The snooze button is a horrible horrible invention, I find myself hitting the damn thing for an hour every morning, even if I put my phone all the way across the room it still happens. I think that they should equip all alarm clocks and alarms on phones with some sort of physical and mental challenge that you must complete before you can turn off the alarm.
It would be either be the greatest thing ever or result in the largest amount of damaged phones and clocks on the planet. Something to think about.
Man I haven't blogged in forever and this is all I can think of, I'll come back with something better, I promise.
Monday, 26 March 2012
Monday, 5 March 2012
The Gift of Music
I've been playing, or dabbling, in guitar for the past 7 years or so now. It's never been something that I've taken seriously to be honest. I'll pick it up for a little bit, play a song or two, then put it away for another month, repeat the process. But recently I've been re introduced to an old friend of mine, the electric guitar courtesy of my friend Darren. I had the pleasure of playing his electric guitar last week and decided to buy my own. And I'm very glad I did.
Since the purchase of my new toy I've played everyday for various amounts of time. Now to a lot of people, including me, the act of playing guitar can be a very daunting task. There's a lot of knowledge behind it, thousands of notes and chords, numerous positions to play in, millions of songs to learn. It can be very intimidating at times.
But I'm realizing that when you go at your own pace the experience can be extremely rewarding. And I think that that can be said about so many aspects of our lives. Don't think that you need to learn everything all at once, whether it's giant strides or baby steps, you'll get there eventually.
Since the purchase of my new toy I've played everyday for various amounts of time. Now to a lot of people, including me, the act of playing guitar can be a very daunting task. There's a lot of knowledge behind it, thousands of notes and chords, numerous positions to play in, millions of songs to learn. It can be very intimidating at times.
But I'm realizing that when you go at your own pace the experience can be extremely rewarding. And I think that that can be said about so many aspects of our lives. Don't think that you need to learn everything all at once, whether it's giant strides or baby steps, you'll get there eventually.
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Too Much TV
Have you ever thought to yourself that "I watch too much tv?" I have, numerous times. But still, I work at a tv station, spend all day in front of tv's, and computer screens, then I go home after work and watch tv, or movies, or fire up the PS3. It's just a part of life.
So it's time for lent, but I'm not religious, but I am however going to try and cut down on my tv time. So this morning I actually didn't turn the tv on and it was pretty wicked. I put in my headphones instead and went about my business of the morning. I'm gonna try and make this a thing, it was pretty sweet.
So it's time for lent, but I'm not religious, but I am however going to try and cut down on my tv time. So this morning I actually didn't turn the tv on and it was pretty wicked. I put in my headphones instead and went about my business of the morning. I'm gonna try and make this a thing, it was pretty sweet.
Monday, 20 February 2012
Roll Up the Rim To Win
If there is any indication that Canadians love a chance to win stuff, it's Tim Horton's roll up the rim to win time. I made a resolution this year to buy less coffee from the coffee shop and drink more tea, or at least drink the crappy coffee we brew at work. But come on, a 1 in a million chance to win free coffee or maybe a donut? Count me in!!
It's funny how it works, you can sell the same product day in and day out and people will buy it, but you give people a chance to win something too and they'll buy 2 or even 3 times as much. It must be something that's pre programmed into our brains as human beings. We just love the opportunity to win, no matter what it is. The prize could be a bag of horse manure and we'd still wanna see if we could win it.
It's odd how that works. And of course I'm writing this while sipping coffee out of a roll up the rim to win cup, drinking just a bit faster than usual so I can see if I won anything.
It's funny how it works, you can sell the same product day in and day out and people will buy it, but you give people a chance to win something too and they'll buy 2 or even 3 times as much. It must be something that's pre programmed into our brains as human beings. We just love the opportunity to win, no matter what it is. The prize could be a bag of horse manure and we'd still wanna see if we could win it.
It's odd how that works. And of course I'm writing this while sipping coffee out of a roll up the rim to win cup, drinking just a bit faster than usual so I can see if I won anything.
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Time to invest
When I moved to Victoria and started my new job at the tv station I thought life was gonna be awesome. And for the most part, it is. I'm making decent money, I have benefits, I work decent hours, work with some decent people, and I live in paradise. If you've been to Victoria BC then you know what I mean. But for every shiny spot there's a shadow. And that shadow is tax season.
