The BAD Penny

A few years ago I was working at a company that was in close proximity to a lot of places nearby in malls to choose from to eat out for lunch. Most days when the weather was nice my co-worker Josie & I would walk somewhere for lunch or to go shopping. We had a whole hour to kill so it beat walking around the building 15 times for exercise.

This one particular day we were cutting across a parking lot when I spotted a nice shiny penny on the ground. Yes I was one of those people that stopped to pick up money off the ground, even pennies. We both made a dive for it and she beat me to it.
The next morning Josie came into my office with tears in her eyes, slapped the penny on my desk and told me I could have it. So much for good luck, she said. She found out her husband was cheating on her with his secretary.
Later that afternoon I was called into my manager’s office and was told that due to a shortage of work my contract was being terminated. This kind of caught me off guard because the job I was assigned to was not quite finished and I almost always picked up when things were slowing down in the work department. I just didn’t see a slow down coming up any time soon, so I couldn’t believe my ears. I dug the penny out of my pocket and marched over to Josie’s cubicle. I told her the bad news that I was no longer employed as of Friday. At that point I threw the penny in her trash bin.
Right then her manager came in to her office because he wondered why I looked so upset. I told him I was just given my walking papers and he was as surprised as I was. At that moment he saw the penny in the trash and picked it out. We both gasped and told him to leave it be. It was a BAD penny, but his remark was that it was just a penny and he put it in his pocket. We tried to warn him but he just chuckled and said he was off to have a chat with my manager about my termination. We both shrugged our shoulders and said “he was warned”
The next morning Josie came to my office and told me that her manager, Bob was not in. We both said at the same time “The BAD Penny”
About an hour later there was a notice posted on the board that Bob’s father had passed away in the night.

From that moment on we both vowed to never pick up another penny, ever. Since then a penny on the ground would stop me in my tracks and remind me of that day. At least until a couple of weeks ago…

…..I parked my car in the garage and walked down the driveway to the mailbox. There on the ground was a brand new shiny penny. For some strange reason it didn’t stop me in my tracks. It didn’t remind me of the BAD penny at all. I promptly picked it up and put it in my pocket. Not till I pulled it out of my pocket once I was standing in my dining room did I realize what I had done. I had picked up a penny. What to do. Do I put it back on the driveway where I found it? Do I keep it?
The penny has been sitting on the edge of the kitchen table for almost two weeks now, reminding me every time I look at it of what to do. This too is a “BAD Penny” I just realized today that bad things have been creeping into my life in the past two weeks. Coincidence? Maybe, but my dad’s health is at stake here. I guess this makes me superstitious. Can I put it somewhere that a certain person will find it and they can unknowingly deal with it? Problem is I would have to drive in my car to dispose of it. Does this make me an evil person. So be it…can I drive with it in my car?

I’ll let you know…….

CATcheeeeeeewwww!

I hate having a cold. It started on Monday with a scratchy throat. By Wednesday I had a fever and I felt like there was a vice on my head. When I woke up Thursday I decided enough of this and called in sick. This is not something I do very often. In fact I have not used a sick day in over a year. I think I mostly needed a mental health day more than anything. I get 4 weeks vacation every year and I still need to use last years weeks up. This is so unlike me not to go to sunny Mexico once, if not twice a year just to kick back and get in some scuba diving and only worry about what SPF strength sunscreen I should use.
I already have tentative plans to leave for Mexico next week but now guilt is starting to take over in a big way. My father in-law is having surgery for an aneurysm on Monday so I promised myself I could not leave until I knew he was going to be ok. On Wednesday I got a phone call from my mom telling me my father is not doing well. His health has been steadily declining the last few months and she is afraid he is not going to last very much longer. I am so frustrated. I can’t go to visit my parents with this nasty cold for fear of passing it on to them. I would really hate it if my dad got my cold and it finished him off. I would never be able to forgive myself.
Do I get on the plane and go get some R & R and have this giant guilt cloud hanging over me for the entire trip or do I wait? Till when…..next year?
Personally I feel I’m being rather selfish for wanting to escape my regular life for a while, but on the other hand most of the people that know me well keep telling me that I need to do something for me for a change. This is where frustration sets in big time and I’m starting to get quite stressed about it all. And how do I tell my boss yet again that my vacation plans have been put on hold. I’m glad he is such an understanding person and can look beyond my temporary bouts of insanity. I mean how many bosses let you take a Friday afternoon off to go take photographs of the Tundra swans as they pass through town on their migration path north?

