Bus'n here now

Buys I'm telling you now. I made some deadly soup today with all home grown vegetables and I'm bloated on two heaping bowls. I'm pretty sure they are two pint bowls. Hold on I'll check ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬``¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Oh my goodness! No wonder I'm hurtin. Sure I ate at least 2L of soup, and a drink ta boot. I'd undo my belt and unbutton my shirt, but my pants are half off me with nar belt, and I only got an undershirt on. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Well, it tasses like Chirstmas I think, and I happen to have a weakness for Christmas. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Starting to feel a little napish now. Tongue's burnt from testing the soup. I know I should have left that big chunk of potato alone. I wonder if the aloe plant in the kitchen will be soothing at all? ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ I really wanted to do something productive today but I didn't have it in me. I just felt like I should be doing something, but I couldn't come up with what that thing was. I thought it was "Clean your room for Jesus." But she's spic and span now, and I still feel like something is missing. I'm thinking about when I felt like this in the past and I'm pretty sure it's related to sleep. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Last night I was up late doing some writing and I was feeling good. I slept well, but not a full 8 hours, though I've been aiming for 7 these days and feeling good with that. It was more like 5 hours, then up for 20 min and back for another hour after my client decided to stay in bed another hour. I think the 2:30pm lie in threw off his system; though he sleeps like the tilt all day long, God love um. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ I got up and felt alert, but I felt some guilt, or anxiety. Well, not really that, but it's the feeling you get when you know you should do your home work but are not too excited about the idea. Maybe I felt like I should do some exercise, have everything lined up for my trip to Italy. I'm pretty on top of that stuff, so maybe it's just sleep. I also get the feeling when I have been off work for too long, but I'm working 24/7 sure. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Enough about that. I'm too caught up in Christmas. Sleepover at Fosts house, watching movies and playing video games. laughing over a cup of egg nog and falling asleep in front of the fire place. Clementines and cheery cake, dipping home made bread toast in hot chocolate while mom takes off my skates, toes frozen from a day spent out on our backyard rink. A phone call from my big cousin Jamie from across the road, he wants to go up the pole line on behind my house on GT, and I'm too young to realize he either had nobody else to call, or his mother put him up to it. Ignorance is bliss, and I'm elated. The only time I'm ever up there the same time as he and Steve is when we just happened to run into them. If there was ever some dog poo around Steve would stand about 5 feet away from it and call me to come over. I never caught on, and I don't even know if I knew what was happening half the time. Whatever, I'm sure it was frozen poo anyways. !¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ The smell of spruce tree when I walked in the door after school. Early evenings, where there was always enough snow to start making a fort, but never enough patience to finish. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ We always had this green plastic cup under the bathroom sink, with a Kraft Peanut butter bear on the front. Whenever I was out playing in my snow suit and needed to pee,my mother would bring down the cup so I didn't have to go any farther than the porch. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Grade one gift exchange at school and I happened to bring the coolest gift. I don't know how the odds worked out, but I ended up with my own. I was stoked, but Jeremy Spence ended up with his own as well, and his just happened to be the worst gift. A story book about Santa, not impressive. The teacher made us exchange and I was so jealous as I watched him stick a suction cup to the window and propel an action figure into his desk. So many cookies on that last day of school. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ I wake up too early on Christmas day so I go out and watch Tiny Toons, and Shake Rattle and Role. I probably could have done with some more sleep, but you don't miss it until after the gifts are opened anyways. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Christmas is huge, and I have books worth of memories, but these are some of the more obscure ones that come to mind. Gone for a walk now.

Christmas is coming

I know it's not even december but I'm feeling the CHristmasnes about me and getting exciting. I guess part of it is the excitement for finishing this job in a week and all the fun adventuries that await me. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ This is just a short note to let you all know that I might throw some of my favourite Christmas memories and traditions at you. It's funny what you remember, and I tend to remember a lot in the order of life events. Get at me wolf David and all things that are good My president is black................

