Does it hurt to help?

"Every cloud has a silver lining." That's an inspirational saying. "It'll all be better in the morning," that's another inspirational comment, and how about; "it's always darkest before the dawn?" These comments have been used for ages, usually to try and cheer people up when they are feeling down. Do they really work? I doubt it, sorry to say. If a person is really depressed, these comments only have a fleeting glimpse of hope, that things will get better. All of us want to be happy, but the pressures of life can be overwhelming at times, and the fun is sucked right out of it. So what can we do?

I'm not a qualified therapist, nor would I want to be one (except for the salary part of it) but I think any one of us can help others, even if we haven't been, so called "trained" in that field. I really believe that people natually want to help each other. Perhaps it goes back many thousands of years, when we had to survive in groups (I didn't want to use the word "packs") and protect ourselves from wild animals, that could tear us apart if we were caught off guard, and alone. We are instinctively drawn to help each other out, although nowadays people have become wary of helping others out and for ligitimate reasons. One being that we can get sued or even hurt if we do the wrong thing. An example of each would be when offering to help out an injured person who has been hurt in an accident. An unethical person along with a immorale and sharp witted lawyer could sue your pants off. Another example would be trying to break up an argument between a couple. I've heard stories of a well intentioned person getting severley beaten when the arguing couple turned their anger on the "meddling" intruder.

So naturally when we wish to help out anyone in distress, it is vitally important to be aware of the risks. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from helping others out, in fact I encourage it, however, you must remember that your welfare comes first. If everyone would help each other out, no matter how much they dislike the other person; the world could be changed overnight. Do you agree?

No News is Good News

It's morning here, and the sun is trying to break through the clouds. It's not too cold, (around -9 degrees C or 16 degrees F), but the wind is making it feel much colder.

Sadly, early this morning, a terrible accident here in Ottawa killed three young people and seriously injured two others. All five were driving in an SUV which ran into a city OC Transpo bus around 2 a.m. Two women and one man were killed and one female is still in critical condition. The bus driver and one passenger were released after being checked by paramedics. It's hard not to be affected by a tragedy like this, even not knowing the victims or their families. The cause of the accident is still being investigated this morning. It sure makes one realize how quickly a life can end. Even as bad as it can be sometimes, I wonder if we should appreciate life more.

In some odd news from overseas, it is reported that people are posing nude and having sex around the famous Vimy memorial in France. The monument was built by a joint effort between Canada and France to honour thousands of Canadian soldiers who were killed defending France from the Germans during the First World War. It's an unusual place for men and women to expose themselves and indulge in sexual acts. I'll bet that none of the people engaging in these public sexual activities were even living at the time the monument was opened by King Edward VIII in 1935 (Oh God! I hope not!).

Waiting for the UPS Guy (or Gal)

I waited all of yesterday for a digital cable box to be delivered to my son's place by UPS. The reason is, that for a couple of days, I missed their first couple of attempts to deliver it and the final notice card was issued on Tuesday, I think. After my son called them on Wednesday night to see what the status of the deliver was, we were told they could deliver it yesterday (Thursday). It never showed up. That's annoying, and what is more annoying is they won't give you any idea of what time they deliver. It's a generic answer; any time between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m I was told. That's twelve hours of apprehension, not knowing whether to take the garbage out or even talk on the phone, for fear of missing the precious package's arrival. I'll have to give them credit that their policy doesn't allow them to deliver 24 hours a day, or I would be very apprehesive about getting to sleep, fearing the door bell might ring at three in the morning. Anyway, I called them this morning to ask what was going on with the mystery package. The woman I spoke with was helpful, and told me at first, that it was being held at the UPS counter, then upon further investigation she said that it wasn't. It started getting complicated from there, and I was a little put off when she said "Would you like me to reschedule the delivery for Monday?" "Well, that would be disappointing," I said to her (calmly and nicely),"because I was looking forward to having the digital box for the weekend." She asked if she could put me hold on while she looked up some more information. I said,"Sure, no problem." I think she might have forgotten to press the hold button, because I heard her say something in French, which sounded like she was swearing to herself. However I couldn't understand the words, as I don't speak the language. All I could sense was she sounded frustrated. She came back on the phone and apologized for making me wait, and I said not to worry, it wasn't a problem. Then she said the parcel was supposed to be delivered today. That's when I said, "Well I waited all day yesterday, and that's the day I was told it was supposed to be delivered." She asked me to hold on again so she could talk to someone to find out more information. When she returned, she apologized again for making me wait and told me that they received a call last night (Thursday) and it would be delivered today. I told her, we called Wednesday night and were told it would be delivered yesterday. She said she understood that, but they have a cutoff time around 7 p.m. and calls after that time, are counted as the next day's calls (I think that's how she explained it). It was very confusing, and still is, but she said the package would definitely be delivered today (Friday). She also apologized for not being able to tell me what time it would be delivered. She said that there was no way for her to tell what time the truck would be delivering in my area. All this new technology is wonderful, but it would be so much easier if the delivery guy could just give me a quick phone call before coming. Would that be asking too much from them? I mean; the guy has missed me three times. Wouldn't that save them time and money also, especially with the price of fuel today. I'm convinced that electronic communication is great for computers, but spoken words are much better for people.

