sunday night trip to Swiss Chalet. There were about a dozen of us there, maybe more. Except for a Mr Dave Hood at the far end of the table, who's engaged, we were all single. And we were all between 18 and 50.....

So don't let it get to you. Valentine's Day is a bad day and one day hopefully, love and marriage is OK if you're in a relationship, don't try to make those who aren't feel bad, love one another, its OK to be single and hopefully someday those Hallmark people will be put in their place once and for all.

Have a good one.

The end of January

2006-02-02T12:55:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, I know it's been awhile since I've written but writing these things takes significant blocks of time, which I haven't had especially since wiritng that year in review took so much time. I'll try not to have such an exciting time this year.

I just want to start by saying hello to someone who commented on that last blog. Goes by the name Haretoday and had a lot to comment on the previous blog. I take it, he's from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Welcome to the blog, my friend, and hope to hear from you again soon. And for the rest of you, keep those comments coming!!!!!!

A bunch of stuff has been going on, work as usual, driving around in the car, and of course, weekly C & C events, the excitement of my life. Been listening to lots of good music, not just Abba but so many more artists, too many to name......

Canada had an election about a week and a half ago and we voted in a new Conservative government (actually any of you who voted Conservative voted them in). I voted Liberal because there was no Bloc candidate where I live. The GTA and K-Dub both elected Liberals all around (except for those 3 NDP ridings in downtown Toronto and of course, K-Dub only has 2 ridings). The Bloc won about 50 Seats. Gilles Duceppe is the man!!!!!!!!!!! But now I guess we have to see what those Consevatives can do (and I'm sorry but Stephen Harper is just creepy looking; the same has been said for Monsieur Duceppe but I disagree on that one).

The C & C went on their annual retreat to Tucker House. I went for only 3 hours on the Saturday (I wrote an entry back in October about why I usually don't get to go on retreats). And hey, it was a good excuse to phase in the new digital camera. I took a few good pictures, and I ld have taken a few more good pictures but the battery didn't last long (I guess camera batteries need longer charge time). They looked like they had a good time and a good speaker and hopefully I'll get the chance one day to "tobbogan"in a sleeping bag down a flight of stairs, with inclined mattresses on those stairs.

I recently discovered a new term to describe myself, who can play no sports at all. I'm athletically challenged. I got this term in an email for a Rideauview Games and Gym Night at a nearby high school. There were sports in the Gym but they promised board games for the athletically challenged and hey that was for me!!!! It was an OK time, but they were lacking in the board games department. Most of the people were all for the sports. Gave me an excuse to give lifts home to people who needed to leave early.

Nick! Newman has moved back to Ottawa. He lived in Toronto for 3 and a half years and I visited him on a few occasions, including when we met up at Yonge and Eglinton at 1:30AM the night of the accident on the Don Valley. It's good to have him back and I can understand how living in Toronto can be stressful and expensive. Otherwise, who in their right mind leaves Toronto to move to Ottawa? Toronto is the best city ever!!!!!!!!!!! And it kind of saddens me that I won't be going back as often anymore, seeing as I have no place to stay except in a hotel and probably in that Days Inn next door to Maple Leafs Gardens where the shower and the TV didn't work. it did have that $15 all-you-can-eat-breakfast buffet at the Golden Griddle across the street, I'll give it that. This also puts my trip to K-Dub at stake since I may have nowhere to stay in nearby Toronto.

So that's it for now. I hope to find a place to host or share some of those pictures I took on the new camera so you can see what and where I've been up to. Tomorrow night, the C & C will have their Girls Night/Guys nights out and once again, I will jump ship when it comes time to play sports. For a guy who doesn't play sports, you'd think I'd be good at video games on the XBox, but no!!!!!!! I don't know how or why I turned out that way but hey I guess it's what makes me special. It may promise to be a good time though.

Maybe the next posting, or sometime soon, I'm hoping to begin my annual Valentine's Day rant. No, I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day but why spoil what I'll write about then? Stay tuned!!!!!

Goodbye everyone and remember to keep those comments coming!!!!

GLOSSARY

athetically challenged - A person who lacks ability to participate in most or all athletic sports, especially, but not limited to, team sports such as football, basketball or ultimate frisbee.

Golden Griddle - A restaurant in Ontario, mainly in Toronto which serves an all-day breakfast

Nick! Newman - The next big star, hopefully on the Young and the Restless. Is also a big Golden Girls fan.

Toronto - The best city in the world, with lots of fun things to see and do. It is very ethically diverse and has a big traffic problem on its highways.

Comments...... oh and I need an opinion

2006-01-19T12:30:00.000-05:00

Hello all
First off, Happy New Year!!!! The first fresh post of 2006, and I'm glad you're here if you were a reader from 2005. I hope 2006 will be a great one.

I want to talk today about comments and commenting. One of my favorite parts of having a blog is comments and reading them. If you have commented on a post in the past, keep it up. I appreciate your feedback. I find that comments are important for the following reasons:
1) Your feedback on the various topics that I touch on. I'd love to hear it
2) It helps me know that someone is reading the blog. If no one is reading it, then there is no point for me to keep writing it. If I wanted to keep thoughts for only me to read, I'd keep a diary with a lock.
3) I touch on the occasional controversial topic. I'd like to be able to know if I'm "out of line" sometimes. I have no intention of offending other people, their values, beliefs, religion etc.... The only time it's funny to offend other people on a blog is when we're talking about celebrities. (ie. Britney and Madonna).
4) Sometimes people write a comment and they touch on a comment that I possibly need to expand on. A comment may show that I need to clarify where I'm coming from on certain of my opinions. Sometimes a comment may call for a whole idea for an upcoming post. It's good when people give me a topic to write about.

I understand there are some new readers to this recently. Anyone can comment. A while back, one of my loyal readers pointed out that only certain people were allowed to comment. If you don't know how to comment, here's how:
1) At the end of the post, click on where it says "0 comments" or "1 comments" or whatever....
2) A comment page will come up. In the big box on the right-hand side, type your comment.
3) Sign a name at the bottom. Use either your Blogger ID or just leave a first name if you like. I don't mind if you want to be Anonymous as long as I have an idea of who you are.

Just a few rules to keep in mind before commenting:
1) Do not offend, or embarass other people, their race, religion, values or beliefs. Any hate will not be tolerated.
2) In your comment, identify yourself in some way or another at some point, either in the name field or in the comment itself. A first name will suffice or something about yourself such that I know who you are.
3) Don't try to sell me anything. If I want to buy something, I'm perfectly capable of going to the store to do that.

And feel free to write anything that's on your mind, even if it doesn't pertain to the topic at hand. If you want to say hello, write a poem, a love letter (women only for that last one), or whatever's on your mind, Id love to hear from you and what you think.

So keep those comments coming!!!!!

Before I go, I have a question...

I was discussing this with someone while driving in the car. It was Sunday night, and we were taking a shortcut through the parking lot of Bayshore Shopping Centre to go to Natalie and Jeremy's. Shopping malls are generally closed on Sunday evening in Ontario so I just whizzed through there (at about 60 km/h). My passenger told me that the Highway Traffic Act doesn't apply on private property, except when leaving the property to turn onto a public road.

So the question is: If there's a Stop Sign or a speed limit on a private property (ie. a shopping mal parking lot, an apartment complex, a university campus), can it be enforced? I mean, I understand you'll be held liable if an accident or damages occur as a result. I'm not saying that we should whizz through a parking lot at 100 km/h.....but just if a rolling stop would suffice or something.... Can you get fined simply for running a stop sign on private Property?

OK, that's all and keep those comments coming!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michel's 2005 Year in Review - Part IV

2006-01-13T08:16:00.000-05:00

Gee, I should have been writing these when 2005 was still fresh in my mind. Next year, I'll also start earlier. I'll also try not to make 2006 so eventful.

Now, if you want to catch up on the other 3 parts....all you have to do is click for:
Part I (January to April)
Part II (May to July)
Part III (August and September)

All right, so the last part of the year contains my new fascinations with Abba and my studies and hopes to Kitchener-Waterloo at some point in the near future. C & C is in full swing and we are about to be subjected to incessant holiday music. So without further ado...

OCTOBER
October was a great month. We had a final bout of Indian summer and the heat is pretty much over after that. Toronto has now had a record number of smog days. The Southern United States and the Caribbean is being attacked by one hurricane after another. And there are many great C & C events to come. But you'll also notice that fall is not as fun and eventful as summertime.
3. The lockout at CBC ends. All right!!!!! Now we can actually have some sound while watching Hockey Night in Canada!!!!!!
16. After searching since about August 28th, I finally manage to buy Abba Gold at a reasonable price of $9.99 at a used music store on Rideau Street. In case, I've never mentioned it before, I love Abba!!!!!!!
19. Hurricane Wilma becomes a Category 5 hurricane and hits parts of Jamaica, Cancun and South Florida among others. It becomes rhe 5th costliest storm in history.
20. Ontario announces it will become the first Canadian province to extend daylight saving time. For those of you who love daylight hours, I believe this will go into effect in 2007.
22. The C & C has its 47th annual Hike and Chili Cookoff. (Actually it's always the 47th annual). We climb these weird trials (or not trails). I manage to get lost after chickening out on part of the trail and end up at what I thought was the top of the mountain.. Luckily I manage to find them (thank God for cellphones). Now I laugh at this (until the next hike). We all had a great time and after that it was back to the 5 guys house for some chili. I wrote a whole blog about this day so you can read more about it there.
24. Rosa Parks, whose famous refusal in 1955 to surrender her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama triggered a bus-boycott and the beginning of the modern U.S. civil rights movement, died at the age of 92.
26. In the deciding game of the 2005 World Series, the Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros 1-0 to sweep the series 4 games to 0. This is the first World Championship for the Sox since 1917. Outfielder Jermaine Dye is named Series MVP.
29. The C & C hosts its' annual Hallowe'en party and Brenda, Bekcy and May's house. There are many great costumes, including Super Mario and who could forget my wonderful long black wig? I think Value Village made a lot of money off of us that week. During the party, the Sens play the Leafs and well... surprise surprise... they beat them. Let's hope the Leafs have a better season.
31. It's Halloween Day. Who cares???????? It fell on a Monday this year.

NOVEMBER
OK, Hallowe'en is over, that means the signs of Christmas are everywhere. Well, the TV specials don't start until December. Lots of great stuff goes on at C & C, the GTA gets some weird weather and right about now, I'm really starting to miss summer as the rains come down and we see our first snowfall this month.
4. We have a Shoebox Night at C & C to send shoeboxes full of "stuff" to 3rd World countries. We go to Dollarama and buy lots of "stuff". I already wrote about this in a blog back in early November.
6. Across the river from Ottawa in Gatineau, residents go the polls for the municipal election. Marc Bureau defeats Yves Ducharme to become the new mayor of Gatineau. Ducharme first became myor of Hull in 1992. When Hull merged to become Gatineau in 2002, Ducharme was elected mayor of Gatineau. Bureau's first order of business? To fire Ducharme's chauffeur.
9. It's very unusual weather for November in Ontario. Temperatures climbed to a balmy 20°C in Windsor, Ottawa experienced a bout of freezing rain, Barrie had snow and Hamilton saw a rare tornado. The Hamilton twister struck about 4 p.m. and lasted 10 minutes. As an F-1 category tornado, it packed winds up to 180 km/h. Homes and a school are badly damaged.
10. OCF holds its annual coffeehouse and Talent Auction.
11. At C & C, we have a Scavenger Hunt to find out where the study is going to be held, and we go from house to house to get the clues. I already wrote a blog about this one too!!!!!
13. WWE's Eddie Guerrero dies at age 38, of causes unknown.
15. Former Minister André Boisclair is elected Leader of the Parti Québécois
16. Winds reach speeds of 100 km/h in the GTA, knocking over trees and power lines.
18. At C & C, Bassem gives a study on Love, sex, marriage and divorce. It is a long study so this is the first of 2 parts. Divorce is discussed very quickly and the rest is very informative. All questions, comments, concerns and....... diagrams are encouraged on 3x5 cards.
24. It's time to learn winter driving!!!!! After a great summer, Ottawa sees its' first snowfall of the season.
25. Bassem continues the study on Love, sex, marriage and divorce. The one thing I learned: If you want to be single, it's OK to be single. If you want to be married, it's OK to be married. But make sure you know which of the 2 gifts God is trying to give you. And again, all questions, comments, concerns and....... diagrams are encouraged on 3x5 cards.; Meanwhile a few miss the study because U2 is performing in Ottawa at the Corel Centre. Tickets had been so hard to get that a certain someone took the train to Brockville and then paid to go back to the concert in Ottawa via a concert bus group.
27. The Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Montreal Alouettes 38-35 in the 93rd Grey Cup Canadian Football League championship at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia.
29. Canadian Governor General Michaëlle Jean formally dissolves Parliament, following Prime Minister Paul Martin's loss of a confidence vote, and calls an federal election for January 23, 2006. As long as anyone but Stephen Harper's Conservatives win, I'll be happy.

DECEMBER
All right, so what a year has been and now we're into the last month. So many great memories!!!! Unfortunately, this month, Christmas shopping doesn't go as well. The C & C is on hold for the Holiday Season. And the race is on for which Christmas song can most annoy people. Unfortunately, the community also experiences a couple of losses, which end up being deemed as "wake-up calls" by the end of the month.
1. Jesus 24 Hours is banned from the Library for 6 months, after having urinated in a plastic bag and left it lying around public areas of the Library.
2. The C & C holds its' annual potluck Christmas banquet. Everyone gets dressed up and looks nice. There is a gift exchange. The question that night was "Do You Love Your Neighbor?"
8. K’Leigh Cundall, a fellow OCF'er and biochemistry student at the University of Ottawa is senselessly stabbed to death by Anthony Roach of Barrie in her New Edinburgh apartment. Her love for curling will be remembered by all. She is Ottawa's 11th murder victim of 2005. Roach is being charged with first-degree murder.
9. The C & C wraps things up for 2005 with a final study at Rachel, Colleen's and Christine's house.
10. Just days after his 65th birthday, groundbreaking comedian Richard Pryor dies of a heart attack.
13. I brave the cold and take a walk in Chinatown on Somerset Street West at night. And I don't care what anyone says. Most of those Asian restaurants look and smell good.
16. A major snowstorm hits Ontario and Québec. There is commuter havoc. Toronto receives 10-15 cm. Ottawa's morning rush hour was chaotic when 54 transit buses broke down or were in accidents, after receiving almost 30 cm. But the worse of the storm was seen in Montréal where they received more than 40 cm of snow, making it the 2nd worse snowstorm in Montréal'a history. The worst was in 1971; Meanwhile, OC Transpo communters breathe a sign of relief as a labour dispute that had been going on since late October is ended by a new deal being reached and a bus strike being averted
17. As if I hand't seen enough Christmas parties, Mike holds another Christmas party at his Alta Vista home. Anyone for a game of Guesstures?
25. Although, it's been said, many times, many ways...... Merry Christmas!!!!!
26. While Boxing Day shopping on Yonge Street in Toronto with her family, 15 year-old Jane Creba is gunned down in a shooting spree, punctuating Toronto's "Year of the Gun". There were a record number of deaths by gunfire in Toronto in 2005– 52 out of 78 slayings in total. The shootings are said to be of rival gangs from Jane-Finch and Rexdale. As of this writing, several charges have been laid; Meanwhile, I brave the Boxing Day sales and come out with some good stuff.
31. 2005 is on its' way out and for me, not in the same way it came in. The C & C get together for a New Year's Eve Party at Colleen's. Great party, Colleen!!!!!

And now for some lists and facts:

The 10 coldest days of 2005 in Ottawa (nighttime lows in Degrees Celsius)
-28 21-January
-27.2 22-January
-26.9 18-January
-25.9 27-January
-25.1 28-January
-24.3 20-January
-23.7 24-January
-23.2 23-January
-22.2 17-January
-20.9 21-December

The 10 hottest days in Ottawa of 2005 (daytime highs in Degrees Celsius)
33.9 02-August
33.7 04-August
33.4 11-July
32.7 25-July
32.6 09-August
32.6 27-June
32.4 28-June
32.4 25-June
32.4 11-June
32.3 08-August

Most-Watched TV Shows (not by me anyway)
1. CSI
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Without a Trace
Surprisingly enough, Lost only came in 6th.

Top Selling CD's (ABBA didn't make the list this year :( )
1. 50 Cent - The Massacre
2. Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi
3. American Idiot - Green Day

Top Best-Selling Book
The Honor goes to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Top Movies at the Box Office (good news is The 40 year old Virgin didn't even make the list)
1. Star Wars EpisodeIII - Revenge of the Sith
2. War of the Worlds
3. The Wedding Crashers

Top-Selling DVDs
1. The Incredibles
2. Shark Tale
3. Star Wars EpisodeIII - Revenge of the Sith

Most-Requested Concert Tickets
1. U2 (some of us went to Brockville and back just for those tickets)
2. The Rolling Stones
3. Paul McCartney

Comeback of the Year - Mariah Carey

5 Biggest Songs of the Year (that weren't by Abba)
1. KELLY CLARKSON - Since U Been Gone
2. MARIAH CAREY - We Belong Together
3. GREEN DAY - Boulevard of Broken Dreams
4. KELLY CLARKSON - Behind These Hazel Eyes
5. CIARA (f/Missy Elliott) - 1,2 Step

Worst TV show of the Year - Britney and Kevin: Chaotic
Worst Music Video of the Year - These Boots Were Made for Walking by Jessica Simpson, a song made to promote The Dukes of Hazzard. But let's face it, if the movie had had as much exposure as Jessica did in the video, more people would have gone to see it, mainly men....... and some women, if you know what I mean.
Most overplayed song - Bad Day by Daniel Poweter. Over and over, he sings cause you had a bad day, you had a bad day. You had a bad day!!!!!! We get the point!!!!!
Most annoying song - Pon De Replay by Rihanna. Very overplayed!!!!!! And very annoying. Like what is "Pon Pon de Replay" supposed to mean anyways?
My Favorite Song - Hung Up by Madonna. Usually I'm repulsed by the idea of 47-year old Madonna dancing around in a leotard. But the song samples Gimme Gimme Gimme a Man After Midnight by Madonna, so hey it's all good.
Best asked question of the year - How Could This Happen to Me?, a good question asked by Simple Plan. I ask myself the same question everytime I'm subjected to bad reality television and bad music like Pon de Replay.

And the best month of 2005 goes to.........
August!!!!!! Hands down, lots of fun stuff went down, as well as stories that I'll be telling for a while to come.

And there you have it, my 2005 in review. It really was a great year and I apologize if it was long. But now we're in 2006. Now what????? Well, we do have an election coming up. May the best party win (and that would be anyone but the Conservatives). I'm also hoping that 2006 willl bring some of the things that are missing in my life, like action and excitement. I also hope to travel to Kitchener-Waterloo sometime in 2006. And another important question, will we have a nice summer? Stay tuned. The memories have already begun.

Oh, and watch for my photos to be appearing in the near future, either on this blog or elsewhere (I'll let you know where when I know)

Michel's 2005 Year in Review - Part III

2006-01-08T19:06:00.000-05:00

All right, so the year is just flying by. Summer is getting ready to wind down and people back to their schools. The roadtrip of a lifetime is upon me but the weather just shows no signs of cooling down.

OK, STOP, if you didn't read Part II go back and read it now...
Even worse, if you didn't read Part I.......click here

AUGUST
OK, so summer is in full swing and will be winding down soo but not before I take the roadtrip of a lifetime. It may not sound like a big deal, but I don't go on roadtrips very often. The hot summer continues but some cool weather does show itself towards the end of the month. The loneliness stops as I manage to find fellowship in August and the Don Valley Parkway has seen better days.

