Category: Opinion

Stress? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Stress…

You guys may recall that I posted a video back in May after my first doze of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. I posted the video in the hopes that it could be of assistance to other Type-1 Diabetics who were considering doing the smart thing and getting vaccinated against the virus. Now, I’m not here to debate the merits of vaccination or to argue about what any individual person’s choice may be. Based on my life and my thoughts on the matter, vaccination was a smart thing for my family and I. I have no regrets.

Without writing out the entire content of the video I posted, I’ll briefly describe what happened after my first dose. I walked into the pharmacy about ten minutes before my scheduled appointment. My blood sugars were relatively normal. Bear in mind, I wear a continuous glucose monitor. I get the injection. Less than an hour later, my blood sugar spike to above 22.0 mmol/L! A couple of important details to point out include the fact that it climbed from a normal range to that level in about an hour and that it happened SO fast that my pump didn’t even register and have time to set off the “High” alarm at 14.0 mmol/L like it’s programmed to. Still with me? Good.

I’m used to having things screw up on me on occasion, so I drank some fluids and slowly bolused and brought my blood down to a normal level before going to sleep. It wasn’t until a week later when I was at the pharmacy filling out one of a bajillion prescriptions, that the pharmacist asked me about any symptoms after receiving the vaccine. I told her I hadn’t suffered any symptoms that I knew of. My blood sugar had spiked, but nothing vaccine-related. She was shocked at the spike and asked me fill out a form for the health authority as she felt it may have been a side effect of the vaccine.

It took a few weeks for the health authority to get back to me, but their determination was that the spike in blood sugars were a result of “stress associated with getting the COVID-19 vaccine.” Wait. What? Are you fuckin’ kidding me? So, I’ve been getting near-constant injections and needles almost since the cradle, I’ve had scores of vaccines and immunizations and I used to work a job where my life was genuinely in peril on more occasions than I can count, and you think getting this particular vaccine “stressed” me out? What a joke! By that definition, why didn’t everything I listed above cause a massive and rapid spike in blood sugars? None of it ever has…

I was pretty pissed off at this response and I made it clear to the caller, who wasn’t a doctor or health professional but simply passing on the information to let me know I was good to get my second dose. I explained that I was in no way stressed about getting the vaccine and that the health authority’s assessment was inaccurate. In fact, besides being a little tired I was quite relaxed and chatting with the pharmacist while getting the vaccine. I explained that I felt that it would be foolish to write this off as something trivial, considering Saskatchewan has somewhere near 100,000 people with Diabetes and it could potentially be dangerous for someone with less control than I have. The caller assured me that everything was documented. Great.

I can just imagine that if I DIDN’T wear a continuous glucose monitor and had as much experience as I do with managing my own blood sugars without an ER visit, the night would have turned out quite differently. I would have easily gone to bed, given that I was sleepy from the extreme high. Without any monitoring, the pump would have continued with nothing more than the base rate of insulin and I could have faced some dire results.

According to article posted by Diabetes UK, “common ingredients in the coronavirus vaccines include sucrose (a type of sugar) and salt.” Well, ain’t that a bitch??? That would have been nice to know. The article carries on by later indicating that the body produces an immune response because of the vaccine. The “body needs energy to produce this immune response, so it may release some extra glucose (sugar). This is what leads to your blood sugar increasing.”

Setting aside the fact that I can’t help but feel that this is something that perhaps I should have been warned about, the combination of existing sucrose in the vaccine (however minute the amount) mixed with my own body’s immune response resulting in the release of glucose into the bloodstream is what resulted in my spike in blood sugars. I would have liked to assume that the health authority should have known this. Unless the immune response is what they meant by being stressed. Who the hell knows?

I attended Coronavirus Vaccine 2: Electric Boogaloo, last Friday and this time I was ready. Extra Gatorade and fluids were available and I watched my blood sugars like a hawk. I’m happy to report no issues, besides the typical crap one feels after getting any immunization. I felt exhausted for a couple of days afterwards, but since I made a point of incorporating my meals around the vaccination, there was no reflexive release of glucose by the liver and my blood sugars stayed consistent. But this just goes a long way towards making it clear that when I complain about how Type-1 Diabetes affects EVERYTHING, I’m not exaggerating. ☯️

It’s All in The Words…

One of the more difficult things about writing, especially on specific topics, is finding reputable sources that ACTUALLY exist. Or even worse, finding quotes that were actually spoken by the person in question. Most of the time, having a photo with words superimposed into it is enough to have people believe that the party in question actually said what’s written. It can make it hard to discern truth from fiction.

