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Wither the trimmer

Posted on February 16, 2016

I dropped by Sally Beauty outlet last week to buy hair products?—a woman can never have enough sweet-smelling glop with which to shampoo/condition/moisturize/curl her locks. Plus, I had a coupon. Isn’t every product better when you get it at a reduced price? That also takes the sting out of realizing you don’t care for the scent or the texture of it while your standing in the shower trying to scrub the last traces out of your hair. But I digress. As I was standing waiting to check out my purchases, I spied a large box that made me shake my head and wonder, WTH? Forget the Valentine’s Day display—‘a great gift for a guy’. I’ve got just the thing for you. A ‘full body…

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Categories: Modern life

Micro Memories

Posted on February 9, 2016

I had such a fun time preparing for Pecha Kucha, I’ve decided to try that approach for a few blog posts, using photos I’ve collected during my travels. On the way to the Skytrain station from the Hilton Sukhumvit on Soi 24, Khlong Ton, Bangkok last November, we passed this cluster of signs. Now I don’t know about you, but I’m conflicted about the ‘God Hand’ massage claim. I mean, would it be okay to ask to see the masseuse’s Shiatsu certification or would that be a smiting offence? The photos don’t strike me as very god-like, either. At MBK mall – eight gigantic floors crammed with more than 2000 shops selling everything you can imagine, real and knock-offs. Remember, many ‘designer’ products…

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Categories: Modern life, Travel

Three things I’m pensive about today

Posted on February 4, 2016

At night, while the news reports/political shows are on television (400 channels, not much to watch), I read articles from Drippler and Feedly and FlipBoard. Many of them say that a catchy headline has to have a number in it, like 10 Ways to Curl Your Cat’s Hair or 4 new uses for a B.o.B (Battery operated Boyfriend). For the next week, that’s what I’m going to do with my blog titles. I came across this photo today and reminisced about being young, when life was simple. It was probably taken in grade 11 or 12. I think my girlfriend’s mother sewed part of the uniform. The hard plastic shako was heavy and after marching in the heat for a few hours, your hair…

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Categories: Modern life, What I'm Doing

Mondays, Odd & Blah

Posted on February 1, 2016

February 1st. One month closer to spring. The temperature has risen and the snow has melted from the back yard. The squirrels can’t figure out what’s going on. Time to order the garden catalogs and start cleaning up the seed starter trays. Hooray. Now that I’ve cleaned up my office and my closets and drawers, I’m still lacking inspiration.So much for the notion that purging excess possessions makes you feel lighter and energized. Got my new iPhone, which is a marvel of technology, but whenever I pick up that lovely rose-gold rectangle, I remember that it costs the same as a one-week all-inclusive vacation at a 5-star resort in a hot country. Hub is still carrying around a12-year old analog model that sounds like…

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Categories: Stuff, What I'm Doing

PechaKucha X – Markham

Posted on January 25, 2016

PechaKucha ((Japanese for chit-chat), which started in Tokyo in 2003, is defined as: “The art of concise presentations.” Concise is right! 20 slides with 20 seconds of talk for each slide. PechaKucha Night is now in over 800 cities, so it’s a genuine phenomenon. I’ve heard it pronounced pecka koocha, pe-ka-coo-cha, peek-a-boo-choo and other almost unrecognizable versions. Regardless, it’s a fascinating approach to creativity. When Ange Friesen, Community librarian at the Markham Village branch, asked me a few months ago, I thought, sure, sounds like a good way to test my public performance skills. They expected over 400 people in attendance (some came for the free food). And there’d be wine and beer. Yeah. Not scary at all. I mean, I used to teach…

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Categories: Modern life, What I'm Doing, writing