Toronto the Green

Well, it's trying to get there more on the environmental side, but I will say, one very nice thing about Toronto is all the trees. Lots and lots of trees. I had my camera at work last week for other reasons, and snapped this shot from my office window. It's a shot from partway across the city looking toward down town. Second shot is zoomed in a bit more towards downtown.

Lots of trees.

Time and a Mind

It's neat how things can sometimes freeze in time in ones mind. Little snapshots one forgets, then something brings them back and one remembers. I watched my son and his band play in a "Battle of the Bands" type of thing in a Night Club in Whitby this evening. Unfortunately they were the last band to play, and didn't hit the stage until after 1, so the crowd had really, really thinned out. From crowd to just more of a gathering. Watching him play images of him as a just a very young lad with his guitar occasionally popped into my head. When he first got a guitar. Songs played for parents and grandparents. Little pieces of original creations he made for school projects. Him there on stage no longer little and with a guitar. Images snapped in different slices in time all stored in my mind and visible to me all simultaneously, one image superimposed over the next.

The show? Well, his band has a pretty heavy sound. Not perhaps the kind of singing I like, but they did sound good together. It was loud, the whole evening. My ears are still ringing....

Perspective

I was out kayaking again tonight. Last time of the season I think. It was a great night. Late September, out on the water in a T-shirt (and life jacket), on a windy night (very choppy water) and not cold at all. Even the water is still warm. We headed out across the lake from Harbourfront over to the island. It's almost surreal, the difference a tiny bit of distance can make. Across very choppy water on a paddle that took a bit of effort, then into the shelter of the waterways within the island, to the absolute tranquility of some of the bird sanctuaries there. From there, just a little bit away, you'd never know there was a big city with a choppy lake in between. It's calm, quiet, and ever so peaceful.

We usually take a short breather in the bird sanctuary. It's almost like a lagoon. Lots of little nooks and crannies you can poke your kayak down into. Lots of birds to look at. A wonderful spot to sit on a beautiful fall evening. It's here and at the BBQ after wards that you meet the most people, as it's easy to strike up a conversation while just drifting around. (it's also a great place to rib your friend a bit as she needed a tow across the harbour again! Learn to paddle!) This evening, I was just sitting, taking in the beginning of the sunset, thinking of how peaceful that place was, and started thinking how great it is to have shelter like this in life. Shelter for the storms in life that sometimes surround us, even if it is only brief. After all, just like in life, after a bit of time in the shelter it's off across the chop of the lake back to harbour front in the kayak.

I was also thinking of how lucky I am, in the general scheme of things. There I was, after work, peacefully kayaking around the inner waterways of an island. After wards a hamburg and some conversation, followed by an uneventful ride home on the subway. Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, people struggle. People fear. People starve. Wars wage. Even in this country, people struggle, fight with each other, fight with themselves.

I know I can't complain and I know I have it quite good. Sometimes it's just good to realize it. Perspective.

Ripples

I liked the story about ripples in a pond in Marja's last post. You can read her post here: Asking Questions and Living consciously.

If you think about it, everything we do causes some ripples. Maybe just small ripples that soon disappear, maybe large longer lasting ripples. Like stones cast in a pond. I've seen similar stories before, and of course, they are easy to identify with. Little reminders to think about what you are doing and why. Great advice in the story - if you get some little unpleasant ripples going in your life - catch that bigger stone before it hits the water. Don't amplify those ripples or make more, instead change your behavior. It leads to a happier life.

What the story doesn't talk about are the good ripples. The ripples when your positive attitude or actions ripple out an cause good effects in the lives of others around you. In those cases, we should toss aside the pebbles and start picking up stones. Increase the positive, stop the negative. There's already enough negative in the world these days.

Here's to positive ripples.

