Whine 'n' Cheese

A fifty something guy caught between earning a living in the corporate world and trying to live a personal life as a latent hippie.

Name:
Location: Toronto, Canada

Fiftysome male working in the corporate world to make a living but not a life. My interests in life are diverse from enjoying the city with it's music, theatre and range of characters to enjoying being in a canoe miles from nowhere in peace and quiet. My 14 year old son is the greatest blessing in my life even though he lives with his Mom he spends weekends with me and adds colour to my life.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Melancholy Sunday

Today's photo is that of a tree, I was tempted to say just a tree but that's not how I feel about them. The reason for the picture is not only the beauty of the snow laden boughs but is was taken in the appreciation for the tree which was planted here as a living monument to a past life. It appears to be old and distorted but perhaps it is reflecting the life for which it was made a tribute.

Today I am feeling rather down and fed up with my own life. I am realizing that I am aging to the point that I am too old to still have the possibility of having another relationship in my life. I miss having another person to share my life with. I can live without sex but I am finding it harder and harder to live without a hug. A hug is a simple expression of affection of warmth of caring and sharing.

I went out last night with some folks from the pub on an impromptu evening of bowling. One of the women decided we ought to go and do something a little different just to break the usual routine of sitting around in the pub. There were to be about a dozen people go but as it turned out only ten actually made it and eight of us bowled. After a three games of bowling we went back to the pub and played some pool. It was just another occasion when the others are all pretty well in couples and I am left on my own. I have said before that women of my age don't seem to do anything and that includes dropping by the pub. In fact I have no idea if they ever go out and if they do where or what interests them.

I guess I am feeling down because I spent a couple of hours this afternoon sorting through some old photos and putting them in albums. My box of old photos still includes many from past relationships including quite a few with my ex-wife which include my son and step daughter so I keep them. The truth is miss her very much even ten years after our marraige ended. She quickly remarried but I was not able to do that. This had been the second marriage for both of us. I never really felt the same way when my first marriage ended after ten years. We both moved on and built new lives with no apparent look back. This time I wasn't able to get away from the feelings I still carried for her. I tried to date a few times but without success I was always comparing the relationship to what I had with her. Five years ago I quit dating altogether. Now I feel that I really need a person to share my life with but the time has passed when I would still have any appeal to someone else. I don't even know where to begin anymore.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Celtic Woman



Today's photo is from the top of the hill at Blue Mountain when my son and I were skiing last weekend.

This week is very busy as usual here at work but just helps to have the time pass a little quicker. Today I will have to leave a little early because I am attending a gala for the United Way tonight in Markham. It is not one of the things which I enjoy but I have a work partner who assists me in running our United Way campaign and she is anxious to attend.

I have been planning to return to live downtown as soon as I can move without upsetting the fellow who owns the house where I am living now. He and his wife just purchased this house last year and built the basement apartment for me so I feel obligated to stay here for at least one year. That year will finish but this fall so I am now starting to look around to choose an area where I want to move to. I don't think it will be back into the Beach area but maybe up on the Danforth. I need to be close to the Parkway to reduce my traveling time back and forth to work.

I want to be back in the city to be able to have access to the life which I enjoy. Yesterday I was looking to see what I wanted to attend in the near future and found that the group called Celtic Woman are going to play at the Hummingbird in March.

Last evening I picked up a DVD of their live performance. I wanted to see what my son's reaction will be to their music before I order a ticket to take him with me. I am trying to expose him to as much of the range of musical options as I can. I think it will help to make him more tolerant to the difference tastes which music has to offer.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Blue Monday - Blue Mountain

I was otherwise occupied last week and didn't have a chance to get back to leave a message. The photo I have used today is a shot of the upper part of the Flat Iron building on Front Street. I would just love to have a flat just below that turret where the windows are curved and the view is spectacular.

This past weekend I had my son with me so I was busy being Dad. Being Dad is one of the best things in my life by the way.

We had a chance finally to get up to Blue Mountain for a day of skiing. We had been trying to get a weekend to get up there since the winter started but we haven't had much snow fall this year. Snow had fallen on Friday night but by the time we made our way north the weather had cleared and the roads were in good shape. It seems though that half of Toronto had made the trip because the whole area was very busy.

