The Invitation...

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life's betrayals or
have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own,
if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be
careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithless
and therefore be trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty
even when it's not pretty, every day,
and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
and still stand on the edge of a lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes"!

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and
despair, weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself,
and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

- Oriah Mountain Dreamer

The Idiot Box...

I don't know how many of you enjoy TV, but it's been a great friend of mine for many a year - to this day I can't be in a room with a TV unless it's turned on. Sickness? perphaps but it also provides some great information and entertainment.

It's official Monday is the new Thursday - no doubt, pound for pound the best line up of quality TV Shows. My night starts off with Heroes - a great show about something that I've always secretly wished had happened to me - I somehow developed a super human power - If I could choose any power it would be the power of flight - that would be awesome, but monday night isn't all about Super Heroes

It Also has a healthy dose of Laughs - Dougie Howser is money in this show

And then The class is reminicent of Friends - and Ritchie Vetch makes he laugh out loud more than once a show.

Then Comes the Real Hero - Jack Bauer - Jack Kicks Ass, enough said.

Then Studio 60 ends the night with some brilliant writing and some very smart humour - maybe the best show on TV.

So there you have it - Monday is busy, and if they could somehow manage to put Lost and Grey's Anatomy on Monday night I might not have much use for the TV until - the Simpsons come on the following Sunday night.

The great thing about TV is that as long as it's on, no matter what is on, I'll watch it - we now have 700+ channels and there is less on than when my parents bought that TV with 13 channels on it when I was in grade 4...

Capital O...

I don’t know how I missed this, I guess I was asleep at the wheel last week– but one of my best friends Chris “Can I buy a Vowel” Aaen had a birthday and turned 31 – which is still young, by my standards at least. The cool thing is that he forgot his Christmas gift at our house, so that when he picks it up now we’ll call it a birthday present – win –win.

For a few years there when we young and foolish we’d stop drinking altogether from January 2 – March 17th – which must have made for some crappy B-Day celebrations for O – we’ve since abandoned this practice, as it can lead to kidney stones later in life – but there were some very dry times on those January 24th evenings.

Aaen is looking for a job in Freddy Beach and has quite an impressive resume, he’s trying hard not to listen to the call of the west, but the offers are getting louder and better – So if you know of anyone looking to stem the tide of the brain drain and you need a geological engineer with a Viking heritage, give Aaen a call.

We’ll be having them over this week to help us polish off their generous Christmas Gift to us and celebrate his birthday in fine Yellow Label Style.

The coolest thing about Aaen has to be his ability to bring things (anything really ) to the next level – if you know him, you know what I mean, if you don’t he can turn a Good time into a Great time (and always does) - he can elevate a “going through the motions” rugby training session into a “Smashmouth” event by the intensity that he brings to everything he does. Kinda like this scene from Seinfeld.

Happy Belated Birthday Punk...

You Are What You Eat...

This was said to me alot by various people in my life over the course of my formative years - this isn't a whole truth - you are what you drink would have been more appropriate - as discussed previously (human body being 80% water and all) but it does bear a gem of a hidden truth as most of these messages do if you dig deep enough.

If you eat crap you'll feel like crap, if you eat too much fat, you're most likely overweight - if all you eat is potatoes, you'll most likely bear a slight resemblance to a potato - but I digress. The point of this expression was to encourage me to eat healthy so I would in turn be healthy - makes alot of sense. I'm constantly amazed at how many miracle diets, and 7 minute workout dvds I see advertised on TV - weight loss isn't rocket science, or maybe it is - if you want to get your body to perform, give it the appropriate fuel, it will takes months to get to where you want to go, and you'll need to surround yourself with a good crew to be successful. If you eat healthy food (In healthy portions) and exercise more than you relax - you'll probably lose weight.

I've been trying to be better for a month now - my diet hasn't changed dramatically - I no longer eat three mcmuffins for breakfast, followed by two or three PB and J sandwiches after I eat my lunch - I try to control how much I eat of the foods I love and exercise daily - so far so good - i've been to the gym every weekday morning for the past 19 weekdays and I've shed 14 lbs. I'm aiming to lose 12 more - so I'll keep watching my portions. I'm not trying to say that losing weight is easy - it really isn't, the theory is simple - the practical aspect and the follow through is the hard part. Like anything difficult it has it's rewarrds though.

Sophie is doing amazing - she is very close to saying "dada" - she has 8 teeth on the way in and she is standing all by her self without holding onto anything.

Cold as a Whore’s Heart…

It’s getting cold out, and I don’t like it one bit- besides the fact that I have yet to find a suitable winter jacket, it’s dark by the time I leave work and you can no longer get away with just wearing shorts when you leave the house.