Missing my calling

Sometimes I wonder if I'm not missing my call in life. Not missing it, just not capitalizing on it. I think I should be a question answering entrepreneur. Why? Mostly as I think I look the part. I must. After all, I do find it amusing sometimes how often people ask me how things work? Or questions about a place. Now if it was only people I knew, or people I work with where it's part of my job, I'd understand. No, it's the times it's absolute strangers who ask that make me think I definitely must look like I know. Otherwise, why would they ask such questions? I wish I had kept track of all the questions I’ve been asked over the years that really amused me. From questions as to if there was better produce in the back of the store they will be bringing out soon? (I was shopping for groceries, cart and all, why would they think I’d know?) to the “do you think this thing will connect to my….” in the computers aisle in an electronics store.
I’m only thinking about it as today I think I had the absolute best incidence of this I’ve ever had. Pumping gas into my vehicle at a self serve gas station and the guy on the other side of the pump I’m using is having problems. He reads me the display and asks what I think it means and the conversation goes from there…like this:
Guy: “Hey, the display is telling me I have to pay inside before pumping gas, what does that mean you think?”
Me: “That you first have to go inside to pay cash before they will turn on the pump”
Guy: “I don’t want to go inside”
Me: “Then pay with a card at the pump”
Guy: “Oh, I hate paying with a card, they spy on you with the camera as you enter your pin”
Guy: “ Is this a policy just at this store or is it company wide thing?”
Me: “I don’t really know…”

Why me? I don’t know, but it does keep me amused.

Kayaking

Just a couple pics from kayaking around Toronto Island. Only a few days of summer left!

Happy

I know I haven't blogged much lately. Perhaps when the weather changes I will blog again with a bit greater frequency. Mostly I haven't blogged too much as I've been busy doing other things. What other things? Well, living life mostly. My life. That and it's been summer. I love summer. Spring and fall too.

I've had a blast since moving into Toronto. Not that there wasn't much to do in Oshawa, but, well, it was pretty limited. Since moving here I've done a lot of things and have met a lot of people. It's been a busy summer. Activities with my daughters and my son in the infrequent moment he's had to spare. Camping, kayaking, hiking, biking, street festivals. Patios and a cottage. Road trips and weekends away with lots of fun and little sleep. I haven't even been able to fit everything in. I must be getting old ;)

I've really have enjoyed the summer. I've been happy. Happy doing whatever. Happy with myself. Happy and living in the moment. Happy just being me. After two very quiet, introspective years, I think that's just where I was trying to end up. Happy just being me. Everything behind me. Everything in front of me. Just happy.

Storms, Sunsets, Moon & Stars

What an absolutely gorgeous evening! Driving back to Toronto after dropping off my daughters I was driving back into a very beautiful sunset.. It was a rainy day here, and the last bit of rain caught me a couple of times on the drive home. Behind those last storm clouds set the sun in a cloudless sky. When I got back to my apartment I walked out to the park by my place and watched the last bit of the sunset. The violets, oranges, reads and yellows pale as the 1/2 moon brightened and planets appeared. I watched the bast skimming over the trees until they either danced no more, or it was just too dark to see them, as stars slowly popped into the sky. Storm clouds moved on and forgotten, no clouds remaining. 16 Celsius, no wind, and an absolutely beautiful evening.

Play Checkers!

I was thinking about the world a bit last night while watching my daughters interact with it. Both plugged into computers. One worried as MSN wouldn't work for a bit and could I fix that? Now?

This morning, watching my youngest again chatting away with various friends online, I thought I'd ask some questions. I started by pointing out how when I was little, there were no computers. There was no Internet, no MSN. Moved on to the lack of cell phones or Blackberries. In the end, I asked her if she knew that. She didn't. I then asked the question of what it was we must have done to pass the time when I was little, in lieu of all these technologies.

After a little thought, I got my answer:

"I dunno know. Play checkers?"

There you have it. My entire youth reduced to checker games in my daughters mind.

In the spirit of my youth, I'll have to subject her to a few games this afternoon.

...just for old times sake

By Design?

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/09/05/outbreak-plant.html

There was what I will call a small outbreak of listeriosis in Canada. The press has been all over it, lots of hype, even a little fear, and a myriad of overblown comments like "What will mothers send their children to school with for lunch, as they can't send cold cuts???"" (for the record, there are still lots of cold cuts on the market from other suppliers and local shops..not even a shortage here...reporting the news...guess reporting is a thing of the past...making the news...that's what sells...not to mention all the other lunch options even if there were no cold cuts...) I'm not worrying about it, well this outbreak, specifically, as it was acted on, the food recalled (recalled long after I would have eaten it anyway, but it does stop further cases and is a good step to take). Unfortunately, there were 13 deaths in Canada from it. It doesn't have me watching what I eat, but it does have me thinking.