Neither my son or I are very experienced skiers, both of us have only been skiing for three years and this was the first time out for this year. We also have not been to Blue Mountain before so we did not know the area or what the facilities were all about and the area is not well marked.

The first problem we encountered was that we parked in an area which turned out to be a private club. I had to take my boots off again after I had already struggled to get them on and drive a further kilometre down the road. This time we were given the wrong information by a less than helpful parking attendant and parked a second time in the wrong place. We needed to rent equipment for my son but found out that the location which provides equipment was in a different location again so we ended having to find and take a shuttle bus to get to the rental area.

By the time we actually got on a lift and up the mountain it was two o'clock and the slopes had been used a lot by then and the snow conditions weren't great. I understand that snow boarders create piles of snow when they board but when you haven't been on skis for a year these can become obstacles. Rather like skiing moguls when you don't really want to ski moguls. We did survive though and had a pretty good time moguls and all. My son did ask at the end of the day if we could just go somewhere else next time so I guess he wasn't too impressed.

Personally I am going over to Ellicottville NY with the fellows from work in a couple of weeks and I am really looking forward to that. It is a great resort and a really friendly party town. The slopes have always been in great shape when I've been there. Good skiing, good food, plenty of beer and lots of pretty girls which suits this old fellow just fine. The girls aren't all girls too which means I can actually meet some women closer to my own age, someone who likes to get out ski and party too. Woo Woo.

I took my son last year and I will try to take him back again this year but he can't join the guys from work, he's still way too young. It will give me an excuse to go twice and that's okay with me. I do have to look into the border situation though, I have been told that he may require a passport this year but we'll see.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Welcome Relief

I had the opportunity to spend the weekend back down in the city and it was a welcome relief from the life I have been living up here north of the city.

I enjoyed having brunch in a Queen Street cafe and chatting with a friend that works in the cafe but also lives in the building where I used to live too. Afterward I headed into the core of the city and enjoyed 3 or 4 hours in the market. I love the market with it's own special sights, sounds and smells.

The selection of seafood in great and I managed to bring home about four meals of various fish. I got tempted to purchase a supply of meat as well but opted only for some peameal and one small roast.

What I enjoy about the market is not just the range of food but it is the characters that frequent market, whether they are hawking their wares, providing the entertainment with their instruments or the folks that are just to purchase goods they do make a wonderful cross section. The vendors that cry out their specials and complete with the other stall owners down the row or the butchers and fish mongers are there trying to out do each other with their flamboyant description of their selections.

The combination of smells can just fill you up when you walk the aisles. Fish smells combine with tasty fresh baked goods and then there are the cheeses. Four different cheese merchants offer cheese selections from every coner of the globe and with a little coxing you can taste and great variety of them. I was good this time and only came home with Oaka and some Brie.

When I left I wandered down Front Street for a pint at the Jersey Giant before I stopped to take a couple of shots of the flat iron building. I know it's a touristy thing to do but the old triangular building is a neat contrast to the glass towers which line the street behind. I will post one of these shots tomorrow.

I left down town and went back to the Beach for supper. Actually I went up to Kingston Road and enjoyed a roast beef dinner complete with Yorkshire pudding at the Feathers pub. Wonderful English fare in an English setting. If anyone out there considers themselves are authority of single malt whisky then Feathers ought to be on your list of places to visit. In addition to having 22 daughts beers on tap, Ian the landlord at Feathers boasts one of the largest collections of single malt in North American. I didn't check the count during this visit but when I asked last they carried over 320 malts in stock.

I leave the rest of the story from Saturday evening and Sunday till tomorrow.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Friday and Counting Down the Hours

Busy day today and TGIF. I am definitely going to spend a good weekend out of here. I really want to go skiing but still no snow. They are forecasting a lot colder weather by Sunday and hopefully we will get some snow with it. I want to take the boy and I up to Blue Mountain next Saturday.

Last night was bowling. I can here the groans now but at least it is a chance to get out one night a week to socialize and do something. I enjoy the company and though it isn't much exercise it is better than not doing anything. There are a couple of people that I work with who belong to the same league and who asked me to join three years ago. My ex and I had bowled in a five pin year for quite a few years and this league is ten pin so I am still fairly new at this game. I'm not doing too bad and our team is in forth place out of about 15 teams.