Other expressions for being cold that make me smile are "Brass Monkey Weather" - first time I heard this it was uttered by Mal's dad - we laughed about it a bunch, but we laughed about everything. Another more puzzleing expression is "cold as a Witch's tit" - that makes no sense at all.

I’d always almost rather be warm, than cold – except when you’re trying to sleep then being a little cold is awesome.

I think that I've got some island blood in my veins - I'd love to be laying in a hammock on some desserted Island rignt now. I think Sophie could also appreciate the Hammock, if she ever stood still for a second.

Summer is only 4 or 5 months away, although we did BBQ Steaks tonight so how far off can summer actually be.

I love a good snow storm but I'd always rather be hot off the press than cool as a cucumber, if you catch my drift...

We Want Your Information, Not Your Name...

Now if you recognise the title of this post, you can thank my Father-in-Law, or rather my Father-In-Law Enforcement, I won't name names, it's not his style, but today we let one of the good guys go. After 38 1/2 years of dutiful service to St. Pierre, MB, Montreal, PQ, Grand Falls, NB, Fredericton NB, Moncton, NB, New Brunswick and Canada - Rick retired today. Sophs, Nic, Louise and I made the trek down the Trans-Canada to visit with Poppie for his last day "On The Job" - and what a last day it was - he was once again, for one last time in the media spotlight, as he was for so many years as the pioneer and face of Crimestoppers (we all know the number) and more recently for hitting the Bad Guys where they hurt the most - In the pocketbook. For his last Hurrah his unit used a little Night Magic today and seised a Moncton night spot.

I would like to thank you Rick, not just for being a great friend, father in law and grandfather, but also for the fact that you have been directly responsible for solving 6587 cases and taking $32,693,160 worth of drugs off the streets, impressive statistics since 1985 - bringing Crimestoppers to Canada was visonary, and more recently with all your proceeds of crime work - you have been making the world a little easier to sleep in for a long time. Even if your grand daughter has stopped sleeping during the day.

Rick was honoured with an induction into the Crime Prevention Association of New Brunswick Hall of Fame some time ago, and they have a nice little write up about his acomplishments here.

I know that we will be seeing more of you when you return from your well earned vacation, so that's good news for all of us, and we were honoured and proud to be part of your final day - sounds like a great excuse to lift your feet, relax and raise a glass, we'll see you on Saturday night. - Well Done and Great Work

Everytime His Ass Hits Something Flat…

This is an expression that Malcolm uses for people that eat a lot – the full expression is he’s got something in his mouth everytime his ass hits something flat – which always reminds me of being in France with Jackman – because they had baguettes with real ham and cheese on what seemed like every other street corner – and they were only 10 francs – which was nice and cheap – so we ate them, a lot of them and truly lived up to this expression – it was a good trip.

Anyways, part of my quest to be better, was to eat better, so last Tuesday, we stopped eating crap, and I stopped eating everytime I sat down – I started going to the gym (every morning from 7-8) and going to bed earlier – It’s working – I’m losing weight, feeling stronger and fitter.

Sophie is also doing great – she got sneakers and is (with the help of her walker) walking up a storm. She also learned to give kisses and zerbert – very entertaining stuff.

So 2007 has been good so far – we had a visitors on Sunday – Mom and Dad dropped by after breakfast and Katie and Megs dropped by in the afternoon – then last night Aunt Jenn made a trek up to the Fort as she had a Microsoft Vista Launch to attend today.

Picture taken on Saturday along the Old Springhill Road - or was it from Mordor? (I'm a fan what can I say) - then we got hammered with Snow on Monday.

That’s it, that’s all - There's snow on the ground and it finally feels like winter...

P.S.
I had posted an nice picture here - I guess it was a photo was taken by a local Artist, and I got it in an e-mail from a co-worker - so to maintain copyright laws the original is here and it's worth a look.

My Bad...

Go placidly amid the noise and haste...

2007 - it's a new year and with anything new they take a bit of breaking in. I think everyone always has great intentions for the new year - we call them resolutions, and are often screamed out on New Years eve, as regrets from the previous year. They usually involve losing, gaining, doing something less, doing something more, quitting something or starting something. They are almost always something that we've discovered about ourselves that we want to be different come New Year's eve 2007. Last year I made such a list - I did the easy stuff and I'm still working on the hard stuff - afterall if I accomplished everything on my list what would 2007 hold - life is in the living - we are all "works in progress" and New Year Eve is report card day - which is always followed by a laundry list of things that you'd fix, or change, or do better.

So for 2007 I simply resolve to be better.

That is easy to say and hard to do - I realise that - so this is how I intend to do it - I have the instuction manual on how to be better right in front of me - this poster on my wall here at work – I read it often – there is some deep magic in it.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann

I noticed this poem at Bill Thorpe's visitation a week ago - so maybe it truly is a guide to living well...