Sometimes the product isn't ready for production

So I get up today and head to the office, but the product is not ready for production. In fact, it is very much in its primary stages shows no interest in the tertiary. I guess it involves too much paper work, and it's much easier to just stay in bed. So I go out and fix myself a hot cup of water with a sprig of lemon, turn the couch around, put on a fresh pair of socks, and place my feet up on the window as I watch the birds having their breakfast. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ I turn on the computer to make sure there aren't any businessy type things. You know. email replies, updates to other blogs, and some youtubery. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Clock strikes 9am, and I'm reminded that the product us usually processed, packaged and ready for another nap by this time. There has been an issue in the assembly line as of late, and so I'm not too worried. At least this time there has been no uproar from the disgruntled union reps. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ It's now 9:36am and there has been no change. It's hard to see the birds now with the sun beaming in on my retini, but I'm not one to complain about sunlight. My stomach doesn't feel like anything should be ett, which is probably due to my lack of activity these past two weeks, and the large bowl of serial I had at 1am, after 2 hours of unsettled sleep. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can feel that my body needs exercise, because the operating system is a little buggy, and somewhere in the middle is a whole lot of inactivity. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Today I shall run and get out and about. Yesterday I still felt like I was sinking back into sickness, but I'm pretty sure a lot of that had to do with the half a cake I ate. I've been off the deserts altogether, but a little something once in a while isn't so bad. Of course, once I accept the fact that I wont be having anymore for a long time, I tend to over do it. Cake and a protein shake for lunch. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ I'm feeling to relaxed and lazy to be productive yet, but yesterday I felt educational like for the first time in ages. What I mean is, I was fixed on a task enough that I was not giving into distractions and mucking about on the interhole. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ I've started in on a business plan for the future. Can't tell you about it, and part of that is because I don't want it to be another one of those ideas I come up with that never com to fruition. Although, part of the reason I tell people about my ideas is so that i will feel half responsible for getting into it and applying myself. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ In the two hours I slept between 11pm & 1am last night, I had a scary dream, and it felt sort of like what people call The Old Hag, where you are awake but can't move your body. Well, I dreamt that my client was sitting in his chair and then he got down on the ground all scared like. I got down with him to ask him what was the matter and he was terrified as he said, "There's an apparition here." I felt a bit gross as if there was something else there with us, but I got the impression that he could see this thing very clearly standing in front of us. I was getting scared and I lay down on the floor and closed my eyes, but I could pick out the objects of the room through my eyelids, and my fear was growing as I felt this dark presence pressing down upon me. My body was starting to feel hot as the pressing grew ever more intense. Then I felt something pressing down against my face with heat, and it was then that I saw a flash of light and woke up in the same fear. I could feel the blanket against my cheek which I assume is what I felt on my face. It wasn't pleasant but I eventually nodded off back to sleep. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ So it's 10am now as the bird clock is indicating to me, and I'm still here in the sun. Watching clay animated Christmas movies every day now, and feeling the festive mood. I'm done in less than 2 weeks, thas deadly sure

I was sick

I@m feeling a lot better now, but for the past two weeks or so I had the stomach flew, or some like bug. Before that I was super healthy. I was following an eating schedule that was meant to improve energy levels. I was doing a regular set of exercises every day, not repetitive from day to day, but from week to week. I also was on a running schedule meant for team sport athletes, which consisted of 2 running days per week and 3 walking days. Running days were: Jog for 5 min, run 45sec, jog 2 min, run 45 etc. for 7 rotations of each. This is one of the best discoveries ever because I always feel great after a good hard hockey game, you know, feeling like you did something but your mind is wide awake, refreshed and alert. It is for this reason it will take me 2-3 hours of winding down before I'm ready for bed after a 1am game.`¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Well, all that went to pot when I got sick and couldn't stomach anything. I'm going to go for a run before bed, and I did a little bit of exercise, but it's funny how you can be thrown back to square one just like that. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ I'm sure there's a lesson or six in this for me, but what comes to mind is how free I felt when I was sick. First of two points; I felt free from following a set routine that I might do begrudgingly, even though I always felt better after the fact. That's a minor point because it's not like I was trying to be a beef cake, I just want to feel good and exercise my muscles so that they are useful when I need them. I also find I'm much more liable to pull something when I'm out of shape, and I notice this in other people too. I'm not thinking of anyone in particular, well, yes I am, but none of you would know this person. I'm talking about the lazy cycle. Can't do anything active because I'll pull a muscle, or I have a sensitive area. Well, for a lot of people, the sensitive area has developed because they are inactive and just haven't exercise the area in question, or the muscles around to help the debilitated bit. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ My second point, or realization was that I spend far too much time planning and worrying about what I'm going to do in the future. If you know me then maybe you're laughing at the fact that I really don't seem to have much of a plan at all. This is true, but I still do too much. See, when I'm sick, my focus becomes recovery. I can't feel guilty about not getting out of the house, or producing a piece of writing, or booking things, finding jobs, etc. all the stuff I put on my list of things to do so that they don't float around in my head in a circle, continuously crashing into my worrisome abode. (Lots of birds in the back yard here, and several have flown into the window, hence the analogy). When I'm sick I sleep and have hot drinks. I feel excuse from the extras and only do the things that need to be done, such as cooking and some cleaning, some. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Although I feel a little more liberated, I understand this is no indication to swing to the other end of the pendulum arch, but to make my way to the middle, and find balance. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Balance is deadly sure.

