Grr, I hate my bank sometimes! I'm with the HSBC (no link, find them yourself if you really want to) and I've been getting annoyed with the statements they send me out each month. The statements themselves are fine, don't get me wrong. There are all kinds of facts and figures on there which would have been fairly relevant 2 weeks ago! My statement arrived today - the 23rd. The last transaction logged was on the 15th. It's completely irrelevant, obsolete etc. by now!
I finally decided I was going to call them up and get them to stop sending me statements. I was told that I have a statement savings account and that I would need to close that account and open a passbook savings account. Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous? I want them to print less paper and send out less mail. Maybe it's just my t-shirt talking (I'm wearing my maketradefair t-shirt today) but I just hate companies wasting resources and the environment. If I'm going to go to all the trouble of closing my existing account with them, I might as well open my new one somewhere better!
Now, contrast that with my British bank - smile.co.uk. They send me an e-mail once a month saying that my credit card statement is available on-line. If I want to see it, I can log in and see what activity there was this past month. If not, no harm done. They have all the data on file anyway so it wasn't much work for them to make it available to me.
(sigh) I love smile. Such a good bank. They're green and ethical. Both good things.
Friday, July 23, 2004
New love?
I'm going through a very strange transition here. I may well be leaving singleness behind and the prospect is somewhat daunting but exciting at the same time. The lady in question will remain annonymous just now but I will probably write more about her in future.
We're both feeling this is the right next step but we're spending this week praying about it to be sure we're doing what God wants. It might sound like Christian cheese but I really feel the decision to start a relationship shouldn't be taken lightly. When two people get romantically involved, there is a heart connection there that can have long-term consequences.
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23
We're both feeling this is the right next step but we're spending this week praying about it to be sure we're doing what God wants. It might sound like Christian cheese but I really feel the decision to start a relationship shouldn't be taken lightly. When two people get romantically involved, there is a heart connection there that can have long-term consequences.
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23
Friday, July 16, 2004
Favourite Sounds
I've noticed something interesting recently. People sometimes talk about their favourite sounds and I've noticed more and more how much I love the sound of the wind in the trees. I've discovered something pretty cool, though. It's not just a sound that I like but it's a sound that suddenly grabs my attention whenever I hear it. I might be thinking about something else, just walking along the road and then suddenly the wind picks up, rustling the leaves of a nearby tree. Immediately I think, "Hey, I can hear the wind in the trees - that's so cool!"
I think that's something that sets favourite sounds apart from other sounds that you might like.
I think that's something that sets favourite sounds apart from other sounds that you might like.
We are climbing Jacob's ladder ladder...
I've been trying to build upper-body strength lately by climbing a ladder without using my legs. It's been a most entertaining endeavour for all who happen to pass by while I'm dangling there like an extra from a b-movie who's about to fall into some kind of nasty pit.
The challenge initially was to see how many rungs I could climb using only my arms. At first I could barely do one but now I can get all the way to the top, which is a 13-rung journey from my starting point. In fact, the last time I was able to get all the way to the top and then descend 7 rungs before having to give up.
I've been doing it "the easy way", though. I start with both hands on the same rung, pull up and then grab the next rung with my right hand. Then I transfer my left to the new rung and repeat the process. The challenge is to only use one hand per rung. That would be much harder.
Having said all that, my climbing skills are still minimal. It goes to show that it's not just about strength. Whenever I try to climb an overhang, I can only last about 5 minutes and then my arms are knackered. I know it's a technique thing 'cos I've seen some pretty skinny girls shimmy up that wall like it's nothing and there's me with all my new found upper-body strength struggling 6 feet off the ground. (sigh) I'm sure I'll learn at some stage. However, it's still frustrating right now. I know you're meant to turn your hips and keep them close to the wall. It just doesn't seem to take any of the weight off my arms. I don't think I'm doing it right.
The challenge initially was to see how many rungs I could climb using only my arms. At first I could barely do one but now I can get all the way to the top, which is a 13-rung journey from my starting point. In fact, the last time I was able to get all the way to the top and then descend 7 rungs before having to give up.
I've been doing it "the easy way", though. I start with both hands on the same rung, pull up and then grab the next rung with my right hand. Then I transfer my left to the new rung and repeat the process. The challenge is to only use one hand per rung. That would be much harder.
Having said all that, my climbing skills are still minimal. It goes to show that it's not just about strength. Whenever I try to climb an overhang, I can only last about 5 minutes and then my arms are knackered. I know it's a technique thing 'cos I've seen some pretty skinny girls shimmy up that wall like it's nothing and there's me with all my new found upper-body strength struggling 6 feet off the ground. (sigh) I'm sure I'll learn at some stage. However, it's still frustrating right now. I know you're meant to turn your hips and keep them close to the wall. It just doesn't seem to take any of the weight off my arms. I don't think I'm doing it right.