The above photo is a good example. Although those words would certainly be spoken by Confucius if he he were around to respond to all the memes and quotes on the internet, I’m reasonably sure that he never uttered them in life. But yet, when I Googled “Confucius” in order to him up, this was the first thing that popped up. Let that sink in for a moment…. World-famous Chines philosopher who was considered one of the wisest sages of this time, and the first piece of information that pops up on a search is “I never said all that shit.” Nice.

I’m a bit cranky this morning, so I’m keeping this short. But if you happen to be searching for information on the internet, make certain to fact-check your sources. My blog is reasonably harmless and loaded with disclaimers that I’m not a doctor or health professional, but even I make sure that I’m only quoting from verified sources AND I provide said sources so that readers can judge for themselves. We may have the world’s information at our fingertips, but that information isn’t always accurate. Tread lightly…☯️

Living In A Plastic World…

If you’ve been reading my posts for long enough, you’ll know that I have something of a love/hate relationship with technology. On the one hand, it provides a significant level of ease and comfort for mundane, everyday things and has significantly helped with my overall condition as it relates to Diabetes. On the other hand, it’s helped to turn society into phone zombies when they’re out in public and armchair warriors and lawyers when they’re in private. The reality is that we’ve become dependent on our technology, with most people finding themselves unable to manage their day-to-day lives without it. and I’m no exception.

If you’re an avid reader, you’ll remember that the past month has seen me visiting the repair shop with my vehicle a number of times. That in and of itself isn’t all that incredible, since most vehicles require SOME repair as they age. The part that made it worth writing was simply the sheer inconvenience and cost involved, with the added comedy of having me get caught walking home in the rain, etc… Well, my vehicle has been running fine since the last repair visit and life decided that I needed a different challenge. So my cell phone decided to act up…

I recently got the new model of the particular cell phone brand I’ve been using for years. For obvious reasons, I won’t say what brand of cel phone or what provider I use. I don’t think I can afford to be sued. But despite not being the biggest fan of technology, I got the newest model when it became clear that I could no longer properly update my current model. Like most people, my wife and I no longer own a landline and being able to reach me throughout the day is an important aspect of life, with two children at home and elderly parents to consider, as well.

Maybe a week or two after I walked away with a brand new cell phone, I lost cell reception. Not like I dropped in bars or it came and went, the phone actually dropped a message indicating I had no SIM card installed. I knew this wasn’t the fact, so I took an hour out of the work day to bring the phone back to the provider, who promptly switched out the card. Reception kicked back in, I was making and receiving calls and all was right with the world. For a couple of weeks. I was sitting home on a Saturday when the very same thing happened, again.

I went back to the provider and explained what was happening and the lady helping me kindly showed me the difference between the current SIM I had inside the phone and the fact they were thought to be a defective batch, and the new one she was about to install, which were apparently tailor-made for my specific phone. Now, most people would have lost their shit and started complaining at this point. I recognize that under the right circumstances and the right mood, I likely would have been cross with the young lady. But the level of service and the time she took in explaining the added details made all the difference.

The new SIM card kicked in and the phone had full bars and seemed to be working properly. The employee warned me that if this happened again, the phone would likely need to be sent off to the manufacturer as it was likely something internal they wouldn’t be able to repair on site. So, what do you think happened? The phone lost signal. Less than a week later. While I was mid-phone call. Nice. It was a Saturday and I found myself spending an hour trying to balance discussing the matter and getting my phone swapped out for a loaner and juggling a restless six-year old who decided he just HAD to come with daddy.

The loaner phone I was provided was a previous version that I had used, which was outdated by many years in terms of updatability. But here’s the thing: the features were familiar and sound, the phone worked properly and with the exception that the older phone lacked enough memory to hold all my music, the phone felt slimmer and smaller than my current new one and worked excellently for phone calls (and for you younger folks, using it for phone calls is the ACTUAL purpose of a cell phone). It got me thinking how much better it would be if these devices were simply made to last as opposed to needing them replaced every few years.

As a child, I used to watch our family vehicle get older and older, never replacing it until the damn thing physically gave out from age and damage. Throughout my entire childhood, my parents have only owned three vehicles, with the first one being there when I was born and the third was still there when I moved away. My mother purchased a new vehicle for herself a few years ago, but this new one makes four. Meanwhile, I’ve purchased/owned seven vehicles (one was my wife’s) in the past ten years! And I can say that these replacements have always been because of some lack of suitability of increased repair work.