2. Air France Flight 358, an Airbus A340 (registration F-GLZQ) with 297 passengers and 12 crew, overran the runway and crashed into trees at Toronto Pearson International Airport in bad weather conditions. The aircraft later caught fire near the tail. All passengers survived, although a reported 43 people were taken to hospital for minor injuries. Drivers along the 401 beside Pearson Airport slow down to check out the scene.
5. OK, I need to get to St Catharines for Dan and Juli's wedding. The roadtrip to end all roadtrips!!!!!! There's a quick trip to Canadian Tire to pick up a wedding gift and then I meet up with Erik, Kristi and Annie to get a ride to Toronto. Originally planning to go in Erik's van, the van overheats before we leave Ottawa. So Kristi offers to drive. We head down the 401, and I tell you, I remember the 401 being beautiful at night. I ask to be dropped off in downtown Toronto, so when we get to Toronto, we get on the Don Valley Parkway, get stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic and are in an accident after another driver rear-ends us. So we must go to the collision reporting centre in Scarborough and spend almost 2 hours there, trying to report our accident. This whole time, I'm tired, hungry and anxious. Their photocopier has no paper and the guy keeps hiding in his office instead of getting us some. Finally, I get dropped off at Yonge and Eglinton to meet up with Nick! Newman. After this trip, I came to one conclusion. The Go-Go's and all surfing songs rock!!!!!!
6. It's Saturday, I need to get to Dan and Juli's wedding in St Catharines. I rent a car (I had to take a Cadillac because they ran out of cars!!!) and head down the QEW towards the wedding. Past Oakville, the QEW is bumper-to-bumper traffic. So I keep leaving the QEW in order to avoid the traffic. But by mistake I accidentally take the 403 WEST Hamilton instead of the QEW to Niagara and I end up getting lost in downtown Hamilton. I make it back to the QEW, get stuck in traffic again, bypass it via the 406 and get to Fairview Mennonite Brethren Church about 10 minutes late for Dan and Juli's wedding. It's a beautiful wedding with a ceremony, a meal and goldfish races and a beautiful slideshow. Oh and the trip to Wendy's on Lake Street between the wedding and the reception. Everyone loves my rental Cadillac. I drive back to Toronto along a calm QEW that night to beat the traffic the next morning. I decide to go for a walk in downtown Toronto while waiting for Nick! Newman to go home. I go down to the Nightclub District to "check things out". I Love the Nightclub district!!!!!! I'm also propositioned by hookers on Church Street and Carlton Street, which wasn't pleasant. I love Toronto!!!!!!!
7. I'm still in Toronto. I go to an All-You-Can-Eat breakfast at the Golden Griddle, take the mandatory tryip to the huge Bay stores in downtown Toronto, visit Bloor Street and take the ferry to the beautiful Toronto Islands. There, I found the sign I will never forget. (CITY OF TORONTO, CLOTHING IS OPTIONAL BEYOND THIS POINT) and like the sign said, it was a clothing optional beach with nude bodies everywhere. I go back downtown afterwards and dine with Nick! Newman at KitKat Restaurant on King Street in the Entertainment District. We hit up Indigo (turns out there's not much to do on a Sunday night), and we call it a night after that. I try to fall asleep by watching The Golden Girls (great show!!!!) And my favorite line from that episode was Dorothy's "My daughter is marrying a doctor........... in the Bahamas." In other news, Peter Jennings, former ABC News anchor and Carleton University journalism grad dies of lung cancer at age of 67.
8. I stay in TO another day. I take the guided tour of Queen's Park, and get to see Dalton's seat. I visit College Street, Little Italy, Chinatown, I buy a bootleg DVD of The Wedding Crashers from sone guy in Chinatown. I then go down to Queen Street and to Chapters, and I end up dining with Nick! Newman at Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood is the worst restaurant ever!!!!! Not only was it dead, not only was my burger bun all soggy, but everytime we needed the waiter (to serve the food or to bring the check), it took 30 minutes each time!!!! Finally, I was so fed up that when the check did come, we paid exact change, not a cent less and not a cent more for a tip. (ie. if the bill was $12.63, they got $12.63 exactly and i counted the pennies one by one!!!!!!)
9. After a weekend of excitement, it's time to take the bus back home to Ottawa. The good news is that A Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff is shown on the bus ride.
10. I'm still off work for the week so I manage to attend one of Kendra's summer potlucks and studies.
11. It's Thursday and I'm still off work, so I visit the Museum of Civilization, where admission is free on Thursday nights.
17. 5,500 employees of the CBC (about 90%) are locked out by CBC management in a dispute over future hiring practices.
19. A line of severe thunderstorms tracked eastward across southern Ontario from Kitchener to Oshawa, including the northern half of Toronto. The Don Valley Parkway is flooded and part of Finch Street West is washed out. The road, at this time, has still not been repaired; Meanwhile, to my chagrin, the 40-year old Virgin opens in theatres. It seems that the producers think that this concept is funny.
20. I go help out at Rosemount for a couple days, which means a walk to Tunney's Pasture, where many employees can be seen playing volleyball at lunchtime on a nice summer day.
21. Erik, Chris Burbidge, Dan Carlson, Kristi and a few others and I head to Petrie Island for a day at the beach and I actually attempt to play volleyball. I love the beach and I don't go enough!!!!!! (I just don't go in the water); Later that evening, a few of us hit up the annual Greek Festival on Prince of Wales Drive.
24. It's the last potluck and study of the summer at Kendra's and there is tabouleh!!!!!
27. It's a beautiful Saturday and the same group as last Sunday hits up the beach at Petrie Island again. Unfortunately, I missed it, because I had to go to work. Man, I hate working on Saturdays!!!!!
28. Rolling Stones fever hits Ottawa as the Stones play at the Super Ex at Lansdowne Park. It's one of the biggest concerts in Ottawa in years and 43,000 people attend and the concert can be heard all over the neighborhood; Meanwhile, the group goes to Mike’s house for the afternoon. Kristi brings an Abba CD and by the end Chris Burbidge just wants to throw it out the window. For me, the Abbamania just begins here!!!!!!
29. Hurricane Katrina as a Category 3 storm makes landfall at 6:10 a.m. CDT. The eye is just east of New Orleans, Louisiana. In the coming days, hundreds are killed, New Orleans is completely flooded and evacuated. The US Federal government declares a public health emergency for the Gulf Coast of the United States and launches one of the largest search and rescue missions in history.
30. It's the last night of Ultimate Frisbee for the summer team down at Strathcona Park and I go down to watch (well it's easier than playing right?) And boy was it humid that night. By the time they were done, I think those were some of the sweatiest people I'd ever seen in my life.

SEPTEMBER
All right, September is here, time to get ready to go back to school. Some people leave, and a lot more people come and come back. The southern United States is attacked by one hurricane after another and due to rise in gas prices, all of my roadtrips are now on hold indefinitely. C & C resumes, as well as OCF but this season will see me going to C & C more often since to my disappointment, OCF was moved to Thursday nights. The weather continues to be warm.

1. Kristi leaves to go back to school in Kitchener-Waterloo. What a bad day to leave on a long trip too. Gas prices skyrocket to $1.25 a litre across Ontario in the wake of Hurricane Katrina are even reported to be as high as $1.60 in parts of Québec and the Maritimes. All of my roadtrips are on hold indefinitely.
5. It's the Labour Day long weekend, so Mike holds a corn roast at his house with lots and lots of well...... corn. What else would you expect at a corn roast? There are many new faces and a great time is had by all.
8. OCF resumes for 2005-2006. The discomfort factor? You do the math!!!!!! Many new people and we are cramped into a tiny portable in the summer heat of a September night.!!!!!!
9. C & C resumes with icebreakers and of course, new members and discussion of studies and possible activities this coming year.
10. Near Sunnyside Library, is the Ottawa South Garage Sale. This is where many homes in Old Ottawa South, well hold garage sales so there were garage sales everywhere. Lots of great music to be found. Didn't find Abba but I did come out with a Boney M's greatest hits; That night is the OCF Dessert crawl. It is similar to a pub crawl but with dessert. In this order, we visit BeaverTails for Beavertails, Piccolo Grande for Gelato, Oh So Good for cake and Nickel's for uh... whatever. Great time and the first time in my life that I eat dessert and then eat a meal.
17. I go to see the show, les Filles de Pigale.
19. 18 year old Jennifer Teague's murdered body is found at a hiking trail in Ottawa's west end. Jennifer disappeared after leaving work at Wendy's in Barrhaven on September 8th. An extensive search is conducted. No charges has laid at this time. As a result, Queen's Park wants to impose legislation making it mandatory for late-night employers to ensure that all employees have a ride home.
21. Hurricane Rita hits Texas and becomes the 3rd most intense hurricane in history.
23. The C & C play Speedball in a park at night. As I don't play these games, I make myself comfortable with a few others the grass and watch.
27. Haitian-born Michaelle Jean is sworn in as the 27th Governor General of Canada, replacing Adrienne Clarkson.
29. OCF holds a Pop Culture night, which attempts to bridge pop culture and the Bible.

And there you have it, a very eventful end to the summer. Part IV is coming up shortly. We've met many new faces by now and said goodbye to a few more. Some great C & C nights are yet to come, and since it's October soon, we begin to see the first signs of the upcoming holiday season. Stay tuned.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Michel's 2005 Year in Review - Part II

2006-01-03T00:40:00.000-05:00

All right, so I'll continue my look back at 2005, the year that was. I've just finished January to April. Now the fun stuff comes. May, June and July. Things heat up as Ontario and Québec heat up for one of the warmest summers ever, and I take on new libraries. C & C and OCF are over for the year and other Bible studies are heating up for the summer. Many people head home for the summer or are just not coming back period. To find out more, just keep reading.

Before you go any further
STOP
If you didn't read Part I, you're cheating and depriving yourself of great memories. Go back and read it now.

When you're done reading Part I, you can come back here and resume with the month of May.

MAY
Many more adventures and road trips are brewing for the summer, despite what I was thinking at the time. I'll turn 25 and go over the hill and the beginning of that hot summer will heat up. Oh and did I mention more Swiss Chalet?
2. It's my first day on the job at the Rosemount Branch. Of course, it has to rain on the first day as I try to determine the best way there. But I'm poised to enjoy it since there are many great places to walk to nearby, including Wellington Street, Giant Tiger, Parkdale Market and Tunney's Pasture.
8. The new Canadian War Museum opens here in Ottawa at Lebreton Flats. I'm not interested in war itself but the building itself is supposed to be amazing and I haven't been able to go and see it yet. Just got to find out when it's free........
11. Michel is visiting the General Hospital and gets lost trying to leave. OK, I tried to take the stairs back down to the lobby and it's only logical to expect the 1st floor below the 2nd floor. Why do they have mezzanines? Especially service mezzanines which are scary hallways with all sorts of storage space and you know you're not supposed to be there.
15. It's the night before my birthday. In the evening, the C & C decides to take a walk at Dow's Lake to check out the Tulips from the Tulip Festival, as well as the statue of the man with 2 hats, as well as mulitple signs saying not to walk in the tulips. After that, we all go over to Dairy Queen for well...... ice cream obviously.
16. It's My 25th birthday and I'm getting old. On top of that, I go to work and then go home to watch the last episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. CBS lost a great show that night.
17. Canadian Conservative MP Belinda Stronach crosses the floor of the House of Commons to sit with the Liberals, two days before a crucial budget vote that could determine whether the Liberal government falls or not.
19. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the final Star Wars film, is released in the United States. Just hours after its release, the workprint DVD of the film was "leaked" to file sharing networks.
20. The C & C group is invited to Jen and Darcie’s "summer apartment" across the hall from a Muslim prayer room; And people didn't forget my birthday!!!! There was a surprise birthday cake for me after all. Keith and Darcie apologized but they had no idea where I worked so they couldn't surprise me on my actual birthday. We try to watch the Muppets Wizard of Oz starring Ashanti as Dorothy and of course the Muppets.
21. I decide it's time for another road trip and I find myself in Cornwall, Ontario. Unfortunately, that sign that says Bridge to the USA is tempting and I end up visiting the St Lawrence Mall in Massena, New York with over 100 stores including Sears, The Bon Ton and JC Penney, plus a Wal-Mart across the highway (yeah like I needed to go all the way to the States to see a Wal-Mart.) Lovely girls are rushing around the mall preparing for a prom going on that night. Oh and American drivers are rude because I drove the posted speed limit off 55 on the highway but they were all passing me and honking. And by the way, getting back into Canada wasn't fun. The entire car was searched and I was interrogated at length about the purpose of my little joyride and whether I was carrying any drugs, or weapons. I then vow never to go to the USA again.
22. Dan and Julianne have a wedding shower at the Kurz' house. The guys go in one room, the girls in the other and we try to dress up as best we can the groom and bride-to-be respectively in toilet paper. Boy, is toilet paper fun!!!!!!
23.The C & C have a Holiday Monday BBQ and kick off a summer Bible Study on the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
30. The first Study is held on love and it's a ground-breaking one for me. Keith leads it and there are some great comments (please see my May 31st post) including how it doesn't much time or money to just love one another and just take that one friend in need for a cup of coffee.
31. Lebanese-Canadian R & B singer Massari releases his self-titled debut album. He's known for including Arabic styles into his music, and his music is made for the ladies. The hit singles to date off that album are "Be Easy", "Smile for Me" and "Real Love" Great songs!!!! They say Massari is Arabic for money but it may be Arabic for Shawn Desman.

JUNE
All right, it's June now and the weather is really starting to heat up, the summer is under way and beach season begins. It's time to go to a new library, the trips to Swiss Chalet continue and so do the roadtrips.

1. I go to Kendra's weekly OCF summer edition, which consists of dinner and a study in the book of Luke. I won't be able to attend most of the others because I will be working Wednesdays the rest of the summer.
4. Bernard Landry resigns as leader of the Parti Quebecois. The City of Ottawa hosts a weekend-long event called Doors Open Ottawa which allows people to visit and tour Ottawa's interesting buldings. There are so many so I only visit a select few. I tour OC Transpo headquarters (a dream come true!!!!), the new CBC headquarters, the old Ottawa jail, turned hostel and the old Ottawa train station turned Government Conference Centre.
5. Instead of Swiss Chalet, the C & C throws Brenda a surpirse birthday party at the future home of Natalie and Jeremy Appleyard, and it is hot in there!!!!!!
6. I leave Rosemount and accept a permanent post at the Sunnyside Branch, hoping that this time it will last. Anne Bancroft, best known as Mrs Robinson in the 1967 film, The Graduate, passes away at Age 73.
8. Rain begins to pound the province of Alberta starting an almost 3-week flooding crisis in the province.
12. Michel bikes across town in the heat, starting at Blair in the east, and biking via Ogilive, Montreal Rd through Vanier, down Rideau and Wellington to Somerset through Chinatown, then down Wellington and Richmond to finish at Bayshore
25. It's time for yet another roadtrip. This one takes Me to the Valley, through a horrible flash thunderstorm in Arnprior to Renfrew. No offense to any Renfrewites, but boring!!!!!! I think the Wal-Mart was the most exciting thing in the town and the Renfrew Mall has outlived its usefulness and other than that, there's nothing more to see. I stumble upon Camp Galillee, problem is there's no one there for another week. I can then proceed to drive back to Ottawa via Highway 148 on the Québec side. Ah, le Québec!!!!!!
26. The end of the month potluck takes place at the McKee's at the end of a long dead-end street in Nepean. It's a BBQ, and there's swimming and volleyball. Not that I can do either of those things, but the fellowship was great, as usual.
28. Bill C-38 passes through the Canadian House of Commons, placing Canada on track to become the third country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage,

JULY
Summer is in full swing, many festivals and celebrations are about and there will be more roadtrips. July does get lonely though with people going travelling and to camp and so on and I do want to try new avenues to meet new people. August will go on to prove that none of that would be necessary. And boy is it hot!!!!!!!!!!

1. Canada celebrates its' 138th birthday and it's a big party in Ottawa as usual. I spend the day downtown with friends from C & C. Highlights of the day include the chicken cooking demonstration from the Arabic chef, a flash but traditional Canada Day thunderstorm forces us into the National Gallery, dinner at that Indian Restaurant on Dalhousie Street and then going to Gatineau (secteur Hull) to watch the fireworks behind the Museum of Civilization on the Ottawa River. R & B singer Luther Vandross, best known for songs such as Here and Now and Dance with My Father passes away at age 54;
2. Live 8 Concerts, a series of concerts in the G8 Nations takes place. The shows planned to pressure world leaders to drop the debt of the world's poorest nations, increase and improve aid, and negotiate fairer trade rules in the interest of poorer countries. More than 1,000 musicians performed at the concerts, which were broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.
4. Much to the chagrin of many Canadians, especially those in the Niagara region, Karla Homolka is released from prison in Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Québec after serving a 12-year sentence for role in abetting her husband, serial killer, kidnapper, and rapist Paul Bernardo.
7. London bombings: Four explosions are reported on the London Underground and bus system, leading to the entire transport network being shut down. A previously unheard-of splinter group of al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility, though their involvement has not yet been verified. The attacks have left at least 50 people dead and roughly 700 others injured.
16. The English version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released at midnight local time across the UK, Ireland and North America.
20-24. The Lebanese Festival, an annual event since 1991 takes place. But I don't enjoy it as much as in past years.
22. NHL lockout is officially over since Sept. 16, 2004
29. The roadtrip I've been waiting for since I bought the car!!!!!! Montréal!!!!! After stops at Lachute and the old Mirabel Airport and getting lost in Laval, I finally arrive!!!! I park the car and jus take in the city. I go to Ste-Catherine Street, la Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec, the waterfront (worth the trip), the Quartier Chinois, the Homosexuale Village (the biggest in North America), the downtown malls, La Baie (The Bay) and Vieux-Montréal. Who could forget the Christmas store that operates year-round (it was kind of weird to listen to Jingle Bells in July)?
31. I make the mistake of going on a singles boat cruise on the Ottawa River, thinking it would be a new avenue to meet new people. Big mistake!!!!!

OK, and that's Part II. Don't forget to read Part I. Part III will highlight August and September. They will continue to be hot (literally!!!!) and humid. Some very interesting events and some interesting people come about, as well as the roadtrip to end all roadtrips. Stay tuned!!!!!!!

TO BE CONTINUED......

Michel's 2005 Year in Review - Part 1

2006-01-02T11:40:00.000-05:00

Hello dear friends, and Happy New Year. I hope everyone is rested from the holiday season and ready to get back into the swing of things in the coming week. One of my favorite parts of the end of a year is all the year-end lists that come out (best songs, best books, newsstories of the year). So I thought this blog should be no esception. In the next 4 entries, I will look back at many of the memorable events of the past year, mainly in my personal life, in our lives, as well as major news events and deaths in the past year.

2005 was a great year. Many memorable things happened, between C & C, OCF and other places that I went. I continued to go to many of my favorite places, to work at the library, to read, to share, to meet with good friends and who could forget one of the hottest summers ever?

There are a lot of memories, so this is how it's going to work so you don't have to read the entire year in one blog entry. There will be 4 entries:
This is Part 1 and will cover January to April.
Part 2 will cover May to July.
Part 3 will cover August and September
Part 4 will finally cover October to December and a few lists at the end.
I will be staggering the entries to give readers a chance to read all 4 entries. But you know what they say, better late than never (or is it better late than pregnant?)
Now it may seem like more months had more stuff than others. That's because January to March is now a big blur to me, a lot of cool stuff happened in August and as for December, well, I think I should be able to remember the fun stuff that happened 2 weeks ago. So here goes, this is the result of my scanning through my past emails, blogs, news stories as well as just pure memory. So sit back and watch 2005 go by.