…..Mine does.

Cats Have Night Vision

We were invited out last evening to a friends place for a birthday get together. It was a spur of the moment decision to go since my man forgot to tell me about the party till the last minute. I actually didn’t have any other details about it till about 4 hours before we were to leave for the party. When we arrived at our destination my man was a bit confused because our friends place was in total darkness. I reminded him that it was around 8pm and it was “Earth Day” so maybe they were entertaining in the dark. The deal was to turn off your power for 1 hour between 8 and 9 pm. My assumption was correct and they were indeed observing "Earth Hour". The door opened and Cory invited us into the shadows of their new home. Well actually there were a few candles softly lighting the way. There was just enough light to identify where people were standing and we could recognize people by their voices. Pouring drinks by candlelight was not too difficult but nibbling on the assorted finger foods turned into a fun challenge. I think the nicest surprise I tasted was a thin sort of spongy damp strip of something that was light coloured on one end and sort of black on the other half. It turned out to be a pineapple spear dipped in dark chocolate. It was actually a lot of fun tasting food you couldn’t really see. It’s really quite amazing how much your eyes become accustom to the lack of light, so when it was decided that the lights were to be turned back on sometime shortly after 9 pm it was quite offending to the eyes for the first few moments. I would have been quite happy to leave things as they were because I had been suffering from a headache for most of the day, but then I really did want to see the host and hostess’ new condo. After all it was our first time being there so it was nice to see the place with the lights on after wondering what colour the walls were for almost an hour.

I can hardly wait to try this again …..

Getting to know you MEME

I have never been tagged to do one of these in a blog before. I have no one to pass it along to as the only blog posted on my page is the person that sent this to me in the first place.This meme has 20 questions and the answers will involve either a list of 3 things or a revelation about the last time something happened. I hope you enjoy it.

What are your top 3 favorite foods?
Grilled cheese, Thai food & anything with lots of onions.

What was the last book you read and would you recommend it?
The last book I read was from Readers Digest. I was 3 condensed books by Pearl Buck. The Good Earth, Imperial Woman, and The New China. I enjoyed reading them very much and would recomend for sure but may be hard to find. It was published back in 1985.
What are your top 3 favorite places?
The Yucatan in Mexico, Thialand & underwater with the fish.
What was the last lie you told?
I told a friend I was too tired to visit them, I wasn’t really I was being lazy. I didn't want to go out in the bitter cold of the night.
What are your favorite 3 sports (to watch or participate in)?
I love to play and watch baseball. like to watch figure skating and football.
What was the last movie you watched and would you recommend it?
Lost In Translation. I love this movie but I think it's because I can totally relate to it from my time living & working in Japan.
List 3 things you can see outside of the nearest window.
Old dirty snow, the neighbors cat and a morning dove perched above the cat!
Where was the last place you went? To Canadian Tire for some brake fluid for my car. I hope it will satisfy its thirst and make the red light go out on my dash.
What are your top 3 favorite “good causes” or charities?
My favorite is the local food share program for the poor. I give to various charities throughout the year, MS, Breast Cancer. Tha'ts 3 but there are more...
What was the last thing you did for someone else?
I got my sisters computer fixed for her. She couldn't afford to get it repaired right now so I called in a favor to the IT guy at work.
Name 3 places you have never been that you want to visit.
The great Pyramids in Egypt, Greece and the Grand Canyon.
What was the last thing you threw in the garbage/recycling?
Egg shells.
Name 3 things on your bedside table.
My clock radio, a small stuffed cat and a lamp.
Describe or name the last piece of art you looked at.
One of my best friends pieces. She has her own abstract style and she only paints what she feels for the person that requests a painting. Very.... nice but specific so may not appeal to some. Her husband says he just doesn't get it.
What are the top 3 things that your job requires you to think about?
I'm a Systems Designer so I guess that would depend on the project. Rght now I'm dealing with conveyor systems for a blast furnace (Steel making) so requires me to think numbers...numbers....and more numbers...
What was the last musical or theatrical event that you attended?
Does going to Statford on the Avon where the Shakespearean Festival is to take photographs of the grounds and wildlife count?
What are the first 3 things you would do if you won the lottery?
I would invest the money so I can enjoy the interest from it, then I would take a month off, go somewhere tropical to ponder what to do for the rest of my life. Then I would go home and have someone else finish all the renovations half done in the house.
Describe or name the last serious injury or illness you had?
I took a tumble down the basemant stairs a couple of months ago and really banged up my shoulder & elbow. I should have had an xray. Oh well too late now.
What are the top 3 things that you wish you could do?
I wish I could retire and live comfortably 6 months out of the year in Mexico right now. I wish I could take better photos especially of people. I wish I could lose 10 more pounds!
What was the last thing that someone said to you that you will remember forever?One of my best friends said I was like the sister she never had.