The downside is that this place is a little on the pricy side. I've even lucked out with an awesome place to live for a low amount of rent, a great landlord and a wicked location close to work. But still, it costs a lot here. I always try and save money in any way possible, I shop when things I enjoy eating are on sale, I put plastic on the windows in the winter(if you've lived on the prairies you know why), I try and ride my bike or walk when I can, I keep my spending down and stay in on most weekends. And no matter how much you try and get ahead it never seems to be enough. I pay a lot, A LOT, of money towards taxes and yet the government still wants to take more. I guess it's time to start investing and finding ways to screw the government so it's them giving me money and not the other way around.
Who knows, maybe someday I'll be making enough money that I won't even have to worry about this......but that's still a long way's away.
The downside is that this place is a little on the pricy side. I've even lucked out with an awesome place to live for a low amount of rent, a great landlord and a wicked location close to work. But still, it costs a lot here. I always try and save money in any way possible, I shop when things I enjoy eating are on sale, I put plastic on the windows in the winter(if you've lived on the prairies you know why), I try and ride my bike or walk when I can, I keep my spending down and stay in on most weekends. And no matter how much you try and get ahead it never seems to be enough. I pay a lot, A LOT, of money towards taxes and yet the government still wants to take more. I guess it's time to start investing and finding ways to screw the government so it's them giving me money and not the other way around.
Who knows, maybe someday I'll be making enough money that I won't even have to worry about this......but that's still a long way's away.
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Valentine's Day Can Suck It
So it's valentine's day....again.
I always get a kick out of the idea of valentine's day. To me it's a joke. Why bother showing the one you love how much you love them by buying flowers and chocolates? You should be doing that everyday. That's the way I look at it. To me this day is just a made up holiday to drum up sales in the gift card, flower and chocolate industry. As if the chocolate industry needs to sell more shit. I think, looking around at the majority of society, that they've done pretty well already.
I wish that we had a day to celebrate being single. I do it everyday but imagine a day dedicated to being single. There'd be drink specials at the bars for single people, you'd get discounts at stores everywhere, but only if you were single. Dinner for 1? Half price? Sign me up.
Of course this day does offer many opportunities for single people. Heading out to a bar or pub offers many chances to strike up conversations with lonely girls and guys who find this day rather depressing. Hey guys, it's just another day on the calendar. Or course we've been programmed to think of it as something bigger than it really is.
But hey, why not try and capitalize on it anyway?
I always get a kick out of the idea of valentine's day. To me it's a joke. Why bother showing the one you love how much you love them by buying flowers and chocolates? You should be doing that everyday. That's the way I look at it. To me this day is just a made up holiday to drum up sales in the gift card, flower and chocolate industry. As if the chocolate industry needs to sell more shit. I think, looking around at the majority of society, that they've done pretty well already.
I wish that we had a day to celebrate being single. I do it everyday but imagine a day dedicated to being single. There'd be drink specials at the bars for single people, you'd get discounts at stores everywhere, but only if you were single. Dinner for 1? Half price? Sign me up.
Of course this day does offer many opportunities for single people. Heading out to a bar or pub offers many chances to strike up conversations with lonely girls and guys who find this day rather depressing. Hey guys, it's just another day on the calendar. Or course we've been programmed to think of it as something bigger than it really is.
But hey, why not try and capitalize on it anyway?
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Working and Realizing It's Not What You Wanna Do
I know I've touched on this subject a few times already, but it's just so huge. Doing what you love in life is probably one of the most important parts of leading a happy life in my eyes. I think that a large majority of us are in the same boat as me. I do have a pretty sweet gig, I work in a tv station which is what I went to college for, I make decent money, have benefits, work 10 hour days 4 days a week, and yet, I am not happy. I consider myself pretty good at what I do, I can say that for a few people around here, but not everyone. And that's where the problem lies.
I've said this a million times before, it would be nice if you could just walk up to someone and tell them exactly how you feel about them, for example, telling someone at work that they are completely incompetent and can't perform their job duties to save their life. But you can't, because it's not socially accepted. So when you know there's a problem at your job, and you know how to fix it, but you can't, and nobody else will, it becomes an even bigger problem. You're told to let the problem work itself out, or it'll take time, or, just keep your head down and it'll be fine. There's only so long you can do that for before you start asking yourself "is it all really worth the payoff?"
In my mind I'm only here because I want to get out of debt and get a house, or maybe move somewhere else and try something different. I'm about a year away so I have some time to think about it. In the meantime, I'll just keep bashing my head against the wall trying to get things sorted out here.
Why can't people just be professional and do their jobs like they're supposed to?