If you bought a new suit for church, then you've missed the point

I used to want to buy a suit for church, you know, to at least look respectable one day of the week. Then I lost interest, and started to hate the fact that people wore suits in church. I thought it was exactly the opposite of what God wants from us. People getting all dressed up in a status symbol to go worship their God in humility and pray that they have a heart for His children.``````------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had a conversation about this with my grandmother once and she said something that made sense. "Originally people didn't buy suits for church, they bought them for work because their place of business required them to look a certain way. Because they already had a suit they were getting dressed up in their best clothes to show respect for God." These aren't her exact words but that was the basic idea. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I can live with that concept, because some people are in work positions where their materialistic coworkers, clients, and superiors are not going to give them the same respect if they don't fall into line and "Look respectable." If you happen to have a good suit lying around for this reason, then it only makes sense that you would show the same respect for God that you would for the business collective. Maybe wearing a suit to work isn't a sign of respect, at least that's not how I would feel. I'd wear it because others are going to respect me more, thus my opinion will be listened to if I adhere to the social norms. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So maybe a suit isn't the best thing for me to wear to church. I mean, if it is associated with social distinction, then it is a symbol of division of class, which I don't think holds any place in the church. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So if you bought a suit for church, then you've missed the point. If you have a suit and want to look your best for God, I can see how you might argue that you wear it out of reverence, and not to impress others. But how intimidating is the church service going to be for someone who is not wealthy, who just lost their job and showed up at church as a step of faith? Someone who needs a break, but all they get is a smile and a hand shake from you in your suit. I know this bit sounds harsh and bitter like, but I really don't mean it that way. The church is always getting flack, but I think some of it is rooted in truth, or is at least a frantic offshoot of truth. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I know when you walk into my church back home in a suit you are going to feel overdress, and maybe you get a taste of what it feels like for new people walking into your church. The church building is not somewhere you should ever feel out of place, unless you find something in yourself that needs to change. Does that make sense? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't mean to glorify my church over any other, because that's another thing that makes me sick. Competition, division and bickering between churches. I know there are going to be differences in opinion, but these issues all have to be dealt with in love. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I even thought about buying a suit this year, but I would be doing it for the wrong reasons, in fact I know I would. Vanity is a bad scene, and so is sloth. That's why the Christian walk is about balance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't get me wrong, I've made some ridiculous purchases before. In fact, I'm wearing one right now. A hoodie I bought after tree planting that cost me $109.99+tax. i had a lot of money in my hands and I felt justified in treating myself, but these treats never sit well with me, until eventually I accept that I'm forgiven for my foolish actions and live with my purchase. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I don't know, maybe I'm just throwing stones up in the air and hope they fall on whoever they may.

The Hunt

On Saturday past I went to see the hounds before they set off for their annual fox hunt that has been tradition in England since I can remember. It has been changed a bit in recent years, thanks to such lovelies as Sir Linda McCartney and Rickey Lake. The animal rights types have gotten some bills passed so the hunt has been modified to keep within legal bounds. Now they go out and follow a sent trail, rather than take a jont across the country side to mangle foxi as they go; but if they happen upon a fox, there's not much you can do. It sounds bad, but so does the seal hunt to some people. I'm okay with the hunt, as long as it is used to control fox populations. They are bad news for the farmers who herd on the lands, and they eat eggs. But even this reasoning is not good enough anymore. I get it, they were here first, and "Animals are people too!" sure, whatever you're into. So here are some snaps from the event. that's all I got to say

What I Like To

I know I should be sleeping, but I have too much on my mind right now and I don't feel like sleep is wanting at the present of timings.................................................................................. I quite enjoy skateboarding, but not as much as I would like to. I love it, but I might go a few days without being in the mood, even though it's a perfect day for it, I just couldn't be bothered, and it's not something you can force. Well, you can, but it's not as enjoyable and when you're not pumped about it you don't skate half as well........................................................................ I've been out skateboarding before and not really been into it. Then someone I haven't seen in a while shows up and I get psyched. Then all my tricks are faster, smother, bigger, and I'm trying more. It's frustrating because sometimes you want to do something, and you know you've done it 50 times before, but you're just not in the mood, so it isn't going to work out. Trying at this point means you're more likely to hurt yourself, and knowing this just makes you less likely to throw down. I watched this video I have linked ( http://www.globe.tv/eu/skate/video/ubf-episode-2-215 If the link doesn't show up, then just cut and past this into your web browser )................................................................ The Jesus looking character in the second half of the video is Christ Haslam. He's one of the best professional skateboarders around, and this material is pretty good, even though it's a free video showing on the company web site. -------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the type of thing I like to watch before I go skateboarding, and I can watch it over and over again. I know some people watch movies over again, but there are only a select few I can do that with, and even then, I can't watch them as often as I can watch a skate video. I could watch a skate video 3 times over as long as I didn't get sick of sitting in front of a screen. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wish I was better at skateboarding, because I'm really not very good at all. I can get around on one, and I can do 20 or so tricks, I don't know; I've even done some cool things that I'm proud of, but anyone who has been skateboarding for.... 13-14 years, and who grew up with one always around, should be able to do a thing or two. In those years I didn't skate all the time. I mean, I never stopped skateboarding, but in the winter we would do it less, going down to the mun underground parking every now and then, and highschool and university got in the way as well. I love skateboarding, but it has to fit in behind some other priorities.------------------------------------------------- I never quite. I found it amusing when Skateboarding was not "Cool" once we hit grade 10 and a lot of people gave it up, but they couldn't give up buying the shoes. If you lost interest and found something else, I get it, but for the most part I don't think that's what it was. I think it was image. "Skateboarding is for kids." I don't know how many times I heard people say something about me, or someone else beign too old for skateboarding. Like in highschool, just about all my cloths were skate shirts and stuff, but once in gym class I mentioned my skateboard, and this guy says, "Vincent, you don't own a skateboard do you?" I was a but put off my it, but it isn't something that makes me embarrassed, I think I'm more embarrassed for the people who think like this, because it's irrational and only exists in their head because they are trend followers who need someone to tell them what they should think of the world around them..... but maybe this is how some people see my Christianity.......................................................... Here are the real kickers. The boys who gave up skateboarding because it wasn't cool anymore. Well, any time you bring your board around they want to try it and it's hard to get it back from them. It's like a guilty pleasure for them. So really, they aren't the cool kids who grew out of it and moved onto better things. They moved on, but they're still looking back and wanting to do what they enjoy, but are afraid they wont find a date for the winter semi-formal dance if they give into their primal urges. Oh, and the girls who aren't going to go to the prom with you? Well, now that skateboarding has gotten more mainstream, and it showed up in shows like, The O.C., they're a little more cool with it. I mean, all those Biblical scholars, Philosophers, and Great Minds of Our Time, who are writing these fictitious scripts, I mean, they can't be wrong can they? So let your heart rest assured that The It Crowed have given skateboarding their Pink-dress-shirt, foe-hawk-mullet, tight-jeans-studded-belt, sporting approval..................................................... So I haven't grown out of skateboarding, just like the footballers and hockey players haven't grown out of their sports. And another thing, while I'm at it. I don't mind people going to the gym, because I understand that some people need to get out to do things active, but try to stay away from it. don't throw your money down the drain when you know you could do the same exercise at home using things around the house. That way the time spent on your workout doesn't have to include the time it takes to get ready and go to and from the gym. I used to think working out was the most foolish thing, because people grew out of activities, and into these dull routines. Well, not everyone likes sports, I get it, but it's also good to work on different muscles so that when you are playing sports you don't hurt yourself. That, and your sport of choice might be neglecting a few muscles that are trying to help you stand up. What was the other thing? Oh yeah. Don't start working out when you're 19 or so. If you're still growing then you're going to end up with stretch marks, and your body just needs to work itself out first. that and you probably dont need it, except for some lighter stuff, jsut don't beef up. I don't ever recommend beefing up, but some people are into it so whatever. Yeah, when you get to my age you start to lose your youthful metabolism and it's good to stay healthy. I'm not interested in being a beef cake, but I do understand that the body is a temple, and so I'm starting to exercise and watch what I eat a lot more........................................................................... I gotta go to bed

