Knowing Samina (part 3)

I am a coward.

Although it would be ideal to exclusively convey happy tales or exagerate my positive attributes, that isn't the purpose here. Assuming true enlightement is a product of conquering one's ego then I must be willing to admit my shortcomings.

The exact details surrounding this recent discovery are still vague, and my path to recovery even vaguer. However, it seems that somewhere along the way I've decided my foolish pride, fragile heart, and stubborn mind must be protected regardless of my desires. The price of this ridiculous decision is suffering the agony of never knowing what could be.

So the question remains, with all my ability to imagine great and glorious tales, how do I make them a reality when the courage that's required to conquer one's flaws is the one thing that a coward lacks.

Strange sightings at a Telus Mobility store

Finally, after five years of being dropped in toilets, chewed on by Rogue, and thrown on the floor after angry conversations, my cell phone quit for good today. I was pretty pissed off because it meant rescheduling my evening activities and heading to the dreaded mall. The Telus store was busy and I anticipated a long boring wait for customer service. Luckily, instead of having to amuse myself with daydreams of far away places, I happened onto a few quirky individuals who made the wait a lot less painful.

First there was an elderly man with a strong Jamaican accent who loudly bragged about his personal millions, that money was no object, and of owning a 10 bedroom house on the beach where he's from. After commending the sales lady on offering, in his opinion, the three keys for good customer service, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and telling her he was going to recommend her to his rich friends, he quietly whispered to her asking if there were any free phones and if he could get a discount on the extended warranty.

Outside the store was a lady talking to a security guard and yelling about how she had been cheated and threatening to sue. After speaking with the sales representative I learned the irate customer had been there for three hours. It seems she bought a cell phone in February and since it was currently reduced by $50 she thought they had purposely ripped her off and demanded her money back. After settling down for a few minutes she then entered into a very high pitched and inconsolable crying fit.

For added amusement, throw in the girly store employee who, in the middle of completing a transaction with a customer, couldn't help but repeatedly pick up a pair of scissors and trim the split ends on her long black hair. So thank you my dear cell phone for your wonderful years of dedicated service and going out in style by bringing a little social amusement my way.

And also, on a day of very strange character behaviour, I must also give dishonorable mention to the idiot at my gym who has stolen the brand new tennis balls. You'll fork out a couple hundred bucks a month for a gym membership but your honor's only worth the price of a few balls, what a class act.

Just another day

My birthday came and went and it wasn't nearly as dramatic as anticipated. Fortunately work blessed me with a very tight deadline and so the late nights programming and stress induced ulcer distracted me.

The actual day turned out to be quite pleasant. Following a successful project presentation and a kick ass tennis game, I played for hours with my super fun nephews and finished the day with happy hour sushi and interesting philisophical discussions. Plus, because of a little thing called facebook, I was feeling the love with all my birhtday greeting wall posts!

Oh Oscar, you're so wild(e)

Although I've seen Oscar Wilde's play 'An Ideal Husband' twice already in other cities and venues, I couldn't resist going again when I saw that Theatre Calgary was performing it. The witty dialogue and insights into society's quirks was every bit as brilliant as I remember. Also, because it is set in late 19th century England, the set and costume design, when done well, can be quite stimulating.

I was a little nervous going to the play last night because I had convinced a couple friends to pay $50 per person and come along based on my recommendation alone and so my reputation was at stake. However, I forgot about them when the play started and I got swept away into the English Victorian era.

I was happy to return to the modern age during intermission and learn my companions were also thoroughly enjoying themselves. So here's to another terrific evening out, despite fighting a cold, as I got to see a wonderful play and left with reputation unharmed.

Helping out

Today was my first shift volunteering at the Children's Cottage Society's Crisis Nursery. My duties were simple, three hours of playing with kids, fun! The nursery is a pretty remarkable place, it's a safe place for children to get away from the troubles of the real world and just be kids.

I arrived for my shift during breakfast time and things were a bit chaotic. A few of the kids were a little intimidated by me and we all joked about the scary new person. One girl (can't mention any names here) in particular didn't seem to like my presence and spent the remainder of her breakfast in tears.

After breakfast we headed up to the playroom and I had my first 'wow, I'm so happy I'm doing this' experience. While coloring with one of the older girls she leaned over and whispered 'I'm not scared of you'. It was really sweet.

After playing, playing and more playing, it was lunch time. While the kids were still eating I had to leave and so I said goodbye to everyone. To my surprise, the girl who cried at my arrival now cried because I was leaving and waved her little fingers not to go. Guess we formed a bond during play time while building the large castle out of blocks.

Resolution check (part 1)

With resolutions dropping left right and centre let's review the progress of a couple goals that I set this year. Number one, blog more. That's going really well, relatively. A couple times every month is far better than the quarterly entries of previous years.

The second goal was to start working out again and lose some weight. That's also going great if you don't count the past seven days. Was struck with a flu last week and when I actually managed to get to the gym the workouts were serioulsy lacking in enthusiasm. Plus, after trying all kinds of flu remedies it seemed the only thing that could relieve the headaches, cough, and inflamed sinuses, was comfort food, a lot of it. It didn't help that I attended a baby shower on Saturday with a selection of the best homemade East Indian food ever made!

So, erase last week and I'd say I'm doing very well with the resolutions so far. Now, is it too late to add another resolution for 2009? With March here and my birthday only 25 days away, I resolve not to be a complete and utter wreck when the dreaded day finally arrives. Thirty-effin-five years old. Total crap!