I've said this a million times before, it would be nice if you could just walk up to someone and tell them exactly how you feel about them, for example, telling someone at work that they are completely incompetent and can't perform their job duties to save their life. But you can't, because it's not socially accepted. So when you know there's a problem at your job, and you know how to fix it, but you can't, and nobody else will, it becomes an even bigger problem. You're told to let the problem work itself out, or it'll take time, or, just keep your head down and it'll be fine. There's only so long you can do that for before you start asking yourself "is it all really worth the payoff?"
In my mind I'm only here because I want to get out of debt and get a house, or maybe move somewhere else and try something different. I'm about a year away so I have some time to think about it. In the meantime, I'll just keep bashing my head against the wall trying to get things sorted out here.
Why can't people just be professional and do their jobs like they're supposed to?
Monday, 6 February 2012
There and back Again!
Well I've been off for almost a month now, and today I'm back at work. It feels weird, it's all the same, almost like I never left. But things are different at the same time. Few new faces, new anchor, practicum students. I can, for sure, say that I'm refreshed, relaxed, in good spirits, which is a huge thing for coming back to work after so much time off.
It's nice to be off for vacation but there's just something about getting back to your daily grind that's strangely comforting and relaxing. You never feel that way before you take time off, it's funny how it feels that way when you get back.
Not much more to write about on this one.
It's nice to be off for vacation but there's just something about getting back to your daily grind that's strangely comforting and relaxing. You never feel that way before you take time off, it's funny how it feels that way when you get back.
Not much more to write about on this one.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
An Adult Visit Home
Haven't blogged in a bit, mainly because I've been relaxing back home on the farm. Visiting some old friends, checking out my old college, seeing what the new crop of kids are coming out with. Throwing out junk at the house, cleaning out the barn, feeding horses, moving wood from 200 yards away from the house into the garage, painting floors in the basement, you know, all that stuff that parents get you doing when you come home for a vacation. I can honestly say I don't mind any of it, I sit in a control room for a living, very sedentary, so to do all this stuff makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something.
It's nice to be able to get back and see people you haven't seen, and hear their stories about where they are now. Friends are getting married, buying houses, moving up in their jobs, having kids, some are doing the same thing and are totally cool with that. I am to, I like to think I'm going somewhere but sometimes being in a spot for a while feels pretty good. I have a lot on the go coming up this fall, and lots to do until then, but right now, I kinda miss my comfy couch back in my home in Victoria, I'm missing the routine of my life, I'm missing my room, my tv, my PS3, the balmy winter weather, the ocean, having a spot for all my clothes, putting food in my own fridge.
It's not far off, 2 more days then I'm flying home to the shire as my friend Chris calls it. I'm gonna miss this place but as you get older you sorta start missing your home town less and less, and missing your current home more and more. . It's a weird feeling sometimes.
It's nice to be able to get back and see people you haven't seen, and hear their stories about where they are now. Friends are getting married, buying houses, moving up in their jobs, having kids, some are doing the same thing and are totally cool with that. I am to, I like to think I'm going somewhere but sometimes being in a spot for a while feels pretty good. I have a lot on the go coming up this fall, and lots to do until then, but right now, I kinda miss my comfy couch back in my home in Victoria, I'm missing the routine of my life, I'm missing my room, my tv, my PS3, the balmy winter weather, the ocean, having a spot for all my clothes, putting food in my own fridge.
It's not far off, 2 more days then I'm flying home to the shire as my friend Chris calls it. I'm gonna miss this place but as you get older you sorta start missing your home town less and less, and missing your current home more and more. . It's a weird feeling sometimes.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Sickness and insomnia...
I woke up yesterday at around 11am, did one of those kind of go back to sleep kind of don't things for about another hour before I got out of bed. It was day 3 of tonsilitis so I thought it was time for some antibiotics to get rid of this damn thing. So last night I got into work mode and started writing an ebook, yes an actual ebook, about fitness. I decided to hop into bed around midnight to get a good sleep for the workday. Well turns out, that wasn't in the cards. At 1am I realized I couldn't sleep so I decided to do some reading, 20 minutes later I tried to sleep again......no dice. So I had a bath at 2am, 25 minutes later I tried to sleep again.....no dice. So at 3am I popped on an episode of dexter and started to watch thinking I'd fall asleep soundly halfway through......no dice. At 4am I decided to pick the book back up and read some more, 430am tried to sleep again.......no....wait for it......dice. What the hell? So for the next hour and a half I tossed and turned but to no avail, and at 6am I decided to hit the couch and pop on a movie and try it there........NO GODDAMN DICE!!! At 730am I made tea and breakfast and thought to myself, "well, I'm up, might as well stay up until I decide to nap". Oh did I mention that my tonsilitis is still lingering just enough to cause me nothing but problems? Well it is. So here I am, 436pm and I'm still wide awake.
