And so it begins ....

Hard to believe that my last entry in this blog was two years ago. Where has the time gone?! While the spirit was willing, life was calling, and there have been quite a few distractions that kept me focused elsewhere. But that is all about to change. I will soon embark on a new journey that will see some changes to my life and my work, and it's going to be very exciting. As part of that journey, I've decided to make a fresh start in the blogging world by officially retiring this blog and moving to a new home. And so, in July 2014, "words at random" will shut down and words will begin again at http://jennygateswords.wordpress.com/. Thanks for checking in and supporting my spontaneous reflections and contributions over the years. I'm looking forward to what the future will bring us all. See you there and then!

Stay tuned ...

What to do when things don't look as they should? Bemoan? Complain? Or find another course? In order to better serve my readers, I've decided to find another course. (Actually, I've already tried bemoaning to no avail, and complaining that absolutely fell on deaf ears.) So stay tuned. We are on the move! And it will be oh, so much better!

Drive

It was a brisk start to the morning for my early drive to Steinbach yesterday. Honda, bless their little hearts, were finally installing the autostart for my new car - albeit a tad late for the chilly season. Still, as the service guy suggested, "Plenty of time to practise now for next winter." Yes, indeed. I was looking forward to the drive after a very busy weekend that didn't include any travelling afar whatsoever. And the car was in need of a distant run, after spending most of its life thus far tootling around the city. The sun wasn't long in the mostly dark cloudy sky, and the road was all but deserted - the benefit of driving early and against the traffic. I was in no hurry, and decided to enjoy the surrounds as they whizzed by at a slightly slower than others' expected speed of 100 kph. For the most part, people adapted, but as I discovered, not everyone appreciates or understands a driver travelling at less than 20% of the limit - even if they are correctly motoring in the curbside lane. There were some who looked sideways, as if expecting to see some reason for my snail's pace, comparatively speaking, or to glare in my direction and encourage me to put the pedal to the metal. Others drove right up behind me before suddenly veering left and overtaking - yeah, that works every time. Some sped past, presumably showing me how it's done, and the rest simply drove by as if I wasn't even there. For my Honda and I, we made it there and back again without stress or speed, and we got to take in all the visual joys of the country life. For those who seemed concerned or bemused about my decision to take my time, I suggest you try it on your next journey to wherever you are going. It's really quite fun and relaxing, and still gets you there on time - if you leave a tad bit earlier to compensate. And for those trying bullish tactics, better luck somewhere else. I used to be a master at tailgating, intimidating, gesticulating, cursing, glaring and swerving, but I've given all that up, so your efforts fell short. These days, I much prefer the slower pace so I can make the most of my drive in the country. PS This also works in city driving - which is something we can all appreciate!

A 'good' Friday indeed

Right off the bat, it felt like we were wagging school or taking a sickie. We awoke to the alarm, cooked an omelette to use up the orange capsicum, and watched Transformers to pass the time. At 12:30, for want of something better to do, we headed out to see if Superstore was open. It was, after all, Easter, and thanks to a lack of planning on our part and some silly self-inflicted rule of no sweets or junk food or coffee from Monday to Friday, there was no chocolate to be found anywhere in the house. This necessitated a hunt, but the odds were slim, given the date on the calendar. A quick look around the neighbourhood and we were out of luck on the chocolate front. So after hitting the bank, so to speak, we took a window seat at Starbucks, where we sipped and munched and read our way through the next two hours. At that point, we headed home to other projects and plans. That venture on its own was not too remarkable, but it's what we saw when we were out that pleasantly surprised us. You see, other than our coffee stop, the stores and streets were mostly people free. It was peaceful and quiet, and reminded me of my youth. Those "more frequently than now" days when all shops were closed on weeknights (except for Thursday night), weekends (except for Saturday mornings) and public holidays (no exceptions). Which meant that people were home with their family and friends, catching up on the day's activities, the week's worries, and enjoying more time together. I get that some of us need access to shops all day and every day, but I liked it much better when we didn't. When you could enjoy a stress-free wander along deserted streets, imagining and planning what you'd buy when the shops were open again. When we planned ahead. When we didn't have to shop, just because we could. So for us, it was a 'good' Friday indeed. And as luck would have it, we had another moment that gave us an opportunity to enjoy time together without the usual distractions. That Sunday night, the power went off at exactly 6:43 pm, and stayed off for two hours. We stayed sat on the sofa, and talked and read. It was wonderful. Of course, we have a choice to not shop and to not watch just because. Problem is we don't exercise that choice often enough. But after this 'good' Friday and Easter Sunday, we might choose to do exactly that on a regular basis!

Dear Mr Blue Box collector

Strange conversation we had last week, eh? Me trying to get your attention, you ignoring me as much as possible. Oh well, I'm sure it was great entertainment for the neighbours, and it gave us the opportunity to air a few concerns.