Refrigerator Poems

A couple of years a go I bought these silly little word magnets in a box. The whole idea behind these tiny jumbles of words was to place them on the refrigerator and then attempt to create poetry from the hundreds of random words. My only rule was that if the word was being used on the right side door you couldn't steal/borrow any words already used in a poem. You only had the words on the left door to draw from.
The last few weeks I have noticed on occasion when I've gone to the refrigerator for a particular food something was not always the way they should have been. Like the time I took out an onion and realised it was kind of frozen. Then the other noticeable food item was the ice cream mush. Next time I took out the ice cream I could barely get a spoon into it. Now you might be thinking if you know me that I just put the ice cream in the frig and stored the onion in the freezer, but I assure you this was not the case. There are also some really strange noises coming from the kitchen at times lately. So much so that they make me go in the kitchen just to find out what it is exactly. You guessed it, the refrigerator. I figure any time now we will have to go appliance shopping and drop some major coin on a new one. I really was hoping not to have to buy a new one till we remodelled the kitchen, which by the way is almost 2 years over due according to our renovation schedule.
Back to the words. I decided tonight to remove all the tiny magnets and place them back in the container they came in. I want to be ahead of the game if and when the frig does die. I thought I would post my poems from the frig here before they are forever lost in the box with the rest of their word buddies.

Spring is a garden
In summer smell the rain.
Worship a fall sun
For the winter will never end.

White flood like waters
pounded up from a windy sea,
And wet me.

Her storm like stare could ache for a sweet chocolate death.
The power of her dream
Yet produces a cool sweaty scream
Still, she sleeps.

A whispering misty moon
Felt like a symphony of music,
Only the moment was gone.

I frantically swim to an elaborate iron ship
And then by car
Would be an easy road trip.

Essential is language.
I think,
I read,
I need,
I see a vision.
I ask, is this a gift of man?
No, it is of a friend.

Friday Lunch with the Guys

Every Friday my co-workers & I try to go out for lunch. The question starts sometime after 10am. Where does everyone want to go...Dim Sum...Indian Buffet...Thai....? Today we all decided on Mediterranean Food. So we snuck out of the office a bit before noon because we knew that if we didn't...
1. We may have a hard time finding a parking spot....and...
2. The restaurant gets really busy, especially on a Friday.

We get out to the parking lot and all of us pile into the Peter bus. This is the name we called Peter's old van. When he finally bought his new Toyota Matrix we continued to call it the Peter bus. You see he's the only one that can fit all 5 of us in 1 vehicle. Most others either have really small cars or they have baby seats to contend with.

Anybody familiar with the city I work in knows the downtown is mostly made up of one way streets. This wouldn't be so bad except today Peter made a bad choice. When we got to the first main intersection we could see that the train barriers were down and a train was slowly making its way through. So Peter turned right which was a good thing because we were turning onto a one way street and a right turn at least had us going in the correct direction. Then he does a left and this was where he made a bad choice. Instead of going straight through he turned left again. Now we are on another one way street and we are going the right way. The problem is the train. We now are stuck watching this train painfully crawling by. We can't back up or turn around, so we are stuck. Waiting.....