JANUARY
So this is where it all began, a New Year, new opportunities. It's all a blur, I wasn't going to C & C too much around this time since OCF at Ottawa U was also taking place Friday nights. The weekly Sunday lunches as well Sunday night at Swiss Chalet did go on. I was still working at Rideau Library. And there was the constant pleas to donate to tsunami relief.
1 - I ring in the New Year at home alone, watching Ashlee Simpson (and why am I
complaining?) as well as Earth, Wind and Fire perform on TV. DIck Clark is out sick this
year. I vow to go out next year.
7. OCF resumes in a new room in the University Centre, UCU 205, very comfortable indeed
21. OCF holds a RACK night (Random Acts of Kindness). It was fun. Ruth, Steve Graca and
Lyndsey Buehler and myself go into the University residences and offer to make tea for
people and do their dishes. Makes you feel good. It's also the coldest night of the year and
apparently the C & C has decided to brave it and go toboganning.
22. I need a new cellphone so I go to Bell World and buy a new camera phone (who can forget
being left on hold for ages while I dealt with my account? I also go curling for the first time
with OCF and have a great time. (I think I may have found a new favorite winter sport.)
23. Former host of the Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992 and king of late-night Johnny Carson
passes away at the age of 82.
28. C & C holds Girls Night Out and Guys Night Out. The girls apparently went to a very nice
hotel. The guys play laser tag and video games all night.
29. The C & C goes curling at the RA Centre. Good thing I got that practice in last week!!!!! All went well. In the afternoon, I take one of my urban hikes to the Beacon Hill area of Gloucester and walk down a ski hill. Urban hikes in the winter are the best and Gloucester is a chill place. Late that night, after curling, where do i go? Right back to Gloucester!!!!!!
30. I have a yearning for more Gloucester so I hit up the Orléans area for another urban hike and take this trail along this creek/ravine where the Kurz family walks their dog. Along with some Bruce Cockburn to listen to, it's a great witnertime experience.

FEBRUARY
And this is where it continues, with more Sunday night trips to Swiss Chalet and more C & C activities. Well, C & C as well as OCF both take a hiatus this month because Reading Week as well as Rideauview's Snow Camp both fall this month but it's an OK time nonetheless.
5. Michel walks across from town from East to West. By taking the bus to Bayshore Shopping Mall, I walk down Carling, then to Westboro, down Richmond, Wellington and Somerset, including Chinatown (yay Chinatown!!!!). I then walk through the downtown, through Confederation Park and Rideau Centre, down Rideau Street to Vanier and from there to end at St Laurent Shopping Centre to take the bus home. I was tired that night at the C & C Coffeehouse but it was still a great time with lots of competition. Can YOU build a structure out of uncooked spaghetti noodles and Gummies?
6 – It's Super Bowl XXXIX. New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles, 24–21, to become the first team since the 1997–98 Denver Broncos to win consecutive Super Bowls.
10. Wal-Mart closes a store in Jonquière, Quebec in response to what a company spokesman says are unreasonable demands from union negotiators. The union was close to winning the first ever labor contract from the world's largest retailer.
11. OCF has a night about post-campus faith, about how one can practice their faith and witness in the workplace. Following, we all go skating at the park beside Kendra's house. Unfrotunately, I forgot my skates and just had to shuffle around the rink (hey I didn't want to miss out)
12. C & C has its' annual dessert auction for Valentine's Day. Due to my hectic schedule, I'm forced to pick up a store-bought cake at Loblaws. But hey, it was a good time and somebody actually bought my cake.
16. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announces the cancellation of the 2004-05 season because of the ongoing lockout. It is the first time a North American professional sports league has cancelled an entire season due to a labor dispute.
18. The Keith Keyser seminars go on all week at Ottawa U. I attend a couple talks with the C & C, including one called “Making Sense of Suffering”.

MARCH
March is here. It's a big month for me as life is about to become much easier. Also all that snow starts to melt and spring is going to bring us closer and closer to summer. Many more C & C and OCF events go on and of course, Sunday night Swiss Chalet. Not that much happens here but again it's all a blur.
5. OCF has a night on Diversity in Worship, in which you're invited to worship in any way you like, whether it be through the arts or whatever. Sounds like fun but I'm so tired from a day at work, that unfortunately I put my head right down on a table and am asleep almost instantly.
12. OCF invites Joseph Moreau from the Ecclesiax Church to talk about Aboriginals in worship, the C & C has gone off to Tucker House in Rockland for the weekend.
13 I drove out to Rockland that night to visit the Tucker House. Looks like lots of fun, lots of games, and lots of worship. It's a nice house too. But for personal reasons (see October 5th posting), I can never seem to go on retreats.
18. I sign up for outreach for the Library to go and help out at their kiosk at the Salon du Livre de l'Outaouais, which is a big book show and and sale by various publishers across the river in Gatineau. It is one of Gatineau's biggest cultural events of the year, and this was the 26th year. I see Gatineau's then-Mayor, Yves Ducharme walking around there and discover 11-year old author Alexandra La Rochelle who has already written and published 2 books au Québec. Lots of fun and I got a free dopy of Le Droit newspaper. Mark your calendars!!! The 2006 edition will be held from the 9th to 12th of March at the Palais de Congrès in Gatineau.
24. I finally come to my senses and buy my new car after years of taking the bus and bumming rides off others!!!! I manage to get a good deal on a used 2004 Cavalier which still has 2 years left on the warranty. Finally, I can go all those places I always wanted to go but was never able to go because I didn't have a car.
25. It's my first day with the new car, it's Good Friday and Ruben comes to visit from Sherbrooke, so we hit up le Québec. Ah, le Québec!!!!! We got la Rue Eddy à Gatineau (secteur Hull) and to the Les Promenades de l'Outaouais mall (secteur Gatineau) . That night, I travel to Kanata for the 24th annual Ottawa Valley Easter Bible Conference. Joe Mikhael and Randy Amos are on hand to speak.
26. I attend Night 2 of Easter Conference.
27. It's Easter Sunday. Christ is risen!!!!! Everything else is closed. So I spend the afternoon (with the new car) attending various church services, including St Anthony's, the Italian Church at Gladstone & Booth . Not because it makes you more holy or more of a Christian or anything like that. But because it's good to go to other churches sometimes and see how things work there.

APRIL
By now, the weather is starting to get nice, but that nice girl with the red hair who used to work at Sears downtown, well, she's not there anymore. And I'm making up for lost time with the new car. C & C and OCF are getting ready to wind down for the year, I'm starting to get sick of the Rideau Branch but may have an out real soon. Jesus 24 Hours is visiting the library often (see April 21st blog post). And the world mourns this month
1. April Fools..... no really
2. Pope John Paul II, the head of the Roman Catholic Church since 1978, passes away in the Vatican at the age of 85, causing widespread grief and mourning around the world.
8. OCF ends the school year off with a Hawaiian Luau instead of a semi-formal banquet. There's lots of good food and surfing music.
9. The marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles takes place. Camilla assumes the titles Her Royal Highness and The Duchess of Cornwall. ; I take my car on its' first mini roadtrip to Masson Flea Market about 50 km away and learn not to take gravel roads whenever possible.
15. The C & C goes to watch the Hockey finals at Walter Baker Arena in Barrhaven. On the way home, Mike Powell takes me, Erik and Anne Foreman on a tour of Cognos, where he was working at the time. They have a gym and their own Tim Horton's on site. Plus it's fun to check out other peopkle's work cubicles. Nathan accidentally kills the stuffed dummy, Sigund upon return to the 5 Guys house. Jen Palmer naps in a nearby bed.
16. Michel takes his next daytrip to Smiths Falls, which has all the appeal of smalltown USA. It is a beautiful spring day. I take in the Hershey's Chocolate Factory tour as well as the nearby Wal-Mart. Can't visit nearby small towns without visiting the local Wal-Mart. All in all, I'm looking at a second daytrip there next spring.
17. To celebrate the hockey victory on Friday, the Blacks have the C & C over for the final lunch and BBq of the year.
23. The C & C has its semi-formal end of the year Banquet. Everyone looks great, especially the ladies. Awards are handed out in categories, including Best Dressed, Best Sense of Humor and more. Mike presents a hearttaking Power Point slideshow highlighting all the 2004-2005 C & C events with great music in the background. Josh nearly starts a fire.
24. Pope Benedict XVI is inaugurated the Holy Father of the Catholic church.
29. Jinny moves away and is going to study in Hong Kong in September. A wonderful friend and I will remember you always.
30. Woo hoo!!! It's my Last day at the Rideau Branch. I've been accepted to go do an 8 month contract at the Rosemount Branch. Unless I get another transfer at some point, I must return to Rideau Branch on January 2nd, 2006. Finally!!!! Some peace and quiet!!!!

And there you have it, the major events of January to April. To tell you the truth, the coming months will have more and the remaining parts will cover less months but more events each. And it only promises to get hotter from here!!!!!! Literally. Ontario and Québec are in for one of the hottest summers ever.

TO BE CONTINUED......

And So This is Christmas, and What have you Done?

2005-12-27T11:42:00.000-05:00

All right, so Christmas is over but another year is over and a new is just getting ready to begin.

Keep in mind, that beginning with the next post will be a 3-part or 4-part blog entitled Michel's 2005 Year-In-Review. If you remember reading my memories at the end of the summer there, well this is the same idea but this will be more comprehensive and will cover all of 2005. So be sure to catch it beginning with the next post. It promises to be a hoot!!!!!

Well, I'm happy that Christmas is finally over. Some of you may or my not know that I was struggling the two weeks before Christmas to get my shopping done. I don't have a lot of gifts to buy but for the ones I did have to buy, it was hard deciding what to buy, panicking "oh they won't like this gift", "Oh, they'll just end up returning it". In the end, after buying a few gift certificates and taking a few chances on gifts that people may or may not like, I finished my Christmas shopping with one day to spare.

Then there was the Christmas music. By Christmas Eve, I'd had enough of the Christmas music over and over. I think George Michael's "Last Christmas" and Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" are 2 of the most annoying Christmas songs ever. I also think that that kid with the annoying voice who sang "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth"..... well, let's just say I think I can figure out what actually happened to his teeth. And no, he didn't get a visit from the Tooth Fairy...... By Christmas Eve, I was listening to songs like Stairway to Heaven, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds by the Beatles and I tell you, I felt a little better right then.

So it was a quiet Christmas. I think the hightlight of Christmas was the mandatory Christmas watching of Home Alone, which is without a doubt the best Christmas movie ever, followed closely by Home Alone 2 and Elf. Then of course, there was Fromage, which is Much Music's annual ranking of the worst music videos of the year. Of course, there was so much to be said about bad music videos this past year, all I'm going to say is this.:

They say that Massari is Arabic for money. But I think it's actually Arabic for Shawn Desman.

For those of you who don't know, Massari (left) is a Canadian R & B Singer, originally from Beirut, Lebanon. His music mixes Arabic styles and is aimed more towards the ladies.

Shawn Desman (right) is a Canadian R & B singer of Portuguese descent from Toronto and is known for sporting the "sidewalk" hair style, a sort of diagonal mohawk.

Then came Boxing Day. And this is a day to go nuts, to buy anything you wanted for Christmas but didn't get. People say I'm nuts to go to those crazy sales but it's like the only time of year where you get to hit up the stores and buy stuff at incredible prices. So I hit up Best Buy (instead of Future Shop, strangely enough) and I pushed my way through the crowds. I wanted to buy some TV shows on DVD but I also wanted to walk out with a "toy" of some sort. It ended up being between a a laptop and a digital camera. In the end, I walked out with a digital camera and less money in the bank account. Now I have no idea how to use a digital camera (well it can't be that hard) and I have no idea exactly what I'm going to take pictures of (well there's always C & C events to take pictures at) but hey, this could soon become a photo blog and I could take it to C & C and start following people around with it, like certain people who may be reading this blog tend to do.

A final note on Boxing Day: my heart goes out to the shooting victims of Yonge Street in Toronto on Boxing day. I am praying that my favorite city will be taken back by its people!!!!!!!! It also freaks me out considering I walk down that block every time I go to Toronto.

Now the challenge is to find something to do or some people to spend New Year's Eve with. Yes, I know, another year has gone by and I still haven't met anybody special to spend that evening with. But, worse comes to worse, I will stay home that night and look forward to the year ahead.

Don't forget to tune in to the next posting, when I will feature Michel's 2005 Year in Review.

Please Pardon the Dust....

2005-12-21T20:12:00.000-05:00

Please pardon the dust. I have just decided that I want to give the blog a new look (I got tired of looking at the navy and beige). I got the idea after seeing another blog with a wintery/Christmasy design to it. So I am fooling around with the HTML template, which is HTML code describing the appearance of the page, such as colors, margins etc..... (I aspire to be an HTML geek, and since I am a geek of many other things, I figure one day, it will happen.) So I am playing around with the colors, layouts and stuff. It's a work in progress. During this time, you may see some color schemes that look really tacky. I invite your comments and suggestions, especially about the tackiness.

And the biggest change, of course, is the blog's title bar, which now, as a backdrop, is one of my favorite, most beautiful photographs ever taken. I am still working on ways to make this work efficiently. But I hope it will include the photograph of Toronto, the best city in the world!!!!!!

Oh, and I re-vamped the links section. There are now 3 sections of links: other people's blogs, links and you can now, when visiting this blog, check the current weather forecast for Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Kitchener-Waterloo. New links include the City of Toronto, the TTC and CITY TV, where you can read of all of Toronto's current News, Sports and Showbiz headlines, as well as get the weather and check out highway conditions on the 401, QEW, Don Valley Parkway and the Gardener Expressway.

So if you're into interior design and/or web design or you just want to comment or make a suggestion for the blog's look, just make a comment. I'd be glad to hear from you.

I will write a real posting soon...

Festive

2005-12-12T11:35:00.000-05:00

Christmas is fast approaching, boys and girls. On my May 27th post on this blog, I wrote that there were 211 days left til Christmas. That was supposed to be a joke at the time. Now there are 14 days until Christmas including today. And that is no joke especially since the whole Christmas shopping thing is not happening so far.

All right, for the Song of the Day, I'm going to continue to be festive. A lot of people should know this one. A group of British musicians (including Bono from U2, Duran Duran, Phil Collins and more) got together in 1984 to record this song for famine relief in Ethiopia and it was released just in time for Christmas 1984. This song is: Do They Know It's Christmas?

It's Christmastime, there's no need to be afraid
At Christmastime, we let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the worldat Christmastime

But say a prayer, pray for the other ones
At Christmastime it's hard, but when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window, and it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmastime
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life(Oooh)
Where nothing ever grows
No rain or rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?

Here's to you raise a glass for everyone
Here's to them underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?

Feed the world
Feed the world
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmastime again

Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmastime again

Great song!!!!!!!

Anyway, Christmas is fast approaching and you can really tell when you get invited to endless Christmas parties and pageants. There was last week's C & C Christmas Banquet, a Christmas party at work, last night's Christmas Concert put on by the kids at Rideauview and more to come. Not to mention the endless games of "Name That Christmas Carol".

I've also realized that I am so fortunate to be a part of the Rideauview community. Actually I mean the congregation, not the neighborhood at Prince of Wales and Meadowlands. I don't know what it is but I'm feeling such feelings of love and closeness. It's funny because in the summer, I'm usually trying to distance myself and find other venues (ie. Singles Boat cruises, oh the horror.....). But now, (and actually since the road trip/ wedding to Toronto and St Catharines in August), I'm realizing how fortunate I am to be a part of the congregation and to have such close friends. One of the best parts of the holidays is being with all these people and getting together and even going to Swiss Chalet where we all got festive last night by ordering the Festive Special. The point is that I'm very fortunate to have the members of C & C as friends because they can always manage to put a smile on your face on days when you're feeling down.

One of the more touching things that has been happening is about a couple of the gifts I have received. It started yesterday when Jolene, Amy and Meredith gave me a box of chocolates for driving them to and from lunch every Sunday afternoon. I was touched and shocked at this point, thinking that I couldn't accept this gift but I took it, thanked them and now am feeling the need to give something back in return (no idea how though).

Also touching was the Christmas card I received (and all of the C & C) from Colleen. One simple Christmas card, that's all it took. This is probably the first card I received from someone where they didn't have to give one (such as family and co-workers). It's funny though. When we're younger, we're not impressed at all by a Christmas card (unless there's cash or something inside). We were disappointed; we wanted toys, video games, electronics, cash........ This year, I was touched in April when I received an invitation to Dan and Juli's wedding in St Catharines. I was touched in September when I received a thank-you note for attending the wedding and the cordless phone I bought them as a wedding gift. And yesterday, I got that same feeling again twice in one day. And all it took in each case was one little card, personalized by the giver. It just goes to show how we mature over the years. We go from wanting toys and other expensive things to accepting that a greeting card can be one of the best gifts ever. Thank you Colleen and merry Christmas.

It's also a time to enjoy the company of people who may not be around much longer. Last night, I said goodbye to Dan Carlson, who I've known for 2 years and a bit. Dan is moving to K-Dub to do an internship with a pastor. Sometimes, it takes a person's departure to realize how integral they were in your life. Dan, if you're reading this, I'll see you in K-W in 2006!!!!!!!

I only wish that my Christmas shopping was going as well. Hope all yours is going better.

And if you're feeling festive, feel free to leave a comment of the sort.

MK

911, What is your emergency?

2005-12-07T20:18:00.000-05:00

Was just reading an article on the City tv News website about how the OPP is getting so many absurd calls to the 911 service that are non-emergencies. Now you know, I know that 911 is for emergencies only like when people or property is at an immediate risk – like during fires, serious car accidents, medical emergencies such as a heart attack or if crimes are in progress. But many people know that. The article posted some examples of absurd calls that were received in Toronto and when I read them, I was laughing out loud at some of them. Which is why I'm posting this. Not because people don't know how to use 911 but for a few laughs.

So without further ado, here are those calls:

"Quick, operator, give me the number for 9-1-1."
(Sounds very Homer Simpson)

O.P.P. Dispatcher: "911 ... where is your emergency?"
Caller: "...My hydro is out. Can you help me?"
(Tempting but I know better)

O.P.P. Dispatcher: "911 ... where is your emergency?"
Caller: "...What is the area code for 911?"

O.P.P. Dispatcher: "911 ... where is your emergency?"
Caller: "...I just programmed 911 into my phone and I just want to see if it actually works."
(Good Lord)

O.P.P. Dispatcher: "911 ... where is your emergency?"
Caller: "...I lost the number to the cell phone company. Would you happen to have that number?"

O.P.P. Dispatcher: "911 ... where is your emergency?"
Caller: "...I live in Kitchener. I want to go to Toronto. Can you tell me how to get to Palmerston Ave.?"
(I like that caller :) )

O.P.P. Dispatcher: "911 ... where is your emergency?"
Caller: “What are the ice conditions? We want to go ice fishing today.”
O.P.P: “Where are you?”
Caller: “Out on the lake.”

O.P.P. Dispatcher: "911 ... where is your emergency?"
Caller: “I am planning a trip to Northern Ontario next month. What are the road conditions going to be like?”

O.P.P. Dispatcher: "911 ... where is your emergency?"
Caller: “Hello. This is not really an emergency but (the dog next door is barking so much and I don’t know if anyone is home and it’s so loud)!”

O.P.P. Dispatcher: "911 ... where is your emergency?"
Caller: "When is the rain going to stop? We rented a park to have a family baseball tournament."

O.P.P. Dispatcher: "911 ... where is your emergency?"
Caller: “It is really foggy today, is it safe to drive to work today? If I don’t go to work, will the O.P.P. pay my wages?”