I sure hope I can sleep tonight because I can't miss another day of work.....maybe I'll read up on insomnia.....maybe I'll try Nyquil.
It's true what Edward Norton said in Fight Club, when you're in this state, it's hard to know if you're really awake, or sleeping. I feel like I've spent the entire day in a daze, not knowing if I napped for a few minutes or just dazed off. Even as I sit here typing I can feel my eyelids dropping a little bit, feelings of tiredness wash over me periodically, but my brain is just messing with me. It's saying "hey, you should go lay back down and sleep a little....seriously, it'll be great". Then when I go to lay down it says "AHAAAA, GOTCHA BITCH!!!".
Damn I just want a power nap right now.
I sure hope I can sleep tonight because I can't miss another day of work.....maybe I'll read up on insomnia.....maybe I'll try Nyquil.
It's true what Edward Norton said in Fight Club, when you're in this state, it's hard to know if you're really awake, or sleeping. I feel like I've spent the entire day in a daze, not knowing if I napped for a few minutes or just dazed off. Even as I sit here typing I can feel my eyelids dropping a little bit, feelings of tiredness wash over me periodically, but my brain is just messing with me. It's saying "hey, you should go lay back down and sleep a little....seriously, it'll be great". Then when I go to lay down it says "AHAAAA, GOTCHA BITCH!!!".
Damn I just want a power nap right now.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!!!
Well out here on the soggy Island I call home we, more often then not, get a lot of rain. We lucked out this year so far, November and December are usually soaked and cold and dreary, but not this year. However with a new year in motion, the rain has come back with a vengeance. I'm usually pretty resilient when it comes to dealing with crappy weather, I've lived in Manitoba and Alberta, dealt with copius amounts of snow and wind, hailstorms, close calls with tornadoes, but man, this rain sucks. And when you add high wind to the mix, it's just no fun.
I'm finding it tough to get outside to do anything when it's like this, at least I have a PS3 with some wicked games to keep me occupied but that only lasts so long. I need sunshine. I know it'll go away soon and I'm keeping an optimistic outlook on it, maybe I'll just have to buy some rubber boots and rain pants and take up puddle jumping. I think I might just have to throw on some crappy clothes, bust out the mountain bike and find some mud this weekend.....after snowboarding of course. That is the one good thing about all this precipitation, it's turning into snow somewhere.
I'm finding it tough to get outside to do anything when it's like this, at least I have a PS3 with some wicked games to keep me occupied but that only lasts so long. I need sunshine. I know it'll go away soon and I'm keeping an optimistic outlook on it, maybe I'll just have to buy some rubber boots and rain pants and take up puddle jumping. I think I might just have to throw on some crappy clothes, bust out the mountain bike and find some mud this weekend.....after snowboarding of course. That is the one good thing about all this precipitation, it's turning into snow somewhere.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
They found a cure for obesity?.......(sigh)
As a person who tries to live life in the most healthy of ways I always have to roll my eyes when I hear things like this. Today at work we ran a news story that says scientists and researchers think that they've found a cure for obesity in humans.....seriously? A cure for obesity?
What is wrong with soceity when? Not only are researchers and governments wasting money on research like this, but people actually believe this crap.
Here are a few simple "cures" for obesity...
-Put down the damn fork
-Eat healthy food, not McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza and Subway
-Get out and go for a damn walk, park the car and walk to work, if you can't, then get out for 20 to 30 minutes during your day and go for a walk
-Join a gym
-Sit on the floor instead of the couch a few nights a week
-Turn off the tv and go outside on a day off
There's a million ways to fight obesity, if you're sitting in front of your computer at work then google it, the only reason that you're overweight is because you're too lazy to do anything about it. If it's a glandular problem, then go to a doctor and find out a way to fix it. There's no excuse for being obese, so quit making excuses.
What is wrong with soceity when? Not only are researchers and governments wasting money on research like this, but people actually believe this crap.
Here are a few simple "cures" for obesity...
-Put down the damn fork
-Eat healthy food, not McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza and Subway
-Get out and go for a damn walk, park the car and walk to work, if you can't, then get out for 20 to 30 minutes during your day and go for a walk
-Join a gym
-Sit on the floor instead of the couch a few nights a week
-Turn off the tv and go outside on a day off
There's a million ways to fight obesity, if you're sitting in front of your computer at work then google it, the only reason that you're overweight is because you're too lazy to do anything about it. If it's a glandular problem, then go to a doctor and find out a way to fix it. There's no excuse for being obese, so quit making excuses.