When I got home last night about eleven o'clock the power was off in my apartment. The furnace fan had quit and they had to call in a furnace repair fellow to change the fan motor. He had shut off the power in some of the house but neglected to turn mine back on. When I found the breaker and turned it on I checked around to ensure that everything was still okay but forgot to check my alarm clock. You guessed it the battery backup was not working because I forgot to put in a new battery once a year as you are supposed to and this morning the alarm didn't go off. I was a half hour late for work and didn't have time to make my lunch. I got away with being late since no one else really knows what I do since I have two manufacturing plants which I take care of but now I am left with no lunch. I prefer to eat my fruit and veggies with a bowl of soup rather than go out to grab a bite. Going out usually involves fried food that I try to avoid but I guess today I will have to grab something. Maybe I will have pizza which isn't too bad for me.

I am so looking forward to the weekend and heading down to the city. I will stay home tonight and do laundry and clean up a bit then I will be free for the next two days. I can leave early on Saturday morning and have brunch in a cafe somewhere visit the market maybe stop by a couple of galleries. I will borrow the camera from work and hopefully get inspired to shoot a bit. Saturday night I will return to the Lion on the Beach to hear a band and enjoy the people watching. Probably the same folks there as usual but it has been a while and I need the company and I could use a hug.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Frustrated Thursday

I am feeling miserable today and since I have a blog that no one reads I can take this opportunity to vent. I am feeling that way for several reasons including that yesterday and in fact this whole week I have not been as productive as I had planned to be, therefore I am getting off target on my planned changes for 2006. I am feeling miserable because I hate living in this city north of Toronto where I have no friends and the people I have met up here so far have been superficial and insincere. I am feeling miserable because the friends I have had down in the Beach appear to have moved on from me and don't respond when I call now. I am really miserable because I haven't had sex in several years and without a female companion or any prospect of having person in my life I am not likely to have sex in the future either. I have come to the realization that I am not going to find another person who is willing or able to do anything. The women of my age are couch potatoes just the suggestion of anything that involves physical activity and they wince in potential pain. I can't be with someone that is completely inactive and I can't be with someone just for sex. I may just old fashioned or something but I want to have a relationship not just fuck.

Okay I am whining but that's how I am feeling today. Lonely and miserable.

On top of that I am very busy today and I have to stop my work to visit the dentist to have a chipped tooth repaired in a couple of hours. My boss is on a tear since he came back from his vacation so I am trying to avoid him until he calms down a bit. I have hired both the Controller and the Customer Service Rep. which we required but they don't start until next Monday.

I also have just realized that I did not order the compensation survey which I need for the annual compensation review and adjustment and I think that I am too late now to get the survey here in time. I will need this reviewed and my recommendations put together in about four weeks. So I shouldn't be wasted my time with a blog entry.... but I am miserable and lonely today. So there you go. Enough said!

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Having Fun Rolling Back in Time

I mentioned a few days ago that following my commitment to new years resolutions which included a resolution to get a bit more exercise I was intending to go out to Mississauga to a roller rink that I had heard about. Like many folks of my generation we grew up going to roller rinks that were the staple of teen entertainment in the 60's and 70's.

Six or seven years ago I began to blade and I must admit that it is now one of my favorite forms of summer entertainment. I frequently go and blade along the paved paths down by the lake. I like the chance to get out in the sunshine and fresh air and of course getting a little exercise is good for me and I enjoy it too. Blading along the paths though is for the most part moving in a single direction for extended periods of time. I often leave the Beach along the paved bike path and either blade downtown and back or go north and blade up to Sunnybrook Park and back. For several years I went with a group of friends to Niagara on the Lake and we made a day trip of blading to Niagara Falls and back. When we got to the Falls we took a couple of hours to do the tourist thing and enjoyed the falls then got together for dinner before we bladed back to Niaraga on the Lake.

Last evening I followed the directions given on their website and found my way to Scooter's Roller Rink in Mississauga. It is located on Royal Windsor Drive which is the extension of Lakeshore West beyond the town of Port Credit. I took my blades and used them rather than renting roller skates. The rink is virtually the same as those that we enjoyed years ago. They played the same style of music though it is a more modern variety and the whole arrangement was wonderfully similar. Tuesday evenings was a adult skate after 8:00 p.m. When I looked at their schedule there opportunities for family outings as well times reserved for adults. They also cater to children's birthday parties or group parties as well.

