Sailing

This is how I'm supposed to start my Saturday morning!  Well not quite in the same fashion as The Lonely Island Boys and T-Pain but still out on the water with the wind in the sails and some good company.  I've never actually been sailing but it's one of those inexplicable things I've harboured a fascination for over the past decade or so.  Maybe because of all the time I've spent on the water, a sailboat is the only type of boat I haven't been on yet...

At any rate, hopefully the weather will be nice and I'll have a chance to work on my non-existent tan - the hazards of working indoors all day!  Here's one last thing for you all today...my favourite Mark Twain quote

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover."

This probably has something to do with why I have a soft spot for all things sailing.  Happy Saturday everyone!

Weekend Off

Amazingly it's Friday once again and surprisingly enough, I'm not working this weekend!  So instead of being too busy working to post, I'm going to be too busy enjoying myself to post =)  In an attempt to actually relax over the next few days, I'll be steering clear of my online duties, but I've scheduled some weekend posts for anyone that needs something to read.  Have a great weekend everyone!

One Week

What is a week?  It's a length of time that can be broken down in a number of different ways:

7 Days
168 Hours
10.080 Minutes
604,800 Seconds

The last time I wrote about the measure of a week (February 2010), I was questioning what you would do if you knew you only had one left.  I suppose, considering what happened a week ago, I could pose the question, what if that riot was the last event that took place in Vancouver before it disappeared a la Pompeii?

It's been a week since Vancouver came undone at the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals and there has been no shortage of coverage outlining the reasons for the destruction, heroism, backlash, and sense of community that came from one night.

Rioters have come forward, police have laid charges, and the debates over public opinion, mob mentality, possible punishments, and the use of social media to aid the investigation, have raged on local, national, and international levels.  We are a city, united by our desire to see things set right, but divided in our approach to take to get there.  While there is strong support for the public to hold riot participants accountable, it is a fine line to walk. 

I believe that the authorities should use footage and photos taken by witnesses as a tool in their investigative process but I am against those same photos and videos being used to publicly attack not only the individual involved, but their families, friends, and any organization they are associated with.  I think those who have turned themselves in, should have done so before their faces were plastered all over the Internet but that they do deserve some margin of credit for coming forth and issuing public apologies (even though some of them should have quit while they were ahead - actually, the first apology was re-written after the public found it to be insincere and almost argumentative as she outlined all the possible reasons mob mentality is a valid excuse). 

One thing is for sure - most of us are committed to never letting this happen again and trying to show the world what Vancouver is really about.  I've got faith that the silver lining of this whole mess is that Vancouver is coming back better than ever.

Coffee vs. Chai

I gave up coffee for Lent way back in March. Once Easter hit, my third stop off the day was Starbucks. In an attempt to be more frugal, I tried to stick with the cheaper tea options and didn't really have a pressing need to consume my regular pepermint white mocha. As the Canucks headed into overtime in game seven of the opening round against Chicago, I swore to the hockey gods that I would give up coffee for the rest of the playoffs if we could make it past the Hawks. Then Alex Burrows scored the goal that slayed the dragon and my playoff fate was sealed. Now that the playoffs are finished, I'm finding myself still choosing chai over coffee. Could this be a case of PSCPLD (Post Stanley Cup Playoff Loss Depression)? Quite possibly! Can you tell I'm distracted and couldn't think of anything substantial to write about tonight? Of course the lack of working Internet on my laptop didn't help tonight as I'm stuck typing this out on my iPhone so apologies for any typos I don't catch. Fingers crossed I come back tomorrow with something you guys would actually want to read!

Weight of the Words

Have you ever wondered which words you use the most?  I know this is a strange question that most people will answer 'no' to, but it's one of the challenges you face as a writer.  Wordle is a site that will create a word cloud of text that you provide and highlights the words you use most frequently.  I input the blog today and this is what Wordle spat out:

Needless to say, I was a bit shocked and slightly embarrassed at what words were the most used even AFTER I selected the option to remove the common English words.  Naturally, this got me thinking about how certain words carry more meaning than others.  From the way "I'm sorry" becomes insincere after hearing it from the same person multiple times in a short time span to the many facets of the word love, I've learned my lesson about choosing words carefully.

We use words to love, hurt, hide, and laugh - to express ourselves by shouting them from rooftops or scribbled on scraps of paper.  Whenever I have a moment that leaves me grasping for words I know that it's a moment that is changing my life.  Even though I always have something to say on here, the fact that you're out there reading them, means more than I could ever express with words alone so thank you for changing and challenging me every day.

Sad Secrets

I saw this tweet today and couldn't help but feel a bit down after realizing just how true both of these statements.  The first was written in response to a previous tweet about how so many of the secrets received by Postsecret are sad.  The reason the second tweet struck a chord is that while painful and sad memories don't ever really fade, they aren't what I focus on when I look back on what I've gone through.  I love thinking back on all the great things that have happened to me, especially when I start feeling down about whatever happens to be going on.  Maybe I'm biased because I've recently had my outlook adjusted to a more positive light.

One of the benefits of writing ever day is that I don't really have the luxury of hiding my feelings anymore.  I like to think I write best when I let my emotions and thoughts take over (to a point) and try not to force it in a particular direction.  Hopefully you all agree =)

On the Inside

I was searching for a past note to use in place of writing a new one and I found one that is a good example of how little things change sometimes even when it feels like nothing is the same as it used to be.  This is from the MySpace days of Disney, way back on December 1st, 2006.

Anyone who really knows me realizes that I am a walking contradiction.  I can be brash and bold one moment, and shy and quite the next.  It's always a constant struggle to find a balance between all the different personalities I have.  I may seem calm, cool, and collected on the outside, but on the inside, I'm pretty much a mess...the equivalent of a 5 car pile-up.  Florida has been great in that it has allowed me to be a fun loving good and not worry about what anyone really thinks since it's only for a year.  It's shown me that I can find a balance, and it's not as hard as I used to think.  So here's to crying, screaming, rolling our eyes, and best of all, laughing on the inside.

Apparently that balance is something I didn't really leave behind when I left Orlando.  Plus, the internal mess is mostly cleaned up with only the occasional fender-bender to deal with.  I can still by an emotional enigma from time to time, but I'm getting used to wearing my heart and mind on my sleeve and am pleasantly surprised that people seem to like what they see.