Prom night

So I was shown some photos the other day. They were of someone's niece at home on the evening of a formal school dance (ball, prom ,etc). Now there were a handful of different poses and various family member combinations, but two of the photos sort of stuck out to me.
One was of the niece and her sister. They were happy and full of energy and smiles. The other pic that I took notice of was of her and her dad. While the older man seemed happy to be in the photo, the girl had the opposite reaction. It looked as though she just didn't like him much at all. It's nearly impossible for me to know of course. This is all speculation. Best-case scenario for her would be that it was really awkward to be dressed-up beside dad. Maybe she felt confident to be smart, formal, and elegant with her peers (and sister) but it was weird to pose with parents. She seems to be at that age that where she too old to be a kid and too young to be an adult. It can be the most trying time of anyone's life. Maybe that photo just managed to capture it.

See the original quick sketch

Smart or chicken?

So there's a dirt path shortcut through the park. Over the school holidays, I passed some kids digging it up and making a set of jumps. These are hardly the regulation construction that the pros get. This is the kind that is done by 10-year olds with some spare pieces of building materials. I recognized that right away since I remember the danger from the 80's. I've built jumps myself as a kid. Several of them collapsed under the weight of the bike making them instant deathtraps.

What we have now is that the kids are back at school and the jump is still there. I pass it every day. Should I take it? There's enough foliage cover around to conceal any below average attempts and preserve dignity. (But there will be no one around to help stop the bleeding if it gets ugly.) Is it smart to not take the jump since I know that it is not well constructed? I have plenty of experiences and scars that reinforce those points. Or is it that being older has made me chicken since I remember the possible consequences and decide that it's not worth the risk anymore?

Maybe I'll try it tomorrow...

The home team

So my neighbour was waiting outside the Lawnbowling Club with a bag as I was walking my dog. I stopped to say hello and found out that she was waiting for a ride. Her bowling partner was picking her up and then they were going to the championships in the next town.
Last year they made it to the finals and lost. They were scheduled to play the pair that they had lost the finals to in this year's first round. While she was very sportsmanlike, polite and generally just plain all-round nice, you could tell that there was a side to her that wanted to really go out there and get revenge. It was pay-back time for her.
I wished her well in hopes that she would bring the trophy back to our locality. Although I'm not much of a lawnbowling fan, it made me realize that you really can't go wrong cheering for the home team.

Kite Skills

So we just had a major windstorm with wind gusts up to 130kms. I saw these guys starting to fly a kite at the local school field just as the winds were picking up. Shaking my head, I put it out of my mind.
The next day, it was wrapped around the power lines in front of our house. You could follow the string from the kite up in the air and it was still attached to one of those plastic spools that you wrap the string around. It was also tangled around a different set of power lines about 5 houses away. The school yard is another block past that on the other side of a stream.

Moon for sale

So on the back of each of my grocery receipts are coupons for things that I usually have no interest in. This week was the same even though I'm blogging about it! 
Apparently for $20, I can own an acre on the moon. Sadly, I didn't buy enough groceries to get the whole ad. I only have a half of the first line of fine print which, on something like this, is where you can usually find the hilarity. It was possible to determine though that you would actually need $30 per acre. But this is totally legit! It says that this scam is "filed with the United Nations". Even if it was, if the United Nations can't keep the US out of Iraq, how will it in the future, enforce where on the moon a nation-state (or corporation) can build a suburban lunar colony? "Yeah we know you spent billions on your moon programme, but 64 years ago, some guy spent $20 (actually $30) and owns that crater. You're going to have to shift over to the next one."
It says that this is a "Great Gift for someone with everything!" I think that's true since this is kinda nothing.

[After finishing this illustration of the moon but before actually blogging it, the local newspaper put this story as a front page story. I couldn't believe it; I was scooped! Either I actually have some journalistic skills or (more likely) this city needs more scandals and crime to write about.]

Alternative Fuel Sources

So I'm someone who bikes to work pretty much everyday. I take the money that I save at the pump and invest it in alternative energy sources. In a way, my mountain bike is powered by chocolate cake.