¬¬Four Petur¬

I did not realize until Pete pointed it out to me that I there is no indication of one paragraph being separated from another. I have all kinds of them in the original but I guess when I cut and paste into www.blogger.com they all disappear. That's no god shur. Whell, I hope to fics that in the future. I don't expect anyone made their way through that post anyways. SO I would like to have a good vomit. My stumik has been acting up off and on all week, and tday it is just upset. I jsut want to throw up and hope that fixes everything. http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=cats%20in%20hats&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi So again, I am soooo sorry about the lack of paraffin in my blogs, and I hope to correct this in the future. I hope you alll have a supper time and don't do anything I would do! lol ttyl wwjd brb

Warning, Another Preachy Post

Yeah this one's about the leaflet I got from the JW's. It got me curious so I looked into it a bit. No adventures here, just some of that bland old insight into life, death, and eternal purpose. What Happens When You Die? Well, I was always taught that when we die we will stand at judgement before God, and our life will be laid out before us. If we were acceptable, then our name will be found in The Lambs Book of Life and we will enter into heaven then and there. If we were unacceptable then we went to Hell, where we would exist in eternal torment, worse for some than for others, depending on our lives. In the same way there will be different classifications in heaven. Basically, and this is not all inclusive but a snap shot of salvation, you have to accept that you are a sinner, just as all humanity is, and that once sin entered the world, back in the garden, God’s relationship with humanity changed. Eventually a prophesied Messiah came to earth, Jesus Christ the Son of God. Now our way into heaven is through belief in Him. I don’t mean, “Yes I believe there was a guy named Jesus.” Because the Bible says, even the Demons believe in Him and shutter. Belief as in faith in Him; believing He is the way, truth and the life, and that no body can come to the father except through him. This path is made through admitting you are a sinner and that Jesus died on the cross as a final sacrifice for your sins, so that there would no longer need be animal sacrifices. I don’t know why there had to be blood spilit in the first place, but it was required, along with other things you don’t understand in this life. Then again, I might come across it in the Bible some day and it will make sense. So yeah, I believed that you accept Christ as your savior and that you choose to follow Him. Simple as that. It is as simple as that I guess, but the terms of following Christ are more than just be happy and eat your vitamins. There is no need to mention everything one must do over and over again, because these stipulations are implied in the words “Follow Me.” To follow, His life as an example, upholding the commandments as he taught, wherein Love is the greatest command. It’s the greatest because from it spring all the others, so it’s a short way of saying follow it all. Okay okay, I’ll through some scripture in there. I know I am recounting what I believed in my head, but now it’s starting to get more technical. Mat 22:36"Teacher, which [is] the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is [the] first and great commandment. 39 And [the] second [is] like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." 2John 1:5 Now I ask you, lady, not as though {I were} writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ {as} coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 9 Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into {your} house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. Every now and then I come upon a verse that makes me cringe a little, and I think, “Really God? Although I guess verse 10 and 11 is talking about those who bring an opposing message. I mean, if someone is sternly telling you something that goes against the word, then don’t listen, but I wish it was spelled out more in this manner, a little clearer. Because as it stands it is saying anyone. So if we come upon someone who doesn’t agree we are not to let them in our house? Hmmm I’ll have to think about this one, or discuss it or something. Doesn’t ring well in my ear. But I guess a homosexual who reads the Bible is going to come across several verses that make them cringe. This Bible racket is tough though isn’t it. To try understanding and accepting through the lens of our social upbringing. The customs and habits we have grown up in. So what was I talking about? Death, right. I received a tracked today from a Jehovah’s Witness, and it has a few scripture verse in it. One of the sections tells you what happens when you die. They quote Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun. 7 Go, eat your bread with joy, And drink your wine (None alcoholic for you Pentecostal crowd. Oh wait… that’s me I guess) with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works. 8 Let your garments always be white, And let your head lack no oil. 9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that [is] your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do [it] with your might; for [there is] no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. 11 I returned and saw under the sun that-- The race [is] not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favour to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all. The J W’s say, “Since the dead cannot know, feel, or experience anything, they cannot harm or help the living. Referring also to Psalms. Psalm 146:3 Do not put your trust in princes, [Nor] in a son of man, in whom [there is] no help. 4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish. I;m not really buying it though. Seems like some assumptions going on here. Sure you can derive more understanding from a verse than what it says, if one thing automatically falls under the understanding of another, but I can’t say this is enough for me to jump on board. I just want to know what part of the individual the scripture is referring to when it says They, as in “Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun.” This would have to refer to the living body, the material life, because it is clear that after Jesus was crucified that dead Saints, or followers of God, or however you want to define them, they were seen walking through the streets. Awakened from their sleeping in the earth. When you put these verses together, does it makes sense that when believers die, they are resting in the ground, like Walt Disney, waiting for the return of Christ? Perhaps… I’m not going to finish that. I’m curious to know what happened to all the dead who died before Christ. Anyways, here are the verses talking about The Night of the Living Dead, or something to that effect. Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. 54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" Don’t agree? Well I’m just curious, and I’m willing to admit that I am wrong. If you have any suggestions I’m open, but I hope you’re will to admit that you’re wrong as well. This is not to say that there are definite facets of faith that I wont budge on. That’s faith really, believing with a ridged mind, rather than an open one that is like shifting sand. You know, stand firm on the rock, not on sandy ground, because a rock does not move, it’s fixed, while sand is all over the place, much like Oprah’s fan base. You know, grabbing onto the latest trend in spirituality. I don’t expect to read the Bible and have it agree with everything in me, because I’m human and I’ve grown up in a western culture that has polluted my mind with jargon, rhetoric, and cultural muck. The Bible is a challenge to Christians, not to be conformed, but to conform. I guess it frustrates me to see these trends pop up, like The Secrete, which has some old ideas in there, but with a new twist. It’s a goody bag of knowledge I guess, picking the choice cuts, parts you like the most and meld well with the way you are already living, and letting the rest slide. It’s just so selfish. Faith and life isn’t about us, but fulfilling our purpose is not a daunting task, it’s an adventure, and it’s rewarding. I guess you could say it is about us in the end, because nobody wants to end up in Hell, in eternal separation from your creator. So I guess life is about me, but when I say me I’m talking about the eternal part of me that will go on after my physical life. In the end it’s a good idea to think ahead, you know, to the huge chunk of infinity that occurs after you stop breathing here, and all your Ninja turtles and Barbie dolls are gone. Along with your photo albums, Christmas gifts, house car, and all that other rubbish. We are meant to be set apart from this world, not to love it, nor to conform to it, but to penetrate it. I’m always up for being challenged, but if you can’t back up what you believe with scripture then your words probably wont hold too much water. There’s plenty more to say about death and thereafter, but I’m going to throw this up there for now. Sure nobody’s going to read this whole thing anyways, and what odds. It’s mostly for my benefit, I guess with an open invitation.

War k

what was I going to say?

