2010: Begin Again - Random Observations from a Busy Week

Giving you the finger . . . advice

My philosophy occasionally embraces the odd and unusual outlook on life. With that in mind, the following statement should not strike you as being bizarre.

You should look after your fingers when you are young.

Well, you should look after your fingers whatever age you may be, but particularly when you are young. No, I’m not talking about manicures and nail polish! Although a nice manicure is good at any time. I mean take care to prevent damage to your fingers.

Take me for example. I’ve got 10 fingers, just like most people. When I was in my teens and early 20s, I had one damaged when my dog accidentally bit through it. I broke another playing softball. I smashed another when I dropped an irrigation pipe on it while helping my uncle move the system. And I put a drill bit through another while working on my boogie van. Something you may recall if you heard my most recent speech at Toastmasters.

The damage to those fingers started coming back to haunt me early in adulthood. Now I’m 53 and I’m still paying the price for youthful indiscretions. When the temperature plummets to –20C (-4F) and I have to be outside shoveling snow – yet again – the tips of the most severely damaged fingers really feel the cold. By that I mean they practically freeze and become painful while the other fingers are still functioning. I’m assuming blood circulation problems to the extreme ends are to blame. And those problems originated through one of the scenarios outlined above.

So if you ever see me seeming to flip you the bird, chill out! It’s just a frozen fingercicle and not an insult.

Of buffets and bellies

On Saturday my mother-in-law, likely the most wonderful mother-in-law in the world, treated Lynda and I to lunch at a local Chinese restaurant that offers a pretty tasty buffet.

Mixing Chinese food with an ‘all-you-can-eat’ serving concept isn’t always a good thing for me. In fact, I will often fall victim to the ‘eyes-are-bigger-than-the-belly’ phenomenon. Too much food gets loaded on the plate because the visual senses are over-stimulated and chowing it all down becomes a major undertaking.

While taking a breather, I looked around the restaurant. Holy side of beef! Most of the people there were huge! And I don’t mean they were tall.

There were at least four guys there in their late 30s and up with ginormous bellies that sagged down over their belts. Each looked like he’d tip the scales at close to 300 lbs. Each had more food piled up on a single plate than the average person could squeeze onto a serving platter. The guys weren’t alone, but I won’t talk about the women for fear of being branded a sexist!

I don’t mention this to mock or ridicule anyone. For me, it was a moment of self-reflection.

I struggle with food. No, let me take that back. It’s not a struggle at all! I eat more than I should without any problem at all. I imagine there are all sorts of psychological reasons for that. There is an emptiness I am trying to fill. It’s how I deal with stress. That sort of thing.

Of course, it could simply be that I love the stimulation of my sense of taste!

However I wish to rationalize it, the truth is I need to drop about 20lbs. Seeing the outcome of uncontrolled or extremely poor eating habits demonstrated by the bellies at the buffet was like being slapped in the face with a pound of lard.

I can avoid the belt-buckle avalanche by committing to awareness dining. Watch what I take in and stop when full. Don’t let those demanding little taste buds push me around!

West Lethbridge going to the dogs

Our dog Max is about 10 years old now. We got him when he was about 18 months old. We were his third family and while it looked shaky at first, we became is permanent family.

One spring day about 10 months or so after we acquired Max, I had him out at the off-leash area in West Lethbridge’s Popson Park. This area is home to a few prairie rattlesnakes and despite the warning signs I’ve never been fortunate enough to see one there. Owners are warned to watch for them as they can pose a danger to pets.

There should have a been a warning about porcupines! That morning, while running along the river bank, Max was a ways ahead of me when he stopped and suddenly stuck his face into some bushes. He yelped and jumped back with a face full of quills. I rushed him back to the car and quickly drove home.

It was a Sunday. We were also very short of cash. And we didn’t have a regular vet at that point. We called three or four different vet clinics and explained the situation. When we noted that finances were a challenge, our calls for help were quickly shut down. It was beginning to look like someone would have to sit on Max and I’d need to use pliers to rip the quills from his face. Not a pleasant idea.

Then we made one last call. The vet understood. He took Max in, sedated him, removed all of quills and only charged us the costs without a profit for him, or for the fact that is was a Sunday emergency.

He has been our vet every since. When our cat, Digit, had to be put down, the clinic later sent us a card with his paw print and a tuft of his hair. Everyone there signed the card. Our relationship was sealed.

On Saturday I accidentally attended the grand opening of Park Pet Hospital at their new location in West Lethbridge, only a few blocks from where we live! I’d stopped by to make an appointment to have our cat, Maya, spayed. Much to my surprise there were treats and tours as Dr. Patrick Galloway and his staff were celebrating their grand opening.

I hope you pet owners appreciate your vet as much as we do ours. If you don’t have a pet vet yet, I highly recommend you check out Park Pet Hospital. It’s a great bunch of people who really care about your animals friends.

Congratulations to doctors Galloway, Schluchter, Kremeniuk and McLean and all of the staff at Park Pet Hospital. Thanks for relocating to our neighbourhood.

RIP Ripley

Those of you who are Facebook Friends may have seen my photos there of three mice I acquired as pets more than a year ago. Sadly, I had to put of the sisters down early in the past week. Ripley, the brown mouse, lived in the same enclosure as her two sisters. They shared the same home, the same food and same access the wheel and climbing toys. But Ripley gained weight that Thelma and Louise have avoided. She really was a roly-poly little fur ball in the end. I found one morning lying in middle of the cage not moving. I actually thought she was dead. However, when I lifted her up, she shifted in my hand. Not quite dead, but obviously suffering, so I couldn't leave her like that. I humanely ended her suffering. So, RIP Ripley. 