I’m not complaining about my current situation. All things considered, I’ve got a working loaner phone and my phone will be returned within the next week or two. As long as it comes back repaired and ready to go to work, there’s no harm no foul. It just gets one thinking about how we seem to live in a world that values replacement over repair, which is not always the best course of action. If material and items were made to last instead of constantly needing replacement, wouldn’t that be so much better for the environment? Wouldn’t that create less stress on society as a whole, since replacing or upgrading belongings wold be a choice instead of a requirement? Food for thought… ☯

Not All Formats Are Created Equal

I started this blog a couple of years ago as a way of sharing knowledge and information about the small variety of topics that I cover. Considering I was home from work and the pandemic kicked into high gear, it was also an easy way to keep my sanity. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and speak with an interesting variety of people, from fellow bloggers to folks who have found my blog by accident and have chosen to follow it. It’s also been an important tool for developing and maintaining my writing skills.

Like many others skills and talents, writing is a kept skill; one that you begin to lose if you don’t use it frequently. In that light, my previous job involved the drafting of reports and required a certain level of writing skill that I wanted to maintain. This was also part of my motivation behind starting a blog. On some occasions, I’ve found myself drawing a blank on what to write about. That’s bound to happen, right? Even though I have a number of great topics to cover and decades of dealing with those topics, there are only so many original posts one can come up with. This is why I’ve occasionally found myself reaching out to friends and associates, asking their opinions on what I should write about.

And that’s an open invitation, to anyone reading this post. If you have questions, comments or ideas related to Buddhism, Martial Arts or Diabetes, throw me a comment. Hell, I’d love to HOST a couple of writers and post on their behalf. But sometimes, the ideas just don’t flow quite as easily as they should. At time of writing this, I’m quickly rounding the corner on almost 900 posts that I’ve published in two years. Not too shabby, from a thought-sharing standpoint. I’ve been having a running contest with myself as to how long I can maintain daily posts without missing a day. This post marks 484 consecutive days of publishing material without missing a day. I don’t NEED to do this, it’s mostly just a bit of fun to see how long I can maintain daily posts.

This has led to a question that has been asked of me on more than one occasion: “Why don’t you write a book?” Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind almost as often as the question has been asked. And don’t think for a second that I don’t have notes and materials compiled that could eventually lead to such a project. The problem is that there is a significant difference between authoring a daily blog and undertaking a such a large-scale project as publishing a book. And large-scale it would be.

Publishing a daily blog is reasonably simple. So long as you have topics that you have some in-depth knowledge of, you can usually manage to put out a post that can be read at people’s convenience. Maybe some will read it, maybe some won’t. A blog isn’t exactly a means of getting rich, although I’ve found some bloggers who try and make their monthly financial commitments through the advertisement revenue of their blogs. If they have the number of followers that allow it, good for them. But my point is that writing and posting a daily blurb about certain aspects of one’s life is a basically simple thing.

Writing an actual book takes years. I know some people who are convinced that if you can sit in front of a keyboard and type for 8 hours a day, they could knock out their life story within a couple of months. Although this holds SOME truth, there are a lot of aspects to publishing a book that most people don’t consider. First, you need to find a publishing company willing to take you on. This usually involves providing sample materials along with an overview synopsis of the book you’re trying to publish. If you’re lucky enough to get past all the rejections and find a publisher willing to help you get your book out, the real work begins.

As you write, you’ll likely be doing so without pay. Unless you’re freakin’ Stephen King, you won’t get a full year’s salary to sit at home and write. You may get a small commission to cover the start of your work, but payment is due upon completion of the work. Much like any other job. And since you’re not getting paid as you go, it can be a lean number of months until you see some green. Then you get to spend months debating, arguing and compromising with an individual who ISN’T writing your book but is put in place to ensure the book has a readable and sellable quality for its intended audience. This is called an editor.

Getting beyond all of those hurdles to get your book out is only the beginning. once your book is ready for release, you need to worry about advertising it, how well it sells and how well it’s received. That can make or break your ability to write as a career. Unless your ultimate goal is to write one book then call it quits. But my limited experience with most publishers is that they’re usually looking at the long-term and want writers to commit to released two or three books. That can be fine, but if your first book flops you may be looking at being cut out and never getting to those subsequent projects.

Last but not least, I guess it’s the overall format. I think we can all agree that my posts have potential to not only be informative but witty and comedic at the same time. I have the benefit of letting my sarcasm and attitude ooze out in certain respects, which can make for some pretty entertaining posts. this is something I may not necessarily be able to pull off, if I wrote an actual book. I’ve been through enough in my life to date that I’m sure there would be enough for me to compile it all in a book. But this begs the important question: Who would really want to read the story of some random Diabetic martial artist’s life? Better to receive it in small, daily doses. I’m easier to digest, this way. ☯

