Just another day at the park

Just another day at the park - well that's where I was headed anyway.  It was Tuesday of the March Break and I had just finished my chores for the day and decided to head out of the house and long board with my cousins to the park to play some ultimate frisbee.  The thing about this day though was that it was the first ride of the season so, I hadn't exactly checked my bearings, truth is I didn't even think about it. I was just happy I was wearing shorts and it was March Break.  Well I don't always make the smartest decisions, that's nothing I shy away from telling people.  And since it was the first ride of the season I decided to take a different route than we usually would have taken since YOLO right?  Well this new route was a hill.  But it was no ordinary hill, see this hill was a hill don't be mistaken but it just didn't turn into a flat grade, it gradually got flat.  So what did this mean, well if you know anything about physics or riding long boards, you get faster as you go down the hill not fast then slow like most hills, this is fast and faster.  Being the leader of the wolf pack, I also decided to go first down the hill.  Well, if you have been paying attention, or good at reading between the lines what happens next ain't so pretty.  You guessed it, I began to speed wobble, which is the closest thing to living on the edge, literally and figuratively.  And you see I'm also not the smartest man, but I sure do know what love is - yes I just quoted Forest Gump.  I decided not to wear a helmet because why not, it was a nice day, and I'm a teenager.  And like any smart person, I was very close to having a seat with the big guy upstairs if things didn't go well.  So, I decided to jump off because I knew if a car turned onto the main road, I would be toasted.  And off I went, tumbling and turning.  It was a garage sale.  I was lucky enough not to hit my head and crawl away only with a broken ankle because I know things could have turned out much worse.  Moral of the story, if you finish your chores early don't leave the house and go hunting for a death wish, take it easy it's the March Break, you're not suppose to be doing those kinds of things at least until exams are coming around.

Got any idea?

It frustrates me sometimes when I see simple ideas making millions of dollars.  I just say to myself, how did I not come up with that?  Literally you say to yourself, how could that person possibly come up with that idea and not myself.  I use the same thing everyday but I guess this person just realized that using the same everyday could be easier and that's exactly what they did.  See like a couple days ago, I saw one of my friends on Facebook post something about a new way to build roads.  Basically, it was like one of those dance games you would play and you would have to hit the square that lit up on the screen with the one on the floor.  Smart idea really because now everything on the road could be seen.  When a deer is on the road, when a person is on the street, street lines wouldn't have to be painted.  The list went on and on why this new approach to building roads would be beneficial.  And I had come up with something similar way back when.  I live near McMaster University and there is one crosswalk that students cross all the time but in the dark it can be nearly impossible to see them.  So I thought to myself wouldn't it be cool if I could come up with something that when students crossed the road a light on the street would brighten up so you could tell something was crossing the road, whether that was a student or some other foreign creature.  I thought about it and basically shut down my own idea because of all the bad things about it.  For one, it would be extremely expensive to do this.  There was no cheap way of installing this concept.  Second was due to our location.  We live in Canada where there is snow.  What would happen when 2 feet of snow would fall on this sensors.  People wouldn't be able to see them, it just didn't seem realistic.  And now I see my idea being put to action years later.  Now of course they are faced with more challenges and have come up with more concepts of how to use the technology, but the fact that I know people are thinking alike gives me a confidence booster because I know sometime down the road one of my billion dollar ideas will come true.

