Of Jawbone's and Juxtapositions

"Jawbone" in case you were wondering, is the name of my new blue tooth device. It was that or "Blue Ant." Couldn't see myself responding to those inquiring minds asking, "What are you wearing?" and having to say, "Ahh.. Blue Ant". Not cool. So went for the gritty, manly one. JAWBONE - When I say the name I kind of picture one of those movie announcers dudes voices... Works for me

Had to buy one because in our lovely province of British Columbia a new law was passed (effective Feb 1) that you can no longer text or talk when driving unless you have a hands free device. Ticket is $169 big ones and 3 demerits if you are caught.

Let me interject this little discussion with something that needs to be said. It is totally and completely not cool, in any form or fashion, not even in Saskatchewan, to wear your blue tooth device in your ear outside of your vehicle. Never. I have no clue why I see so many dopes standing around, with this little thing hanging from their ear, when their phone is 5 inches from their hand attached to their belt loop. And let's get serious, belt loop holders should be banned in general, especially if you tuck your shirt in to boot.

I am just saying. To walk around with what looks like a growth on your hairy ear, when you are shopping for tighty whities, eating KFC in the food fair, or waiting in line to watch "The Tooth Fairy" with your best friend, it is just not right. Never. Take it off and leave it in your Ford Taurus. I kid you not. I am in Costco the other day, and Joe "I am so hot with my Blue Ant earpiece" Sidebottom is walking down the aisle, and that little blue flashing light is going off every 3 seconds totally blinding everyone in the aisle, including me. So much so, that people are running into poles, diving for cover, and surrendering. And Blue Ant boy is so totally unaware of the situation, cause he is piling into the free snacks, that when his phone rings, he misses the call. Unreal. The law only applies to vehicles people. And what happens in your vehicle stays in your vehicle. I digress.

Believe it or not, I think it is a great law. Mostly because I was tired of following dudes who had no capacity for driving and answering a phone at the same time, without accidentally hitting their brakes and honking .

I also speak of Juxtapositions, as I was unsure whether or not to post a video which speaks to the issue of texting while driving. It is an extremely graphic video displaying the results of a single regretable action, specifically, texting while driving. It is disturbing yet profound. Profound because it led me to consider the times in my life where something "almost" happened and how thankful that in the midst of my stupidity nothing tragic took place. And now, how I need to consider the difference between the tyranny of the urgent and the necessary things.

If you are interested in seeing the commercial mentioned above, I want to give the premise so that going in, you are aware. It is the story of some teenage girls driving, talking and texting who tragically, get into a significant car accident and the ramifications there after.

Here is the link

Monday Musings

Ken Hitchcock was recently fired as the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Last week, he was interviewed by Bob McCown of Prime Time Sports fame, and frankly it was a striking interview. First and foremost, Hitchcock did not speak negatively of the Blue Jackets. He spoke candidly and practically. He understood that his team was underperforming, and that he had to carry that responsibility in the form of losing his job. You could hear how much he cared about the organization. Not only from a coaching perspective - the incredible job that coaching is - helping individuals reach their greatest potential in the context of a team effort, but also that he had been a primary factor in developing this NHL expansion team from the beginning. His vested interest was great. He ended off the interview by suggesting that he would rather participate in this organization in a different capacity than move onto another coaching opportunity.

Having been fired once before myself, it got me to thinking about a few things. So I'll share couple thoughts with you:

1. Have much do you invest in what your job is today? If you cannot give your full passionate investment into what you do, either you are doing the wrong thing or you need a kick in the hiney.

2. No matter the situation, do you finish well? Whether you have been fired from a job (I have) or you are developing a project, whatever, do you finish as strong as you started. Do you move on with grace? Intergrity? Honesty?

3. If you have been fired, and whether or not the organization handled the situation poorly and as good as could be expceted, have you restored the relationship to the point that you could partner again in the future? In other words, do you live trapped by the experience or free from it? Traumatic experiences are the like the tentacles of an octupus. You free yourself of one and there are a bunch more arms sucking you in. Hence a lot of people go with the idea of "coping" (which is a pretty way of saying, "I am 2 seconds away from freaking out"). One by one you've got to work through those puppies to be free.

4. There has got to be a better name than the Columbus Blue Jackets. Like seriously. Alas, if you go back in their history you'll find out that pre-NHL they were call the Columbus Chill. But no, they wanted to change the name because, and I quote "the franchise will be the Blue Jackets, celebrating patriotism, pride and the rich Civil War history in the state of Ohio and, more specifically, the city of Columbus." Aka: we are super proud to have fought our fellow Americans. Gotta be honest, I would have stuck with "chill"

Here's the full Ken Hitchcock interview

And here's the full Columbus Blue Jacket history

Unplugged

There are days when floppy discs are appealing. For you twenty-somethings, that is an old school flash drive... really old school. It could hold up to one picture.