I was somewhat disappointed by the turnout for the adult period but there were quite a few other people leaving when I arrived because they also offer lessons earlier in the evening. I stayed for approximately two hours and I did enjoy myself. I have to admit though that my knees are a bit sore today which I think is just a result of the constant turns required when you skate on a rink. I am sure that my body will get used to this if I continue to take advantage of this nostalgic entertainment.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

King Kong

No photo today but I will try to have something up tomorrow, I think I will use some scans of a few of my older shots.

I am heading downtown this weekend to spend a little time in a part of the city where I feel more comfortable. I will drop in to St. Lawrence Market and pick up a few things. I love the sounds smells and the great food which is sold there. I will make sure that I am there around lunchtime to have a wonderful peameal on a bun. It's probably not the healthiest meal but it tastes wonderful.

I will also find a spot to listen to a band on Saturday night. Up here they don't seem to have entertainment in the pub at all anymore. I don't consider karaoke entertainment.

When my son was with me last weekend he asked me to take him to a movie after he had finished spending his day in the indoor skateboard park. I asked what he wanted to see and he requested King Kong. I hadn't read any of the reviews but I consider that pretty harmless for a 13 year old so I agreed to take him. The movie complex was offering this movie on three different screens so it must be a very popular movie. We agreed to attend the eight o'clock showing. We arrived at about 7:45 only to be told that the movie was already sold out. The next showing was 9:15 so I thought that this was okay since he wasn't going to be getting up to go to school in the morning.

My son occupied himself playing the arcade games for an hour and I enjoy a cup of coffee mocha and just relaxed. The movie began on time but didn't end until 12:30. I had no idea that it was a three hour plus movie. All in all the movie was pretty good though and we did enjoy it. I certainly enjoyed Naomi Watts, what a beautiful woman and a very good actor too.

Having a 13 year old gives me a perfect excuse to watch the new children's shows such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings etc. To tell the truth I probably enjoy them as much or more than most of the adult offerings. The computer generated animation used today I find truly amazing. It makes it possible for very realistic scenes which would have been impossible to portray as well previously using the more antiquated techniques.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Skateboarding


No I don't skateboard but it is my son's favorite pastime. Today's photo is one which I took of my son at an outdoor skateboard park last summer. This Saturday and he is with me for the weekend as usual. Since we haven't had enough snow yet he is off to an indoor skateboard park today and maybe when he is back in two weeks we will go north to ski.

I know that plenty of adults have a negative view of the kids that skateboard and some of them deserve it but for the most part the younger teenagers who skateboard as a pretty decent bunch of kids. I have been dragged to several skateboard demonstrations and competitions and through it all I have gained an appreciate for the skill and physical ability required to do some of the tricks that they do.

When I took him to start to ski three years ago, the same year that I learned to down hill ski, he wanted to snow board rather than learn to ski. The reason was that snow boarding at least in appearance to a novice looked to be similar to the skateboarding skills and also that some stores have chosen to market themselves as boarder's outlets combining both snow boarding and skateboarding. I thought like a parent and felt that skiing was something else I could give him that he would be able to use for the rest of his life so I told him that if he learned to ski first then he could go and learn to snowboard afterward.

During the first year of skiing he saw that the teenagers on the hills were pretty well equally divided between snowboarders and skiers. Plenty of the teenagers on skis were on those short trick ski they call skates. The snowboarders and the skiers went on the half pipes together and both the boys and girls were pretty well equally divided between skis and boards.

The first year he was pretty well finding his feet like I was but by the end of the second year he and I were pretty comfortable, at least on blue and green runs. So at the end of the second year I told him that the next year he could take snowboard lessons and start to board if he wanted to. He announced to me that he was a skier Dad and he didn't want to start to snowboard now that he could ski. Well last year was our third year and I still stick to the blues and greens and I am happy to do so. I have a bad knee and wear a knee brace when I ski and I am happy I can do that so far without injury. My son of the other hand was getting braver and had gone off on the black runs by himself.

At the end of last year I took him over to Ellicotville in New York state about an hour north of Buffalo. It is a great little resort town and a good place to ski. I believe they have eight lifts and about sixty runs. On the weekend I took him one of the staff told me that they had other managers from work for a ski and party weekend. They do know how to party in that town.