Friday, July 02, 2004
Don't put sunscreen on your own back
You know how they say you learn something new every day? Well, yesterday I learned what happens when you try to put sunscreen on your own back. I was at Wasaga Beach with some friends to celebrate Canada Day. I had even bought sunscreen on the way - a spray on kind rather than the conventional slimy lotion.
If you look closely at the picture, you will see that just above my waistline, I was almost able to cover all the way into the middle from both sides. Higher up, I managed to cover across the back of the shoulders. However, in between there is a definite pinkish tinge of Scotsman done "over easy".
I suppose next time I'll just have to ask someone else to do my back.
Glove Compartment
I was just thinking last night of how different the world must have been back when the automobile was invented. It just seems more civilised. Consider the fact that they even took consideration for where the driver would store their driving gloves when not using them.
I just looked at the expression "Glove Compartment" in a whole new way yesterday, wondering if anyone still keeps gloves in there or is it just license, registration and six-shooter these days? There must have been people who kept gloves there at one point to merit the name. Was that really its original purpose or did the glove compartment just get that name from people always leaving their gloves in there.
I just looked at the expression "Glove Compartment" in a whole new way yesterday, wondering if anyone still keeps gloves in there or is it just license, registration and six-shooter these days? There must have been people who kept gloves there at one point to merit the name. Was that really its original purpose or did the glove compartment just get that name from people always leaving their gloves in there.
Why didn't Spiderman live in Kansas?
I was watching Spiderman II on Wednesday night and I thought of an amusing image of Spiderman living in Kansas. It's pretty convenient that all the crime he needs to stop occurs around tall buildings. I mean, he'd be kinda stuck if he was in the middle of a field somewhere and the crime was taking place three fields over. I suppose that means Superman has an advantage over Spiderman there.
Crazy Portugese Fans
As some of you may know, the Euro 2004 FOOTBALL tournament is drawing to a close right now. On Wednesday, Portugal beat The Netherlands in their semi-final. The first signs of this that I saw were a couple of cars driving around with Portugal flags sticking out the window as I went down Kipling Avenue to get to the subway. I was, as with every Wednesday, on my way to Joe Rockhead's for a spot of climbing action.
When I was on the subway I realised I was running late and I decided to get off at Dufferin to get the bus south to the climbing gym. Well, this turned out to be a very interesting stop as I now know Dufferin seems to be populated entirely by Portugese people, and football-crazy patriotic Portugese people at that. The bus was struggling through the crowds and it seemed every car driving past us was adorned with a plethora of Portugese pendants and the like. I couldn't believe it. There was cheering, honking of LOTS of horns and lots of happy faces. I wondered if they'd just won a war that I had missed.
I finally got to Rockhead's and climbed for a while before my buddy Gary arrived to take me to the movies where we were meeting up with friends to see Spiderman II. Sadly, the celebrations were not quite over yet for the Portugese contingent of Torontonians that were in our neighbourhood. We were stuck in pretty slow moving traffic for a while with more flags, more cheering, more cars, more dogs wrapped in Portugal flags, etc.
To make things more interesting, I started to yell "Yaaay! SCOTLAND!" out the window as we drove by people with Portugal flags. One guy responded with "F--- Scotland!" but I don't think he was especially angry, just so pro-Portugal that no other name would suffice at that point in time.
I'm going to be sure to avoid downtown Toronto on Sunday. Even if Portugal lose, I'm sure there are more than enough Greek fans to do the honours of clogging the roads if things go the other way. I think we've got every nationality under the sun here.
Oh, Canada.
When I was on the subway I realised I was running late and I decided to get off at Dufferin to get the bus south to the climbing gym. Well, this turned out to be a very interesting stop as I now know Dufferin seems to be populated entirely by Portugese people, and football-crazy patriotic Portugese people at that. The bus was struggling through the crowds and it seemed every car driving past us was adorned with a plethora of Portugese pendants and the like. I couldn't believe it. There was cheering, honking of LOTS of horns and lots of happy faces. I wondered if they'd just won a war that I had missed.
I finally got to Rockhead's and climbed for a while before my buddy Gary arrived to take me to the movies where we were meeting up with friends to see Spiderman II. Sadly, the celebrations were not quite over yet for the Portugese contingent of Torontonians that were in our neighbourhood. We were stuck in pretty slow moving traffic for a while with more flags, more cheering, more cars, more dogs wrapped in Portugal flags, etc.
To make things more interesting, I started to yell "Yaaay! SCOTLAND!" out the window as we drove by people with Portugal flags. One guy responded with "F--- Scotland!" but I don't think he was especially angry, just so pro-Portugal that no other name would suffice at that point in time.
I'm going to be sure to avoid downtown Toronto on Sunday. Even if Portugal lose, I'm sure there are more than enough Greek fans to do the honours of clogging the roads if things go the other way. I think we've got every nationality under the sun here.
Oh, Canada.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)