First, to put it in perspective. I'm not trying to minimize 13 deaths, but in the general scheme of things, it's 13 deaths out of 237900 or so deaths that occur each year in Canada. Yes, the outcry is that they were "preventable" The processes in place should be so they don't happen. I think that's just perspective on our part. There are around 3000 fatalities from automobile accidents each year in Canada. Around 32% of all deaths in Canada are from circulatory problems (around 76000 deaths a year). Lots of these are preventable, but we've just grow used to those number and accept them without questioning them. Should we? If we are upset by the number 13, then we should be absolutely outraged by the others.

In the end though, things like this outbreak are really by design. At some level, we all need to admit that there are a lot of nasty bacteria in the world and they are very, very small. Sometimes, somewhere, a bunch of them will get through. In this bigger is better world, with large, centralized food processing facilities, with processing lines and lots of equipment (equipment full of nooks and crannies for bacteria to hang out in)we really do set ourselves up to produce big outbreaks when the bacteria do make it through. Not to mention, that when they do, we can ship them far and wide very quickly...not that some bacteria need help spreading themselves out. Add in cutbacks in government inspections reducing the safety net that's in place to catch this, to make sure things are done by the book, and you have the recipe for...well... an outbreak....

...and that's just what happened...and will again.

I guess the big question is, can it ever be 100% avoided? Is there even a problem, or is this just an isolated incident? I'd like to think so, but I moved from Walkerton just before the water issue happened there, yet, after the dust settled there, similar things have happened elsewhere in Canada, despite all the hot air that escaped from politician promising changes and money to ensure it wouldn't. There's been numerous other food recalls over recent years. Lettuce. Spinach. Watermelons.

Personally, I'll stick with what I do - Wash my veggies well and cook most of my meals myself. Avoid all the overly processed foods. I do it as I get better food from the deal, and I can know about how much sodium and sugar I've ingested, but it does have a side benefit - food that's cleaned and cooked just before I eat it. Not a 100% system either, but definitely better - by design.

Abstract Thoughts on Fate

Last night, just before bed, I was in my bathroom and a little spider was crawling across the bathroom floor. "Sorry bud", I said, "You're just in the wrong place at the wrong time". Then I squished the little guy. That's when the though struck me, as it does from time to time - is there a time when I'll just be in the wrong place? Where some big cosmic finger will just squish me out of existence with a "sorry bud but..."

That, my friends, is fate. No matter what we do, what we try, we can attempt to influence our lives, the things in play around us, yet at the same time, so much is up to fate. Certain things we can control. Try to control. Think we control. For instance, we can operate our motor vehicle in a manner to best ensure we maintain control of it and can react to the actions of others. Yet at the same time, we can't control all others, or avoid every single possible situation. Thus, each time we drive, the outcome is assumed, but in reality, unknown. Assumed, as usually, so often, it works out that when we get in our vehicle to drive from point A to point B, we safely arrive at point B, that we just expect it to be so. Fate and circumstances, however, do dictate otherwise from time to time.

So there you have it, to accept your fate is to??? Accept that one day you will die, and although in some cases it appears one knows what it is that will kill them, that is, of course, just assumed to be so, but circumstances and life may dictate something different. Makes it really hard to accept ones fate. Right now, I'm thinking I should accept my fate, as it's inevitable I must, I just don't know what it is I'm accepting. Fighting even, if by not accepting it I'm fighting for something different.

But, in the end, all one can do is accept one's fate. All I know about my fate is that I will live, then eventually die. I'll accept that, and make the most of the living part. In reality, isn't that all any of us really know, and isn't it all any of us can really do? Live while alive and not worry about fate in the end. Fate's unavoidable, otherwise it wouldn't be fate ;) Live life.