Hilarious, right? There've even been reports of people calling 911 because :

They were bored and needed someone to talk to.
There’s a car blocking their driveway
Information about school closures or road conditions

So just remmeber, if you have a police non-emergency here in the city, you can call (416) 808-2222 instead. That’s the main police switchboard and they’ll put you through to the right person. And don't worry about not speaking English. The O.P.P. subscribes to the Language Line, which can access interpreters in more than 140 languages. The Language Line is available 24 hours, so no matter what time of day or night, an interpreter is only minutes away.

Oh and something I know from experience when I was younger, don't call 911 from a payphone as a joke..... believe me, they will find you.

Later

Snow Days

2005-11-26T13:43:00.000-05:00

Hello all. To begin with, there will be no Song of the Day. That's because any appropriate Song of the Day for today would be a song with a snow theme. And I don't like those songs because I don't like winter time. And to post such a song would be for me to actually want snow, which I don't. Maybe I should just move to BC...............

Anyways, I woke up yesterday (Thursday) morning (it was my day off work so I didn't have to get up early) and looked outside and saw a white world. I groaned and just wanted to go back to sleep and wake up when it was all gone. For almost a month, I'd been sitting, watching the TV and laughing whenever there was snow in northern Ontario or in Manitoba. But realistically, now there is snow in Ottawa, the GTA, K-Dub, Montréal, there was no more getting around it. And I had to get up because there are always things to be done in a day. So I headed off for the Internet and MSN and sat there for 3 hours, wondering how I was going to drive anywhere in this weather. The TV beside me was on and I watched City TV all morning too (that's like the only channel I watch these days; it's a great channel).

By the time I was ready to get up and do something else, it was noon and it was time for City TV News at Noon. The top story, of course, was the all the snow that had fallen in Toronto. All 2 cm of it!!!!!!! Toronto only had 2 cm of snow on the ground at noon!!!!!!! But there were accidents galore, including a really bad one where the cars got smashed up on the Don Valley Parkway at the Bayview exit. Two things popped into my head at this point:
1) An accident on the Don Valley Parkway. Why am I not surprised? That road needs a serious safety study done.
2) I'm thankful that when I was in my accident on the DVP, it was a beautiful, warm, summer night and it wasn't raining.
3) Man, I miss warm, peaceful, summer nights. Winter nights are not peaceful. There's the wind howling everywhere.
Then Mistair Francis D'Souza of City TV came on with some tips on winter driving (why did I spell Mister as Mistair? Only Nick! Newman knows that joke and the joke is not that funny in writing, so ask me if you really want to know). Anyways Francis says:
1) Slow Down. If conditions are bad, adjust your driving habits accordingly. Leave earlier and take it slower. You won’t get there faster if you’re involved in a fender bender.
2. Keep Your Distance. It takes longer to stop when the roads are wet and slippery. Leaving more room between cars means you won’t have to slam on the brakes if you have a close encounter with the vehicle ahead of you.
3. Look Ahead. Paying attention to what’s happening several cars in front of you will tell what you’re heading into, and allow you time to avoid the worst.
Most importantly, leave early and allow extra time for braking and take your time. So suddenly I felt the motivation, yeah, I can do that!!!!! So I went outside, dug my way out by shovelling all the snow in the driveway. I started the car and drove at no more than 20 km/h as I headed out of my neighborhood. And once I was on the main roads, I went no more than 40 km/h since they hadn't been cleaned. And alas, I made it safely and with no close calls to the places I wanted or needed to go!!!!!! Yay me!!!!!!!

So I managed to get myself to the St-Laurent Shopping Centre. Now the problem was that I was surprised by a snow storm and me with no winter boots. And to make things worse, I just discovered a hole in my running shoes about 2 days ago. But buying shoes or boots can be a bit of a commitment. They can be the difference between comfort or discomfort. The wrong shoes can make your life miserable. That's why it's important to take your time, try on the shoes, walk around the store a bit because this is what you're going to be wearing for the next few months. As a result, I'm still wearing the holed running shoes. But I'll thank myself later this winter because I took my time and chose a comfortable pair of shoes.

I scoped out Sears, The Bay, Payless, Transit and Aldo (I left that last one almost instantly because they're out of my price range.) Sears had some good, reasonably-priced stuff and Payless has a Buy One Get One Half-Price sale going on all weekend. And as I went from store to store, all I could hear was Christmas music everywhere I went. The mall was decorated for Christmas, Santa's Village was up, teenaged girls were visiting Santa, Sears and The Bay had Christmas decorations and trees all over their stores. Christmas is nice but it's November, for crying out loud!!!!!!! I don't know about you but I don't want to think about Christmas yet!!!!!

By the time, evening rolled around, it was time to go down to the University for Thursday night Christian Fellowship meeting and it was a great time and great theme in alternative worship. And it was my last meeting for the year because the group will be adjourning for exams and the holiday season. After the meeting, I drove Dan Carlson home and then was glad to be home because it was just so cold and wintry.

So winter is here unfortunately. I hope things will get better once:
1) I actually commit to a pair of boots instead of these torn running boots
2) The Canal opens. Yes, Ottawa is the home of the Rideau Canal, the world's longest skating rink!!!! Almost 8 km of skating. But that may not be until after Christmas. There are some great days ahead.
Of course, there will be some greater days even further ahead when winter ends and summer returns.

On another Christmasy note, the C & C will be having their Christmas banquet next week and that's always a good time for us to get together and have fun before exams begin for those who are students and before most of them head off to their home towns to spend Christmas with their families.

So, until next time when once again, I write another post, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Parlez-Vous Francais?

2005-11-17T12:31:00.000-05:00

It's OK if you don't, I will write in English.

Something different to begin with. I want to have not one, but TWO Songs of the Day. The first one is Gimme Gimme Gimme a Man After Midnight by Abba. Great song!!!!

Half past twelve
And I'm watching the late show in my flat all alone
How I hate to spend the evening on my own
Autumn winds
Blowing outside the window as I look around the room
And it makes me so depressed to see the gloom
There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer

Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day

Movie stars
Find the end of the rainbow, with a fortune to win
It's so different from the world I'm living in
Tired of TV
I open the window and I gaze into the night
But there's nothing there to see, no one in sight
There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer

Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day

Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight

There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer

Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
----------------------------------------------------------
And now the reason for 2 Songs of the Day. Earlier this week, Madonna released her new album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Now, since the mid 90's, I've groaned whenever Madonna released a new song or album but not this time. The first song is called Hung Up and it samples the rifts of the above Abba song and this song is very easy to get stuck in your head. Without further ado, here's Madge's new song...

Time goes by so slowly [x6]

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night an day
I'm fed up I'm tired of waiting on you

Time goes by so slowly fo those who wait
No time to hesitate
Those who run seem to have all the fun
I'm caught up
I don't know what to do

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up I'm tired of waiting on you

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby day night and day
I'm fed up I'm tired of waiting on you

Ring ring ring goes the telephone
The lights are all on but there's no one home
Tick tick tock it's a quarter to two
And I'm done, I'm hanging up on you

I can't keep on waiting for you
I know that you're still hesitating
Don't cry for me'
Cause i'll find my way
You'll wake up one day
But it'll be to late

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up I'm tired of waiting on you

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby day night and day
I'm fed up I'm tired of waiting on you
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

OK, enough fun, let's get down to business.

A couple weeks ago, I published the first part of my series on cities and towns. The second part is coming soon, I promise!!!! After writing that first part, I got a comment posted from a reader in Montréal (Dorval, to be exact). In that blog, I wrote that English has no place in Québec. This reader wrote that, English does have a place in Canada, and that it makes Québec the melting pot that it's supposed to be. Let me clarify my statement and come out with the honest truth about the languages situation in Canada.

Now let me start by saying that I encourage multiculturalism and new Canadians in Canada. They're welcome to live anywhere they wish to settle in Canada and I think it's great whether there is an ethinic neighborhood (ie. Little Italy, Chinatown, Koreatown etc.) or not. In no way do I think that people should be segregated to a certain neighborhood, region or province because of their background or the language that they speak.

We all know that Canada has 2 official languages, English and French. There are exceptions to this rule. I will not take back what I said about how there's no place for English in Québec. The official language of Québec is French and only French. And that's the way it should be because this is essential to protecting and preserving the French language. By law, all signs must be predominantly in French. I mean, there are 2 places where English may be appropriate in Québec. The first is the island of Montréal. I will admit in Montréal, there is the whole melting pot issue so English should be accesible there. The Waste Island (or West Island) of Montréal, including Pointe-Claire, Kirkland and Beaconsfield has high concentrations of anglophones. The second is Gatineau, because it is right beside Ottawa. Other than those places, French is the official language and no one in most parts of Québec is required to speak to you in English. So if you try to go somewhere like Québec City or Rimouski, you may have a very hard time getting by. The language of business and work is Québec is French. And if you're an immigrant in Québec, the law requires that kids go to school in French. I'm sorry, this is just the hard truth of the matter. It's reality.

Some people try to argue Ontario is bilingual. Officially, it is not. There are many bilingual signs in Ottawa and in the nearby towns like Rockland, Casselman, Cornwall and Hawkesbury. Most of you who are reading this are from Ontario and have an Ontario driver's licence that says "Permis de Conduire" on it. Well, that's actually just a courtesy. Ontario is not bilingual, except in the town of Clarence-Rockland, just east of Ottawa which recently passed a by-law that al signs must be bilingual. And yes, there may be some francophone communities up in Northern Ontario, especially in the Sudbury area. But the truth is, if you drive down Highway 401 towards Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, London or Windsor, you will not see any French signs along the way once you get far enough from Ottawa. If you go to Toronto, there are only 2 main places you will see French signage. Government buildings and the train station. Other than that, you will be very hard pressed to find French signage. And I bet that when I go to K-W sometime in 2006, I'll be very hard-pressed to find French signage.

So let me recap. The official languages of Canada are English and French. As for the provinces, Québec's only official language is French. Ontario is NOT bilingual. The only officially bilingual province is New Brunswick. Edmundston, NB has the 2nd largest percentage of francophones in a city outside of Québec, after Clarence-Rockland, Ontario. And as for the rest of Canada, well, except for the francophone area in Winnipeg, there may not be much or any French in BC, Alberta or any of the other provinces. All right, now I've clarified the language situation here in Canada.

Now get out and enjoy that snow, ice and cold. BRRRRRR....

Michel goes to "Far Haven"

2005-11-13T11:21:00.000-05:00

As you all know, I'm a big Abba fan. The bad news is, that Madonna has a new album and new song (I mean how many more years and albums do I have to put up with from this woman?) The good news is that Madonna's first song "Hung Up" from that album samples Abba's "Gimme Gimme Gimme a Man After Midnight". I mean there's a lot of that computerization of Madonna's voice and it's so techno. But the point is, it samples an Abba song.

And after hearing the Madonna song last night, it went through my head all night. Well, I would go through a couple lines of Madonna's song, a few rifts of Abba and then back to Madonna and so on. And last night was the great C & C scavenger hunt. To begin with, the C & C was put into teams / vehicles. The goals of the scavenger hunt for each team were as follows:
1) To go from house to house to get clues to lead us to a final destination where we would hold C & C.
2) To gather items on a list (including a Q-Tip, a can of pop, 3 stones, a red leaf, an Ottawa Sens clipping and more) and use these items to make a sculpture.
3) To answer some trivia questions to see how well we know the various members of the C& C.
4) To put together a love song to sing to Christine Coté and Brenda Quast
5) To use a paper towel to make an origami elephant with 3 legs.

So I was piled into Erik's van with Holly, Anne Foreman, Jen Palmer and John. I even asked Erik if the van was working well since I've had a small history with this van not working especially when I was on my way to Toronto. But Erik was very confident with his van, especially the brakes...... So off we were. Our first stop was the Browns, who would give us the next clue. To get the clue, we had to take a sip of a mixed drink and name one of the things that was in it. After we correctly guessed milk, we had our next clue and were off to the Priddles.

At the Priddles, Mrs. Priddle agreed to give us our next clue if we would clean the eavestrough. So Jen Palmer climbed the ladder (in a skirt and heels :S) and cleaned it out and we gout our next clue.

Then we were sent to the Alexanders in Barrhaven, also known as "Far Haven" or "Bore Haven" because it is so far away from the rest of Ottawa and there's like nothing to do there if you're a teenager (well, scratch that, they just got their first movie cinema a few weeks ago). We made our way to the Alexanders. There, Mrs. Alexander told us that if we wanted our next clue, we had to read her girls' bedtime story. Again, we sent Jen Palmer to the girls' bedroom and I tell you that must have been one of the fastest bedtime stories ever read. At this point, we even started to impose on Mrs. Alexander for a can of pop and a Q-Tip.

So next we were off to the Hamiltons (also in Barrhaven). By this time, Erik was getting too confident with his braking, and speeding through construction zones like Fallowfield Road and Woodroffe Avenue (which are being widened). So I reminded him that if he kept this up, we'd have a repeat of the Don Valley Parkway. And even worse, we were nowhere near having a decent paper origami elephant. Once arrived at the Hamiltons, they were more than content to just give us our next clue since they had dinner guests. The group also took the opportunity to grab a red leaf off the lawn and I helped myself to 3 stones from the Hamiltons' garden. Now it was time to go to town for our last stop, the Blacks' home.

By the time, we got to the Blacks', we decided to screw it, we would just cut and tape the paper towels together to make an elephant. We had put together a rap for our love song and Jill Black was more than happy to go down the block to her elderly mother-inlaw's house who didn't happen to need her Sports section so that we could have a Sens clipping from the newspaper.

So the Blacks' was our final destination. We had our study and prayer time. Jill Black and Christine Cote marked the trivia questions and some time was left at the end to hear our "love" songs, and to see our sculptures and elephants and to judge them. The winning group got a prize (not my group). But all in all, it was another great C & C event and will probably be one of the more memorable of the year.

We got the Beat

2005-11-10T13:01:00.000-05:00

All right, this isn't going to be a happy post like the others. But let's at least make a happy song as the Song of the Day. My clock radio came on this morning, like most other mornings but today I woke up to some guy talking. So I searched for some music on the dial in order to wake me up. And sure enough, this was the first song that came up. And it's a great song!!! I gaind appreciation for it a few months ago and it turns out it can really get stuck in your head, and it's hard to get out. Here it is, We Got the Beat by the Go-Go's:

See the people walking down the street
Fall in line just watching all their feet
They don't know where they wanna go
But they're walking in time

They got the beat They got the beat
Yeah They got the beat

See the kids just getting out of school
They can't wait to hang out and be cool
Hang around 'til quarter after twelve
That's when they fall in line

Kids got the beat They got the beat
They got the beat Yeah
Kids got the beat

Go-go music really makes us dance
Do the pony puts us in a trance
do the watusi just give us a chance
That's when we fall in line

We got the beat We got the beat
We got the beat
Yeah We got the beat

Everybody get on your feet
We know you can dance to the beat
Jumpin'-get down
Round and round and round

Have you ever just kept turning on the news and seeing one piece of bad news after another? Well, that's what my week thus far has consisted of. Let me just bring you up to date on these developments.

Sunday night, I came home from Swiss Chalet to find that the Gatineau city election had been tallied and that Yves Ducharme had been beaten in the run for mayor. Yves Ducharme began as mayor of the City of Hull in 1991 and then went on to be mayor of Gatineau when Hull merged with Gatineau on January 1, 2002. Now the new guy, Marc Bureau is mayor. A new guy. I had always found Ducharme to be a good mayor and now his time is over. Why? Apparently, the residents of Gatineau needed someone who wouldn't be so distant, travelling all the time. Ducharme had even used the city's budget money to take a trip to China, among other trips. The point, who wants a mayor that's always travelling?

Last night, I put the news on City TV. There were 2 shootings in Toronto. A young man was shot near Eglinton Avenue West and Oakwood. And a little later, shots rang out in an apartment building in Scarborough, in the same building as a busy daycare centre. The building had to be temporarily locked down.

There had been a shooting at a high school in Brampton. The second this year for that school. It seems like every night now, I'm putting on the news and someone has been shot somewhere in Toronto. What happened to the nice city Toronto used to be?

A tornado touched down on Hamilton and Stoney Creek. The first ever in Ontario in November. It knocked down trees, power lines and took out roofs, including the roof at a school where some kids were in the middle of playing volleyball in the gym. All in all, this has been a weird year for weather. We had a really beautiful (yet extremely hot) summer. Toronto, this year, set 2 new records. The most days ever for days over 30 degrees (Celsius) and the most smog days ever. A torrential rain storm in August brought down heavy rains, taking out a part of Finch Avenue West and washing out the Don Valley Parkway (a week to the day that I was on it). And last weekend saw heavy winds up to 100 km/h, knocking down trees all over the city.

OC Transpo will be taking some sort of job action in 72 hours in the form of a work-to-rule campaign. There is also the possiblity of an upcoming strike or lock-out. Not a real disaster for me since I don't rely on the bus. But if there is a strike or lock-out, there will be no buses, meaning that I will be driving people around all the time (even more than now) and there will be more problems with traffic and congestion and parking. Joy....

That's enough bad news. I'll pray for some good news in the coming days. On the other hand though, maybe I'll feel betetr after tomorrow night's C & C Scavenger Hunt.......

Friday Night at the Mall

2005-11-05T01:09:00.000-05:00

First off, a Kudos to Anne Foreman for putting together this wonderful, productive and God-serving Friday night for C & C.

Second, the title is not what it sounds. Yes, a lot of teenagers spend Friday night at the mall and we don't even want to think what's going on there. But this wasn't the case here.

Third, if you haven't read the previous post about my favorite cities, for Pete's Sake, go and read it after you read this post. I promise you it's good reading.

OK, so tonight's C & C activity was to get into groups of 2 or 3 and put together a Christmas shoebox for children in 3rd World countries. But obviously, we needed something to put in those shoeboxes. Each group / box was assigned either a boy or girl and an age group (my group got a boy from Age 10 to 14). And we could buy anything that could fit into a shoebox that would be appropriate. This meant no gum, chocolate or other perishable foods, no toy weapons, no winter clothing (most 3rd World countries don't see the harsh Canadian climates) and ideally nothing that requires batteries (cause once those batteries die, those kids are going to be stuck with one useless toy.)

So the group piled into cars and drove to the Dollarama at Herongate Mall. I had Mike Powell and Chris Burbidge in the car so I decided that listening to the CD of the Munich Philharmonic playing Abba Songs should wait until I was alone. We got to Herongate Mall and I tell you it's ages since I've been there. This is the mall where I spent most of my childhood. It's a small 1-level centre which holds about 50 stores. Once Zellers moved out 5 years ago, the place started to go downhill and is on its way to becoming a "ghost-mall". I even remember when the dollar store used to be a Consumers Distributing (remember that store where you looked through a catalogue, decided what you wanted, filled out a form and then had a clerk go into the warehouse to get it for you?). Let's just say, going back to the "childhood mall" was interesting and I'll never forget loitering in Zellers on hot, summer days or going to the now-gone Combo's Pizza and Burgers for... well.... pizza and burgers.

So the group went nuts in the dollar store. We must have spent about an hour in there. And I think we all came out with about $20 to $50 worth of stuff per group. Great store, considering everything is a dollar. Anne had prepared us lists of things we should be looking for, based on the sex and age group of our child. And I learned a concrete example about the difference between guys and girls. The guys went straight for the toy section and loaded up their carts with as many toys as possible and playing with as many toys as possible and then realizing at the last minute that they didn't have any of the essentials. The girls, on the other hand, went straight for the essentials and concentrated purely on the task at hand. They went for the personal hygiene items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs and soaps, followed by the school supplies such as pens, pencils, erasers etc.... And then if there was time, they went after the toys and the candy. What can I say? I guess guys will be guys and girls will be girls. And hey, it was even funnier when we got home and realized that some of the guys' toys were either not going to fit in the shoeboxes or that we filled all the shoeboxes with the essentials and there were no more shoeboxes left for some of the big toys. But hey, I really don't think the guys were disappointed since it meant that they would actually be able to play with some of the toys themselves.