I was about to fall asleep, but my mind was runing over something, and it kept going, as if I was thinking up what I would write tomorrow. Well, it was keeping me up so I figured I might as well write it now and get it out. I was thinking about how I'm such a sucker for a pretty face, and how I might get stuck in the interhole looking at friends on facebook and pictures of their pretty friends, you know, general creeping around stuff; and I'll end up waisting time at it until I'm all in a lull. I get dragged out looking at pointless stuff on the internet, but it's so easy to do, and such a sedentary pleasure with momentary enjoyment. When I'm in a relationship, I don't look at other girls at all, and for a while after I've gotten out of a relationship I don't want to see attractive girls at all. I'm at the point now where I can appreciate a pretty face again, but I know it's not a good idea. I mean, it's not like I'm looking at porn, or I'm chatting up these girls, but still, it's pointless and it gets under your skin. I guess it's comparable to going to an open house back home when you really have no intention of moving in. You just want to look inside, and poke around, you know, have a good lurk, and you might even go home and fantasize about selling the house you're in and....... you know this would be a better analogy for someone in a relationship. No no, it can still apply, because the house is symbolic of a situation. therefore the situation I'm in now is just fine, and there's no need to buy a house, or something. Well, that wasn't really my intention, to get into that. I was mostly thinking about how people try to set me up with their granddaughters and stuff like that. No, none of that has happened here. I'll be talking to someone, and they'll start in on something about relationships, and it may take me a minute or so before it clicks in. "Ohhh, right! I'm a 26 year old male in the church and I'm supposed to be married off by now and saving Canadian Tire money so I can buy young Ronnie a new swing set for Christmas! No by, not my racket." They'll say things like, "Oh how lucky the one that lands you!" Or, "I'm sure God has a women who is waiting out there for you." Well, sure that's possible, but why is the late church so caught up in getting hitched? Here's what Jesus had to say about the matter Matthew 12:10 His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with [his] wife, it is better not to marry." 11 But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only [those] to whom it has been given 12 For there are eunuchs who were born thus from [their] mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept [it], let him accept [it]." And PAUL 1Cr 7:6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. 7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. 8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn [with passion]. Well, it looks like marriage, though a blessed gift, is a last resort for those who cannot control themselves. So why don't I hear this in church? Maybe you have, and no doubt it gets preached about, but anytime I hear a valentines day sermon, or any day on "Love" or Marriage, I don't hear about this and it frustrates me because there are three Biblical reasons listed here for why one might be a eunuch, so they have to be in the congregation, and what do they get out of it? I'm not saying that every sermon has a message for everyone present, but if I'm a 14 year old boy who doesn't understand why he's not attracted to girls, or boys either for that matter, then how am I going to feel? Confused I bet. No this is not a personal account. I'm not gay and I wasn't confused at 14 over whether I liked girls or not, I was confused over why I felt unhappy about going to church and excited whenever it was snowed out. I liked God, but there was something about getting up on Sunday for church I never enjoyed. Anyways. I'm not saying marriage is evil, I'm just saying it's only one option and not the be all and end all. I don't know if I'll end up married or not, but I don't care. I'm going to be where I'm supposed to be, alone or avec wife. Eat a balanced diet, get regular sleep, do some exercise, and have a good scrub every now and then. The body is a temple for goodness sake. David aka sinner # 824628282623891223973498298876341376123836987456789878565-E

Smonnday MORNIGHT

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KG2NTB5vGUs So it's Monday night but it feels like a Sunday morning, that's what the title's about. The song? Well, it's pop music for sure, but it's a solid tune I think, and it makes me feel the way I should. I came across it while listening to a 3rd Day track on youtube. This Krystal Meyers girl popped up on the side bar suggestions so I gave it a while. She looked like the Hilary Duff type. hold on, homes needs something. Now I'm back and I don't feel like writing nutting so I'm going to bed out of it. I just hope you're all doing as well as I am.

Incase you were thinking about jacking me......

