Cruel Winter Blues

It's happening all over again. The laziness is starting to creep on in like an annoying shadow in the night. Procrastination thy name is... well you get the idea. I've got about four blog posts that I've been meaning to finish. I actually haven't opened my documents folder this last week. I could call it writer's block but that's just such a lame reason to stop. It’s not like I'm looking for inspiration. My head is a huge whirlpool of thoughts and ideas just waiting to burst forth onto this unsuspecting world.

What I would blame for this predicament of mine is the weather. Axl Rose obviously hadn’t been to Canada before he wrote November Rain. Up here it’s just a very very cold November with loads of the white soft stuff. Even as I write this I see that the world outside is just one big white wasteland. And one look at my weather gadget tells me its -18 degrees. That’s -24 with wind chill factored in. The skies over the city have been obscured and the sun's been waging a losing battle trying to burst through.

On the bright side, Christmas is around the corner and this ultra-capitalistic economy is such a wonderful place to be in. What with the Christmas spirit, snow angels, gingerbread lattes and all of that good stuff. Stores lit up so brightly, cute babies in their oh-so-cute oversized jackets and just the general seasonal joy. Also, snow does have some sort of magical appeal. The white kind that is. Keep away from that golden stuff. Nasty!

Taking Flight

People always ask me what it is that got into my head and made me drop out of business school and decide that I want to fly for a living. And however much I think about it, I cannot come up with one single reason for my decision. It may have been that voice in my head. Don't laugh, we've all got a voice in our heads - mine sounds like Bob Dylan and has an affinity for junk food. I like to think of it as my thinking voice. It may have been the slow poison that was my MBA life. I'm not really the guy you would turn to for presenting a new product or to balance your books, mostly because I can't really be bothered with it. You may ask why I got into it in the first place, but that is another story for another day.

Whatever the reason, what I can tell you for sure is that I'm finally doing something that I truly enjoy. Isn't that the whole point of life anyway? Do what you like and like what you do and all that. Flying is such a surreal experience in itself. I don't think that any amount of poetry or praise could do it justice in my eyes. I enjoy flying in the same way an artist might enjoy a Monet or a wine taster might enjoy, well, a good wine. It fills up my senses, in a good way - not the kind of sensory overload that one might experience at a euro-club on techno night. Taking off might be the simplest part of flying. But there is such a sense of accomplishment when those wheels lift off of the runway. A good landing never fails to bring a smile to my face (and contrary to popular belief I have had quite a few of those). Flying through the mountains and over pristine lakes under clear skies is truly a state of nirvana no amount of cross legged meditation can achieve. It’s just you and the sky around you with the comforting hum of the engine floating in through the padded headset. And there’s so much more to it. More than I could ever hope to put down in mere words.  

The cherry on top? The thought that I could get paid to do this. I can really have my cake and eat it too. And what a sinfully delicious cake this has turned out to be so far.   

Speak No Evil

When I was a child I was taught the saying ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me’. At the time I saw the sense of it. Words being intangible have no ability to inflict physical harm. Whenever anybody said something mean to me, I would loudly recite the saying to them, using it like a magical incantation that would protect me from getting my feelings hurt. I usually said it with tears running down my cheeks. As an adult I’ve come to see that the saying is like many things taught to children, a lie. Over the years I’ve taken a lot of verbal abuse. Now while it hasn’t driven me to the extent of seeking professional help (yet!) it really darkens my day when I think about some of the times I’ve been on the receiving end of a barbed tongue. Luckily for my tormentors, I’ve never really been good with nasty comebacks – ‘I’m rubber and you are glue’ never seemed to have the desired effect. Thats not to say that I’m an angel. I know I’ve dealt out my fair share of hurt. What makes it worse is the knowledge that the people I’ve hurt the most are the ones who deserve it the least. I am extremely apologetic but I don’t have the wisdom or the ability to right the wrongs i have done. So tonight I say a little prayer for each person who has ever shed a tear due to a thoughtless word. And for those who’d get a laugh out of seeing someone else cringe, try to keep it down guys. The world’s a crazy enough place to grow up in.

Long time no see?

Well I’m back!!! For anyone out there who might have stumbled onto this page by mistake, you should know that it’s been almost two years since the last time I even visited my blog. Hence the three exclamation marks after the ‘I’m Back’. And what a life-altering period of time that was! For those keeping tab – I’ve jumped onto a totally different career path, I’m single, I’m in a new country halfway across the world, hell, I’ve even got a new haircut! Things haven’t been perfect. But they could be a lot worse. I could have gone on to finish my MBA for instance.. UGH!! ( no offense to my friends or the millions of other MBAs of this world). I’ve moved on now doing something i can truly say I love doing. Something I know I’m good at. And consequently something I’m so afraid to let go of. Anyway, more on that later. So how have you been? That’s rhetorical. Who am I kidding? No one’s even reading.... Hello?