I look over to my right and there is a huge park. "So is this bus a four wheel drive?" I ask. Peter wants to know why I want to know this. I pointed to the park and told him if he could just get over the first snowbank we could cut over to the next street which by the way has an overpass over the tracks.

Well now it's open season on Peter while we wait for the 100 plus rail cars to pass. The guys start giving him a hard time about how he never cleans his car. They picked things up off the floor in the back seat and tried to identify the the brewing science projects and would then chuck it over their shoulders into the rear compartment. Lets see... hmmm.... plastic container with some mystery leftovers in it. Chuck. A spoon. Chuck. Empty water bottles and full, half frozen ones. Chuck... chuck... chuck....

Then they find the beef jerky package. Now, I might add that this beef jerky package was first discovered about 6 weeks ago on a similar road trip on a Friday afternoon. The package in question turned out to be that very same one. Ewwww! We all remembered Peter telling us back then NOT to open it. He had placed a banana peel in it a few days before and said he hadn't got around to throwing it out yet. So the guys are now holding it up for inspection to see what, if anything, was growing within. Ewwww! miniature composter. Then I heard a thud as it bounced off the back window. I told Peter as a matter of fact that bananas give off gases as they decompose and if it explodes in his car he will be invaded by the largest fruit fly infestation known to mankind. I made this up but Peter is just so gullible. By now the train is stopped and it looks like it might start going back from where it just came from. Holey moley so much for leaving a bit early. We have been waiting for what seemed like an eternity already. We continue to poke fun at Peter pointing out that his new car has not yet lost it's new car smell.The train finally got far enough down the tracks and the barriers go up.

We get to the next corner and end up in the same discussion as the last few Fridays. You see there is this billboard we pass by, and at first we thought it was a joke. It's a bright yellow ad for a brand new cereal. Diamond Shreddies So of course by now we have all seen the commercial on national television, so the joke really was on us. Let the comments begin. Great marketing strategy. No it's not...yes it is... just think of how many people will run out and buy Shreddies now thinking it's something new. No they won't...will too.... not...will too...uh huh....

When we got back to the office after lunch I was walking up the stairs when Peter took me aside and in a quiet whisper asked me if fruit flies came from maggots....told you he was gullible.....

It's snowing Cats & Dogs!

Well so much for Wiarton Willie's predictions. If he knows what's good for him he will stay in his burrow and not show his white furry little face for a while.

I heard there is a lynch mob looking for him as I type. The storm started last evening and it's only getting worse at the day goes on. They say it's supposed to snow for about 36 hours. How many hours? Thunder & lightning too? They are forecasting 35 to 50cm (14 to 20 inches) with drifting & whiteouts.

Well enough of that. Who is "They" any ways......
Due to my weather woes I have been diligently checking online for a decent price to fly to Mexico. If I had my way I would be there already, but you see, I have this thing called a job/career to consider. I have already suggested to the company that we need to open an office in Cancun. Not happening. Ok well I can work from home right? What's the difference I ask....do you care where I live? Pleeeeeeease? Quit your grovelling, get off your knees and let go of my ankle...... Not happening.

Ok so back to my online search. I want to stretch this trip out as long as I can so I figure if I leave on oh..... say a Friday and come back on a Sunday I could get a 17 day vacation out of all of this. Now if I can just get the boss to OK it on Monday, I'll book it before he has a chance to change his mind. I will explain to him.....I have people to see.... places to go... photos to take... margaritas to drink....

.......he will have to understand after all, I let him go on his 17 day cruise last month!

Cats Prefer Rain Over Snow Any Day

At least this one does at the moment. Today was really mild, causing a major meltdown everywhere I was trying to walk. Could this mean that spring is on its way? I mean after all it's been 4 weeks already since those 6 robins descended into my magnolia tree. I can't remember seeing that many robins all together at the same time so early in the year. Maybe Wiarton Willie really does know his stuff. After all he promised an early spring. Willie is the Canadian version of Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog for those of you south of the 49th.

At this time of the year the rain helps to wash away some of the winter grey that seems to have dusted everything outside including my car.