Pram

Prom, maybe the most stressful part of high school, or a close first to say the least.  It's a ripple effect is what it is.  Once that first guy asks that first girl, it seems every week someone seems to asking someone else.  So your left to wonder, what if, what if?  For many guys, it's really who just the quickest to act.  Not every guy has 10 lady friends he is close enough with that he is really able to ask, so you really do have to be quick on your feet.  But at the same time, however, you also have to focus on school and make sure that your mid-term marks are good enough that can get your into your choice of school if you haven't already been accepted like many others including myself.  Really it's just strategy or at least that's how I like to look at it.  See grade 12 is broken up into 4 different parts.  First half of semester 1 is getting back into things and realizing that hey, I'm in grade 12 now, I can now act like those grade 12's did when I was back in grade 9.  The second half of semester 1 is all about making sure you finish all those assignments you've been procrastinating to finish because of the close approaching winter break.  Semester 2, is this real life?  It feels like yesterday when I walked through the halls on my first day, and now I'm here - 5 short months away from graduating.  This is where you have to batten down the hatches and live under a rock for half of which because you have to ensure you have good enough mid-terms marks.  Let's face it, after mid-terms we have pretty much graduated.  Your marks have been sent to school and now all you have to do is wait, and make sure you maintain a certain average if you want to make sure you can stay in your program or maintain a high average so you can get that extra dough from the university when they do accept you.  And then there's the final stretch.  Now that you are finished with school you can focus on prom.  The most stressful part of high school because you want to ask that girl you have been talking to since the first day of high school in Chemistry class.  And you better move quick, because I'm sure you're not the only one thinking of the same strategy.  So what's next?  Well you have until the end of June really to ask a girl, but you have only so much time to ask the girl you want to ask.  So get off that couch and do something with your life as the guy from that Everest College commercials tells you.  In my case, I have a standard to live up to.  Last year I helped out my cousin ask his prom date in a way like no other.  My older brother and two cousins choreographed a , lip synced a song from the Jonas Brothers, and performed it in a jam packed St. Mary foyer.  It was truly one for the books.  So for me, I know none of my friends will do anything even close to that, so I'm in alone.  Only time will tell I suppose what will happen.  The only thing I can do is think and be creative how to ask that girl I first saw in Chemistry class.

Joining the Sisterhood

I am a dishwasher at a Convent.  Say what?  Yes, that's the place where Sisters live.  That's usually what I tend to tell people when they ask where I work.  It's been almost a year now since I have started and it wasn't long ago when a cook and I were talking about the Sisters.  Now you have to realize one thing, there aren't many Sisters left and one thing for sure is that women entering the work force don't have joining the Sisterhood at the top of their list.  So, the cook and I continued to talk.  Side note, she has been working as a cook for over 15 years.  The topic of the chat was how long the Convent would last for.  It's an enormous property to fill and there just aren't enough Sisters to fill it.  I said give it another 15 years or so and this place will just spot empty.  The cook said 25 years.  To amazement I wondered why.  I mean yeah sure, we maybe have 20-25 Sisters come for dinner and there are max. 50 Sisters who live there but, 25 years that had just seemed to short.  In reply she had said well yes, most of them are older (early 60's - late 70's) but they just don't want to leave this planet just yet.  A lot of the Sisters are in good shape.  They do activities by themselves, they stay active but, that alone can't add on another 10 years or so to your life.  And you'd be surprised what joining the Sisterhood can do for you.  She used an example, she pointed to one Sister and said guess how old she is.  Having a grandmother who is of similar "looks" I said mid 80's.  The cook said add 10 years, and you got yourself a deal.  Mid 90's this one was.  I was in disbelief.  The cook had explained that the dyed hair doesn't help in narrowing down the age but, had pointed out something something rather you wouldn't think of.  See when joining the Sisterhood, or at least that's what I like to call it, you have everything looked after.  There isn't much you have to look after.  And that's the main thing.  There's no stress in their lives.  Now back then while teaching or nursing, it was probably stressful, but aside from that it was pretty easy going - say your prayers morning and evening and you got yourself a spot beside the big man upstairs.  And I agree with the cook when she says that they live so long because they haven't a had a very hard life, no children to worry about, not to worry about paying bills or making sure food will be on the table.  The Church takes good care of you.  So if you're wondering about adding a couple of years to your life, it's never to late to join the Brotherhood or Sisterhood.  **This message was brought to you by the Catholic Church**.  I'm just joking around, but hey someone has got to do some advertising or else, they won't be a Convent in the future who knows!