If You Open The Floodgates…

Last night was an enjoyable evening. We had a couple of friends over, barbecued some hamburgers and hot dogs, followed by a haze of beer and cigars around the fire pit. It had a distinct feeling of normalcy to it and it was nice to have friends over “in person” as opposed to always chatting with them over text or social media. It was the perfect evening, other than my clumsiness leading to falling off of a chair and tearing open one of my toes. Let that sink in for a moment: I fell OFF of a chair… not fell out. And why is it always my toes??? I’m Diabetic, damn it! Foot injuries are the worst but any time I hurt myself that involves bleeding, it seems to be the feet. But I digress…

We also got to enjoy a wonderful buffalo chicken dip made by one our friends. The recipe for which should be forthcoming… Right, Tori? RIGHT??? The evening closed out with our friends departing, our children in bed and a quiet ten minutes of putting away chairs and coolers as I reflected on the calm, entertaining aspects of the evening. It had me looking forward to more evenings like this, perhaps with larger groups as the world slowly begins to TRY and return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy. At time of writing this, Saskatchewan is only one day away from initiating their “Phase 3” of the Province’s re-opening plan and removing most if not all of the Province’s restrictions.

With that in mind, I believe that we’re heading into a new level of challenge. Over the past year, It’s been interesting watching the evolution of how people have dealt with the pandemic and the actions they’ve taken. For example, my mother was a die hard advocate against the wearing of a mask, even claiming that her asthma made it impossible for her to wear one to any extent. Now, with conditions being lifted she refuses to go out without one, even when she no longer has to. She was absolutely of the opinion she didn’t need/want the COVID-19 vaccine and refused to get it. But now, she’s gotten her first dose and totally intends on getting her second dose.

People who initially fought against many aspects of the pandemic are now realizing that some steps need to be taken in order to try and nip this thing in the bud; just in time for numbers to reach the desired level to start re-opening everything. But with the floodgates about to be opened, there are a number of things that we will begin to see in different areas. The first issue includes all the variants that have emerged. The second is the wave of “precautions” that different places/businesses will start taking upon themselves to impose.

We’ve already started seeing this trend, with CBC News recently reporting on a local Yoga studio in Regina that will start requiring proof of vaccination from patrons before allowing them access to class. I’ve read a couple of different articles on this very yoga studio, with the comments including a variety of praise and criticism from people who read about it. It raises the question about whether or not this will become the new state of normal, with the world re-opening. Certainly, some methods of travel will start requiring proof of vaccination in order to cross borders and some retail locations may choose to continue to require the wearing of a face mask within their locations or even begin asking for proof of vaccination, as well.

It will lead to an increased rift within our populations, with the folks who have been vaccinated blaming the continued spread of COVID-19 to those who haven’t been and a not-so-silent social division is already beginning to take place. It’s rough waters to navigate and definitely unfortunate, considering how long we’ve all stayed away from one another and disconnected from the world as a whole. It would be nice if the world come together with a united front and share in overcoming this thing that’s plagued us for the past year and half. There are interesting times ahead. And that isn’t always necessarily a good thing. ☯

Anger Isn’t JUST For The Sith…

The title is a Star Wars reference, for my followers who don’t find themselves quite as immersed as I am in science fiction and reading. To frame the reference, the Sith are the antagonists of the Star Wars series. They are the polar opposites (in most respects) to the Jedi and typically use intense emotion and anger as a means of amplifying their powers. The series focuses on the Jedi being the good guys and how anger is a bad thing…. Although I agree that HATE is a bad thing, as is also premised in the series, anger has its place and can even be a useful tool when applied in the proper context.

Let’s start by examining what anger truly is…. Simply defined, it means having strong, intense feelings of annoyance or hostility towards a person or thing that can often result in a violent or negatively-emotional response. This can be caused by something emotionally significant or perhaps something as simple as being cut off in traffic. That aspect that many people tend to lose sight of, is that a feeling of anger isn’t always necessarily related to the immediate instance that we believe prompted the emotion and may be a symptom of something bigger and/or previous. The immediate moment may simply be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back. But I digress…

Anger is an emotion. An normal emotion that everyone experiences throughout the course of their lives. If you’ve ever heard someone say, “I don’t get angry” they’re either lying to you or themselves. Maybe they feel anger but simply have coping mechanisms that allow them to keep from externalizing it. That may be a good thing. It can also be a recipe for disaster, depending on one’s specific ability to handle their anger.

Anger can be a great motivator, especially in fitness circles or in making and accomplishing one’s goals. If you use your anger as a source of fuel, it can help push you beyond what you might have done, otherwise. A good example I can provide is when one is using a punching bag. There’s no arguing the fact that you’ll punch harder and longer on the bag if you’re absolutely fuming about something. This is kind of the scenario I’m referring to.