I can hardly wait for the spring flowers to start poking through the ground, even if they still may have to fight to get through the crusty leftover snow.

This Cat sees in almost black & White

I call it Almost Black & White Photography.

Lately I've noticed a trend in the way my final prints seem to always end up. I guess you could sort of say this is turning out to be my trademark in photography of sorts.

I photograph what pleases me when it comes to my photos, unless of course it's for a client. Then it goes without saying that the customer has the last say. I think what pleases me the most is the fact that almost all of my work is done for the pleasure of the person that is given the photographs in the end. After all it is still my hobby at this point and one I am growing to love more each day.

I was staying with a friend in Cozumel about 3 years ago and noticed this cat that kept hanging around our door. Not for our company but for the chance to salivate over the pigeon that seemed to always be perched just out of her reach on an A/C unit nearby. She was a very beautiful Tabby Point Siamese with only one thing in mind.....that darned pigeon.

Cats do NOT always land on their feet!

About a month ago I fell down the basement stairs. Now at the time I was not worried that I really hurt myself. Being a Sunday morning I wasn't about to go spend the day sitting in the emergency room when I was quite sure that nothing was broken.

Well it's been a month now and I hate to admit that it was a dumb ass move not to bother to get checked out at least by my family doctor. At the time I somehow landed on my elbow. This morning I was still noticing that I can barely hold the weight of my coffee and needed 2 hands to lift the mug.

I got to wondering if the technicolor bruise on my left butt cheek was still visible and to my surprise it was, but faint. (no photo available) I wouldn't want to scare any children or small animals in the room.

You see I really am a bit of a clutz....have been most of my life. Falling down stairs is my specialty as it started even before I was born. My mom told me she fell down the basement stairs when she was 8 months pregnant with me and was pretty banged up. She was so afraid for me inside her, but was assured by the doctor that all was fine within. My whole life growing up whenever I did some dumb move that involved self inflicted injury my mother always joked that it was because of the fall down the stairs. After awhile I started telling her that yes indeed I did bump my head pretty hard on her ribs and that's why I am the way I am today.

I was staying with my parents a few years ago while waiting for the closing on a house I had purchased. The closings between the sale of my old one and my move in date left a gap of a couple of weeks. I don't recall where I was actually going one evening as I walked out the front door of my parents home with a bottle of wine in hand and did a header down the 5 concrete steps. I guess I must have screamed because my father came rushing outside and found me sprawled out on the sidewalk all dazed and confused. He asked me what happened, as if he didn't know. I told him the bottle of wine fell down the stairs.....with me still holding on to it. I vividly remember seeing the green glass of the bottle as it bounced off the sidewalk and my chin landing full force on the side of a very good vintage. Figuring now I was going to need major plastic surgery to put my face back together I had to laugh out loud which only confused my dad. I proudly held up the bottle and exclaimed that I saved it. Somehow, miraculously, the wine bottle was still intact as was my face except for a huge egg forming swiftly on my chin.

It seems there are numerous occasions that I have bobsledded on my butt down a set of stairs, too many to mention in fact. I'm only talking about sober encounters....you should see what I can do to injure myself after a few open bottles of wine.

...... I recall a fall off a mountain bike in Cozumel Mexico...... Another time...please....

Here goes nothing!

Well I finally broke down and created my very own blog. Ya.... ok, so I'm a slow starter, but at least I now have one. I'm further along with this than my website that I registered 2 years ago. More on that later.
So, what to blog about..... rants, bitching, amusing experiences or all of the above. All of the above, I think at least for now.

I'm still in my comfy pink flannels and it's now 4pm. WHO CARES! as long as no one rings the doorbell, my secret is safe from the rest of the world . After all, who in their right mind would be reading this anyways, right? and if you are reading this then you are most certainly not going to be ringing my doorbell any time in the next few hours.

I really should be preparing some photographs for submission to the local camera club that I belong to, or at least something to post here as a test shot. By the way, my photo at the top of my blog is a panoramic shot of my hometown here in southern Ontario. I took a total of about 9 shots and then worked some magic in CS3 and came up with this as the finished product.

Focus..... I need to focus.....