Then we had a share time based on the studies of the last few weeks and then some prayer time. Then I called it a night cause I was ready for bed.............. And I'm still ready for bed. Good night.

Those Cities and Towns - Part I

2005-11-01T10:23:00.000-05:00

Hello all. Boy am I excited. This is the first of a 3-part series on cities and towns. It will be broken down as follows:

Part I - Cities and towns that I like (and why)
Part II - Cities and towns that I don't like plus cities and towns that I might like or don't know enough about.
Part III - Toronto. Why I like it so much. This will be similar to that post about why I like
Kitchener-Waterloo.

I have a lot to say. So go grab a drink, get comfortable and come right back.

Good you're back. I'll start.

Most of us come from a city or town. We grow up there, and when we're all grown up, we're proud of where we came from and love to talk about it. Or we hated it and have nothing but horror stories to tell about the place or just how boring it was. Or we go to university or college in another city and we make friends there, possibly establish employment there and that becomes a city to be proud of. Now as you know, I like Montréal, Toronto, Gatineau, Kitchener-Waterloo and Ottawa. But what other cities do I like? And why? I will tell you here today. I don't cover every single city ever and this is all subjective. All the cities discussed in Part I are either in Ontario or au Québec, mainly because I've never been anywhere else. Some I've been to, some I haven't, some I hope to visit one day. I've already discussed why I like Kitchener-Waterloo, Part III covers why I like Toronto and in the future, I'll discuss Montréal and Gatineau. So here goes, in no particular order, these are the cities and towns that I like.

Guelph, Cambridge, and New Hamburg (Ontario) - K-Dub's neighbors. Reason enough. And they were all included in the Kitchener-Waterloo street atlas so I can study them all when I finish studying Kitchener-Waterloo.

Vaudreuil-Dorion (Québec) - Small city just to the west of the island of Montréal. If you're leaving Montréal to drive towards Ontario, you do drive through it (more so if you're heading to the 401). A city still developing, but hey it's Montréal's neighbor and it's hyphenated. Oh and they have a Flying J's Truck Stop (they also have one in Napanee) and accoridng to Luke McLaren, who works as a trucker, they have a great buffet there on Friday Nights. MMM, truck stop food......

Rigaud (Québec) - Small town, just west of Montréal, but only if you're going to Ottawa. They managed to shut down the strip club where you can have sex with the girls at $200 each. Even better, there's an outdoor church here on a hill, a sanctuary if you will, and the music is Catholic, sacred and beautiful.

Lachute (Québec) - Small town a little over an hour east of Ottawa and Gatineau, 45 minutes northwest of Montréal. The joke about this that Fadi Abboudy told me was that you risk being shot at if you're heard speaking in English here. Nonetheless, English has no place au Québec. Il faut parler en francais!!!! There's a small mall here, a Wal-Mart, a downtown Main Street (which no longer has a Dunkin Donuts) and one of the main roads is just a forest of 4-way stops. Oh and the bingo hall here actually allows smokers to sit in the main room and non-smokers to a confined room all by themselves. Usually the other way around, isn't it?

Mirabel (Québec) - 15 minutes east of Lachute, 30 minutes north of Montréal, mainly a rural municipality. Nonetheless, this is the home of Pierre Trudeau's white elephant, Mirabel International Airport. It was opened in 1975 with the hopes that it actually one day become Montreal's Airport and replace the current one (which is actually on the Island of Montréal). It was a nice and very modern airport (including moving walkways). But it was just too far from Montréal and there was no way to get there other than by car. Slowly, the Airport was used less and than less until a year ago, when the Airport was finally closed and it's currently sitting empty. But the developer of the West Edmonton Mall is looking to build again. In Mirabel. So Mirabel could actually be meaningful again one day soon. Either way, don't you think Mirabel would be a beautiful name for a girl? Love the name of this town......

Saint-Jérome (Québec) - 10 minutes north of Mirabel, 30 minutes north of Montréal. Not much to see here, there is a mall here, some of the good restaurants (Chez Cora, Mike's, Saint-Hubert) and some of the school kids do eat lunch by the railway tracks. But hey someone told me there was nothing worthwhile to do here, not to waste my time and what did i do? I went there. But hey, to this day, it's still funny.

Longueuil (Québec) - Just across the Saint-Lawrence from Montréal, this is actually where Karla Homolka has been living since she got out of jail. But hey, it's supposed to be an adequate city to live in, regardless. It's right beside Montréal, there's an Ikea there, the bridges between Montréal and here have a bit of a New York thing going for them and there's even the song I made up where you may have heard the original version about New York:
If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere, it's up to you, Longueuil, Longueuil!!!!!!!!!!

Saint-Hyacinthe (Québec) - Pronounced Yass-anth. Southeast of Montréal, I became interested briefly with this town when Ruth's father went to work there for a bit, mainly because it was au Québec. I have yet to go there but it is quite a distance, almost a 3 hour drive, an hour past Montréal. Seems like a nice, typical Québecois town to visit.

Cornwall (Ontario) - An hour to Montréal, an hour to Ottawa, but right on the US border. Very industrial town, so there is a smell usually. But after my horrible ordeal, at the US border, I was never so happy in my life to see this place.

Brockville (Ontario) - An hour south of Ottawa, I'm picturing a warm summer night at the Esso station at Stewart and Parkedale filled with the excitement that I'm on my way to Toronto, and using their bathroom in between. And there was also the Subway down the street. Nice town, nice 1000 Islands Mall, located on the water, supposedely very picturesque. Not a bad town at all. And I'll forgive certain people who disobeyed a certain no-left-turn sign coming out of a certain Wal-Mart parking lot. :)

Kingston (Ontario) - Even more picturesque than Brockville, and only 2 hours from Ottawa. Was even Canada's Capital at one point. Plenty of C & C connections (or former C & C). Plenty to see and not as bad it sounds, despite the fact that it houses many federal prisons.

Port Hope (Ontario) - Even smaller town on Lake Ontario. On an episode of Degrassi Junior High, Wheels was on his way here to find his birth parents and I think some man tried to molest him along the way. Not a funny premise in itself, but after 1990, Degrassi Junior High itself just became one big joke.

Oshawa, Ajax, Whitby, Pickering, Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville and Burlington (Ontario)
Basically when I say I like Toronto, it includes all these places, just not as much. They're Toronto's neighbors and make up the GTA. Vaughan is home to Paramount Canada's Wonderland, one of the funnest places ever (will someone go with me next year already?). Mississauga is home to Square One, Canada's 3rd largest mall (after West Edmonton and Metrotown in Burnaby, BC) and the world's largest Wal-Mart store. Living in Mississauga is apparently cheaper and cleaner than living in Toronto. Oakville was at one point, the richest city in Canada and still is up there. Burlington has Mapleview Mall, which is just off the QEW, and it's apparently a nice place to shop. Then there's one Future Shop, Chapters and Best Buy after another in all these towns. When heading to Toronto from Ottawa or Montréal, the fun begins once you hit Oshawa, as far as I'm concerned. If you're coming from Niagara, the fun begins once you come into Burlington off the Skyway. If you're coming from K-Dub or London, the fun begins once you hit Mississauga. Hey if it wasn't for signs and city limits, these places would just be thought to be one big Toronto. Oh and I spelled Mississauga without looking it up. :)

Niagara Falls, CANADA - Without a doubt, one of the funnest places in Canada. The lights of the wax museums, games, restaurants of Clifton Hill, not to mention the WWE store and Ripley's Believe it or Not. The city is chock full of hotels and souvenir shops, one right beside the other. There's the Casino, the Skylon Tower and of course the Falls. Who wouldn't love a city that's all play and less work? And of course, as they say, everyone loves Marineland!!! Oh, you may notice I wrote Canada in capital letters back there.... You'll see why in part 2.

St Catharines (Ontario) - Unfortunately, this city lives in the shadow of nearby Niagara Falls and I know the scum of Canada did their crimes here (Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka) but why should that ruin this city? I spent a day here this past summer and it was such a beautiful city. The streets were beautiful and tree-lined, especially Lake, Linwell, Scott, Geneva and Vine. And I've heard good things about the waterfront there..........

Blyth (Ontario) - Never been there, and I barely know where it is but Keith Dow, this one's for you.

OK, so by now either I'm a psycho, very informed, or just plain silly. But I like these cities I did my homework and I hope I didn't forget any..... Let me know if you feel that I did. But hey it's possible that you may see those cities in the next part, either as cities I don't like or cities that I might like if I ever visited them.

Saturday in the Park

2005-10-22T23:49:00.000-04:00

Boy oh boy!!! What a day!!!! Saturday in the Park. I wish I could say it was like the song by Chicago but it wasn't. We had our annual College and Careers Hike and Chili Cookoff over at Rideauview. It went a little something like this.

It started out like normal. Went to Zellers to do a couple things like I do most weekends, then went to the grocery store to pick up a couple of baguettes and a bottle of Pepsi for the Chili Cookoff, grabbed a quick bite at McD's and was off to the 6 Guys' house where we would meet before the hike. There, we dropped off our food and drink for the Chili Cookoff, got organized into cars and headed off to Gatineau Park for our hike. For those who haven't been, Gatineau Park has a few mountains which are very beautiful when viewed from the nearby Highway 148 and then an even more beautiful view from the top.

The trip wasn't that bad. I had John, Josh, his girlfriend Lynne, as well as Erik in my car. We made a pit stop at a dépanneur (convenience store to you English speaking people) so we could have some water to drink on the hike. On top of that, we kept stuck in traffic and at almost every possible red light while driving out of both Ottawa and Gatineau. Finally we made it onto Highway 148 and had to drive at about 100 km/h because it felt like we were behind. And if you don't know, Quebec's little 2-lane highways can be scary because Québec's highways aren't as well maintained as Ontario's. They're either full of potholes or they lean to the side which makes you have to try hard not go into the ditch.

Finally we made it to the hike site. When most people go hiking, they take a trail and it's a nice easy trip to the top of the hill or mountain. Not us. We started off going down some muddy path, then down and back up a small ravine. Then we slowly started going up, between all these rocks and trees and branches and soon that was pretty much our only support. Most of these people, being as experienced as they were, were climbing trees, rock faces and going up like there was no tomorrow, and soon well the climb just became very vertical. Eventually, we came to a point where we had to climb up on a slippery rock and then grab onto a rope that happened to be there, tied to a tree to hoist ourselves up. I was like, no way, I can't do this. So i figured if I head a little to the left, find an easier route up and then go back to the right and meet the others, right? Wrong!!!! I did find a steep but more grassy way to go up. I had a couple small trees break while i held on to them. At one point, I was holding onto the base of a tree with nothing but my hands. Well finally I reached the top but the group was nowhere to be found. I was at the top the mountain. I could see Ottawa, the nearby farmer's fields and the Ottawa River, and even our parked cars. But no group!!!! I yelled out names!!! Nothing. After poking around for a bit, I got a call on my cell. Yay for cell phones!!!! With a little help from cell phones and very slow trek down because of branches and rocks, I was finally able to meet up with Dale and Erik who were nice enough to stay behind and wait for me at a familiar landmark. Slowly, one by one, the others came back down and it was like "Michel, are you OK?", "Michel, you're alive", "What happened to you?", "We were worried about you". Talk about putting me on a pedestal, I hate being the centre of attention. But we were all back together again. We took a few more pictures and made our way back to the cars and until then, someone had to keep an eye on me at all times. Sheesh!!!!! But hey I'm a city boy and have had no outdoor survival training. My habitats are places like Bank Street, Rideau Street, Yonge Street, King Street, Queen Street Ste-Catherine etc..... I'd like to see any of them try to take the bus around Ottawa without getting lost. It was a fairly good hike though and lots of great pictures were taken. If you haven't seen them, you can get in touch with Mike Kruszelnicki or Erik.

So we drove back to the 6 guys house, a good half an hour to 45 minutes. Lots of good songs along the way but no Abba. Some 50 Cent, som Gorillaz, some Chicago, Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day, Don't Turn Around by Ace of Base, some song by Daft Punk, Tubthumping by Chumbawumba, many songs somehow that reminded us all of Grade 7, Grade 8 etc... Finally we made it back to the guys' house where we all quickly loaded up on chili, bread and salad. Needless to say, I didn't touch dessert after that. We had our Bible Study, sang some songs, talked a bit... What time did I get home after all this? 10:30 at night!!!

So what a day!!!! But it's one of those days, one of those adventures I'll never forget. Guys, for all of you who worried about me and went out to look for me, thanks, it really meant a lot to me. I wish everyone could have friends like you. Hopefully, things will be better on next years hike. And yes I will be on next year's hike!!!! And hey, if I wasn't working next Saturday, I hear the International Students Ministry is going on a hike.............

The newest addition to my CD tower

2005-10-16T23:57:00.000-04:00

OK I wasn't planning on writing tonight especially with my 3 part series coming up soon but I just had to share some good news.

I am now the proud owner of the Abba Gold CD. Basically it's a collection of Abba's greatest hits, except for when I got it home and realized that it didn't have I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do. But it's all good. I'd been wanting this CD for the longest time. I'd listened to Abba for years on the radio and was extremely pleased when they had a song on the Saturday Night 70's Show on Majic 100 FM. They really are great driving tunes. I first had the chance to listen to the disc back in March 2004 when I borrowed Abba Gold from the Library. I instantly fell in love with the album and got to know the songs. The songs were fun and just great!!!! But all good things must come to an end, as the CD had to go back to the Library. So I continued to listen to the songs on the Saturday Night 70's show whenever I went out driving on Saturday nights. I downloaded a few songs onto my computer. I even envied Nick! Newman who had the CD and really loved it. Then, this past August, I had the chance to spend an afternoon listening to it because another friend had it and loved it and our other friend just wanted to throw the CD out the window by the time it was over.

Now I knew I had to have this CD and I was determined to buy it. But everyone sold it for $14.99, Future Shop, Music World, HMV, Archambault, Best Buy..... so I held off. There were other Abba compilations but they weren't the Gold one. I've been going to the CD Exchange from time to time ever since that day in August since they usually sell used CDs at a good price. But they haven't had it in stock...... until today!!!!! For those of you who don't know, the CD Exchange is a combination used music store / Ultimate Frisbee store down on Rideau Street. So I wasted no time, walked in there and bought it for a wonderful $9.99!!!!!

Now I'll be like a kid with a new toy, with a CD that will provide me with many hours of singing and dancing!!!!!! OK, too much information....... But they are great songs and I love them, especially Waterloo. When I finally visit Kitchener-Waterloo, well Waterloo, I plan to drive down King Street with that song blaring from my windows. I will then detour to drive through the University of Waterloo and the High School Down the Street.... I mean Sir Wilfrid Laurier. I will then return to King Street and finish either at Conestoga Mall or at the Future Shop beside it. Sounds like a fun time. I've got some good times ahead with that CD.

OK, now I just want to find the Go-Go's Greatest Hits at a good price. Do you believe they sell that crap for $18.99..... OK so it's not that much crap, it's a good CD and I want it. But not for $18.99.

Tolerance

2005-10-13T10:55:00.000-04:00

All right folks, it's been awhile since there's been a Song of the Day. This is the latest song by Green Day "Wake Me Up When September Ends". It would have been more appropriate to post last month but I just got into this song a couple of weeks ago. I didn't want September to end and I may just be one of those innocent who will not last when summer has come and passed.

Summer has come and passed.
The innocent can never last.
Wake me up when September ends.

Like my father's come to pass,
Seven years has gone so fast.
Wake me up when September ends.

Here comes the rain again,
Falling from the stars.
Drenched in my pain again,
Becoming who we are.

As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost.
Wake me up when September ends.

Summer has come and passed.
The innocent can never last.
Wake me up when September ends.

Ring out the bells again.
Like we did when spring began.
Wake me up when September ends.

Here comes the rain again,
Falling from the stars.
Drenched in my pain again,
Becoming who we are.

As my memory rest,
But never forgets what I lost.
Wake me up when September ends.
Summer has come and passed.
The innocent can never last.
Wake me up when September ends.

Like my father's come to pass.
Twenty years has gone so fast.
Wake me up when September ends.[x3]

Like my father's come to pass.
Twenty years has gone so fast.
Wake me up when September ends.

Like my father's come to pass.
Twenty years has gone so fast.
Wake me up when September ends.

OK, hope you're still reading. As you may have read previously, on September 24, 2005, I wrote a posting about why I might like Kitchener-Waterloo so much. Oh and another reason, apparently Kitchener has a hockey team in the OHL and maybe they'll come and play Ottawa sometime. I've taken a liking to the OHL since that day around 2 years ago, when that man sat down beside me in Tim Horton's with a newspaper and started talking to me incessantly about the OHL stats and which teams were good and which teams didn't stand a chance of going to the playoffs.

Anyways, on that blog post, there was a comment posted. Now I don't like to put anyone on a pedestal but someone by the name of Mike posted a comment, saying that Kitchener-Waterloo was a bad city, there was nothing to do there and people only live there because Waterloo is the top-rated University in Canada. Now Mike, I just want to say that it's OK for you to have said that. It's important that we all be tolerant of the other person's opinions. And yes, Toronto will always be the best city. Of course, I am willing to give K-Dub a chance once and determine for myself whether I like it or not. Also, I may rate higher Toronto for fun and entertainment but as far as friendships are concerned, Kitchener-Waterloo wins hands down. In the past 2 years, I've met more wonderful people who are living, and studying in K-Dub or people who have lived or studied in K-Dub. There have been several people who have come from there to Ottawa to do co-op placements and then there are Jeremy and Andrew from Rideauview, who are a part of our Sunday night Swiss Chalet crew, who have both lived in K-Dub and said good things about it.
I know only 1 person who is currently living in the City of Toronto and at this time next year, he may not even be living there anymore. So as far as friendships go, K-Dub has played a bigger role there.

Oh and Mike, if you're still reading this, for some reason, your name sounds familiar yet I don't believe we've met. Do we know each other? Not that it's a problem if we don't but it's going to bug me and make me wonder because I've known several people with your last name. So if you're up to it, drop me a line at hotmail.com@michkazan (switch the stuff before and after the @) and just tell me if I actually do know you. If you can't or you won't, that's fine, I'll understand.

OK, next time, I start a 3-part series and guess what? It's about cities and towns!!!!!!! Many of them!!!!!! Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!

Channel Surfing my Way to Kitchener-Waterloo

2005-10-10T20:13:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, another post about Kitchener-Waterloo. But hey, if you don't like it, just hit the Back button on your browser and go back to where you were before!!!!!!

All right, so around noon today, I'm at home, Thanksgiving Day, nothing to do, right? So I sit down for a bit in front of the TV at around noonish. I contemplate watching Welcome Back Kotter, which is a sitcom from the 70's, starring a young John Travolta. Hey I love the 70's, it's like the best decade ever. If it wasn't for the fact that I'd be over 30 by now, I would have loved to live in the 70's. Anyway, so then I flip the channel and am ready to give the best groan of my life. Steve Urkel!!!!!! Remember him? For me, it's a toss-up between him and Roseanne for television's most annoying character ever. I hate them both!!!! So I decide to go back to Welcome Back Kotter.

12:30 rolls around. Now it's time for The Golden Girls on Prime. I love the Golden Girls, the Golden Girls, the Golden Girls!!!! (see my post from April 20th). It's a hilarious show about 4 funny old ladies sharing a house in Miami. Always makes me laugh.