On the weekend I took him he really enjoyed himself. Among other things he found that there were tons of girls his age. I recall it was getting late and my legs were getting tired and I told him this was going to be one of my last runs for the day. He disappeared off on another slope and I proceeded down my run when about half way down I got cut off by a young woman and ended falling pretty hard. As I was attempting to get back on my feet this young woman and her friend came over to ask me if I was okay. As I start to lift myself up, out of nowhere someone skis up to me pretty quickly and slides to a stop shooting snow in my face in the process. I look up and there is my young son is standing there looking down at me wiping the snow from my face, "you okay Dad?" I thought the young women were going to pee their pants laughing.

I can see what the future holds for me. After years of teaching him to find his feet in so many things the tables will be turning quickly and he will be giving me a hand to find my feet.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

A Yurting We Will Go

Let me begin by saying that I did not shoot this photograph it is borrowed from Parks Ontario.
Yesterday I took out my camera to shoot something and I turned it on, it began to open and stopped. I changed the batteries and nothing happened. I tried two other sets on new batteries and nothing. I have a dead camera. GRRRRRR!

Well anyway this structure is a yurt and it is a great way to winter camp with a minimum of hardship.

I had seen these at Silent Lake Provincial Park and last year my buddy and his daughter and my son camped for a winter weekend. The kids are the same age, 13 years and seem to get along pretty well. We keep an eye on them to ensure they don't get along too well, if you know what I mean. We had his and hers gameboys to amuse them among other things.

This morning my friend emailed me to tell me that he had booked us for a weekend again this year. Since they are so popular the only available date he could get was March 24th weekend but I am sure we will still have snow by then. We all enjoyed the weekend and should have a great time agin this year.

The park personnel take you in on snowmobiles and also supply you with both wood and water. These structure are made on a heavy waterproof fabric and they have an air tight wood stove for warmth. In fact if you are not careful they can become too warm. Each one is also supplied with a gas barbeque and propane. We took along two of our own propane stoves and did all our cooking outdoors on the picnic table. No stoves are permitted in the yurt because of the danger with fire and carbon monoxide.

There are outhouses in the section of the park near each yurt so pretty well everything is taken care of. We had a few snow ball fights and I took along cross country skis though no one else was interested. The park sets and maintains ski tracks and the trails cover most degrees of skills. All in all it is great way to spend a winter weekend and I am really looking forward to this again. Did I mention wine, oh yes and Bailey's for the coffee in the morning and the kids get mashmallows for their hot chocolate.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

His First and Possibly Last Canoe Trip.


This is my second post of the day. On the first attempt I spent a half hour writing the post, finding and uploading a photo and at the moment I went to publish my system crashed and everything was gone when I rebooted. I have a love hate relationship with computer systems.

Today's photo is from another canoe trip from last summer. On this trip my son and I took a friend of his on his first wilderness canoe trip. I am certain that this photo was taken on the return leg of the trip because it's not raining and the lens isn't wet.

So now on with the story. My son's friend is the same age, 13 years, but he is a bigger boy almost six inches taller. He's a nice boy and has since come to spend the weekend with us so that the boys could go to the indoor skateboard rink. When my son asked if he could bring a friend I asked if he had been in a canoe before, could he swim and was he the kind of boy who would be comfortable in the wilderness for a week. It was reported back that he had never been in a canoe but he could swim and had a similar personality to my son and would be fine on a wilderness trip. I asked my ex to discuss this with his parents since she knows them and has been on a few trips herself so she knows what to expect. The boys parents agreed and also volunteered to locate a life jacket for him. Great it's settled then.

When I picked up the two boys they had way too much gear. We have a fourteen foot canoe not an ocean liner so the first task was to sort though their gear and eliminate what we could. I could see that my son was being influenced a bit by the other lad since he is very familiar with what happens on canoe trips. He and I have gone on group trips since he was seven years old and last year we went alone. They weren't too happy about leaving some of the stuff behind but all in all the mood was pretty good went we finally headed north.