If I remember correctly, it was a beautiful day and the sun was shining. I know you saw our two blue boxes because during the course of our conversation, you told me so. True, there were those two piles of dirt on the street in front of them, but we didn't put them there - and they weren't there when we put the boxes out early that morning.

From my standpoint, you had three choices.

1. You could have walked 6 feet around the back of one pile, pick up the first bin, keep walking to pick up the second bin, take both to the truck, empty them, and leave them right there on the curb.

2. You could have walked around the back of one pile, then around the front of the second pile, taking the bins one at a time and emptying them.

3. You could have walked through the middle of the two piles where there was a clear path, and picked up both bins before taking them to the truck.

Unfortunately, you decided the whole situation was our fault and chose to leave both where they were, even though they were easily accessible and full to the brim with recycled matter.

When I saw the situation, I had three choices.

1. Ignore you and let you go on your way, then take the bins to the local recycle spot.

2. Call the city and complain, even though it would have meant dealing with the ridiculous 311 line.

3. Run out into the street and insist you come back and do your job.

Unfortunately, I chose #3, replaced "insist" with "yelling", which led to a bit of name calling on both our parts, me apologising for name calling and yelling, you saying bins only get picked up if they're on the curb, me saying they were on the curb, you saying that missing a few bins wasn't your problem, me asking if you were paid to make it your problem, you complaining you had hundreds of thousands of bins to pick up and you couldn't go back for only two, me shaking my head as you tossed the bins to the ground, and you yelling "Have a nice day!" in the kind of voice that suggested you didn't really mean it.

The sad part of it all is that in our respective desire to win the conversation, neither of us noticed that the bins on the other side of the street hadn't been picked up yet. That would have given each of us an option:

1. I could have simply put them over there for you to pick up later.

2. You could have suggested from your position down the street that I put them over them for you to pick up later.

Unfortunately, we chose ignoring and yelling over civil and courteous behaviour. What a shame.

Anyway, I don't know about you, but I'd rather not do that again next week - the neighbours don't need the entertainment, and neither you nor I need or deserve the angst.

Signed, an otherwise grateful Blue Box user.

PS While I was writing this blog, a friend posted an appropriate sentiment on my Facebook page: "I am thankful for the difficult people in my life. They have shown me exactly who I don't want to be." Hmmm. To which one of us do you think this applies?!

Learning the hard way

I can do things. Tie my shoelaces, drive a car, edit books, keep deadlines, remember birthdays, write, take photos, and deliver interesting speeches.

There are lots of things I can't do. Cook, graphic design, and brain surgery, to name just a few of the many I could put here.

And there is one thing I do do that, as I learned the hard way, has major repercussions.

It's called overtasking - when the list of duties becomes so overwhelming that you wake up one day simultaneously wondering and panicking, "What the hey? How did this happen? And what do I do now?"

To be sure, this is a slow creep, occurring over time and without anyone actually noticing. In my case, and in this particular situation, it was brought about by picking up tasks left wanting because the people doing them either moved, took another job, retired or burned out, or were in fact never told it was something they should or could be doing in the first place.

And that's not all. It's also the result of me being a little too protective of my charges, overenthusiastic about my responsibilities, quick to take on new tasks to fix a particular situation that has arisen or might arise at some point down the line, and/or doing more, way more, than the situation required.

As a result, there is now, quite simply, too much on my plate, most of which I probably shouldn't even be doing. And because I'm focused on moving in a new direction and succeeding in some different pursuits, I need to take back much of the time otherwise committed to the repercussions of that slow creep, and thereby regain some control over my today.

In other words, it's time to let something go.

Exactly what had to go became obvious after tracking time spent on everything over a two-month period. With the answer staring me in the face, and the realisation slowly sinking in, it was nevertheless a tough decision, albeit definitely the right one. For better or for worse, it will take some time to stick, but it is already in play.

I learned the hard way that allowing slow creep to monopolise your time and ambitions doesn't get you anywhere. So, look at it from my point of view and stop the creep before it stops you.

Now, that's something we can all do!

Did you hear the one about ...

... the truck and the car?

It all happened one snowy Tuesday morning while I was driving to a very early meeting. There weren't many others on the road, and the snow had all but obliterated the lane lines. Conditions required patience, understanding and common sense, all of which were clearly lacking for one character in this story.

Without traffic ahead to guide anyone, the car found itself driving in both the second and third lanes. The truck, which had already demonstrated its poor winter-weather coping skills by speeding out from a red traffic light, skidding on the road, and now making haste down a four-lane road, found itself in the second lane partly behind the car.

Apparently unhappy at not having a clear way through, the truck began to tailgate the car, blast the horn, and incessantly flash highbeam headlights. After about 15 seconds, the car found its way into the actual third lane. And with its path now clear, the truck floored it and skidded off, clearly victorious in its efforts to make a point.

You might ask, "With open lanes on either side of the car for the truck to overtake, why did it bully instead of pass?" Good question.

But that's what happens when you're impatient, insensitive and idiotic while driving on snowy roads in the very early morning on a Tuesday.

I'm just saying ....