The Golden Girls goes to commercials. I flip to CTV and there's a parade on some street on the air. I can tell right away that it isn't Ottawa. I'd know that if there was a parade in Ottawa and I'd recognize the street. It wasn't Toronto because I could see a blue street sign and Toronto's street signs aren't blue. I could tell it was in Ontario because I could see a yellow Ontario traffic light. Then I saw the parade walk by a sign. It said Grand River Hospital. When I saw "Grand River", I knew then and there that it was Kitchener-Waterloo. At this point, my face lit up!!!!!Just beyond the hospital was a tall building. And after checking on www.skyscrapers.com, that building is called the Clarica Building. The parade was walking away from that building. So when I went to look on the Internet and on the street atlas of K-Dub, I learned that this parade was taking place on King Street (big surprise, my studies have shown that King Street is the main street in K-Dub), that the parade was being filmed at King Street and Pine Street (the intersection with the above-mentioned traffic signal) near the Kitchener-Waterloo boundary. Finally, I learned that this was not just some parade, it's K-Dub's parade of the year. Oktoberfest!!!!!! And that's how I channel surfed my way into Kitchener-Waterloo. I would have stayed and watched more (needless to say I didn't return to the Golden Girls) but I had somewhere to go this afternoon but all in all, I saw enough of the parade that I needed to see. Great parade!!!!!

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!! I know I did!!!!!!!

Retreats, Conferences and other Fun Trips

2005-10-05T18:34:00.000-04:00

First off, I just want to say what a blessing this warm weather has been for early October. It's been warm, well into the mid 20's with smog advisories. It's like summer all over again, and you know I love that. And this weather has been not just in Ottawa, but from Québec City, down to Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, Montréal, Kingston, Belleville, Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara, the K-Dub, London and all the way down to Windsor and Sarnia. This also shows big a province Ontario is. Up north, in Thunder Bay it's been relatively cool. And at the far end of Ontario, Kenora, near the Manitoba border, they're getting a winter storm warning for 10 cm of snow And apparently Winnipeg, Regina and Calgary have also seen some snow as well. It's funny about Ontario though. It's so big that one end is basking in summer weather while the other end is facing a winter storm!!!!!

Anyways, this warm weather has gone on well through this past weekend, making it a lovely weekend for retreats. I want to say hello the gang at Waterloo Mennonite Brethren Church (even though I don't know most of you) who went on a retreat this weekend (great weekend for it down in Southern Ontario). Also the gang at InterVarsity here at Ottawa U also went on a retreat up in Gracefield, Québec. Another great weekend for it. Some of them apparently take a dip in the lake on most of the retreats and this weekend, they had a great weekend for it. Pretty good considering that you usually can't swim outdoors at this time of year in Ontario or Québec. Rideauview C & C will also be going on a retreat sometime in early January, once everyone comes back from Christmas and once there is enough snow to enjoy outdoors. And I'm sure many other groups went on a retreat this past weekend as well.

Personally, I've never been on a retreat with C & C or with InterVarsity, but they seem like fun. You get to go on a road trip (usually an hour or less for this kind of trip) and you all know how much I love road trips :) Then you get this place to yourselves for the whole weekend. I mean it varies, it could be a campground, it could be a really big house or whatever, but still you and your group have the place to yourselves for the entire weekend. You get to be as loud as you want. You get to play all sorts of fun games, study God's Word, listen to designated speakers, make and then eat great meals that taste like something Mom would make. You get the chance to make new friends, and strengthen existing friendships. Finally you get to stay up as late as you want, just talking and laughing with these friends. And the truth is, I enjoy doing all of the above things.

So why don't I ever attend any of the retreats that I have a chance to attend? Well for one, I work every 2nd Saturday. So unless I know well ahead of time and can book it off, I know that when I hear about a weekend retreat, that there is a 50-50 chance I'll be available to attend. Second, these retreats usually take place in a secluded rural environment. I'm a very urban person who enjoys and needs his cities amenities like flushing toilettes, cinemas, buses and being able to call 737-1111 or 967-1111 or 747-1111 or whatever to order a pizza at 2 AM. Believe me, if a retreat was held in downtown Toronto, I'd be the first one there!!!!!! Keep in mind too that I've never been camping either. After that, I have other personal reasons because of which I can never go on the retreats, reasons which I don't feel comfortable discussing here but if you really need to know and if I feel that I can trust you, I'll tell you more.

But these aren't completely acceptable excuses. Who needs to order pizza when so much thought is put into planning the meals for these retreats? And some of the speakers are great. Apparently, I don't remember who's coming but the speaker for the C & C retreat in January has been booked, is coming from the Maritimes and is being well anticipated. And even though, I never get to attend, I hear that the speakers on the InterVarsity retreats are usually pretty good. I hope one day that I'll get to know the truth about these retreats first hand. And worse comes to worse, you can take a shower two days later when you get back home. As for working, every 2nd Saturday, well these things can't be helped.

I think that conferences would be more my cup of tea as opposed to a retreat. They're usually held at nice hotels in urban areas. There, you have a whole bevy of Christian speakers and Christian seminars, including a registration sheet to choose which ones would most interest you. And at conferences, you have a chance to meet hundreds of people, some of whom come from all over Canada, and sometimes the United States. You see them at the meetings, seminars and activities. You see them in the hallways by your hotel room, at the pool, in the restaurant, in the lobby, in the gift shop and so on. It's almost like a community or even a very small town, if you will. And when it's all over, you've made some friends who are from across the province, or across the country or even from California!!!! And you've just taken a very productive vacation. I think that some people at Rideauview are looking at attending a Rise Up Conference in New Jersey this December between Christmas and New Year's which takes place every 2 years. I will not be able to attend because of work and of problems I've had in the past, getting in and out of the United States. It's a shame because I hear it's near Manhattan (which I hear is a lot like Toronto). Next year, however, there is the Timothy Conference, which is held every 2 years between Christmas and New Year's in or around Toronto. Last year, it was in Richmond Hill, the year before I think it was Mississauga. But whatever, at least I know to book time off work for the week after Christmas and to book it off well ahead of time, say, in February!!!!!!

Well happy travels for those of you who have conferences or retreats coming up and make it a fun and fruitful time. And if I don't get to write again, a happy Thanksgiving weekend to all Canadian readers.

You're the Meaning in my Life, you're the Inspiration

2005-09-26T11:27:00.000-04:00

Hello all

Today, I promise I'm going to write a blog about something other than Kitchener-Waterloo, or the K-Dub. Believe me, I can. None of my earlier posts ever made reference to that place. I'll start with today's Song of the Day.

You know our love was meant to be
The kind of love that lasts forever
And I need you here with me
From tonight until the end of time
You should know, everywhere I go
Always on my mind, in my heartIn my soul

Chorus:You're the meaning in my life
You're the inspiration
You bring feeling to my life
You're the inspiration
Wanna have you near me
I wanna have you hear me sayin'
No one needs you more than I need you

And I know, yes I know that it's plain to see
We're so in love when we're together
And I know that I need you here with me
From tonight until the end of time
You should know, everywhere I go
Always on my mind, in my heartIn my soul

You're the meaning in my life
You're the inspiration
You bring feeling to my life
You're the inspiration
Wanna have you near me
I wanna have you hear me sayin'
No one needs you more than I need you

When you love somebody
Till the end of time
When you love somebodyAlways on my mind
No one needs you more than I

That's "You're the Inspiration" by Chicago, a big hit from the year 1985 (yay 1985!!!!!; see the May 16th blog post).However, I should note that 1985 lagged behind 1984 in terms of music. In most other things, it was the best year of the 80's.

A couple things first off: I used the term "super cool" to refer to someone in the last blog post. That's not me trying to be hip and failing miseraby. That's a term often used in franglais. Franglais mixes English and French and I think that the goal in that case, is to speak in sentences where half the words are in English and half the words are in French. Often used in Québec, found repulsive in France and most French teachers. But hey I love it and I'll write about it more in a future post. Vive le franglais!!!!!

Anyways, it's raining outside and it's pretty crappy out there. I'm looking out the window at work today, longing for those days gone by of playing beach volleyball at Petrie Island (I wonder if Toronto, K-Dub, Hamilton or Niagara are having better weather today............) Anyways, sorry.... I attended a family wedding on Saturday. Weddings are supposed to be happy for the most part. But also they're a reminder of how everyone is getting married except me. It was an OK time, nonetheless but my family is too big and too loud. They're such party people. The bride's family was even bigger and even louder. All in all, that made for a big and bigger and loud and louder wedding. As some of you may know, I'm not much of a party person. I'm more of a let's stay home and chat, or watch a movie, or play board games kind of guy. But unfortunately, there were no board games at this wedding :P A lot of speeches, (that's fine) some good food, and a lot of dancing (uh sorry, I don't go there). Then there was the undue pressure of relatives asking me, "when is it my turn to get married?" and saying that hopefully my wedding was the next, and pointing out any single girls that were at the reception. Hey I'm not ready to get married so I'm not even going there. The highlight of the day was at the ceremony, which was beautiful. A harp player was hired, instead of the traditional organ. And there was a reading from Ephesians 5:21-33, the section about women submitting to their husbands, and men respecting their wives. There was another reading from the book of John (I'm still trying to find where they read from). But I was happy here that everyone at the wedding, most of whom aren't Christians (if not all), including my family, had a chance to hear the Gospel. They may not have been listening or been able to understand what it was or maybe they just saw it as the priest talking, just like the other 45 minutes. (ie the wedding was being seen a 45 minute chunk, rather than various parts, as the priest would see it.

I'm glad the next day (Sunday) was a little more relaxing. Morning meeting had Brian Humphries, a former chemistry professor from the University of McMaster speaking. he was really a good speaker. If it hadn't been for the wedding, I would have been able to catch the special meetings on Saturday where he spoke. I found that, as a former professor, he really knows how to talk to a group of students, and young people, in general. He used, as examples, courses, and exams, and even chemistry demonstrations (word had it there were a couple of explosions on Saturday, not so appropriate on Sunday morning). Meeting was followed by poltuck lunch. And then I went over to Gatineau (yay Gatineau!!!) for a bit. It's a great week in Gatineau. They just got their first Best Buy store and the 3rd Best Buy store au Québec!!!!!! So I checked it out. Not that big a deal though since they already had a Future Shop nearby.

Well that's it. Just got a visit from Jesus 24 Hours here at the library (see my post from sometime in May). I'll shut up now but I have just one more question.

You hear about Don Mills, Don Valley and the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto. I want to know....... who on earth is Don????????

Montréal, Toronto, Gatineau and the K-Dub

2005-09-24T16:38:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone. I've now decided to name Kitchener-Waterloo as my 4th favorite city after Montréal, Toronto and Gatineau (Québec). Despite the fact that I've never been there. But I will someday!!!! Following will be Ottawa and Vaudreuil-Dorion. But note that I cannot choose between Kitchener and Waterloo at this time.

This was the beginning to the last post. But since I've been asked why do I like Kitchener-Waterloo so much? Note that I like Montréal, Toronto, Gatineau more. And those are bigger cities than the K-Dub could ever hope to be. When I say Montréal, I mean the entire island (and not just downtown Montréal and the mountain). When I say Toronto, I mean the Meagcity of Toronto and when I say Gatineau, I include Hull, Aylmer, Buckingham and Masson-Angers. So in that respect, the K-Dub becomes my 4th favorite city.

Why do I like the K-Dub so much? Here are some reasons:
1) Many of my favorite stores and restaurants have locations there. These include Future Shop, Chapters, Best Buy and restauranrs like Harvey's and Swiss Chalet. The only downside to this is that Ikea, Jean-Coutu and St-HUbert don't have locations in the K-Dub.
2) The K-Dub is only an hour by car to Toronto and is easily accesible by bus or train (especially in the K). This is much better than, say, the 5 to 1o hours drive from Toronto or Ottawa to North Bay, Sault Ste-Marie, Sudbury and Thunder Bay. This is why I like K-Dub and not those other cities.
3) Kristi, super cool people like you live there. Isn't that reason enough?.... OK, so I have more reasons.
4) When I went to buy my Kitchener-Waterloo street atlas at my local Chapters, the girl on cash suddenly started asking me about it. That's because she had lived there and was even willing to ask me what I liked so that she could tell me if there was anything fun to do there. She had nothing but good things to say about it. And my main concern was resolved. Is there anything to do after 10 PM? So it gave me a nice conversation with this girl and when I left, she even said "Have a nice trip." Now I feel even more motivated to go.
5) With 2 universities in Waterloo (U of W and Sir Wilfrid Laurier), there is a major student population, most of which are studying and living there VOLUNTARILY. If all these students are living there voluntarily, it can't be that bad. And hey, with such a large student population there, it's a great haven for meeting new people.
6) Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - Promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo
An Abba song, a great reason. That was also re-recorded in the 90's by Bananarama.
7) I happened to surf into the website of Waterloo Menonite Brethren Church. And I was very impressed with the large number of ministry and service opportunities for all ages. It's just great to know that Lord's work is being done in the K-Dub. By music and the arts, the usual Sunday School and small group Bible studies, Friday night youth gatherings, and even service towards the unfortunate in downtown Kitchener. I truly believe in this last one since I am a very urban person, a city boy if you will. It's very good when a church takes some time out and goes out into the community to serve.
8)It's called the K-Dub. I love saying that, I feel so hip!!! K-Dub, K-Dub, K-Dub, K-Dub.
9) The world's biggest Oktoberfest outside of Munich.
10) It seems like an urban enough environment. Shopping, restaurants, cinemas, entertainment. Like I said, I'm a city boy. I like lights, running water, traffic, buses, taxis and lots of activity. Kitchener is the 22nd largest city in Canada right after Burnaby, BC. Waterloo is the 52nd right after Langley, BC. If you put them together, they would be the 17th, right after Brampton, Ontario and just above Gatineau. Go K-Dub. But note that Montréal, Ottawa and Toronto are still bigger. These are based on 2001 population statistics.

So there's 10 reasons why the K-Dub is good. Of course, Montréal, Toronto, Gatineau and Ottawa have things that can't be beat. I'm pretty sure public transit is better in those cities. I mean, who wants to sit in traffic and who doesn't want to ride the subway? K-Dub is also so far from where I live and at least 6 hours to le Québec. The thing I like about Ottawa is being right beside the Ontario-Québec border. After Kitchener-Waterloo, I like Ottawa. Why is Ottawa so low? I've lived here for 25 years, it's a great city and I love it but I'm bored of it. I've seen and done all. But I would never trade Ottawa's Canada Day party for anywhere else's. Then after that, there's Vaudreuil-Dorion. I know, hyphenated cities!!!! It's great!!!! VD is a great place but has a long way to go in terms of development, and entertainment (besides strip clubs). It will have a difficult time competing with nearby downtown Montréal. Nonetheless, it is still a nice bedroom community for Montréal and has potential for the future.

So there you have it. Montréal, Toronto, Gatineau, the K-Dub and then Ottawa and Vaudreuil-Dorion.

That's all Folks!!!!!!!

2005-09-22T12:16:00.000-04:00

You're Not Even Here.....on the Warmest Night of the Year

2005-09-15T00:45:00.000-04:00

I learned a few things today:

The K-Dub (Kitchener-Waterloo) actually has a Future Shop. They actually have 2 Future Shops!!! One in the K and one in the Dub. Thanks to Kristi for pointing that out.

Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates is home to the world's only 7-Star Resort. Thanks to Jonathan Gilmore for pointing that out.

A round-trip airplane ticket to Dubai costs more than $8000!!!!!!!!! Thanks to the people at Air Canada for pointing that out.

Physics books are located in the 530 section of the library. Thanks to 6 years of library experience for pointing that out.

Harvey's at 276 Jarvis Street in Toronto is known as Hooker Harvey's.

Well what a day. It was a hot one again. Another day at work. After work, I hit up Chapters. I know I know, how exciting. My life is so boring. I keep saying, maybe I need to move to Southern Ontario, like the GTA or something. Toronto has excitement. Nightlife, theatre, stores, more stuff to see. Less than an hour's drive to Mississauga, Richmond Hill, Brampton, Oakville, Hamilton, St Catharines, Niagara, and the K-Dub. If I get sick of TO, I can just head to one of those cities. And then there's the independence, of course and all the new friends I'd make. Ah the joy of meeting new people!!!

Anyways, while at Chapters, I did run into an old high school classmate. We started talking about our lives now and we realize our lives are really boring. We get up, we go to work and we come back to our parents' houses at the end of the day. Sure we go out with our respective groups of friends and all. And I love going to my various meals, gatherings and activities. But I am, in more ways than one, bored, and miserable here. Which is why I want to move to a new place (ie. Southern Ontario) and start over, make all new friends (while still keeping in touch with current friends), maybe I'd even change my name (no that's taking it a bit too far). The point is I want a change in my life and I want to be free to create my own commitments and priorities and not those that others pile on me.

A lot to think about for one night but I did go to the cash to purchase a street atlas for K-W (but also including Cambridge, Guelph and Brantford). I figure once I buy a few more atlases, I'll totally be able to navigate myself in Ontario et meme au Québec. And this girl on cash suddenly started telling me about how she was from there and about how wonderful a city it was. So I took it upon myself to talk to her some more, asking her if there was anything to do there, especially after 10 PM. She told me that there definitely was and filled me in a bit on nightlife, the music scene, and the shopping scene. Well that was some good conversation. What I didn't ask was about the restaurant scene. Since I want to be a conaisseur of restaurants (not so much fine restaurants, just restaurants), that would be important to know.

Well, I'm going to start studying my street atlas and see what K-W has to offer. Wish me luck.

Let Me Save You Some Time

2005-09-01T00:07:00.000-04:00

Let's start with a song. I want to send this song to any girl who ever thought that nothing I could do was ever enough. I'm not trying to be mean. I'm just into this song because it's mellow and there's some sax. It's by 80's Canadian heart-throb Corey Hart. It's called "It Ain't Enough". Download it if you ever get a chance!!!!

I could capture all the love the great romantics had
Sing you a song that ain't half bad
But that ain't enough
That ain't enough for you

And I could carry the weight of your sad times dear
Give you the strength to face your fears
I know that I'll never be afraid to say
That I'm here by your side and I'm gonna stay

I could preach about a love that one shouldn't forsake
Work on my style of give and take
But that ain't enough
That ain't enough for you

Said it ain't enough
It ain't enough for you

And I could carry the weight of your sad times dear
Give you the strength to face your fears
I know that I'll never be afraid to say
That I'm here by your side and I'm gonna stay
Just a little closer to you, yeah

I could pour you a drink like I pour out my heart
Smile when I'm sad and act dumb when I'm smart
But that ain't enough
That ain't enough for you

I said it ain't enough
Nothing's enough for you

Great song!!!!
Did you know that we can save some time in our lives if we all use acronyms? We use them in our every day lives. We can all save time in our lives. Some commonly used acronyms in Canada include:
BTO - Bachman Turner Overdrive. A Canadian rock band from the 70's headed by Randy Bachman.
BC - British Columbia
CBC - If you live in Canada, you should know this one.
NDG - Notre Dame de Grace (a neighborhood in Montreal)
KFC - Good ol' Colonel Sanders and his Kentucky Fried Chicken (this is known as PFK, Poulet Frit Kentucky in Quebec)
ROM - Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto
U of O - The University Of Ottawa
LCBO - The Liquor Store
TQS - Television Quatre Saisons, a television station in Quebec, specializing in popular French programming and late night erotica and softcore pornography.
CIBC - Again we all know this one if you live in Canada.

There's more but I could be here all night if I named every known acronym. Not only will you save time with acronyms but you will sound more hip. Time saving can also save time in the workplace. Where I work in the library, we have:
OPL - Ottawa Public Library, Speaks for itself.
PL - Pull List - The Request Pull List which is a list of books we print and pull from the shelves daily to send to other branches to fill requests.
HEXP's - Hold Expireds. Holds that people didn't pick up within 7 days and will be sent back or re-shelved.
The BD -Bookdrop. The slot and box in which people can return their books when the Library is closed.
BCD's - Books on CD's
BT's - Books on Tape.

