Life in progress

Category Archives: Life


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Kids these days

What does it say about today’s youth when I am surprised and impressed to see a teenager on Facebook use an apostrophe while spelling the contraction for ‘you are’?  It is mind-boggling that it has become so common for kids to get it wrong that when they get it right it’s noteworthy.

I don’t know anymore whether to blame the school system or the cell phone companies. I mean, you’ve got to give the kids their due. When they’re being hassled by their parents to cut down on the text messages, what better way to save space than, for example, to use ‘u’ instead of you?  I’m guilty of it myself  -but only when I’m driving.  Kidding! I don’t text and drive. But the practice of this cell phone ease carried over into everything else is utter laziness. Why don’t they care? Is it just me or is there some amount of dignity in at least trying to do things right?

Maybe it is the schools’ fault. What are they doing to make kids pay attention? I was flabbergasted to find out that the penalty for skipping high school is suspension.  You want to take a day off? Why not take four? Go on, enjoy yourself!

It’ll give u more taim 2 fuck up you’re grammer on Facebook!


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Proof

It is done – my final assignment for the last of the courses I am taking this semester. A few extra grey hairs later and more than a few late nights of agonizing over words and sentences and paragraphs and I can finally breathe again. And blog. Speaking of blogging…

As of this moment (that is before I publish this post) I have had a grand total of three visitors to my blog in the eighteen hours that have passed since midnight. This shows me that in order to have anyone visit my blog I have to visit others and comment on them – two things I have had little time to do these past days.

Proof positive that if you want an active blog you need to be active in the blogging community.

…or you need to put hashtags in front of trending words in your title…


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What’s in a plan

I remember back in high school being asked where I thought I’d be and what I could imagine I’d be doing with my life in the year 2000. There was no way I could have predicted that I’d be living in the province of Quebec by that time but I was. I remember thinking I’ll have 3 kids because that’s what my mother says my hand is telling me – not palm reading exactly but counting the small lines in between the bigger creases in your fist where your baby finger meets your hand. Try it. Is it right? Somehow I doubt it if you’ve got five or more children. But I digress.

My thought for today is that speculation is really useless. Take the bombing in Boston for instance. There, right there, is proof that no one can predict what might happen in the next few seconds, let alone the next 20 years. (Yes, I’m dating myself.)

Having said that, all three of my children were born in the province of Quebec, and yes, they were all born by the end of 2000. But how many things might have happened to change that in the years between?

Do you ever think about what you’ll be doing in 20 years? I suggest you check your fist…

fist


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The more

Contentment. Who has it? Put your hand up if you have everything you want. A new computer? A better place to live, of your own perhaps? A new car? Perhaps a mate? Even more followers on WordPress? Or for someone to acknowledge your brilliant work? Yes, most of us are guilty of wishing for more of that.

With the internet came this wonderful tool for being recognized. Faster, further the more people the better.  And more and more. As a society we’ve become greedier than ever before. Recognition has become the new consumer’s must-have. People are coming out of the woodwork to publish their photography and their art, their stories, and regardless of how good or how bad it is, it’s being consumed by those who want reciprocation.

Will it ever end? Will we drive ourselves into the grave staying up til all hours, sitting on our asses pounding out our work while the blood clots in our veins, eating too much or too little until one day someone finds us with a smoking keyboard… ‘But he did some great work!’ they’ll say. They may appreciate us when we’re dead. Only we died in discontentment, wanting more.

More fiction

 

 

 


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Adventures on my Paper Route – Ice

Ah, the pleasures of living in southern Ontario.  Instead of the forecasted mountain of snow, we’re having an ice storm. Power is intermittent. If it wasn’t so pretty it would be intolerable.

Ice 4 Ice 3 Ice 2

It took a bit of bravery to deliver my papers today. Having to listen for cracking from above and dodging falling branches.

Ice 5

Timber!

Living in an old part of town is pretty, but it’s also pretty dangerous when the ancient behemoths come crashing down.

Ice 7

My backdoor neighbour’s tree

I didn’t expect to post two of my adventures in one week, but today certainly deserves honourable mention.

 


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Bedtime

Why can’t it be bedtime all day?

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Trying not to be noticed

It’s the only time he plays quietly by himself…


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Adventures on my Paper Route – Spring is … bent

Well, the good news is my laptop didn’t get stolen. Right, I should probably start at the beginning.

Upon stepping out my front door this morning with my papers I was pleasantly surprised. Not only has it warmed up a few degrees, the sun was coming out and … YAY! so are the flowers at the front of my house. I went back inside to get my sunglasses and my camera and, newspaper bag over my shoulder, set my glasses down absentmindedly to take a few shots of the new spring blossoms.

Spring

Lovely, yes?

So, both satisfied and happy with myself I stood up and reached into my pocket to find my sunglasses. Not there. Feeling a little sick I looked around my feet. Noth…. what’s that under my foot?  Oh look!

Ouch

Bent sunglasses!

So, cussing along my way, I finished off my paper route, but not without stopping by one of my customers – a dry cleaning business where the TV is always on – to find out that we’re to expect 15cm of snow Thursday and another 10cm on Friday.  That’s a total accumulation of 10″ for my friends who haven’t caught up to the rest of the planet. You know who you are 😉

And then, to top it all off, I arrived home, put the key in the keyhole and…. locked the door. In my giddy glee I forgot to lock the house up.

The good news is… yeah. I have something to blog with.


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Adventures on my Paper Route – The adventure just isn’t

This is more of a rant than anything else. My paper route is becoming an adventure in monotony. Why, you ask?
Take a look at this elm at the front of my house:

DSC00110

what do you see?

Bare branches, right? No leaves. What the hell? It’s April 3rd and I’m still waiting for one day when I’m at least tempted not to put on mukluks, a parka, a hat, my hood, gloves and underneath all that my fur-lined liberty bodice!

So what’s the deal here? And who do I complain to?


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Inspiration

Why is it that the harder you look for inspiration the less likely it is you’ll find it? I think that’s what separates the wanna be writers from the actual writers. ‘Wanna’ just doesn’t cut it.

Today I want to write. Okay yes, I was inspired to write this, but could I come up with an idea for a story? Not a chance.

Distractions don’t help. Which is why I get antsy when I know I have to entertain people – even my kids. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids more than anything. But writing isn’t just a past-time for me, it’s a need. Particularly when I do get inspired by something. But today it’s the worst of both worlds.

I want to wanna…


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A sad state

It astounds me sometimes how holidays have changed for me. As I child I looked upon them with such anticipation – with the same degree of excitement as I see in my youngest son now. He is filled with glee at the thought of hunting for chocolate eggs, even though he won’t eat them. So what has changed? Why am I not able to see life as I did, through the eyes of a child?

I think it’s only because I choose not to. The changes that occur within myself I have the choice to modify. Ah, the disillusionment of adulthood. A sad state of affairs indeed.

I need a glass of wine.