Photos: 1) Me shoveling snow last winter. This winter looks like it'll be the same! 2) Max posing at Nicolas Sheran Park this past spring. 3) Maya sleeping on the arm of the couch during the summer. 4) Ripley on my arm, Thelma and Louise in my hands shortly after they arrived a year ago.

2010: Begin Again - Friends and a Misty Update

Time Keeps on Slipping into the Future

How much time do you spend thinking about the future? Now that I have less time ahead of me than what lies in my past, I think my perspective on the future is evolving. When younger, say in my 20s or 30s, even 40s, it seemed there was all the time in the world. That belief is now pretty much part of the past in which it was formed.

At the risk of sounding like someone’s old grandfather, don’t take what you’ve currently got for granted and it’s never too early to plan for your future. In this case, do as I say and not as I do. I haven’t done a lot of planning for my future . . . and I realized yesterday that technically I’ve only got 12 years to go until retirement! Scary!

As 2010 rolls along and I focus on the idea of ‘begin again,’ much of my reflection has been on a deep, personal level. Last week I shared about realizing I’ve let the riches of friendship slip through my fingers. That’s something I’m working at correcting.

I’ve begun to put together a list of people who have touched my life in some way over the years. Not an easy task, but a real eye-opener! Looking at an address book we use, I was shocked to see so many names that I can’t even recall. I can’t picture faces. I don’t remember the connection. And that’s sad. I suspect many were affiliated with a couple of churches we used to attend. It seems you leave a church and often you leave behind acquaintances.

Those I can’t recall I shall consider lost treasures. They came into my life, enriched a moment and were gone. But there are others whose names stir fond memories. Gems that still shine brightly in my recollections. To these jewels, I have started reaching out. Through social networking I am reconnecting with some wonderful people. And I’m not going to stop there.

Is there such a thing as Providence? Divine Intervention? Law of Attraction? Or is it all coincidence? Whatever you believe, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Remember Desiderata? It certainly unfolded right for me. Just as I’m experiencing the desire to foster stronger friendships, along comes a means that will let me do that in a wonderfully personal and creative way.

I reconnected with a friend I’d been thinking about – Jackie Ulmer. Jackie and I re-established contact after being out of touch for a couple of years. She introduced me to a method she’s been using to strengthen friendships by using a service provided through a company called Send Out Cards. When I found out how easy it was to generate and send personal greetings to others, I felt my wishes crossing paths with a means in either a great coincidence or a benevolent intervention!

Whatever the case, it means I’m going to start going beyond the Internet and back to the personal touch to express how deeply my friends have touched me. For this blessing in my life, I have to thank Jackie.

So, keep an eye on your mailbox. If I’ve got your address, you could be receiving a card from me sometime soon. And if I don’t have your address, well, I might just try to track it down! Yes, you do mean that much to me!

Updates
Spirituality: I’m getting excited about speaking to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship here in Lethbridge on Sunday, Sept. 12. It’s the first celebration together after taking the summer off. The theme is ‘Gathering of the Waters.’ My talk will fall in line with that theme and with the song ‘Imagine,’ being sung by Sarah Russell – my pick!

This is not your traditional church! In fact, I wouldn’t even call our group a church. It’s more a celebration of life with a group that includes people of a wide range of beliefs, but a common interest in improving the here-and-now and not worrying so much about what comes after! If you are interested, we meet at 1904 - 13 Avenue North in Lethbridge. That’s the Nord-Bridge Community Hall. Enter from the south side of the building at the door with the wheelchair ramp. If you want to learn more about the UUF in Lethbridge, let me know and I’ll share what I can.

Health: It may not sound like much, but I’m walking more often. That was easier when I only had Max to deal with. He can set a could pace and is well trained on the leash or off. But now I’ve got Misty, too, for a short while. She’s hardly spent any time outdoors and never on a leash. We’re working on it! But you can see she’s not too keen on walking on grass!

Finances: Being laid off for the summer has been interesting. Fortunately, it’s considered a seasonal layoff and I qualify for EI! Hey, I’ve paid into it for a lot of years; I might as well get something back. Of course, it’s not equal to my salary from the college, but I go back to work on Aug. 30. And there’s a bonus waiting for me on the first pay cheque (that’s ‘check’ for all my friends who speak American). No, it’s not for anything I did. Due to the economy, there are not raises this year, but the Board of Governors has approved a $1,000 bonus to help compensate.

Misty: It was a shivering little frightened dog that came into our home last Wednesday. She was even afraid of little Maya. The tiny kitten puffed herself up, hissed and Misty cowered behind my legs. Now poor Maya may regret that bluff. Misty has settled in and routinely pounces on Maya in an effort to get her to play. She’s twice the size of the kitten and I have to call her off so poor Maya can have some peace. My son’s cat, Freckles, is fine with the big lumbering Max and Maya, but is paranoid about Misty. She stays hidden most of the time. And Max would love to play with Misty, but she’s too nervous around Max. She goes out of her way to avoid him. Some day she’ll learn he’s as big a pussycat as Maya . . . only, well, bigger!

Until next time – live, love and laugh!

Photos: Misty sitting with me at the Nicholas Sheran spray park in Lethbridge. It was her second excursion on a leash. Maya crams her head into my grandson's glass looking to lap up some milk. Sunday was a good day!

Derek (GIC – Guy In Charge)