But you can also invent your own to sound more hip. Don't be surprised if I start to refer to people by their initials or if I just start to speak in acronyms. Some examples of lesser known acronyms that I've adopted or learned from other people that I know.
K.B. - Kristi, that's you!!!!
A.W. - Anne Wong, a lady at my work. Keep in mind that it's not always good to use these acronyms to people's faces.
K.W. - Kitchener-Waterloo. Also known as the K-Dub. A place I plan to save up my dollars and visit some time between now and next April.
V.D. - Vaudreuil-Dorion. The municipality just to the west of the Island of Montreal in Quebec. My new fascination with hyphenated city names!!!!! If the trip down to K-Dub doesn't happen or just doesn't work out, I will just go down to the V.D. It's also closer to Ottawa as well. Plus there's all sorts of new developments going up there too!!!!!

I will come up with more and if you have any ideas for new acronyms, I'd love to hear them. Before I go, 2 acronyms, I will not be adopting in the new future.
MK - I will not be using this on myself because I have not come to that point in my life where I refer to myself in the third person.
RBC - This could be the Rideauview Bible Chapel but unfortunately the Royal Bank of Canada has already called that one.

Anyways
TTYL - Talk to You Later

Are you Comfortable?

2005-08-26T21:38:00.000-04:00

Hello all

It's Friday night and once again I'm home all by myself. At this point, I'm not too worried because College and Careers, as well as OCF will be starting up again in a couple weeks. While it's unsure what my schedule will be between work and my home life. But I really hope that I am available to attend as many gatherings, meetings and activities as possible.

A little something I haven't done in a while. I will start with a song. Simply because I feel like it. This song is by Bruce Cockburn and was recorded in 1981. For those of you who don't know Cockburn, 65, he is originally from Ottawa, recently inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame records songs with a Christian viewpoint. He is primarily a folk/rock based singer/songwriter, his music has also encompassed many other styles, including jazz, blues, reggae, and other world musics. The song is called The Coldest Night of the Year (appropriate for Ottawa). I mainly enjoy the song because of its references to Toronto (my favorite city after Montreal :) )

I was up all night, socializing
Trying to keep the latent depression from crystalizing
Now the sun is lurking just behind the Scarborough horizon
And you're not even here
On the coldest night of the year.

I took in Yonge Street at a glance
Heard the punkers playing
Watched the bikers dance
Everybody wishing they could go to the south of France
And you're not even here
On the coldest night of the year.

Hey look at me now
See the shape I'm in
It's taken me so long to catch on to what's going on
Inside this skin
When two lovers really love there's nothing there
But this suddenly compact universe
Skin and breath and hair

I watched the all night TV show
In the all night bar
I drove all the people home
I was the one with the car

Now I'm sitting here alone and sleepless
and wondering where you are
And wishing you were here
On the coldest night of the year

All right, on to more serious things. I want to talk about comfort and comfort zones. A less controversial topic than sex and virginity. My comfort zone is very small, sometimes non-existent. As a result, I suffer from feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem. Large gatherings and parties are very difficult, in which case, I have no comfort zone. I have been known to stay home on days or nights when I could not establish a comfort zone (unless I need to go to work, of course). But this is not something I always have a problem with. Some days, my comfort zone is there and it's big enough at arm's length.

Why am I discussing this? Because it's something we should all establish and then work on if we need to. I know it's hard and it's something I shouldn't even be discussing until I can establish my own comfort zone. Look around, my friends, establish your comfort zone!!!! If you think you've established, look around, and help a friend establish their comfort zone.

Why is this so important? Because if you can't establish your own comfort zone, how are you going to help anyone else establish theirs? How is anyone else going to be comfortable? You will be so busy trying to fit in and have a good time, it won't occur to you whether the new guy or girl is having a good time. Has he or she made friends yet? Will he or she come back to a future gathering or will he or she just decide to stay away?

As a result of not having established a comfort zone, I apologize if I have not helped someone make their stay a pleasant one. If I didn't get over myself long enough to get to know you, I apologize. I will try harder in the future and I will encourage others to do the same. Perhaps a little something to consider in September when new people will move here and we will make new friends.

The Young and the Sexless

2005-08-19T16:07:00.000-04:00

Hello all

Just a warning before I begin: This post is going to cover some controversial and taboo topics, some of which may not be appropriate for younger readers. However, I am going to attempt to address these topics in the most Christian way possible and hope for the best.

I'm going to talk about sex.

What, you say?

You heard me, I'm going to talk about sex, those who are having it, those who aren't having it and those who just don't care. This is going to be a difficult post to write and I hope to be able to consult some Christian perspectives as I write along here.

Where do I get off, talking about such a mature topic in my blog? Well, it has to do with the opening of a movie today called The 40 Year Old Virgin, a movie that I think I will boycott. Why? The title says it all. The makers of this film seem to think that virginity is something to be played with and that there is something wrong with being a 40-year old virgin. I don't know, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. The Bible, however seems to think that there is nothing wrong with it and that's the viewpoint I took when I heard that this movie was coming out.

I feel like I'm surrounded by a society of people who are all sleeping around. People who are all just shacking up with one another. I was reading the Ottawa Sun this morning (Friday, August 19th, 2005; feel free to consult it to see where I'm coming from) and there was an article discussing real-life viewpoints and implications of being a virgin. Quite frankly, it sickened me. Now, I'm pretty sure that there is at least one sexless person in their 20s reading this today, if not more. So let's look at what some of these people had to say.

A young man in his 20's from Ottawa says "If you're a guy and you're in your mid-20s and you haven't, it becomes a joke,"

A man, aged 31 says "If I met a 28-year-old virgin," said one 31-year-old guy, "Would I marry her? You're not a fresh young virgin. You're a 28-year-old who hasn't had sex yet. It's kind of weird to me."

Finally another Ottawa woman, aged 31 said that the thought of encountering a man her age who hadn't had sex could be both scary and exciting.

OK, so the sexless have just been called weird, a joke and the whole idea has been called scary. Now we can see that society has a problem with those of us who are holding on to our virginity. Something is wrong here. Now let's face it, anyone who wants sex can get sex. You get your $200 and you go down to Vanier or you can get in your car and drive to Rigaud or Vaudreuil-Dorion, just east of Montreal, where there are clubs for this sort of thing. It has also been said in the article that the longer this is put off, the more that the shame, secrecy and isolation can build up inside, leading to problems in future relationships and romantic interests.

There was a time when my excuse was that I just hadn't had a chance. But about a year and a half ago, when I started reading the Bible, I now had a legitmate reason for not doing the deed. Pleasing God. And that went on to create another reason. It is simply something not worth stressing out over. I've just been keeping busy with other things in life. Work, making new friends, food, hobbies, interests..... Maybe these are good distractions, maybe they're not. They're also all the same excuses I've used not to meet that special someone and form a relationship. Not to mention that I'm massively shy and have absolutely no idea how or where to start that part of my life. So for now, I just have to let it be.

I simply wrote this post today because that article in today's Sun disturbed me along with the world's views on sex and virginity. It just sends out the message that once you turn 18, the sooner you have the chance to have sex, the more you'll have accomplished. Wrong!!! Many of us have accomplished much without having sex.

This has not been a very easy post for me to write and I know that there's going to be disagreements and opinions as soon as the comments start being posted. Plus I should just warn that I'm not fully informed so there's always room for an adjustment in my viewpoint. And if I've offended anyone, I apologize.

That's it for now. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

On Location From TO (Part 2)

2005-08-08T09:30:00.000-04:00

All right, so I just posted a blog less than 12 hours ago and a long one too. But I'm alone in my host's apartment since he's gone to work and I want to rest for a bit before I embark on hours and hours of walking around TO. Plus I don't have a key so once I leave I can't come back until at least 3 when my host gets off work. Walking down different streets, going in and out of malls and stores and other indoor passages. So here in the apartment, it's just me and the cat and I'm sitting here watching the Maury show where there's a guest who's afraid of cats and is starting to cry and scream because someone is walking around across the stage with a cat.

So I have one more day of walking around TO. I definitely plan to go down to Yonge Street, since it's so alive down there as well as the Entertainment District. If time allows, I also want to hit up China Town and Little Italy. I love this city but I could never live here. It's just too big, there's too many people and too much traffic, plus I'd miss everyone at home. Tomorrow morning I will get on the bus and head home. I feel like I've been gone from home forever (well since 3 on Friday; it's now Monday morning). It feels like ages since I got in the car with Kristi, Annie and Erik and drove down here (see previous post). I miss my family, my friends, my job, my house, my bed, my car, Rideau Centre, the Byward Market, Sparks Street, the Quebec side and other things. The nice thing is that I have 5 days off when I get home so I'll have time to catch up with many of these things. It's weird though. So many people I know pick up and leave home for much longer periods of time. They go home to their families only 4 times a year. They travel on mission trips or just to Europe or the US or across Canada for sometimes a week or more at a time. And here I am feeling homesick and I've only been gone for the weekend and I'm only 5 hours away from home!!!!!! (1 hour by plane). My friends, who are away from home for so long, we should talk sometime. Maybe I'll learn something. The difficult part will be settling back into my routine over the few days when I get home. This is always one of the hardest things for me to do. And it doesn't help that originally I was going to go home on Wednesday, but cut my trip a day shorter because I thought I'd be homesick. At one point, I thought of going home today or even yesterday. But then I thought, hey this is my vacation, I need to stay here for a bit, I must!!!!!! Enjoy myself!!!!!! I guess it's just going to be hard going home because it will be the end of maybe the biggest adventure I've ever had (again see previous post).

I'm going to stop here. I'm hungry and I need to go get some breakfast and most restaurants won't do that for me after 11 (it's now 10). I've been sitting here all morning writing this blog and reading other friends' blogs (and even their friends' blogs). As for breakfast, those blogs have told me not to go to Burger King for breakfast. Done!!!!!

And please read the other post about my trip to TO!!!! It is long but it's one of the greatest adventures I've ever had so please read it.

Until next time, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

On Location from TO

2005-08-07T23:08:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone

I'm in Toronto from August 5th to August 9th. I always enjoy coming here but getting here was a series of unfortunate events. It all started when I tried to leave Ottawa on Friday afternoon the 5th. We were started to ride down in Erik's van but it overheated, leaving us in a brief panic and discussion of how we were going to get to Toronto and St Catharines. Finally one of the girls in our group, Kristi was nice enough to drive us.

So we were off. I actually enjoyed the road trip. I felt like I was on the adventure of a lifetime (considering I don't go on too many adventures) The four of us, in the car, we talked, we laughed, we told stories, we bonded and we listened to the Go-Go's CD and some surfing music. Since when I actually do get out on the road, I travel with family or alone on the bus or train (another example of a lonely time in my life; see previous post), I felt like I was on the road trip of my life with some wonderful people whom I got to know better over the course of 5 hours.

Finally we hit the beautful lights of Toronto. But no sooner had we got onto the DVP than we got stuck in traffic, and suddenly our car was in a crash (sorry I can't even remember what happened anymore, I just remember it wasn't our fault). A crash, the scary kind where brakes squeal, you hear a crashing noise and what sounds like glass. For about 10 seconds, I thought that's it, we were gone, we were going to be a statistic. I felt one of the biggest reliefs of my life when I realized that everyone in the car was safe and unhurt. I felt an even bigger relief when I saw that the car was barely damaged. But someone else's car was damaged and there was still a collision, so we had to spend the most of the night at the Collision Reporting Centre in Scarborough (after we actually found it). By now, I was feeling shaken up, not wanting to go anywhere ever again and I felt like I had annoyed Kristi and the others to the end with my paranoid behavior which started the minute Erik's car. I felt stranded in the middle of a strange city and at the same time, not wanting to abandon the others.

Again, I am thankful we are safe, alive and that we all got to we were going safely, (after being delayed for 2 hours by overpaid civil servants who couldn't give a rat's you-know about the people they needed to help; all we wanted were some stupid sheets of legal sized paper for the photocopier!!!!!!!!!) But by now, I didn't want to drive to Dan and Julianne's wedding in St Catharines on the busy QEW which also saw traffic jams similar to the one we saw on the DVP that night.

If anybody who was in the car is reading this, I want to apologize for my paranoid behavior and say how thankful I am that no one was hurt and hope that someday we will look back at that night and laugh.

The next day, I also thought of Annie's words when deciding whether to drive to Dan and Julianne's wedding or not. "Michel, when thing like this happen, you have to get up and try all over again". Just like when you fall off your bike, and you should just get back on it and keep going. Needless to say, I made it to the wedding.

Getting there was more unfortunate. I had reserved an economy-size car to rent because it's usually cheapest and most fuel-efficient. Wrong, they ran out of cars so at the same price, I got a Toyota Beamer or something which looked more like a Cadillac. It took a while to get used to but once I finally found my way out of the Union Station Parking Garage, I had found mky way around the car. The QEW was smooth sailing until Oakville until I hit traffic at which point I kept getting on and off the highway in order to bypass traffic. Eventually I just got on the wrong highway and took a big detour through Hamilton (including a Mardi Gras parade). After getting through the industrial mess called Hamilton, I got back on the QEW and all was well until the last 10 km before St Catharines when I got stuck in traffic and there was no easy way to bypass the highway. Finally, I got to the wedding 10 minutes late.

The wedding itself was beautiful. The happy couple pledged their vows to each other. The happy parents gave testimonies about how wonderful their kids were and how they had chosen each such a wonderful partner. The reception saw more of this. Open mike time where people came up front to sing songs or share their best memories of Dan and Julianne. The slide show of their lives was also beautiful. I like to think of this wedding as not just the beginning of their lives together but a celebration of their lives to date. People even commented on my "Cadillac". Might as well enjoy it now because realistically, I could never own such a car.

After the wedding, I drove back to Toronto. I felt so at peace once I got back to Toronto. No more highway driving!!!! At least for now. I'm at peace now. I've been warm like crazy since I left Ottawa but I'm at peace. Tuesday morning, I will get on the bus and go back to Ottawa. This is getting to be such a long blog and it's getting late. Any more events will be in the next post.

Busy Busy Busy

2005-07-25T11:42:00.000-04:00

Hello all

Yes I know I have a lot of explaining to do. It's been more than a month since my last post and I apologize very much for that.

Well what can I say? Let me start by saying that I attended the Lebanese Festival this weekend here in town. Not that enjoyable since I was ostracized from the Lebanese community. I mean how would you feel if you went to a festival full of hundereds of people and no one wanted to talk to you?

People traveling all summer, me here in town trying to make a living. Very lonely. Managed to get on the bike yesterday and go for a long ride. That felt good (yet hot at the same time). Yet I don't manage to find very much free time on my hands. I really should think of doing some sort of time management study on my life because I really don't know where all my time is going. Because of this time shortage I've decided to do something drastic. I've decided to suspend all my library requests (books, movies, CDs) until January 1st, 2006. That means that nothing I've ordered will arrive before 2006. I figure between now and Christmas should be enough time to catch up on stuff that I have no time to read/watch/listen to. And if that doesn't work, I'll then suspend them to January 1st, 2007. I'm going to manage my time once and for all damn it!!!!!

As for the loneliness thing, that's another issue I'll need to conquer.

For anyone looking for a little motivation to get into shape and maybe go for a bike, walk or run. I encourage you to check out this site:
http://www.vasy.gouv.qc.ca/site/home.phtml
The site is available in English for those of you who prefer.

OK, that's it for today. Bye.

Aku Uwa

2005-06-22T12:18:00.000-04:00

Hello

I apologize if I haven't been so good with keeping this blog up to date. But there are some days when I have no thought to share and other times when I have thoughts but can't get to a computer.

Let me start by sharing with you this e-mail which I have just received.

DEAR CONTACT,
MY NAME IS MR. AKU UWA. I WORK WITH THE INLAND BANK OF NIGERIA PLC AS A GROUP HEAD TREASURY DEPARTMENT.

IN THE DISCHARGE OF MY DUTY, I STUMBLED ON THIS DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT THAT HAS REMAINED DORMANT FOR THREE YEARS NOW WITH EIGHTEEN MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS ($18.5M) IN IT.

ON PERSONAL INVESTIGATION, I DISCOVEREDTHAT THE ACCOUNT HOLDER DIED IN AIRCRASH ACCIDENT WITH THE MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY WHO SHOULD BE THE NEXT OF KIN TO THE AMOUNT.I AM WRITING YOU SO THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO REMIT THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY INTO YOUR ACCOUNT AS THE NEXT OF KIN HENCE THE DEPOSITOR HAPPENED TO BE A FOREIGNER.IT IS SIMPLE PROCESS WHICH WILL TAKE A SHORT WHILE TO PROCESS.

OUTSIDE THIS,THE BANK MANAGEMENT WILL CONFISCATE THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY AS UNCLEARED EFFECTS AND SEND BACK TO THE NIGERIAN DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION ACCOUNT. IF I HEAR FROM YOU, I WILL TELL YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MONEY AND THE OPERATIONAL METHOD WE CAN USE TO EFFECT THE REMITANCE INTO YOUR ACCOUNT FOR OUR MUTUAL BENEFIT.NOTE THAT MY PURPOSE OF CONTACTING YOU IS BECAUSE THE DECEASED HAS THE SAME NAME WITH YOU.

IN REGARDS TO THIS TRANSACTION, IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ASSIST ME PLEASE DO FORWARD YOUR RESPONSE TO MY ALTANATIVE EMAIL:akuuwa2005@yahoo.co.uk

BEST REGARDS, AKU UWA

Gotta love these e-mails. As if I'm going to send money or bank account information to some next of kin who I don't even know. How can you be the next of kin of someone you don't even know? Of course, once you're totally aware of the dangers and tricks behind this kind of e-mail, it is good for a few laughs.

There are now 185 days left until Christmas. Have YOU started your shopping? I haven't and probably won't start this week but hey I'd be up for a trip to Wal-Mart anyway. Keep in mind that with any trip to Wal-Mart comes knowing the safety rules that come with these trips. Saftey trips which are coming to a future post of this blog.

Until next time when once again, I'll post another post, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

A lesson in Railway Safety

2005-06-11T20:13:00.000-04:00

All right, boys and girls, it's summer time and let's be honest. Everyone, including myself forgets common sense sometimes this time of year. it must be the sun. So I'm going to run down some basics of railway safety for those of you who are going on the road or just live near a railway track.

1. Be prepared to stop at a highway/railway crossing. I cannot emphasize this enough. People just whiz through the crossing as though the crossing wasn't there. Remember that a train can come through at any time, in either direction. Learning the train schedules near your local crossing doesn't always help since trains are often known to run early or late. Also don't race to beat the train. Because even if it's a tie, you lose.

2. Look for the crossbuck symbol of a highway/railway crossing. Some more-travelled highway/railway crossings have lights and bells or gates. The crossbuck is the X-shaped symbol, that is seen at most railway crossings in Canada and the United States.

3. Listen for warning bells and whistles . Turn off, or turn down, distracting fans, heaters and radios. Ask the kids or people who act like kids to be quiet until the crossing is safely crossed. Opening the window helps you hear.

4. Obey the signals . Never attempt to drive under a gate as it is closing, or around a closed gate. If the gate begins to close while you're underneath, keep moving ahead until you clear the crossing. Come on!!!! I think this is a given!!!!!

5. If a police officer or a member of the train crew is directing traffic at the crossing, obey their directions.

6. If one train passes, make sure that a second train isn't approaching on another track. They can, and they do!

7. Cross the tracks in low gear . Do not attempt to change gears while crossing.

8. If your vehicle stalls on the tracks , get out quickly and away from the vehicle and tracks. Move in the direction the train approached to avoid being hit by debris, because your vehicle will be swept forward by the momentum of the train.