Monday, 2 January 2012
A Brand New Year
Well another year has flown by, and this one seriously flew by. When you get to be almost 30 time seems to go by so much faster than it used to. Back when you're a kid it's funny, you're always wishing time would go by faster so you could grow up and drive a car, drink beer, smoke cigarettes, hang out with the cool kids. Then you get into your teen years and you can't wait for time to fly by so you can be 18 so you can go to the bar, buy your own beer and smokes, pull for your younger friends because their fake ID's didn't work, get a job and make some money. Then you want time to go by faster so you can get into college and learn something sweet so you can go out and make some mad money and buy anything you ever wanted. And all of a sudden you realize that time IS going by fast, and you start to think "holy shit life, SLOW DOWN!!", but it's not, life is in high gear speeding towards the inevitable cliff that is our demise. So what do you do on this ride called life? Well there's a million ways to answer that question.
I, myself, am working towards a goal I've set for myself a little less than a year ago. If you know me then you know what it is, others I'll just let you guess, but that's just one thing I'm doing. I'm doing a lot of other little things too. For instance, I'm sitting here sipping on a green tea, making a conscious effort to ween myself off of my coffee addiction and switch to something healthy. I'm also cutting down on my extra cirricular smoking, both tobacco and non tobacco products, because I only have one brain and set of lungs and they both needed a much deserved break. I'm upping my fitness regiment slightly and altering some of what I do to adapt to my aging temple I call a body, I've always said, your body is a temple, keep it in tip top shape and decorate the shit out of it. And if you know me, you know I like to keep mine colorful.
So many people take the passing of time as a bad thing and more often then not stay with what they know. They keep doing the same job because it's what they know, they start to let their dreams and aspirations fall to the wayside because they think that they're unattainable, they let themselves go physically, drink more, smoke more, eat unhealthy food just because it's what they know. I know so many people like this, they're sayers, not doers. Start being a doer. (I know that isn't grammatically correct but I don't care!!)
We've all heard of the old new year's resolution and most people make one and never stick to it. Don't look at it as a new year's resolution, look at it as a life resolution, make an effort to get out and be healthy, try and learn something new every week if not everyday, eat something different once or twice a week, you never know, you might find that you've always loved indian food, you just never knew it. Get a tattoo, learn to surf, break out of your shell, buy a mountain bike, take an acting class, read a new genre of book, do something out of your comfort zone.
So life may be going by faster than it has before and the pedal is down on the highway to the end, but you know what? I'm behind the wheel, I'm in control, and I'm going for one hell of a joyride with the stereo up, the top down and my sunglasses on. Enjoy life while you still have it, why would you wanna do anything else?
I, myself, am working towards a goal I've set for myself a little less than a year ago. If you know me then you know what it is, others I'll just let you guess, but that's just one thing I'm doing. I'm doing a lot of other little things too. For instance, I'm sitting here sipping on a green tea, making a conscious effort to ween myself off of my coffee addiction and switch to something healthy. I'm also cutting down on my extra cirricular smoking, both tobacco and non tobacco products, because I only have one brain and set of lungs and they both needed a much deserved break. I'm upping my fitness regiment slightly and altering some of what I do to adapt to my aging temple I call a body, I've always said, your body is a temple, keep it in tip top shape and decorate the shit out of it. And if you know me, you know I like to keep mine colorful.
So many people take the passing of time as a bad thing and more often then not stay with what they know. They keep doing the same job because it's what they know, they start to let their dreams and aspirations fall to the wayside because they think that they're unattainable, they let themselves go physically, drink more, smoke more, eat unhealthy food just because it's what they know. I know so many people like this, they're sayers, not doers. Start being a doer. (I know that isn't grammatically correct but I don't care!!)
We've all heard of the old new year's resolution and most people make one and never stick to it. Don't look at it as a new year's resolution, look at it as a life resolution, make an effort to get out and be healthy, try and learn something new every week if not everyday, eat something different once or twice a week, you never know, you might find that you've always loved indian food, you just never knew it. Get a tattoo, learn to surf, break out of your shell, buy a mountain bike, take an acting class, read a new genre of book, do something out of your comfort zone.
So life may be going by faster than it has before and the pedal is down on the highway to the end, but you know what? I'm behind the wheel, I'm in control, and I'm going for one hell of a joyride with the stereo up, the top down and my sunglasses on. Enjoy life while you still have it, why would you wanna do anything else?
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