New Year, New Resolutions....well, almost

Wow, is this year flying by! Hard to believe that January is half over and I haven't had time to think about making New Year's resolutions. On the positive side of things, for me, probably the vast majortiy of people, who made resolutions at the beginning of the year, have already broken them by now. Maybe my first resolution this year should be to make my 2009 resolutions on time. That's a start. Okay, now that was easy and painless, so maybe I can make some more, right now, to keep the ball rolling.

Let's see.....Okay, here's one; I will get more exercise and lose some of that belly fat that's been accumulating over the years. Yah, that's a good one. I will lose some unsightly stomach fat. That shouldn't be too hard. I just need to do some situps or stretches or walking, jogging or biking. The only drawback to the walking, jogging or biking idea is the fact that it is cold outside. I really hate going outdoors in the winter. There's all those extra clothes to put on, and boots to lace up, and a scarf and hat to put on. Unfortunately, no matter how many extra pieces of clothing I have to put on (including long underwear) they're never enough to keep me warm and comfy. If I don't go outside to exercise, I will have to do some indoor activities. I'll start by stretching and doing some situps in the living room. Yah that's what I'll do; some stretching and bending. I can picture myself doing those stretches even as I type these words. I can visualize myself doing exercises. This seems to be working. Well, now I have to get up from the keyboard and do some actual physical work. Great idea! I'm going to sign off for now (I'll think of some more New Year's resolutions later) and get up and do some actual physical movements that will burn the extra calories off. My first action will be....? Let me think for a second. Yes that's it; I'll walk around the apartment to limber up. Good idea! I'm getting up and heading off now. I'll start off by briskly walking to the kitchen for a quick snack. (Oops)

Writing to myself

Writing is sort of like talking to yourself. The words are often the same with the difference being you aren't making sounds others can hear. I don't know if this makes sense because I am up pretty late (almost 3 am EST) and what seems to be making sense to me, might be complete gibberish to someone reading this.

How often have you heard someone say "I must be going crazy because I'm talking to myself." People say this, I think, because they want someone else to reassure them that they aren't going crazy, by saying something like " Hey! we all do it at some point," or "Don't worry, unless you start answering yourself." Wouldn't it be interesting to have some fun with someone's insecurities? What would happen if you made a comments like; "Ya, I was beginning to think you were a bit crazy, but now I know for sure." That might drive some folks over the edge, so you might want to be careful when dealing with someone who is sensitive to criticism, especially if they are crazy. They say laughter is the best medicine, so doesn't this mean that laughing at someone is good for them? It's like you're doing them a favour, right?

Writer's Strike

Most of us know the Writer's Guild (I'm not sure what a guild is, but it must be important) of America has been on strike for some time now. We're in January 2008 now and the question must be asked; how much longer can we exist without fresh new entertainment? Sadly the truth is; we can live a long time without new television programming. How do we know? Well the truth is, there hasn't been any medical or scientific studies to confirm this as far as I'm aware, so no one probably knows one hundred per cent for sure. However, using the common sense approach to this probably works best. Let's assume you were to turn the television off right now and leave it off for, let's say one whole day. Do you think your life would be better or worse off? I might be going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing you might just be a little better off mentally and physically. Unless you are so depressed that you had to sleep for twenty four hours because repeat shows were being broadcast over and over again, then you might find yourself doing something physically rewarding like taking a walk or a jog or something. Chances are that would be healthier than staying couped up and hypnotized in front of the boob tube with a remote control glued to your palm. And if you found things to do that you've been putting off because you would rather watch your favourite soap (daytime drama, sorry), it might just be the motivation you were looking for to get more done around the home. Although I sympathize with the writer's and their families for the loss in wages, this strike might be just what the rest of us captive television audience needed to get in touch with the real world again.

News to me

Hi all,

Blogging gives everyone an equal opportunity to express opinions and commentary, and in that sense it is very useful. Unfortunately, I'm sure much of what is written is never read by anyone else. Well, I can only speak from personal experience.

Since this is my first post as "Bloggerstool," I would like to make it interesting, which means keeping comments short and focused. My point here is; the more I write, the less interesting you will find it. I can almost guarantee that. Also, I will promise to write without using swearing, ranting, anabolic sterioids, or any illegaly banned substances. Call me square if you like, but I've read where the brain shrinks as we get older and dead brain cells are never replaced. That means I have to work with whatever I have leftover from the sixties!

KM