9. If your view is obstructed for 300 metres in either direction, do not attempt to cross the track until you are certain that no train is approaching. Be especially careful driving during bad weather. In Canada, we are always prone to bad weather.

10. Walking or playing on train tracks is dangerous, and illegal. The only safe way to cross railway tracks is to use designated crossings, and to obey all signs and signals. Oh, and this also includes railway bridges where people think they can go fishing. Never assume that these are abandoned. Believe me, they rarely are. And if you're on that bridge and a train approaches, you'll only have 2 options (cause believe me, you can't outrun the train). You'll have to either get hit by the train or jump off the bridge.

Your summer (and mine) can be lots of fine if we remember to obey these rules. Ideally, I think we'd save so many accidents if it was required by law for all drivers to stop at railway crossings and look both ways. Since that won't happen any time soon, these tips are all we have.

All right, now it's off to Wal-Mart but I'll be doing a future post about safety while shopping at Wal-Mart.

Where Am I?

2005-06-02T00:04:00.000-04:00

A bit of a different format from my usual posts and maybe a bit silly and meaningless. But many people don't know where I live or where I am. Now I'm not going to publish my home address here on this blog, but just to let you know where I stand in relation to other places in the world, here are some numbers:

Approximately, the distance (in km) and driving time (not counting pit stops) from my house to:

Parliament Hill: 9 km 11 minutes
RBC: 5 km 6 minutes

Ottawa VIA Rail Train Station: 7 km 9 minutes
Ottawa Central Bus Station: 7 km 8 minutes
Ottawa International Airport: 7 km 11 minutes
Aéroport International de Montréal (Mirabel): 155 km 1 hour, 51 minutes
Aéroport International de Montréal (Dorval): 200 km 2 hours

Gatineau, Québec (Maisonneuve et Laurier) : 10 km 13 minutes
Smiths Falls, Ontario : 68 km 57 minutes
Renfrew, Ontario (O'Brien Road) : 98 km 1 hour, 12 minutes
Brockville, Ontario : 98 km, 1 hour 12 minutes
Cornwall, Ontario : 98 km, 1 hour 12 minutes
Hawkesbury, Ontario : 105 km, 1 hour, 12 minutes
Massena, New York : 116 km, 1 hour, 28 minutes
Lachute, Québec : 131 km, 1 hour, 37 minutes
Maniwaki, Québec : 142 km 1 hour, 56 minutes
Pembroke, Ontario : 150 km 1 hour, 56 minutes
Kingston, Ontario (Downtown) : 185 km, 2 hours, 4 minutes
Montréal, Québec (Centre-Ville) : 195 km, 2 hours, 8 minutes
Peterborough, Ontario : 275 km, 3 hours, 30 minutes
Syracuse, New York : 304 km, 3 hours, 16 minutes
Sherbrooke, Québec : 337 km, 3 hours, 44 minutes
Rochester, New York : 432 km, 4 hours, 25 minutes
Québec, Québec : 443 km, 4 hours, 47 minutes
Toronto, Ontario (corner of John and Queen St. W): 443 km, 4 hours, 47 minutes
Albany, New York : 476 km, 5 hours, 3 minutes
Sudbury, Ontario : 488 km, 6 hours, 17 minutes
Hamilton, Ontario : 505 km, 5 hours, 23 minutes
Parry Sound, Ontario : 508 km, 6 hours, 26 minutes
Arthur, Ontario : 549 km, 6 hours
Niagara Falls, Ontario : 557 km, 5 hours, 32 minutes
Boston, MA : 611 km, 7 hours, 22 minutes
London, Ontario : 620 km, 6 hours, 39 minutes
New York City, NY (Manhattan) : 700 km, 7 hours, 18 minutes
Sarnia, Ontario : 717 km, 7 hours, 36 minutes
Rimouski, Québec : 728 km, 7 hours, 57 minutes
Sault Ste Marie, Ontario : 795 km, 10 hours, 22 minutes
Fredericton, NB : 898 km, 10 hours, 43 minutes
Washington DC : 911 km, 9 hours, 14 minutes
Chicago, Illinois : 1266 km, 12 hours, 36 minutes
Halifax, NS : 1323 km, 14 hours, 31 minutes
Thunder Bay, Ontario : 1389 km, 18 hours, 41 minutes
Winnipeg, Manitoba : 2056 km, 1 day, 2 hours, 2 minutes
Miami, Florida : 2625 km, 1 day, 1 hour, 43 minutes
Dallas, Texas : 2729 km, 1 day, 1 hour, 33 minutes
Regina, Saskatchewan : 2615 km, 1 day, 9 hours, 11 minutes
Edmonton, Alberta : 3360 km, 1 day, 16 hours, 4 minutes
Calgary, Alberta : 3834 km, 1 day, 14 hours, 5 minutes
Las Vegas, Nevada : 4125 km, 1 day, 14 hours, 5 minutes
Vancouver, BC : 4241 km, 2 days, 40 minutes
Los Angeles, California : 4557 km, 1 day, 17 hours, 49 minutes
Yellowknife, NWT : 4800 km, 2 days, 8 hours, 28 minutes

If you don't agree with any of these, we can discuss it and see where I went wrong.

Love One Another (over coffee)

2005-05-31T08:50:00.000-04:00

There’s too many men
Too many people
Making too many problems
And not much love to go round

Well I wouldn't say that there's not enough love to go around but rather that it's just not going around the way it should.

Last night, Keith gave the first actual study of the summer. We studied love, what it means to love Christ and that we can in fact do this by loving one another.

Love one another, what a foreign concept in our world. Putting others first, yikes!!!! Yes we are living in a very self-centered world. I go out into the world and it feels like it's every man for himself. Hundreds or Thousands of people just walk and drive by you every day as if you don't exist.

At one point, Keith stopped to get input on what we can do to love another. Darcie then came out and mentioned that although we may not have much money to give, that it only takes $1.50 to take a friend (who may need it) to Tim Horton's for coffee. And I'm sure she meant that the person needed a friend, not the coffee. I think that if a person needed coffee, I would start to wonder..... When Darcie said this, I think I was going to choke up at this point. I started to think about all the people who need to "go for a cup of coffee". So many people, so many problems and so many of these people have no one to listen to, and hence feel unloved. They could be really close friends, or people you don't know all that well. And now that I know this, I would be more than ready to take a friend in need for a "cup of coffee".

But why aren't more of us doing this? Or why am I not doing it? Yes, I confess, we don't always do what the Lord wants us to be doing. Another reason why we don't reach out is that sometimes we are unaware that a person needs to "go for a cup of coffee". These days, when people have problems, they are afraid to reach out for others. We don't trust each other, which is really a shame. We keep our feelings bottled inside a lot of the time. Brothers and sisters, I urge you!!! Reach out to me or another brother or sister. This is what we're here for. To help, support, encourage and of course love another!!!!!

Other times, we just don't want to love certain people. And I can totally relate to this. I mean, it's natural for me to not want to love the person who just said that I was stupid. In school, a lot of us didn't want to sit beside the kid who was overweight, the kid who didn't smell good or simply the kid that no one else liked. In high school, it continued. Many people were mean to me in high school, I wasn't popular at all. Unfortunately, I made too much a point of making it clear that I didn't love these people and looking for ways to get back at them. Then in adult life, it continues. We're mean to the homosexuals, the prostitutes, the homeless, to the person who believes abortion should be legal, or sometimes even to the guy who voted NDP in the last election. And I'll be big and admit that some of these apply more to me than to others and vice versa.

By golly, last night's study was an eye opener. And I'm going to try and keep these in mind as I go out into the world today. And I'll admit, I'm not going to become perfect overnight. And of course, God doesn't expect me to. But I'm going simply try harder to love one another. I can;t give specific examples at this point in time of how. But hopefully, in the near future, I'll be able to write a little update on how well this is going and how I'm feeling.

Well, until the next post, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

MK

Indiana Wants Me, Lord I can't go back there

2005-05-27T11:30:00.000-04:00

I just thought that was a catchy title. It's a song by R Dean Taylor from 1970.

Well nothing too deep to discuss today, I just thought I'd sheare a few random thoughts.

Today's weather based on The Weather Network:
Ottawa - 16 degrees, cloudy with showers (boo)
Vancouver, BC - 29 degrees, mainly sunny (now that's not fair)
Flin Flon, Manitoba - Who cares? They saw snow this morning. Snow!!!!

Highway 416 is the most boring highway in Eastern Ontario.

It's good to shop at Wal-Mart.

There are 2 days left til Sunday.
There are 211 days left til Christmas (maybe less by the time you read this)

I'm hungry.

I'm hungry.
So even though I have more thoughts, they'll have to wait.
Because I'm hungry.
And I will go get food.

So until the next posting, when once again, I'll write again, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

And Bring back Springsteen, Madonna.....

2005-05-16T15:36:00.000-04:00

Hello

Just a little thought before I begin.....

And bring back Springsteen, Madonna Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that shes uncool'
Cause she's still preoccupied1985

That's a little excerpt from last year's hit by Bowling for Soup, called 1985. But let me be honest, there is no she (believe me, there definitely is no she). But it makes me think of how wonderful it would be to go back to a past time.

You see, today is May 16th, 2005. Today is my 25th birthday. I'm now halfway to 50. I'm feeling over the hill. Why? Because I feel that I haven't accomplished much in life and I think of great times gone by. High school, some university, even elementary school. In those days, it would be guaranteed that most people who know and/or remember my birthday. Now at 25, I'm spending the day at work and then going home to eat dinner and watch TV alone. Sad.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm at a loss for good times in life these days. I usually enjoy being at work (especially since I got to the Rosemount Branch). Sundays are now my favorite day of the week because I have people that I can see and talk to. And of course, me and the gang from C & C did go out and have a wonderful time checking out the tulips and eating ice cream at Dairy Queen. But tonight, I shall be alone.

I often wonder, have I gone somewhere wrong in life? Should I have a partner or not in life? Since I wasn't able to attend the bible study on that topic, I really can't answer that today. But I'm surrounded by expectations to meet someone. There are weddings galore going on this summer. Parents and grandparents are always for you to meet someone. Some days, I wish I had someone and other days, I really couldn't care less.

It's reasons like this that I try not to advertise my birthday. It's not a big deal anymore. But if I'm so lonely, why don't I want to advertise it and have people throw me a surprise party? Meh, who knows? Maybe it's because I want to watch the series finale of Everybody Loves Raymond.....

If only I could go back to 1985. I'll tell you this, the music sure was way better back then.

The sounds of Silence

2005-05-12T17:26:00.000-04:00

Dear readers

First off, I apologize for the lack of entries. I haven't really been able to get into this blog thing. When I have something to say, I can't get to a computer in time. When I'm at a computer, I can't really think of anything to say.

As some of or maybe none of you know, I've left the Rideau Branch and gone to work at the Rosemount Branch and I'm loving it here!!!!!!!!! It's just me and 2 casual employees here tonight!!! And that means a night of surfing the net, writing blogs, some chat chat and serving patrons in between!!!!! Ah I love the Rosemount Branch!!!!!!

I'm looking around and it's wonderful. Silence!!!!!!!! The Rideau Branch would be busy and hopping at this time. As I look around, my colleague is surfing the Net. The Librarian is sitting at her desk, sipping away at coffee, staring at a computer screen. In front of me, kids are using the Public Computers, to do Hotmail, play games, or chat on MSN. Maybe they'll do their homework or maybe they won't............. I look in front of me at the fiction section and the paperbacks...... it's as dead as it's going to get. Somewhere in the next room, someone is flipping through videos and DVDs.....

So this is what I've done. I've traded in a workplace of noise, chaos, busybody co-workers and menial tasks for a workplace which is usually silent, full of children, slow, and the idea here is let's just do what we have to do and we can stand around the rest of the day. My supervisor was surfing the net, looking at wedding dresses, for crying out loud!!!!!!!!! At Rideau, that was practically forbidden.

I don't think I've ever really appreciated the silence as much as I do right now (and Tuesday night and last Thursday night). As far as I'm concerned, I'd be willing to work in this place the rest of my life!!!!!!!!! Who needs noise and busybodies and menial tasks?

Too many blogs..........

2005-05-03T19:36:00.000-04:00

I will start today's post with a letter that was once written to the President of the United States

Dear Mr President
There are too many states nowadays. Please eliminate three. I am not a crackpot.

That letter was written by Grandpa Abe Simpson on an episode of the Simpsons orginally aired back in 1993. And I think it's a great letter.

I don't really have any opinions on the number of American states. But I do notice that there are too many blogs popping up by people I know. Not that it's a problem. I mean if there were so many people who weren't writing blogs, I wouldn't be here writing one either. And I just want to comment on some of them. Without mentioning the authors or their thoughts of course, so as not to embarass them.

I just want to say that these blogs have been an interesting way to get into people's thoughts. In these blogs, the authors have expressed themselves in ways, that I guess that they never could in person. Many of these things aren't discussed at C & C or at Swiss Chalet or wherever. And I just want to say that it's nice to know that there are people out there who know they're not perfect. (Hey I come from a long line of people who all say they're perfect.) Sometimes it actually hurts me to know that there are people who are feeling a bit down on themselves or who feel that they have not self-actualized themselves. But to those of you who do feel this way, I can tell you. You're not alone!!!!!! Many others, including myself have felt this way at some point or another. Many of us at some point or another have felt lonely, or unloved or labeled ourselves as "bad" people.

But this is something we can all work on together. We can even have group conversations to discuss these feelings without even unmasking anyone in particular. These blogs have served a great purpose to express ourselves and to get us to share with one another. And for those who haven't written a blog, feel free to express yourselves!!!!!! By blog or in person. We should all share some of our feelings once in a while. Who knows, I think we could all learn something about one another if we did?

To be continued......... maybe (if there's anything more to say on this subject)

Michel

Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, Pop Goes the World, by men without hats

2005-04-25T11:38:00.000-04:00

Johnny played guitar, jenny played bass.
Name of the band is the human race.
Everybody tell me have you heard? pop goes the world.

That's the 1987 song by Men Without Hats called Pop Goes the World. Great song, and I just thought I'd start out this post by mentioning it.

Anyways, it's Monday morning and I'm working at the good ol' Library once again. And of course, reflecting on the evnts of the weekend. Spent lots of time with the C & C on the weekend. Friday night, Closing Banquet on Saturday, the usual Sunday morning meeting and finally our weekly visit to Swiss Chalet. Makes me sad that it's the end of the year and we're all going our separate ways for the summer. They really are a wonderful bunch. But it's a part of life and who knows what the summer and also September will bring. It's in the Lord's hands.

Last night at Swiss Chalet and while driving Anne home afterwards, It made me wonder if I'll ever have anything intelligent to say to anyone. You see, that's where I'm at a bit of a disavantage. I come from a family and even a society, where our main topics of conversation was other people. Who worked where, and who did what and who's seeing who, what's appropriate behavior and what isn't...... So where are the intelligent topics of conversation? It could be in God's Word. A lot of intelligent conversation to be had regarding that Book. You see, it's important that I make sure that I understand it first before I actually start to construct arguments about what I've read. Then there's classic literature, the movies, all things I'm not exactly up to date on. Maybe I need to spend a little less time reading junk literature (ie. People Magazine) and less time listening to silly songs like the above song by Men Without Hats. The least I can do is try and maybe when the C & C returns in September, you never know, I may just have some interesting (and possibly controversial) viewpoints.

Michel

Jesus 24 Hours (Your Time is Up Ladies)

2005-04-21T15:27:00.000-04:00

I work at the Ottawa Public Library down on Rideau Street. Being downtown, you get some very interesting, very unusual and sometimes some very creepy characters at that library, especially being in proximity to low-income housing and mission shelters for the homeless.

There's this man, probably homeless, who comes in every day. He wears tattered clothing, and a winter jacket. He carries a sign on a stick that says Jesus 24 on it (it has some other smaller writing on it and I don't know what that says). As a result, we have been known to call him "Jesus 24", or even "Jesus 24 hours", when we didn't know his name otherwise. He carries white sheets and other things in an old bag which also has JESUS written on it. He'll come in and he'll occupy a study cubicle for a while. He'll spread his belongings all over his table, most of which is actually garbage. He has also been known to emit a strong odor (of I don't know what), which has caused some complaints from other staff and other library users. He will usually pull out some white sheets and a pair of scissors to start sewing. This has caused some problems because he has left his unwanted fabrics everywhere including inside some of the library books. Also it brings up the question, why should he be allowed to sew in a library study area? He's also been know to spend long periods of time in our washroom, which raises the thought that he may be doing something a little more in there.

Now I have nothing against this man simply because he is unfortunate. I also think the JESUS signs are for a very good cause. But the lingering question on my mind is, where does one draw the line? I mean could his behaviors be a different form of worship? If it is, I don't want to be the one to interfere with his relationship with Christ. I have co-workers who would like to see him banned from the library because of his sewing and his garbage. But is this really the best solution? Just a few minutes he was taking a nap up there and was wearing a gold blinfold that he made himself. Do we let an unfortunate man take a nap or do we ask him to leave because this is not "normal" library behavior? Do we get suspicious that he may be bathing in there everytime he wants to use the washroom? Or do we just leave him alone? The latter is the best solution until we start finding fabric in the books or until someone else wants to use the washroom. After that, we don't know what to do. Oh, the trials of working in the Public Library

That's it for today. Until the next post, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Michel

I Love the Golden Girls, the Golden Girls, the Golden Girls.....

2005-04-20T15:31:00.000-04:00

Here I am, day two, still trying to think of something fun and imaginative to write. I look outside and it's been pouring all day. Kind of depressing when you compare it to yesterday's heat. But I gues we need it. However it is one of those days where you just want to be at home watching trash television. Speaking of trash television, I'm actually in the mood to watch one of my favorite shows from the 80's, the Golden Girls. It used to be on Saturday nights in the 80's and that was pretty much the last time, that anything good was on television on Saturday night. Anyways, it was a wonderful show about 4 senior citizens sharng a home in Miami, Florida. There was Dorothy, the mean one, Sophia, her elderly crochety mother; Rose, the dumb one, and Blanche the one who thought she was sexy. Let me leave you with a story from that show. Sophia grew up in Sicily at the beginning of the 20th century and was always telling stories about growing up in those days. Let me leave you with one of those stories.

Picture It Sicily, 1912.
A beautiful young peasant girl with clear, olive skin meets an exciting but penniless Spanish artist. There is an instant attraction. They laugh, they sing, they slam down a few boilermakers. Shortly afterward, he is arrested for showing her how he can hold his palette without using his hands. But, I digress. He paints her portrait and they make passionate love. She spends much of the next day in the shower with a loofa sponge scrubbing his fingerprints off of her body. She sees the portrait and she's insulted. It looks nothing like her. She storms out of his life forever. That peasant girl was me. And that painter was ........ Pablo Picasso.
-Sophia Petrillo

I'm sorry, I can't remember the episode.

ANyways, until next time when once again, I'll write up another posting, keep your feet on the
ground and keep reaching for th stars.

Michel

Day One

2005-04-19T23:25:00.000-04:00

Well here I am, forced to succumb to peer pressure, to follow the crowd. Yes, I finally got my own blog!!!!!!!!!! Are you all happy now?????? Well, are you????? Never mind, so, all right, I've got my own blog. So now what? Do I talk about my day? Feelings that I could never express in normal conversation? Yeah, I guess. Well, not today. Maybe just maybe if I'm lucky enough to decide to write a second entry. Even luckier if I get my first reader anytime soon. But only time will tell.

So until next time when once again I'll hopefully write a more meaningful another entry, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Michel K