Happy Pre-Hallowe'en Eve!

October 29th

It's been a while since my last blog post, but not as long as you might think.
I've been very busy and have even started another blog site.
careerreboot.blogspot.com

You see, September marked the first ever gathering of the Ottawa Career Reboot Group. It's a bi-weekly group that meets at the library on Monday evenings, to share and compare notes on bettering career fulfillment and opportunities. I'll admit that it was my brain child, and that I volunteered to facilitate the group. I realized that this type of service/event/resource was typically only accessible during regular business hours, making it difficult for folks not available during the day to access.

The first meeting, Sept 14th, was fantastic and we has 3 participants. The topic for the first meeting was appropriately "where to start" and delved into setting goals and limits.

Two weeks later at the next meeting, we had 4 people! The topic was all about resources, specifically what what the library had to offer - all free of charge, of course.

This week's meeting, Oct 26th, our third, we had an astounding 15 people join us. The talk was Taking the Fear out of Networking and it was a hit!

I was amazed to see so many new faces and I honestly hope the word gets out to those who might find the group useful.

I've been busy getting organized and crating the website (also a twitter account - twitter.com/OttawaReboot). I've made some great connections already and I hope the community grows.

Aside from the Reboot Group, I attended a networking event a few weeks ago, with great success and will be entering the NYCMidnight Short Screenplay Challenge this weekend.

I'll get my thinking cap on and eat my Alpha-Bits to help me avoid writer's block.

Until Next Time, stay safe and keep smiling!

The Day I called the Cops on God.

The day God wanted in, and I called the cops.

A few years ago, late, late at night, maybe 1 am or there abouts, there was a tapping on my door.

I was half asleep and my TV was on, so I didn't hear it at first. It got louder, but it didn't grab my attention until it became banging. 

Someone was trying to break in!!

Frightened, I threw on the first thing I snagged and grabbed the best weapon I could find; not my baseball bat, not my ski poll, not a knife... my TV remote!!

I approached the door. The pounding was persistent and I could see the door warp with each blow.

I was shaking, but I had my trusty remote in hand. "Who's There?" I screamed.

The reply came booming through the walls and door.

 "GOD!"

I was startled, and more than a little confused, so I asked for clarification.

"What do you want?" I shouted.

Again a reply boomed.

"To come in."

Perhaps I was too frightened and confused and still a bit groggy, but I felt sure, if it was God, he wouldn't need to pound the door down to get in. Surely he was all-powerful and could simply unlock and open the door, or perhaps pass right through it. I felt I needed to confirm his identity.

So, still confused, and hoping for clarity I shouted again "Who are you?"

Again, he repeated his original answer. "It's God."

Confounding my confusion I shouted again, " And what do you want?"

Now frustrated, he replied with angst "To come in..."

I shook my head and regarded my TV remote; it wouldn't be much help against any mortal being, much less God Himself.

I considered the time and, realizing I had on only an ill-fitting robe, I decided to refuse the Lord entrance to my house at what seemed to a very ungodly hour.

I shouted again, with authority.  "I'm calling the cops!"

God seemed very confused and answered back in a some-what meeker voice "What...?"

I stood firm, if still shaking, and shouted back "I'm Calling the Cops!!"

God seemed very dejected and dissuaded at this point and promptly left my stoop.

I did call the cop. They showed up soon after. They patrolled the area and filled out a report.

They didn't find God.

Nothing more really came of it.

My poor door had a few new cracks in the frame, but I was able to patch it up and reinforce the area with a brass plate.

God has not returned since then.

True Story.

In retrospect, he may have said his name was Rod, or maybe Todd, and he was probably a drunken college student at the wrong address, just looking to go to bed.

Sens Playoff Run - 2015

Like most Canadian, I am a hockey fan. When someone asks me what's my favorite sport, I usually smile and reply that there's only one sport, and it's hockey.  Truth is, I like most sports, but hockey is by far my favorite.

When folks ask me what's my team, I reply the Ottawa Senators, as I live in Ottawa. Once again, the truth is I have several teams I root for and I would prefer to see a great game where my team tries hard but loses, than to see a one-sided game where we win.

This year, the Ottawa Senators were well out of playoff standing, but rallied hard to squeak into the last spot of the playoffs. It was amazing and awe-inspiring.