I will now spill the beans on my travel plans etc. First I would like to add a new feature when possible. I will list the song I am listening to on Youtube as I go along through the post. ( http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y0s7ycdUcHk Counting Crows, Colourblind). Here's what I have planned. I'm working until December 5th, at which point I will be heading back into London and hopefully will make it out to hockey that night as the 5th falls on a Friday. On the 6th I have a wedding to attend for my former flat mate/paster/landlord. On the 7th I'll probably go to church and play it low key. dec 8th I'm doing Christmas shopping in London and will be going with my friend Erin to see Wicked, a musical about the wicked witch of the west as she tells her story; You know,the one from he Wizard of Oz. On the 9th Erin and I are heading to Manchester to check that place out, coming back later on the 10th. Then I catch a flight to Milan on the morning of the 11th, which is when I begin my tour of Italy that will take me up to December 20th. I fly back to London and on the 21st I fly to Toronto where I'll be spending a few days with uncle Robert and family, leaving on the 23rd to head home. I'll be in St. John's December 23rd with family and the like, and I hope to stay around at least a week into January, but we'll see how things go. I just got an letter for an interview on November 19th, but I don't know if I will be able to make it because I can't leave here and I need to give 1 months notice for any time I take off. This is because they have to find someone to come live here in my place while I'm gone. So, if I get that job then I don't know when they will want me to come back. no I'm not going to miss Christmas or New years at home, but I just don't know how accommodating they will be if another applicant with the same criteria as me applies without so much time booked upside of the country. Once i get into an interview, people fall in love with me, it's getting to that point that is sometimes difficult....... you know, I've never had an interview and not gotten the job. So, if I should be there I will be there and that's just how it is. This is my understanding of the Christian faith on such matters, where one must combine the idea of free will with the concept of God's plan. Sure there's a plan, but if everything happened exactly the way God intended it to, then our choices in life would all be predetermined, thus God would predetermine some people to chose hell, eternal damnation and all that racket, which goes against his desire for all humanity to worship him. I know I'm being a bit lazy here and not providing scripture references, so don't take this as the gospel truth. Don't take anything as the gospel truth unless it is backed up with Scripture. So, in order for there to be free will and plan, then the plan, I believe, will follow easily when we place God first and are making choices based on what we believe he wants us to do. How do you know what God wants you to do? Well, some people have an easier time with this than others, and I believe I am one of those who has a hard time with it, but is half convinced that I have it figured out. I'm like a boards hugger. Like someone who skates around the rink holding the side of the boards and lets go every now and again with a bit of confidence, but once they get too caught up in how good they are doing it on their own the fall on their backside and end up back holding the boards again. I really wasn't sure where I was goign with that analogy but I didn't stop typing and it worked itself out in the end. Jesus being the boards. If you don't get this it's okay, but I don't feel like explaining it any further. So we have free will to do what we want, but when we chose to do things based on what seems right, and then pray for God's guidance through it, then I believe it will work out the way it was supposed to. More specifically, I think this job could be a good move. It would get me back to where my friends are in Croydon, and I would be able to go back to playing hockey, while having more free time than I do here. But I understand that these might be selfish ambitions, so I accept the fact that I might not be meant to go to Croydon, and I know that if it doesn't work out that I will find myself still happy wherever I am, and know that I am where I should be. That's faith I think. I have an idea of what I want, but I don't place any faith in myself because I'm not as good at understanding the eternal purpose of each and every minute as my creator is. Does everything happen for a reason? I would usually say know, but the true answer is yes. Why? Well here's an example. Why am I 800 lbs? The reason is probably not "Because God willed it." The reason is probably "because I substitute butter for milk in my coco puffs every morning." But I guess when people make the statement, "Everything happens for a reason." They are talking about divine reason, appointed by a higher power. I'm not sold 100% on this idea, but I will have to get through the Bible at least once before I am satisfied. However, for now, it makes sense to me that there is a divine plan, and we have free will to chose to follow it or not. how we make that choice is not always easy to see, but living based on Biblical principles is a good start. I just fee like, if I am headed in the wrong direction and I ask for guidance, while doing what I believe is the right thing to do, or at least not obviously wrong, then how it all works out is left in Gods hands. So I want to get this job, and I will do all I can to get it, but if I don't get it then I wont be upset because I know there is something better for me, somewhere where I'm needed. It's a pretty relaxed way to live, it just takes letting go of your self-security, accepting that you really don't have a clue about what is best for you. I really didn't intend to get preachy here, but that's sort of how a rant goes really doesn't it? I felt like writing a blog about something, so I started on my travels and then I ended up here. I hope someone got a good taste out of it. Oh, as far as my job goes, feel free to pray about it, in Jesus name of course. If you're not into Jesus that's cool, but please don't pray to anyone else because I'd rather not have my opportunities curse for the sake of glorifying another god. I guess that's another factor to take into consideration hey. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. Oh well, enough of that, I'm off. David

