The Yellow Effect

Why does yellow make me blue? Good question. I'll give you a hint... the beetle.

Each time I see a yellow beetle on the street, I feel a pang of melancholy. Seems silly, I know. To most people, a car is a means of getting from point A to point B. But to me, my yellow beetle became a part of me. It was an extension of my personality and I loved driving it.

Even before Volkswagen introduced the "new" beetle, it was my dream car...especially in yellow! Buying my yellow bug was a dream come true. It was also a step in declaring my independence. Knowing that my "domestic car" family wouldn't like a foreigner joining the ranks, I researched, test-drove and purchased that car all on my own.

So, when my partnership with my beetle ended abruptly last summer it had more impact (no pun intended) on me than someone that was in an average car accident. I had to make a quick decision to replace my car.

At the time, I made the decision based on my emotional attachment to the yellow bug, and I bought a silver bug. It was newer, less kilometers and even had a sunroof. It had my mechanic's stamp of approval and he gave me a really great price, so I figured I couldn't go wrong. The interior was basically the same, so all the buttons and controls were already familiar.

All went well...until I saw my first yellow beetle. I dare say it was a bit of jealousy! My new beetle is boring old silver. Silver. Ninety percent of the cars out there are silver! OK, if not it seems like it. In my yellow car, I stood out in the crowd. In the silver car, I blend in. It's been an adjustment that I'm still getting used to.

Spring has sprung!

Each year I marvel at how quickly spring comes upon us. I know this year has been an early start of sunny days and warm temperatures, but it still surprises me how the trees are brown and barren one day and the next day are bursting with colour. I love going outside and being surrounded by green!

I am fortunate to live in a lovely old neighbourhood of the city. When I go for walks I gaze at the gorgeous old homes with frilly pink magnolia trees and perfectly manicured lawns. I can't believe the size of some of the homes. Wow.

There is a really pretty tree outside my front window. I'm not sure what it is, but it is quite beautiful. Currently there are 2 daffodils and a handful of yellow tulips that have sprouted up too. I meant to take a photo when they first popped through...but I kept forgetting. Oops. But, now I will post these and say Happy Earth Day!

Friends Like Family

On Sunday I had lunch with some good friends. I have worked with Duane and Debby since I started at /A\ almost 11 years ago. They have been like family ever since.

After Debby came back from maternity leave, she worked a lot of weekends and different shifts than myself and has since moved on to other pursuits. So, I have worked a lot more with Mr. Duane. I consider him to be like my brother. He is not, in fact, like my actual brother John. They are very different. But, I relate to him like he's my brother.

Anyway...on Sunday I went to their church and we all went for lunch after at Tiger Jacks. What a fun experience with the kiddies - Emma (8) and Colton (6). Colton was pretty excited to see that I drive a beetle and got to ride with me to the restaurant. He didn't stop talking the entire trip. We became fast friends. The jibber-jabber didn't let up even when our food arrived. Hilarious!

On the way back it was Emma's turn for a ride. She was considerably less talkative, but I did manage to find out that she plays hockey and her team party was that afternoon. Once we arrived home, we took a few snaps with the camera. Ironically, we have a very similar photo of me & Emma on the day I got my yellow beetle. I picked up the car, learned how to drive it (it was a standard and I needed lessons!) and stopped by to show Debby who was home with a pretty new baby Emma. She took these photos. And eight years later...see how we've grown. Even my car has matured...it's gone gray!

People Watching

People watching is such a fun thing to do. Each individual is different than the next and sometimes observing human behavior and interactions is so fascinating.

Last week I was having coffee at Williams with my friend Murray. About half way through our time there, a young man in a business suit came in the door beside where we were sitting. Not an uncommon occurrence. However, the young woman following him with a sizeable camera snapping photos drew my attention. They continued through the cafe and found a booth.

I tried to forget about this guy and continue my conversation but he was just so distracting! He was walking around talking to "himself" as he had a bluetooth in. He certainly was drawing attention to himself. So, we carried on...and then I noticed it. He was strolling around the cafe in his suit, talking on his bluetooth in his BARE FEET!

Now, I love the feeling of no shoes & socks and once sandal season hits, I don't look back. Walking around your home or even in the park in your bare feet, I can understand. But walking through a restaurant in bare feet? I thought that was kinda gross. And why? Why was he not wearing socks and shoes? Was he wearing them when he came in? Or did I just not notice the lack there-of? And why was someone snapping photos of him? Who is this guy? Is he famous? Finally I had to leave for work and none of my questions were answered. But, it made for an entertaining visit to Williams.

April Fool's Day

Wow, I have been totally slacking off my blog lately. But, I feel like I have a good excuse! I'm very close to finishing off the 2 classes I've been taking at Fanshawe. So, I've been busy with final projects, quizzes and assignments. More about that later, but for now...that is my excuse.

So, where to begin? Well...I have a great story from April Fool's Day to share. If you watch "The Office" (and if you don't...you should!) you might familiar with this prank. When I watched the episode where Jim puts the contents of Dwight's desk in the vending machine, I thought it was pure brilliance. I was determined to play that prank.

My first thought was to get my friend Duane. He is always teasing me and giving me a hard time, so I wanted to get him back. The trouble was... he didn't really have a lot of desk content to put in the vending machine. And, he wouldn't find it as hilarious as me. Nope, bad choice. Perfect choice? Laurence! Laurence is another co-worker that was made for this prank for a number of reasons:

• he loves The Office
• he has many many desk toys/action figures, etc.
• he has a great sense of humour and would totally appreciate the prank
• he arrives in the morning and the timing would be perfect

So...I had a quick chat with the woman that fills the vending machines and getting the keys was a piece of (hostess cup) cake! I made my way downstairs with a box to collect Laurence's belongings. A lot of the pieces were too big to fit in the machine but I was able to find a few.

Ironically, Laurence has bobbleheads of Michael, Dwight and Kevin (The Office) on his desk. Perfect! I put Michael & Dwight in the machine and left Kevin on the desk with a speech balloon saying "I'm Hungry". This was supposed to point Laurence towards the vending machine...but apparently it took a lot of help from his coworkers to find his way.

Unfortunately I could not be there for the big reveal, but I did get an email from Laurence telling me about the awesome prank someone had pulled on him. I think he was "feeling me out" to see if it was me. I didn't let on. In fact, he didn't know it was me until I arrived at work and told him. I wasn't going to and let the mystery continue to surround it...but it was so good...I wanted to take credit! In hindsight, it would've been better had I taken all the items out of the machine but I wasn't sure just how far I should take it.