The other side of the coin is dealing with a level of anger that can result in a violent result. This is something that must avoided, fo the obvious reasons. The punching bag is another great example as it can be a fantastic outlet for venting that angry energy. Meditation can work for some, but i know people who hit that “point of no return” and simply lack the means to control their anger. And that’s an important aspect to discern; the difference between controlling and finding an outlet for one’s anger or trying to suppress it or ignore it. The former can be constructive and healthy. The latter eventually becomes a problem. ☯️

Keeping It Simple…

It dawns on me that I haven’t written a post on something martial arts related in a fair little while, so I thought to myself, “Why not do some venting?” In all seriousness, I’ve had some instances in my personal and professional life where karate was a useful tool and got me out of some sticky spots. The problem with such incidents, is that I can’t necessarily discuss the “professional” ones and the “personal” ones are usually embarrassing. In all honesty, there’s no real way to tell a fight story that doesn’t make you come out sounding as though you either got your ass kicked or you’re bragging about kicking someone else’s ass. I don’t like either scenario, so I’ll simply provide that every fight I’ve ever been involved in was initiated by the other party, was unavoidable and was in the defence of myself or others. With that in mind, here are some thoughts on those fights, the comments that were made and the presumptions people have about martial arts…

For the most part, I don’t discuss my karate training with someone unless I know them and am comfortable with them. You may be asking how I can make that claim, since I’m writing a post that all my followers and anyone who stumbles across my blog can read and recognize that I study karate? Well, it’s a blog about Buddhism and martial arts so, what do you expect? But outside of this digital arena, I don’t go around advertising my skills or training. And in recent years, I’ve even started to avoid wearing anything with my dojo’s insignia’s or logos outside the house. The reason for that is quite simple: there are those who just want to watch the world burn and will seek to challenge someone claiming to be trained in a fighting art. And that’s where this point comes in.to play.

In 2005, I was out with a few friends at a local club. I use the term “club” quite loosely. I’ve been to Halifax and Ottawa and have had the opportunity to experience actual night clubs that are comparable to some of the ones one might see in the movies. But the BAR from my home town that fancied itself as a club was pretty much the only location of its kind for a couple of hours in any direction. So they had the option of taking liberties with how they referred to themselves. Somehow, a dark, poorly-lit space with stained and damp carpeting, coupled with a flat 10-foot by 10-foot space of vinyl tile as a dance floor just doesn’t scream “night club” to me. That location no longer exists, so I can allow myself to be critical. But I digress…

Like most people in the area, it was one of the only locations that a person could go in order to socialize (as much as socialization can happen with loud music playing). But if you wanted an adult beverage mixed with some company, this was the place to go. But when you cram a couple of hundred people into a confined space, load them up with alcohol and loud music, it has the potential to be a recipe for disaster. But, I was in my 20’s, I was single ands I had nowhere else to go on a Saturday night. I had gone out with two of my friends; one who worked with me and one who actually did karate with me. We got some drinks and relaxed by chatting and people watching.

At some point in the evening, my friend and I (the work friend, not the karate friend) were leaning on a section of the bar and chatting, when what I will simply call a “young lady” walked over to us. For some reason that to this day I can’t explain, she started in on me. She accused me of grabbing her backside as I walked past her earlier. My friend and I both laughed until we realized she was totally serious. Not only was this a ridiculous accusation as I’d be the last person to ever do something of that nature, it was also impossible as my friends and I had walked in, bought our drinks and leaned at the bar. The karate friend was off somewhere trying to pick up (a common, albeit unsuccessful hobby of his), but my other friend and I hadn’t moved since we had arrived.

I basically wrote off her comments and told her to leave us alone as all we were trying to do was have a nice evening and that I wasn’t the guy she was looking for. She took offence, claimed it was me while pointing out my clothing (I was wearing a black t-shirt) but walked away. I thought the matter was closed until we noticed her talking to a couple of guys in an agitated manner and pointing at us! Never one to willingly walk into a fight, I told my friend that maybe this would be a one-drink night and that we should vacate the premises. He agreed. I couldn’t find the karate friend, so we headed outside where we could decide what we’d do next (this was before cell phones were a common thing). We decided the best thing would be to wander down the street to the nearest sandwich shop and grab a snack.

As we started walking down the street, the door of the club opened and closed a couple of times. Not an unusual occurrence, but given the situation we had dealt with inside, I cautiously turned and looked over my shoulder. Some may call it coincidence, some would call it providence but I looked over my should just in time to see two guys moving quickly to catch up with us. I turned just in time for the first guy to take a wide hook-punch towards my head. Given the slow, telegraphed nature of his punch, there was plenty of time for me to block and deliver a single punch that staggered my attacker and sent him to the ground, holding his mouth and moaning in pain.

