Crocodile Tears

Every once in a while I see a kid who is clearly crying just to be a brat.  I obviously don't have any kids so I can't really comment on child rearing techniques.  All I know is that the methods of yore, i.e. a swift knock to the back side, were quite effective when I was growing up.

Even as adults, there are some people out there who take the bratty cry and transform it into the 'ugly cry.'  These are people who hold nothing back, spouting snot, saliva, and tears for all to see. Since it was a busy day that happens to be slow news-wise, I thought I'd look at what it means to ugly cry.

Urban Dictionary actually has two definitions for today's topic.  Ugly Cry is defined as

a) A type of crying that can feel really good and really bad at the same time.  You know you're doing the ugly cry when you lose COMPLETE CONTROL of all the muscles in your face, start heaving and making awkward sounds (even though you are trying really hard to be silent), and start leaking fluids from every opening on your face from hairline to chin.  By the time you are done, it will look as though you are a homeless person with pink eye who got punched a few times in the face and was hit by a monsoon; this is completely normal.


b) A complete unleash of the beast with regards to crying.  The ugly cry is truly ugly.  If you look in the mirror while doing the ugly cry you're bound to stop crying.  Unless, of course, you don't like the way you look and then that could make you go into a further tortured, ugly cry.

The Ugly Cry is defined as

The kind of thing actors and actresses train for years to defeat.  It involves your eyes getting puffy, red and bloodshot, your nose running off your face, your skin getting blotchy and red, and your facial features bunching up rather unattractively.

Clearly this isn't something James Van Der Beek learned how to do before hitting the small screen with this epic ugly cry.  Seriously...Google search images of 'ugly cry' and you'll see multiple copies of this:



Don't say you weren't warned!

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.

Stand Up Vancouver

As I watched thousands of Canuck fans inside Rogers Arena cheer on Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas, and Milan Lucic each hoist the Stanley Cup last night, I started writing a letter to the Vancouver Canucks to thank them for an amazing season.

From The Vancouver Sun

It's a letter that was never finished as news coverage shifted to the madness unfolding mere blocks away - Georgia Street set ablaze, smoke and tear gas clogging the air, police in riot gear being attacked with whatever people could get their hands on.

It was disgusting and shameful for the city to have all the positives that came from hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics and two months of play off celebrations seemingly wiped out in hours.  We are no longer the home of the current President's Trophy winning team, we are the city that imploded over a lost hockey game.

From The Vancouver Sun

I sat, glued to my TV for hours watching in disbelief as crowds refused to leave and had the audacity to attack the police officers trying to clear the streets.  I waited impatiently to hear that people I knew got home safe.  I went to bed in the early hours of this morning wondering how things managed to spiral out of control so quickly.

Last night was an ugly scene that won't be forgotten easily.  The world spotlight is on Vancouver as people question the why's and how's.  Hopefully they'll also take the time to recognize how the city has responded.

Last night, there were ordinary people who tried to stand up to the crowds.  The Vancouver Police Department, along with officers from other municipalities, firefighters, and EMT's did what they could to contain and disperse the crowds while protecting the rest of the city.

From Facebook

Today, instead of hiding in shame, Vancouver came out to take back the city.  From the hundreds (if not thousands) of volunteers cleaning up the streets to the "Wall of Love" along the Bay's boarded up windows, we are trying to change the story.  Hundreds of people witnessed the theft, violence, and destruction and are in a position to do something about it.  People are flocking to identify rioters via Facebook and Tumblr.  Sure #CanucksRiot is still trending on Twitter, but so is #ThisIsMyVancouver.

June 15th, 2011 is a black mark on the city that will take time to erase.  If today is any indication, Vancouver is up for the challenge.

*There's so much to reference here it's incredible.  Shout outs to Mashable, Vancity Buzz, Vancouver Sun, Globe and Mail, and everyone on Facebook and Twitter trying to hold people accountable for their actions!

Stunned

Apparently when the Canucks were done shaking the hands of the officials and the Boston Bruins on the ice, some people in Vancouver decided that was all the class we were going to see tonight.  I'm posting on the fly again because I've been glued to my television and phone, unable to stop watching the chaos unfolding in the city and waiting to hear that people are getting home safe.  I'll be back tomorrow once I've managed to wrap my head around what's going on tonight...

Hump Day

In an effort to remember my topic for today, I recorded myself talking in the car during the ride home.  The bonus here is two-fold.  One, because of the hands-free law in BC, everyone uses speaker phone or bluetooth headsets in the car so it's no longer strange to look over and see someone talking to no one.  Second, it's really funny to listen to the recording hours after the fact.  Embarrassing moment - at the end of my recording I actually say, "Yes...I like this.  This will be the next post.  Good post everyone."  This was right before I recorded my struggle to stop the recorder on my iPhone since it auto-locked itself then I couldn't find the stop button.  I wasn't sure I'd get this done in time because I was too busy laughing at myself.  Really?  Who did I think I was congratulating when I said, "good post everyone?"  I suppose I can try to blame my slip on today's topic: Hump Day!

Wednesday is Hump Day.  Pretty easy to figure out why (once you pull your head out of the gutter) since it falls in the middle of the week, equal distance from past and future weekends.  In theory, getting over Hump Day means that the rest of the week will fly by as you coast towards the weekend.  Now if this is true, then I would have to say my Hump Day is Thursday.  This is the day when everything has to get done because no one really does much on Friday because they're focused on the weekend.  Thursday is the day I'm busiest because the meeting reminders have to go out, cheques need to be mailed, and most things get wrapped up.

Breaking down the week, Monday is recovery day.  Everyone is still transitioning out of weekend mode and playing catch up.  Yes, I have a lot of emails that have accumulated over the two days I was away, but everyone is busy figuring out where everything is at after the weekend, there isn't really anything new going on. 

Tuesday is a hybrid day.  If needed, you spend part of Tuesday catching up on the Monday overflow and start on new tasks and projects.  Usually, if I am scheduling meetings or other similar tasks, this is the day I receive confirmation of details then send out feelers to find out who is available when. 

Wednesday, being everyone else's hump day, means everyone else is slow to respond and it's an upward battle to get things done.  This is a shame because Wednesday is when I hit my stride.  This is a day I try to run errands out of the office so I don't have to sit there waiting for responses while restraining myself from sending out another email.

Then comes Thursday.  As explained previously, this is the peak of my week and when things generally need to happen quickly.  Like an avalanche crashing down the mountainside, there is no stopping the Thursday work load.

Then you have Friday.  With the weekend in sight, I usually start off with a wrap up on anything outstanding from Thursday.  Then I move on to office admin stuff like filing, expense reports, stock tracking and getting things ready for the following week.  Generally, my boss is out of town or busy with her kids on Friday afternoons so it's never as hectic as the day before.

So there you have it - Hump Day deconstructed.  I know when my Hump is, do you?