Uber

Chicago is one of the lucky 290 cities to have adpoted Uber.  If you are unaware of Uber, it is essentially a taxi that you order and pay with your smartphone.  Only members can order an Uber that can be as small as a Prius or as big as a Denali.  All you do is order the size of car you want, within minutes your Uber will pick you up and then your credit card is billed.  My brother uses it almost all the time to get to point A to point B.  It's cheaper than owning a car and actually using a taxi.  Uber is the future or at least that's what the goal is, taking an Uber to be cheaper than owning a car.  Uber is so successful that it revenues in its 50 countries are growing exponentially every year.  The average number of weekly trips was around 150, 000 in 2014 and has a weekly user-base of 70, 000 in Chicago.  Imagine what it would be like in San Fran or NYC.  And to become an Uber driver is much easier and cheaper than a taxi driver.  For example, medallions in NYC can go for $1 MILLION each.  For an Uber driver, you just have to certify with their process which is much less strenuous.  So, if you're ever looking for a summer job or job in general consider becoming an Uber driver, since there is now talk that Hamilton might be the next to adopt Uber.  And that's a serious statement, Uber drivers make on average $80, 000 a year compared to the taxi driver who makes $30, 000.  Mind blowing really.

This Weather Doe

Don't get me wrong, I love winter.  Skiing, hockey, the snow covered trees.  I don't fully understand why people don't like it.  Pretty sure it's the cold weather that leads everyone to being in a grumpy mood but, hey that's Canada for you.  But I will also admit that enough is enough.  I was in Chicago visiting my brother over the March Break and the weather couldn't have been better.  Last time I had visited him was back before the Christmas break with my siblings, this time was with my parents.  Even though I maybe didn't have as much fun, no let's get that straight, even though I didn't have as much fun with my 4 other older siblings, the weather made up for it.  One day it was a high of 25 with clear skis and nothing but the sun.  I was wearing shorts.  And to come back to this weather is just depressing.  I want to get going with my summer sports like ultimate frisbee, tennis and golf.  I can now understand how my brother can live in California.  My brother and two of my close cousins who we have grown up with closely, visited him last year after we finished exams.  We all pretty much had a full week of break until second semester classes were going to start up.  We were wearing shorts there too.  And back in grade 9.  I can still remember the feeling.  I had broken my ankle the Tuesday of the March Break and had been hospitalized for a week.  Coming out of the hospital was literally like I had been reborn.  After a week of no showering, the stench is pretty unbearable but, when I came out of that hospital and there was sun and a nice breeze, it couldn't get much better than that, excluding the fact I had a broken ankle and was high on T4's.  Just knowing what it feels like to take a break from the cold weather and wear some summer outfits is nice.  The bad part is when reality hits and you come home to still having to wear a winter coat at the end of March.  Enough is enough, bring on the sunshine and golf tanlines.

Am I Crazy?

After years as a Windows user, I purchased a Macbook Retina 15" a couple of months ago *Note it's a $3000+ laptop that I got for $2000, it was too good of a deal to turn down since I plan to have this beast until I graduate.  After using it for the first couple of weeks, I asked myself why do people buy MacBook Pro retinas, given their outrageous price.  To this day, I can say with confidence that, to me, the price is worth it.  The Retina display is SO MUCH nicer than any other screen I've used.  Looking at it hours a day makes a big difference.  When I switch back to a Windows PC I find myself messing with the brightness/contrast until I realize it's just not going to look like a Retina display.  Most aspects of use are just...better. Not night and day better, but better.  The keyboard is crisp, the multi-touch pad makes lots of little tasks much easier, the OS is, to me, more responsive and intuitive than Windows. And keep in mind I used Windows PCs for years prior to making this switch a couple of months ago.  The battery lasts a good 8-10 hours.  There's certainly more things I could mention, but my main point is that I, and I consider myself pretty frugal, think the Macbook is well worth it. For me.