When we reached Canoe Lake which is our entry point into Algonquin it was just starting to rain. The boys put on their rain jackets and life jackets and we loaded up and set off. Canoe lake is pretty big at more than a mile long and half mile wide. I have had three people in a 14 foot canoe before but that was when my son was a bit smaller. I put the other boy in the bow but we were loaded down with both boys and all their gear to the point that we only had about six inches on clearance to the waterline. The rain didn't let up and waves grew in size and I could see that this boy was a bit uncomfortable. He hadn't been in a canoe before and he was trying his best to learn to paddle.

It took quite a bit longer than usual to cross the lake and then we portaged to the next smaller lake. The boys did okay at the portage but with the never ending rain they were getting wet. We crossed through the Joe lake and did a long portage to the much smaller Little Joe lake. At the end of that lake there is a stream which runs through for a while before you begin another portage. When we hit this stream I could tell the boys were getting tired and hungry and fed up with the rain. The water in the stream is shallow and the current is swift at times and half way through this stream there was a narrow which only has one area deep enough for the canoe to pass.

As we approached this narrows I asked the boy in the bow to paddle on his left to move the canoe bow to the right. He did the reverse and paddled on the right which pushed the canoe into area which was too shallow and we went aground. I rocked the canoe free and back paddled to take another run at the narrows. This time I explained where we had to go and we began again. For the second time the boy changed sides at the last moment and we went aground again. Then both he and my son insisted that there wasn't enough water and we would have to portage around this shallow area. Though I was sure we could make it through I agreed and we went to shore and unloaded the canoe.

I admit that I was wet and I wasn't looking forward to another extra portage so I maybe didn't take the care I would normally when we reloaded the canoe. The next portage was only a few hundred yards ahead on the opposite side of the stream. I put the canoe in and had the boys climb in and preceeded to reload the canoe quickly. I then got ready to push off. I climbed into the stream and as I stepped into the canoe with my right foot I pushed off with my left. The bottom of the stream at that point was made up of slippery grey clay and as I pushed with my left foot it slipped. Instinctively I grapped the sides of the and as a consequence I rolled over the canoe and dumped both boys and all the gear into the stream. I managed to pull the boys out but then I had to quickly paddle downstream and rescue all the gear which was floating away.

That was the first and hopefully the only occasion when I have turned over a canoe on a flat water trip though I have done it quite a few times on white water. The boys were soaked tired and hungry. We did get everything back together and we did make it to the next portage and feed them before we did the last leg on the trip into Burnt Island lake. We set up camp in the rain and built a fire and dried out most of their gear before they turned in for the night.

The rest of the week went pretty well and they seemed to enjoy themselves. We got them home with no fingers chopped off. During the week the boys built fires and learned to cook on an open fire. I have a few "keep the kids happy routines" which helps to ensure that things aren't too rough. I have built a camp oven a few years ago so that they get brownies and pizza and I also lug along a bottle of oil but to do up a batch of french fries.

My son told me though a few weeks after we got home that his friend had told him he never wants to go on a canoe trip again. Maybe the negative memories will pass and he will still have a few good ones.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Counting My Blessings


This morning's photo is another from a different camping and canoe trip last summer. This photograph is from Silent Lake Provincial Park which is located about twenty miles south of Bancroft. My son will happily to recount that he has been to Silent Lake every year of his life since the year before he was born. He can remember learning to camp and canoe there and I have told him that his Mom and I were there in July or August in the year when he was born in October.

Good morning on yet another cool damp morning. My car has decided that it doesn't like this weather either since it was difficult to start and misfired for a while until it warmed up and dried out a bit. I suppose I have a crack in either the distributor cap or a plug wire. This is not the weather I want to go out and play with the car so I hope this weather dries up soon.

I was checking through the news this morning to read of the latest tragedy which involves the explosion in a coal mine in West Virginia which has trapped 13 miners. On Monday I learned that in southern Germany the roof of an ice rink collapsed killing 11 including three children. Every day without fail there appears to yet another tragic event in the world reporting by the daily news and these do not include those that perish daily from starvation or what ought to be outbreaks of controllable diseases. I can't help but wonder at those I hear around me complaining endlessly about the most minor difficulties as though these were of serious significance in the overall scheme of things.