For the last day or so our family has been unplugged from phone and internet. It all started when we attempted to order a movie through our digital cable box. Error code: 16559. Which apparently means, "Good luck trying to rent a movie any time soon". As I chatted with our provider, it came to his attention that we our system was on the wrong server. That's what I figured. Alas, he said it should only take a moment. I waited on hold.... as Tim came back on the line, it appeared that the problem was going to take a little more effort and would it be okay if we had no phone or internet service for a few minutes? If only I had just gone to the Movie rental store. Alas, what could I do but agree. Well, 18 hours later still nothing. So called this morning (on my cell phone). Or should I say, called 4 times, was hung up on twice, and waited on hold for over 40 minutes. Alas, when I finally got through I was told, that it looked like a dude was going to have to come out and fix our easy problem on-site. Great. Paul (Tim was off shift apparently) asked if we had time today for a repair guy to come. No, not really, I don't want it fixed. The silence on the phone was deafening. I cleared my throat and said, of course. To which Paul stated, "I cannot give you an exact time so, he'll be there any time between 8:00am and 5:00pm, so please be available." At this point I was in the fetal position on the floor whimpering. Well, okay, if I were to be honest, it was the result of inhaling caeser salad last night, which was hopped up with enough garlic to cause people to check their own breath while I walked by. I am not kidding, my pores were firing that stuff out so fast it's like I put on garlic pit stick this morning. It wasn't pretty. Anyway, 4 hours into the day, no repair guy. And then, like it was not big deal we receive a call that the problem had been fixed, and I quote "but at a whole new level". What that means I am still not certain but I am guessing they just got back from smoke break. All I know is, I am not cooking with garlic until 2015 and we are going back to VHS.

Okay this is rich, what are the chances, that this fateful story could come full circle but here. An internet provider called "Garlic". Unreal

Flexing Your Creative Muscles

Since I don't have too many other muscles I gotta go with this. Admittedly, it has been awhile since I have performed improv. But come on, let's get serious, there is enough spontaneous chaos having 3 children.

Like the other day, when I couldn't find my 4 year old girl daughter. As I called her name to no avail, I got that funny feeling this was not going to be pretty. That feeling turned to reality upon discovering my ensuite bathroom door closed with the lights on. As I opened the door, there my lovely 4 year old sat, pants off, legs in the air, half covered in lotion. I leaned down and asked, "So Caedyn, what are you doing?" To which she proudly replied, "I am putting cream on my bum." Nice.

Well, maybe that was the inspiration to think of all things spontaneous once again, or maybe it was the fact that I regular laugh audibly when I watch Improv Everywhere in action. Check out there website here, for all their missions, and check out the one below for a little bit o' joy on a Thursday. Well, that is, unless you child likes to put cream on their bums too... there's a laugh or two lathered up in that one.

GMAC Song O' The Year 2009

Okay, the GMAC's are just a wee bit less popular than the Grammy's. Hey, come on, they are important too. Just like the fact that you probably didn't have a hot clue, that when you wash your pits everyday with soap, it most likely was a product of Saskatchewan - the World's largest producer of Potash (which is a major contributor to Soap among other products). I know, just a wealth of knowledge here.
I digress. This tune was written by Joshua Seller, who by the way, was a top 10 finalist on Canadian Idol 2004 - I know, like I said, a wealth... Okay hotshots, little trivia for you: Name 2 other Top 10 contestants from 2004. Yes, I will help you. Here is the curly haired winner you probably forgot about. And here is the dude who didn't want to win and you hear at a lot about.
Oh yeah, Josh baby. Here is the tune that won the GMAC song of the year. Oddly enough, he has curly hair and didn't win Canadian Idol.

Artistic Expression

At it's peak, over 28 million people were watching the Grammy's. Alas, I was one of them. Although the Grammy's are inherently an awards show, do not be mistaken, they are all about the performances. And I found it extremely interesting while watching Sunday Night, the extent to which each individual artist took their craft. Some were failed attempts at one "uping" while others were incredible displays of talent. Here are a couple peaks - you decide.
Beyonce "If I were a Boy"
Dave Matthews Band "You and Me"

Whether you love or hate what these artists did, from Pink to the Zac Brown Band, they did what we are all called to do... The best with what you are given. Most of us will never have a full-time posse to plan our every move, or an opportunity to perform before 28 million people (and lets get serious here people, most of us should never wear a full body leotard or mankini of anykind) but we all have something to give. Today, I am not sure how you feel about the whole, "I've got something to give" deal. I am pretty sure some of us are having a bad beginning of the week, or worse January was a complete right off, as I am also certain there are many that are kicking off the near year with an incredible vigor for life. Regardless of where you are at, start today. It is never too late to start. These Grammy winners had to start somewhere. Maybe it was a grade 2 talent show, or a College Glee club. Don't start worrying about the audience either. They are always going to be fickle. We all are at times. Do what you are born to do today, you will never regret it. (Well, okay, you may regret wearing a Hypercolor t-shirt the day you had PE but I digress)

Monday Musings

Blogging takes diligence, time and lack of "cheese." Diligence requires discipline, time is fleeting and cheese comes in many forms (let me tell you that Valarosa Foods here in Kelowna makes a killer Guiness Cheese). I will therefore regulary attempt to dutifully create non-cheese.
This Monday I want to kick off the week by directing you to an insightful & challenging article, written by the poet and front man of Switchfoot Jon Foreman. So I leave with this quote from Jon as a springboard to start your week, "The human story is still unfolding. We are telling it as we speak. The human song is still weaving its way towards a chorus, through the suffering, through the fear. We need each other. We need heroes. Let your life be a beautiful song. We need hope. Tell a good story with the way you live."