I stood there, shaking out the throbbing pain in my fist and staring at the second guy. I asked him if we were done. He stared in disbelief at his cohort sprawled on the sidewalk, helped him to his feet and returned to the club. My fist was killing me and I was hankering for some ice. My friend appeared to be in shock and hadn’t fully absorbed what had just happened. My karate friend conveniently stepped outside at that point, angry at us for having left without him. We carried on to the sandwich shop.

Once we were there and my work friend finally had his adrenaline dump and was getting some food into his system, he asked me the same question that many if not most people have asked, who have seen something like this happen in real life: “That’s it? I thought you’d do something fancier…”. The important thing to point out is that a threat presented itself, I responded and stopped the threat and then stopped myself.

There’s a common misconception, and I blame cinema and television for this, that someone who practices and studies the martial arts will always do some high-flying, flowery move when using their skills. Martial arts is complicated and convoluted on its face, but its application is intended to be ANYTHING but complicated and fancy. Muscle memory is key, as it allows a practitioner to defend themselves in the moment, without the need for prior preparation or warning. Without that training, the individual in question may have reached me and injured me before I ever had the opportunity to defend myself. Depending on what their end game was, it could have led to more than simple injury.

So here’s what the non-practitioner needs to know about the practical application of martial arts skills:

– It’l Be Quick: Unlike what you see on screen, fights rarely last more than 30 seconds to a couple of minutes. Fighting is exhausting and takes a lot out of you. Even with adrenaline coursing through one’s system, street fights often end with one participant or the other being struck and stopping, or both parties exhausted and breathing hard. Boxer and professional fighters train ad nauseam to be able to last the length of time that they do in the ring. But even they get to take a rest every few minutes;
– It’ll Be Simple: No, I won’t spin around with both my feet flying off the ground, my body won’t be spinning in place and there won’t be a fancy, high-flying technique where I strike my opponent ten times before they have the time to fall to the ground. Defending oneself needs to be a simple and straightforward as possible. There isn’t time to try anything out-of-this-world and attempting to do so will give your opponent the time to harm you;
– It’ll Hurt You As Well: Even if the stars align and you manage to evade the opponent’s attack and deliver some strikes of your own, don’t expect that you’ll walk away without injury. If I take the scenario above as an example, I managed to defend myself and stop the threat against my friend and I. But not without my fist throbbing like a bastard. Even though I punched properly and didn’t sprain my wrist and didn’t have my fingers loose or any of those common mistakes, Knuckles are made of bone. The guy’s face is plated in bone. Bone on bone hurts. No matter the nature of the fight, winning doesn’t mean you’ll be pain and injury-free.

I’ve had a number of people, over the years, ask me about situations like this and wonder why I didn’t do something more substantial or complicated. The important thing to remember is that when defending oneself, all that matters is coming out safe. Not looking good doing it. And that usually requires keeping things quick and simple. Don’t be fooled by everything you see on the television. It looks cool and nice on the big screen, but rarely does this apply to real life in an actual fight situation. ☯️

Get Your Motor Runnin’

I didn’t even know what to categorize this post under. Basically, I flagged it as an “opinion,” but it’s honestly just me ranting about a current, ongoing situation. Maybe I need to create a new category for my posts. Maybe I need to stop digressing so damn much and just get to the point. (Deep, cleansing breath). Focus…. Alright, here we go…

Owning a vehicle is a very particular experience. For most folks, it’s an early sign of freedom. Nothing quite like the feel of getting behind the wheel and driving off to see your friends on a Friday night. Light knows, I certainly couldn’t get enough of driving my car when I was a teenager. granted, my car meant so much to me because I actually purchased my own car when I was sixteen. Not everyone is able to do this and are often relegated to using mom and dad’s car, but it’s fun nonetheless.

As we grow into adulthood, having a vehicle becomes more of a necessity and less of a luxury. And less fun. And costly. Man, is it costly…. I remember that the “fun” aspect started to disappear when I began using my car to drive to college. Then into adulthood, it was about driving to my job or running errands. It became a tool for daily life as opposed to a source of enjoyment (although it still hasn’t stopped me from belting out the tunes and singing along with them as I drive).

Much as it is with many things in modern life, vehicles are no longer made to last for extended periods of time. In fact, many brand new vehicles will be driven off the lot with defects, recalls and faulty parts that will usually need to be serviced within the first little while that one owns the vehicle. But that reality aside, repairs and maintenance can become expensive; sometimes more expensive than the vehicle itself.