Adopting The Culture, Good £ Bad

Since I've been living in Stewkley I purchased my first Soccer Jersey, A Manchester United red Jersey that was only £10 because it was used and had a misspelled name on the back of it. So the British culture is permeating my skin a bit, and it is also beginning to show in my behaviour. My last client told me that moaning is a British pass time, and the following is a little bit of just that. I lost my internet connection last night while I was watching Top Gear on the bbc web site. This happened around 7:30pm, and around the same time I lost use of the telephone outlet in the main room. I didn't think much of it, so after doing the usual routine of fiddling with wires and power buttons, I gave up and left it for the morning. When I woke up everything was back to normal and I had lost sleep over nothing! No, tell lies. I didn't lose any sleep, and everything was just as Un'working as it had been previously, so I called the help line for BT, British Telephone. Now this problem had happened before with the internet, and after following their regimented set of tasks, everything was set back to normal, but no body had any idea why the connection was disturbed in the first place. It's sure a fun time to follow the pre-scripted instructions of a British Telephone help line, which is obviously set up in India somewhere and lacks any understand that goes outside of the routine. You have to be careful what terms you use when describing your problem. For example; if I tell them I have two phone's in the house, I can't tell them they are on the same line because this implies that they are both hooked up to the same chord or that they are both plugged into the same phone jack, or hole in the wall, outlet... I really don't know if any of these words meant any more to them than if I said towtin. But the description doesn't really seem to matter that much because no matter how many words I feed them after they say, "now how can I help you today sir?" I always end up going through the same routine with them. "Ooooh kaaaay sir could you please click on the start button for me at the bottom of your computer screen. Now you are going to see the following options...... now click on control panel. Now you are going to see the following options." Don't get me wrong, I understand how this routine has been designed to ideate proof the system, but sometimes you just want to have a conversation. So this kind chap, who is only trying to make a dollar, takes me through the process. I tell him the connection to the modem is fine, but the internet connection is flashing orange, meaning it's not ago. So we follow the tape, and through 3 useless steps I get to the screen he wants, which lets him know i wasn't lying when I said, "it's not working." Then he has to call me on my mobile phone so we can talk while the land line and internet connection are being tested. If I didn't have a cell phone, I don't know what he would have done, because this is clearly stated as step 14 on his task list. We check the line, and nothing is wrong there, so he then talks me through resetting the modem configurations manually. I told him at the start of our interaction that this was the problem last time, but I guess skipping a few steps wouldn't be kosher. Whatever, this guy is just trying to do his job. Now the internet is back up and running, and I check two web sites to make sure, because that's what he asked of me. Then we attempt to get the phone line back in working order. In order to do this he needs to speak to my client, on my cell phone, which is not very loud, while my client is very hard of hearing. This varification process involves some frustration on the part of my client, and some patience from the BT help guy and me. Once that is complete we go through a couple steps and I attempt to explain my problem, sifting through some selective technical terms. Eventually he says he needs to put me through to different department who will give me my "Internet phone number". Apparently this is necessary in order for my regular phone number to work on the same "line" as the other phone in the house. If this doesn't make sense, I really don't think it should, but from what I gather, I have two phones working on one phone number, but one of the phones stopped working so it was concluded that this phone was in sync with the internet connection and must be reconfigured in order to work. Now to do this takes a bit of Tom Dickery. because I don't know this number, my loyal assistant has to put me through to someone in another department who has been keeping this number secrete from all the other staff. I believe his name was Neo. So Neo gets on the line, "Hello Mr. Vincent." "Hello." I reply. "Hello Mr. Vincent. Mr. Vincent?" "Hello, can you hear me?" I ask Beep Beep Beep! Lost signal, which is not uncommon out here in the country. Though it's only a short ways outside London. I thought they might call back, because they had called my cell phone 10 minutes ago when we started testing the land line. But there was no call, so I called them again and this time I got a different agent. Yes, I had to start the process all over again. Though we didn't have to do the internet check, so it wasn't as long. I explained the situation and I believe he picked up on a few key words and began to go into one of his routines. When I told him about the phone number I was told I needed he gave me a 0800 number to call for their technical support, though I couldn't figure out what he was if I had to be put through to technical support. I questioned him on this when he said "Okay Mr.blahblah(My clients name), you are going to have to call this 0800 