Stranded

So I was near the end of walking my dog when I came across a man talking to another man in a wheelchair. At the time we were walking on a walkway not near traffic, but they were holding up people with strollers that wanted to get by. When it was my turn to pass them, I noticed that they probably didn't know each other and that the motorized wheelchair was unresponsive. The older man was trying to help re-set the electric system on the wheelchair with the users help. I must admit that my first reaction was, 'how am I going to get by with this dog?'
Thankfully, common sense kicked in, and made me stay and study the situation more closely - he might really need some help. It still wasn't working so the guy from the wheelchair got up slowly and carefully. He could stand up and take a few steps despite whatever disability that was hindering his walking and speech. He seemed to be of sound mind and knew what he was doing with the battery. It's just that it wasn't really fixing the problem. I thought that I would wait around and see what happens in case they weren't able to revive the unit. It turns out that something on the control pad brought it back to life. Wriggling back to the seat he tried it out and he was away. You could see the relief in his expression as he thanked us.
As he wheeled away under his own power, I started to really think about the actual situation. Even though I had company coming over in a couple hours, I would have probably offered to push him back to wherever he was going. I figure that I could have physically been able to push this motorized chair as far as the range on the battery could take him, regardless of any hills. My dog would have made it too. When it comes down to it, if there was no one around and he lost battery power, it would have been like being stranded on a raft in the middle of the ocean. He would have been at the mercy of the elements. He couldn't have walked anywhere and even a mobile phone would have been difficult for him to use.
It's time for a big shout-out to the people who have to deal this this kind of stuff in their lives on a daily basis. If I had hindered mobility or sight, I wonder if I'd be brave enough to try walking to the local shops and back.

OCD Choices - Favourites or Needs?

So nearly everyday that I bike to work, I also see this guy walking into town. At first I didn't notice anything worth writing home about, (so to speak). After a while I started to notice that he seemed to be wearing the same striped shirt all the time. Thinking it was maybe a uniform or work-shirt, I wondered where he worked since it looks a bit casual to be corporate branded attire. I didn't see any visible logos the next day. Actually, it was a different stripey shirt altogether. And next week, a striped hooded sweatshirt! It was turning out that all the stripes are maybe just a personal preference and not just some guy from an old movie who escapes from prison each day.
Writing this now, I'm wondering if he is showing signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I also am thinking about my own wardrobe and realize that I wear a lot of brown. (This blog is brown!) Am I noticing the stripes since I am of the same mindset? I'm certainly spending enough time in my life debating it.
I think that even after this post I will likely continue to purchase brown articles because I choose to wear brown often. Regardless, I will convince myself that it is merely personal taste, much in the way some people tend to wear a lot of black. I still couldn't say that the majority of my clothes were mostly of one particular colour. So can a fondness and natural inclination trigger OCD or is it vice versa? I must remember to contemplate this everyday.

Samurai gardener

So this actually happened last year, but since it was just down the street from where I live, I thought it would be okay.
On my way home, I was at the end of a stairway shortcut at the end of the local road. I was a bit tired from shouldering my bike up the steps as I became face-to-face with an older guy with a sword. While he wasn't challenging me to a duel or anything, he was in the process of going seriously crazy with it... but instead of gutting me he was using it for gardening.
It looked like a Japanese katana, (or 'Samurai Sword') and I'm not sure if you are legally allowed to regularly swing one around (even on weeds) in semi-public as it was. Also, I could imagine that any (real but long dead) samurai who would ever hear of such usage of a fine and sacred blade (especially by a gaijin, or 'white-guy'), would be deeply offended.
Regardless of what the laws, protocol and etiquette is, I though a sword of that calibre is overkill on lightweight leafy things; yet something awesome and hardcore that you don't see everyday.

Morning people

So if it's still dark in the morning, does that stop you from getting a newspaper from a mailbox? How about jogging, dog-walking or going to the gym? Of course not; if you're awake (and want to be), you just go. Naturally there are people who need to vainly look their best before getting all sweaty and gross at the gym but that would be another post. Most morning people pretty much dive straight into activity with little fuss. I suppose though, there are some people that could really use a bit more fuss. That's right. I'm talking to you, Mr. No-Pants!

A pizza less ordinary

So now and then I like to eat a pretty ordinary pizza. (By ordinary, I mean minimal toppings and maybe a passable base.) I figure that if every pizza I've eaten was brilliant, that would raise the bar too high. A pizza diet that is made up of 100% perfect pizzas would make every pizza thereafter a 5 out of 10 and then you could never be really amazed. By having a slice of 4 out 10, now and then, a helping of 9 out of 10 becomes magic.

Party all night

So I met some of the classiest partygoers that can really be seen at a time like 8am Sunday morning. Instead of the raucous, incoherent drunks that stagger home, I approached the epitome of style and grace. Okay sure, it was obvious that they were very intoxicated and their body language told me that right away. Still, instead of the usual irritating, slurred speech that seemingly only other drunk people can understand, I listened to a charismatic couple engage me in some friendly witty banter. So after a round of pleasant small talk, we went our separate ways but I didn't think that they were quite done either. Although we weren't near any bars or pubs, somehow he walked down the road with a freshly poured glass of beer and she could have had what looked like a martini - shaken, I suppose.