You may be asking yourself, why is he bringing this up? Well, I’m glad you asked that question. the easy answer is because it’s my blog and I can write about whatever I want. The more complicated answer is what’s to follow. You see, for the first time in my life I’ve found myself in a position where I’ve been able to completely pay off my vehicle. Maybe not the first time. I purchased my first car for cash. It was a 1986 Toyota Terkel hatchback. horrible fuckin’ car. I loved it. Anyway. Moving on…

Since I recently paid out the loan on my current vehicle, which only happens to be six years old, I was quite happy. In the Maritimes, vehicles tend to die out much sooner than they do out here in the Prairies. This is because the salty sea air tends to play hell on metal. I think the longest I ever recall my parents owning a vehicle was ten years. It was a silver Chevette. My wife and I toyed with the idea of upgrading and purchasing something new. Ultimately, we decided it would be nice to spend the next few years WITHOUT vehicle payments to deal with. But I as I’ve often said, life rarely cares about one’s plans. And things can/will happen to throw a wrench into things (pun fully intended).

Almost to the day that I paid out my vehicle’s loan, I began hearing a strange sound as i drove. If you’ve ever seen Back to the Future, well… start by watching Back to the Future because it’s a great movie. but if you’ve ever seen the movie, you’d remember the familiar whine of the Delorean as it accelerated. That’s kind of what my vehicle sounded like, but off without the cool ability to time travel. It started getting worse as the days followed and it actually started to become difficult to steer. That’s never a god thing, so I brought it in to a local repair shop.

The diagnosis was that the hose leading from the power steering pump was ruptured and I was losing fluid, which is why it was difficult to steer. They replaced the hose, topped up some fluid and I was on my way. I was warned that there may be some residual sound on the days that followed as air bubbles worked their way out of the new hose and out of the pump. Fair enough. I went on my merry way for the next couple of days without a concern. Minus the several hundred dollars in deposits, of course.

A few days later, I started to hear another sound. Although similar to the first one, it had a distinctively different tone. This one was almost metal on metal and there was an odd smell when I’d back into my parking spot. Although a bit difficult to describe, I’d say it was a combination of wet rust and an unclean aquarium. You know the ones, with the overgrowth of algae growing on the glass? Yeah, like that. I contacted the garage and arranged to have my vehicle dropped off for yet another servicing.

This time, it turned out that my break pads and rotors needed to be changed out. The grinding metal sound I was hearing was because one of the rear break pads had worn down enough that it broke up into pieces and were scrambling around in there. No problem, easy fix. At least in theory. Over a thousand dollars later, I’m back on the road and the vehicle sounds fine. Alright. Whew. Expensive and annoying, but it’s done, right? Life laughed at me as it was FAR from done with my vehicle…

My wife had ordered some books from a local bookstore and we decided that she should take a couple of hours for herself and drive out to run a couple of personal errands. I was at home with the two boys, trying to control the torrent of kid-energy flooding my house. I failed, but that isn’t what this post is about. I get a phone call from my wife indicating that she had blown out a tire. On one of the busiest bypass highways in the city. It was basically dinner time, with most auto repair locations closing up shop for the day. My wife and I scrambled and worked together to find her a tow truck to attend her location and a repair shop that wold accept a drop-off. The same location that performed the previous two repairs agreed to have me drop off my vehicle and they would look at it first thing the following morning.

I should likely point out that they had been closed for nearly half an hour when I called. They still answered the phone AND agreed to look at my vehicle despite having their scheduling software shut down and being unable to confirm the following days’ availability. Sometimes, loyalty pays off…. I had to grab a bus to work the following morning but by lunch time, they had replaced the tire and explained that a defect caused a slow leak, which resulted in the sidewall giving out due to the vehicle’s weight and caused the blow out. Alright. I drive off.

A few days later, my car starts making Marty McFly sounds again…. I seriously wish I was kidding, but I can’t make this shit up! I decided to change things up and try a different garage based on a colleague’s recommendation. After explaining what was happening and what the sound was, the thought was that although they had replaced the power steering hose and topped up the fluid, enough air may have gotten into the pump to burn it out. This would be why the issue seems to be resurfacing. As I publish this post, the car is being serviced for that very issue.

Hey, I love my SUV. It’s a great family vehicle and it’s travelled across the country to New Brunswick on two separate trips, carts my boys around and is super handy for errands where I have to pick up large amounts of stuff. Like groceries to feed my two little piggies. But, MAN is vehicle ownership expensive. At some point, you have to wonder if one is better off dealing with the cost of repairs or simply sucking it up and upgrading to a new vehicle. ☯️

Happy Canada Day

July 1st, 1867 marks the date that my country was founded as Canada. Less than a decade after that, Sir John A. McDonald, Prime Minister of Canada would create the North-West Mounted Police. Our country would grow and progress in the century that followed, including some positive and some negative. As with all things in life. There’s been a lot of negative press about our country in recent weeks and I won’t get into any of that, since I think the press, mainstream media and certain groups have done an adequate job of providing the negative side of our country’s history.