When the Sens did make the playoffs, several of my customers called up looking to support the team.
We did what we could to help out.

Take a look at at a few:

and

Ottawa Daily Pics also noticed the Mustang in the Market, took a great photo and posted to Tumblr.

The Sens put up a valiant effort and took the series all the way to game 6! I'm very proud of what they accomplished and wish them all the best for next year. Go Sens!

Cheers

This time of year.

This time of year...

Each year, as winter approaches and the cold starts to settle in, I can’t help but reflect.  Perhaps persuade by the impending months of cold isolation, or maybe for reasons all my own, my thought often turn to sadness; the people I’ve lost and people the world has lost. I try to take comfort in the joyful memories these people brought to those who knew them.

Death, of course, is the ultimate ‘loss’ of which I speak. I can’t begin to explain the pain and emptiness in the heart. I can only hope that no one else knows this same feeling, but the truth is that we will all lose someone. No longer being able to hug or kiss or talk to that special person ever again; it’s devastating. Although the pain may fade over time, the emptiness left behind, will never really go away.  They will live on every time we are reminded… an uncle, spouse, friend, child, beloved pet…

There are other losses, too.

There are the people who have touched our lives in some other way; the singers, actors, celebrity, sports figures and other ‘famous’ folks. Though we may have never met them in person, we feel a connection to them through their work. They shared a little bit of themselves with so many. The joys they brought to the world may live on, but the loss of these talented people touch all who enjoyed their contributions.

But death isn’t the only loss.

I look back at the friends and colleagues with whom I’ve lost touch. Don’t get me wrong, there are some that I’m happy to have out of my life, but not all, not by a long shot.  I often wonder how they’re doing, how their family is doing, if they are still with the same person with whom they were so much in love. I hope they're doing well and living a good life and I wish them all the best. The loss I feel for these folks is more subtle, but still real.

The sense of loss, it seems, can exist for not just people. Whenever I am reminded of a fond memory of a simpler time from my childhood or even from a few years ago; when I see the change of a familiar landmark into a sparkling new shopping center. The loss of the things that have always been there, but are no longer. The unrelenting rumble of change, to modernize, update and revise can be very unsettling, and often leave a void and longing for times gone by. Change, though not always, can be good, but is usually unsettling.

The things we’ve done, the places we’ve been and the people we knew from yesteryear, will live on in pictures and notes and memories. 

The future is as bright as we want it to be, as we want to make it.

Right now, the things we do and say, the people in our lives today; it’s up to us to make the most of it. Tell that person you love them. Shave a smile with a passer-by. Greet each new day and place and event with joy in your heart and kindness in your eyes. The lives we touch and the emotions we generate and share make for a much more rewarding here-and-now and will only enrich the memories we will look back on from tomorrow.

To all in my life; thank you for all that you are to me; near and far, friends and family. Thanks for the memories, the happiness and the prospect of many more wonderful adventures together.

Love and peace to each and every one of you.

Cheers.



...do the best you can, make the best of each moment, and make it count:

Source: candidmyst.tumblr.com

Fish: Forever swimming.

I have these Fish at the side of my blog... ->
and they got me thinking about a pond of fish and how memorizing watching fish can be...

The fish, the fish keep moving, never stopping for a moment. From one side of the pond to the other, back and forth they swim. 

They hide from me and from the light of day in and around and under the plant life in their limited but ample habitat.

They nibble near the surface on some unseen morsels of nourishment, perhaps an insect to small to detect.

They are dizzying and calming, rhythmic and chaotic. They swim for a moment all together, as a single entity, then break apart as separate beings.

Do they know I’m sitting watching them? Here, so near to the edge of the pond, my toes almost dipping in, almost.

The sun catches their scales and reflects a blinding flash. I have to blink, but I know just where to find them when I open my eyes once more; still swimming, just out of reach.

I dip in a toe to test the waters, too cold, to wet. 

The ripples emanate out, upsetting the glass-like surface, and I notice the fish as they are drawn to the disturbance, perhaps in anticipation of a fallen fly or beetle.

They wiggle closer, looking for their next meal.

I ready my self.

Closer.

Wait a moment longer.