Oh I complain about the weather but not in a serious way since our the weather I have been exposed to has never been serious in my lifetime. I may vent regarding various aspects of my personal life but I also take responsibility for my own actions. I wonder when I listen to some people if they ever truly look at their own conditions and compare them to others that are facing real tragedies. I remember as a child being told to count my blessings and to this day I will catch myself when I am feeling a little down and give myself a shake. I have a roof over my head which is warm, dry and supplied with clean water. I may make the choice of what food I wish to eat today. If I become ill I have a medical care available to me. I can live in relative freedom and without fear provided I adhere to the rules of our society.

My heart goes out today to the families of those miners and to the families or those who were killed or may still be trapped within that ice rink. I have lost love ones before and I recall the feeling of unfairness and why me Lord. I can't help but imagine the feeling of hopelessness felt by the parent of a child who is wasting away to starvation or disease. So today I am thankful that I have the opportunity to make new year's resolutions and to have the choice to take control over my own future. It certainly puts it into perspective when I have the opportunity to feel a little discomfort caused by exercising this body to keep myself healthy.

In other words addressed to myself, "get off your butt and take advantage of all of the opportunities that your life is offering you and make the best of all that you have been given, without complaining."

Monday, January 02, 2006

Summer Memories


Well here we are back to work on the second day of the new year and it is raining, cold and damp. I either want warm sunshine with a patio and a pint or I want cold clear with with fresh snow so that I can throw myself down a hill. I hate this cold wet weather it's just not Canadian, west coast friends excused.

I thought when I put together this list of new years resolutions that the easiest and most enjoyable would be to commit to a PAD (Photo a Day). I am realizing that this may not be quite so enjoyable or doable this time of year when I go to work in darkness and return home in darkness. That makes it a little difficult to capture any outdoor shots, not that there is a whole lot I would want to capture up here in the city north of Toronto. Strip malls and residential subdivisions don't inspire me a lot. I will continue to use some of the shots I have saved from the summer until I can at least go out of weekends and capture something of interest. Today I have used a shot I had of a colourful front stoop taken just a few doors away from my former residence in the Beach.

In keeping with a commitment to uphold my resolutions I have been to the gym for the last couple of days and I am going again today in a few minutes. I want to ski but that doesn't seem to be on the agenda for a bit so instead I was looking around for something else to do. Blading is out and biking not going to happen soon either. I do enjoy ice skating but on an outdoor rink and with the rain which is happening today and has been happening for the last week that is out too.

Then I remembered a friend had taken me to a roller rink a couple of years ago. I thought they had all become as extinct as the dinosaurs but low and behold they do still exist. He took me to a place out in Mississauga where on several nights per week they cater to adults and where blades are also permitable. On the night that we went it was not very busy but I still enjoyed myself skating to some old music I might have roller skated to years ago. I had forgotten about that experience until I was going over the various exercise possibilities on New Years Day.

I will be looking into this further and if it is still in operation I may venture out one evening next week. So if anyone has committed to add or to begin to get a little more exercise this may be an idea worth pursuing. If you're not in the Toronto area there may be a roller rink hidden somewhere in your area too. Once I have the details I will pass them along.

Off to the gym now and I hope your resolutions are all still in tact on day two.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Happy New Year

I thought I ought to start the year by at least accomplishing one of my resolutions which was to add an photo a day to my blog. The attached photo is from one of our canoe trips into Algonquin from last summer probably taken on Burnt Island Lake.
I have no idea what I am doing here but fortunately Bogger is user-friendly so even a novice can put together something that looks fairly respectable. Thank you Blogger and keep up the good work.

I did spend last evening on my own but that was perfectly okay and in fact I handled my own company for the evening fairly well. I channel surfed until close to midnight then watched the ball fall at Times Square. I did attempt to watch the festivities from Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square which is home to city hall. Unfortunately I joined the televised broadcast during the performance of some weird punk type male performer and left as soon as I got there.

I know that I should be much more open to these newer music forms but I have trouble classifying them as music. I appologize to the younger people.

Today I am in to the office to clear up a few old files then it is off to the gym before heading home to do up a roast for dinner. I don't often have a decent roast of beef any more but I thought that since I had New Years as an excuse I would enjoy a good meal. I will have to freeze much of the left overs but then it will make for a quick meal on busy days.

I hope you all enjoyed last evening and have survived the morning headache to enjoy the remainder of your day. I wish you all a wonderful year in 2006 and I hope you will keep all of your resolutions; at least until the end of the first week of January :)