No matter what side of the equation you fall on or what aspect of the propaganda you believe, there’s no denying that Canada is the best fucking country in the world. And yes, I’m totally biased because this is MY home and native land. Although there have been dark stains on our history, show me a country where that hasn’t been the case. I could list what each and every modern country did to establish itself. But I’m not here to start I fight. I just felt that today would be a good day to express what my country means to me. Maybe you’ll agree with some of it.

I first learned our country’s national anthem when I was 4 years old. I didn’t need Shazam to tell me what it was and I didn’t have to Google the lyrics. I learned the fucking lyrics myself and was proud of them. I grew up understanding and appreciating the fact that I had liberties and freedoms that brave men like my grandfather left their families to ensure. We have health care and and resources that most countries don’t. We’re viewed as progressive and peaceful.

Our landscape is unlike any other in the world. We have the Arctic Ocean to the North, which touches the top of the world. We have the Pacific Ocean to the West and the Atlantic Ocean to the East. We have the longest existing border with our neighbouring country, in the world. We also have the longest natural sandbar in the world, which is ironically located outside my hometown of Dalhousie, New Brunswick. We have Appalachians, Rockies and the Great Lakes. We have some of the most beautiful landscapes and scenic attractions in the world.

Canada gave birth to the man who created insulin, Sir Frederick Banting. If not for that very fact, I wouldn’t be alive today. Nor would the 463 million people, worldwide. Canada is responsible for the invention of basketball, hockey and Tim Hortons. This country has made more contributions to the world that can be measured. This is what should be recognized today. The rest of the year can be for everything else. But let today be about pride in our country and how far we’ve come. I thought I’d close out this post by sharing a YouTube clip of the CBC end-of-day clip that used to play when I’d fall asleep in front of the television as a child. ☯

New World, Same Complaints…

Maybe I’m beginning to get cynical in my old age. Maybe the weight of constantly hearing people complain about different things that are either petty, old news or should be put on the back burner while the world deals with more important issues such as, oh, I don’t know…. Getting some level of normalcy back in place and work on increasing people’s vaccination and reopening society! But people in general have a tendency to focus their attention on some of the right things, granted at the wrong times.

The world has changed significantly since the first reference to COVID-19 struck my ears. Ironically, I received my first news on the subject from the most unlikely source: my mother. My wife and I don’t have cable television and hold no subscriptions to any publications, per say. So we’re reasonably cut off from mainstream media, short of whatever trickles we get through Facebook or the city website.

In a phone conversation with my mother in late March of 2020, she commented by saying, “Oh, those poor people in China with that awful virus…. And I’ve heard that it’s reached Canada as some people have brought it over through their travels…”. At the time, I thought along the same lines as many others likely have; that it was something isolated, far away and wouldn’t affect my household and I, in any significant way. I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong!

Self-isolation, quarantines and working from home became commonplace. Online shopping for everything from home appliances to commodities and even one’s groceries became the new standard and for a while there, the world came to a standstill and you could hear the silence of nature, even in a city the size of mine. There was some positive to it, from my perspective. The reduced noise and air pollution was nice. And since I’ve always been of the opinion that people should distance themselves from one another while in public, for varying reasons, so I’ve been a big fan of the 6-foot rule.

For a while, a long while, it seemed as though people’s complaints surrounded the pertinent issues. The wearing of masks, sanitizing their hands, not being permitted inside certain locations WITHOUT a mask, the buyout of hand sanitizer and toilet paper…. you know, things that pertained to the pandemic. But as time has passed and the pandemic is showing some signs of potentially lessening, if not coming to an end, people are starting to come out of the woodwork to complain about matters that, as I said earlier, should wait until the world is back to normal or focused on once the important things are dealt with, first.

In most cases, I’m somewhat biased, since my preferred method of “live and let live” has very little room left in today’s day-to-day dynamic, mixed with the immediate access to the world’s information, social media and everyone having a protected opinion and getting offended by everyone and everything. In fact, this is why I won’t even explain what precise situations have me on my rant, this morning. I’m going to satisfy myself with a rant and then go back to “live and let live.”

But as the world starts clawing it’s way back to what the next generation will come to consider “normal,” a few thoughts for your to consider, dear reader. Life moves forward. This is a universal rule, one which applies quite aptly in this instance. There’s no going back and we are meant to LEARN fro past mistakes, not focus on them and make them the focal point of society and force obligations that belonged to those who came before us. It’s important not to forget past mistakes. After all, those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. But as we walk into the dawn of a new world, one in which we overcame the current pandemic, let’s remember to take the opportunity to focus on the future. Good for thought. ☯️