Then I strike, claws extended.

In a split second, I have one hooked and on the bank beside me.

Mmmm.

Lunch.

Meow.

Ya - my life has been pretty cat-centric these days. 

Waddayagonnado?

Hope you enjoyed.

Cheers.

Meow.

Back at it.

I took a break, but now I'm back at it.
We had a Craft Sale this past Saturday and the preparation was very time consuming.

Sunday I had an 6 hour writing workshop, and as one might imagine, it started off with a writing exercise. We had 4 minutes each to interview and be interviewed by everyone in the workshop. The exercise was to them write a character sketch, or a scene or a story about a character that was a composite of the people we interviewed. Very cool idea, difficult to do within such a contrived situation, but something that we (can) do with people we meet or know in our daily lives.

Here's mine: Again - the formatting didn't come through very well.

INT. KAYLEE’S BEDROOM - LATE NIGHT.

Cindy, a young girl of 5, with blond pigtails, and in a pink nightgown is huddled under the covers with big sister Kaylee.

Kaylee gently rocks Cindy and strokes her hair.

                    KAYLEE
          Shhh, it’ll be alright sweetie, 
          you’re safe now.

Cindy, whimpering, snuggles in for more comfort.

                    CINDY                              
          But I don’t want to move, Kay.

                    KAYLEE                              
          It’ll be alright, it’ll be an adventure. 
          Think of all the new friends we’ll make.

                    CINDY                              
          I don’t want new friends, I want my old 
          friends, and I want Daddy.

Cindy’s crying turns her words to gibberish. 

Kaylee continues to gently rock her sister and stroke her hair.

EXT. FRONT LAWN - EARLY MORNING

The beautiful PEI coastline in the backpack, fishing boats at dock, fishermen milling about.
Cindy, with her blanket and colourful blanket, stands sobbing beside a Toyota, packed with suitcases.

Kaylee, hauling another suitcase, exists the delightfully quaint house. The airport check-in label on the suitcase reads 'Whitehorse'.

Kaylee and Cindy’s Mom follows, and locked the door behind her.

A ‘For Sale’ sign is neatly planted on the front lawn.

Obviously it's only a part of something that could be more, but again, the idea was to see how to make a composite character and to get us writing.

Now that the pressure is off a little, I hope to get back to writing every day. If I do, I intend to post. :)

Hope you enjoyed.
Cheers and have a great day.

Nov. 10th 2014

Had writing class tonight. Watched a video about how writers should write every day. To say procrastination is counterproductive, is a huge understatement.

Since I've started writing, since my first class, I've always told myself that to be a writer, I must write. It makes sense that I at least try to write every day. Not all days are ease and many produce a haphazard sub-par conglomeration of words that don't mean much to anyone, but writers write, and so I write. For better of worse...

Today's exerciser consisted of listening to 9/10 of a short story and writing our own ending - perhaps a page or so - without any idea of how the story turns out.  The tone and characters are already established by the time we jump in, so it's a challenge, but I was very impressed with what everyone came up with.

Below is what I came up with (with a few modifications), not that I have the first part to post, so this may be a little confusing and unsatisfying, but it's what I wrote today...

The young man plodded alone, along the hard, hot sand to his hotel. With the soggy rubber float still in hand, he enters a luxury suit, beautifully decorated with lavish paintings and expensive rugs. Complimentary baskets of fruit and muffins on every table.

On an overly ornate velvet sofa, sits a young lady. She's reading an 'Elaborate Lifestyles' magazine as a hotel masseuse gives her a pedicure.

"Is that you?" she calls with out looking up.

"Yes Dear" He answers cheerfully.

"You've not been to the beach again, have you?" She flips a page.

His shoulders drop, "Yes Dear."

"Must you Darling? You track in all that sand". She scans the pictures in the magazine and flips another page.

Brushing the sand from his robe, "Sorry Dear."

"It's all right I suppose" she remarks, her nose still in the pages, "but do tidy up, we have reservations at 'Le Grand' and I don't want you smelling of the beach".

Dejected, "No Dear."


And, that's that.

Not sure if it will mean anything to anyone, but it was an interesting exercise.
Point being... Write, write, write.

On that note
Cheers and G'Night!!