number in order to get the telephone number you require." I was curious, so I said, "When I called 10 minutes ago I had gotten to this stage and the employee I was speaking with had connected me with the "technical support" and that is when I got cut off. "Yes Mr. blah-blah, you are going to have to call this 0800 number in order to get the telephone number you require. Then you can call me back and we will test your connection." "I don't understand. Why would I have to call this 0800 number so that I can get a number I need in order for you to help me further? The last employee I was talk to had put me through to the technical department." I was calm, and didn't make that tone of voice people get on with when they are irate and irritated, wanting the person they are talking to to know this, but still maintaining some false sense of dignity. "Yes Mr. blahblah, you can call this 0800 number because you don't want to be held up in long call waiting lines." "I am not entirely sure, because I didn't ask him, but I'm pretty sure the type of lines he was talking about were much like the one I was held in before I got to speak with him, and would soon find myself in again when I had to call him back again; or call his number again, which would put me through to yet another helpful employee who would hear my spiel. I gathered from this that he was not as interested in helping me out as he was interested in getting back to chatting up the girl in cubical E-34c, next to him. I took the number, and also made note to press option 1 and then option 3, but this proved to be incorrect as there was no option 3. So I get through to another fellow, and this time I am smart enough to jot down his name, which he had to spell out for me, and I dared not attempt to pronounce. I explained my situation to him and he began quoting prices for use of this internet line to me. At which point I figured something was lost in translation. Maybe it wasn't, but he reminded me of these prices and after deciphering what it was I wanted, he said the number was confidential and he would not be able to tell it to me over the phone and that he was mailing me a letter that should arrive in 4-5 business days. "What? Would I be able to get this number if I had the account holder verify this call for you?" I was now on the land line and this would involve wheeling my client through the house to say yes to a question he didn't understand. "No, it's just that this information is confidential and we have no way of verifying whether you are calling from a valid number or not." "So you don't have call display is what you are telling me, and because of this you have to send the number to my address in order for us to check and see if there is something wrong with the phone line." "Yes Mr. Vincent, it is probably a technical malfunction, but in order to test the line I must first send you this number. So if you hold for just a moment I will write up this letter to send to your home address........ Okay Mr.Vincent I have just written the letter you will receive in 4-5 business days. Is there anything else I may help you with today?" "A wardrobe malfunction? I mean, technical malfunction? I'm just curious, what sort of thing might happen in order for my internet and phone lines to all of a sudden stop working last night? I mean, what qualifies as a technical malfunction?" I know, I know. You aren't supposed to carry on conversations with customer help lines. You either explain to them how the line was disrupted while you were having a game of cards next door with the new couple that just moved in; lovely couple, but she chats too much for you. Or you get irate and scream some profanities at them, asking to speak to their manager, or hang up in a tiff. I chose none of these options. I know what it's like to deal with customers and I would have to say, they are the absolute worst kind of people. You are at your lowest point when you are acting the role of a customer. Demanding irrationally, and talking down to the lowly employee you are addressing, because they are payed to help you, and they should be grateful for their job, accepting their subordinate post at the till. "Well sir a technical malfunction could be any number of things." This screams, "I don't know the answer, could we please get back to my list of questions and stop treating me like your cohort!" I was pretty sure a technical malfunction was another term for service user error, or in layman's terms, My own stupid fault. Sure, they probably get a thousand people calling in every day asking why their modem didn't come with an internet in the box, but I was half sensible and knew a thing or two about on/off switches. Now here is the quote of the day. "Okay Mr. Vincent, thank you for calling and were you satisfied with your service today?" What would you have said? Just think about it and feel free to leave your response in the comments section, because I have changed the settings and you no longer need to be a member of blogger.com in order to leave a comment. I said, "Well, I'm not mad at you because I know you are doing your job and this policy has nothing to do with you, but I think it's a bit ridiculous that a telephone company does not have caller display in order to verify their customers. It's not very expensive and just about everyone has it. So, you have done all that you can and I was very pleased with your service but it doesn't make sense that BT cannot verify my call and as a result, must post me a number I need in order to attempt to get my phone working again. "Yes. Okay,t hank you for your call Mr. Vincent and have a nice day." Fin wardrobe malfunction, I mean, Technical malfunction.