Ouch

So, I don't get it. Why is it so hard to find a flipper guy that doesn't have slots cut in it? I don't know about you, but I don't recall the last time I wanted to turn something over but found myself saying, "wow, I wish there was some way for bits of this to fall through while I'm doing this". And the cleaning... partially cooked egg + holes in a plastic flipper <> good combination.

In other news, I discovered yesterday that that stuff that makes chilis hot does not go well with eyes. I had broken up some dried chilly peppers with my dinner last night, and at the end of the meal, forgot that I had done it. I rubbed my eye and realized pretty quick that that stuff sticks around for a while.

Whoops.

The little chick was quite concerned, and asked "are your eyes feeling better now?" more or less every two minutes or so until they were. She's pretty sweet.

I suppose I knew it could be like that, and if I would have had Science Nathan around, he probably would have reminded me. In any case, I've learned my lesson now. Next time, I'm getting someone else to rub my eyes for me.

Really, Really Good-Looking

The keyboard guy at church this morning was wearing a piano-key necktie. I don't know if it really was invented by the guy from Frankie Goes To Hollywood, but it was pretty great, I thought. My only regret was that he was playing a traditional keyboard, rather than a keytar.

And if these references (or the title) confuse you, ask someone who's seen Zoolander.

The other interesting thing this morning was that the pastor was talking about how rare it is to find a friend who really cares for you, who is faithful and honest and open and caring and interested in your real well-being, how you are doing spiritually. He was talking about people who are really there for you when things go wrong, people who care enough to stick with you, who really, really love you. People you can depend on, people you can trust, people you can live your life with, no matter what comes.

At first I was a bit confused, because I don't think those people are rare at all... I have a lot of those kinds of friends. And then I realized... I am just very blessed. So for those of you who fit that description in my life: thank you.

The Problem With Calgary

I'm getting used to the weather... other than the first couple of weeks, it actually hasn't been too cold. I am feeling pretty okay about the accent - still seems a little odd sometimes, but it will be alright. I am even dealing reasonably well with the addition of 5% sales tax to everything. So far, at least.

What I'm not liking are the drivers.

It's not so much that people are reckless... it's just that they are often really, really, really slow. When a light turns green, it's like the guy at the front goes, "well, I'll be! that thing just changed colour completely! Mabel, what do you make of that?". And then he takes off his hat, and he scratches his head, and then mumbles something else to Mabel about time to get a move on. He digs around in his pocket for his keys, starts up his engine, wonders why it won't go anywhere, remembers that his car (among other things) is in neutral, puts it into gear and moves off very, very slowly.

Imagine someone driving with a full fish tank in the back seat, not wanting it to spill. That's the kind of slowly that I'm talking about.

And then the lady behind him notices that he's moved, and that now there's a giant space in front of her. She finishes applying her makeup, looks for her keys, checks the fish, and moves out, keeping a safe distance of several hundred feet between her and the guy in front of her. After all, you can't be too safe when driving 15 km/hr.

And so on, and so on.

As a result, three people get through the average green light. Everyone else waits, and complains about how bad the traffic is. When, if they would just put their foot down when the light turns green, I would wager that the traffic situation in the city would be immeasurably better.

I am not a very fast driver, and I am not driving a very fast car... a 4-cylinder Honda, to be exact. But it's not uncommon for me to look back in my mirror after coming away from a light and have a full block between me and the next guy just a couple blocks down the road. That's a whole block full of people who are still sitting at that light instead of on their way home.

The funny bit, though, is that 5-10 minutes later, those same guys who were in the back seat digging for dropped crackers when the light changed are roaring along past me at 20 km/hr over the speed limit. Except the ones who are on their phones, who are going 20 under. And, at the risk of being labeled (unjustly, I believe) as a sexist pig, there are always a couple women driving 20 under the limit in the fast lane. They must be using hands-free, because I can't ever see them talking, but they are going awfully slow in the wrong lane.

I did go out for chicken wings and a hockey game on TV last night, though, and that was about enough to make up for a whole lot of slow drivers. So maybe this will work out, after all.

He's Not Heavy, He's My Cousin

Well, my cousin got married and he let me take a few pictures... my first try with my new camera, and while there were a couple of surprises, I'm pretty happy with how things turned out. Here are a few of my favorites.

You can see the rest here. And it's time to start writing again... more to come...