A week of ups and downs

Being sick monopolized most of the week. That feeling of being able to do only that which was absolutely necessary was to say the least - limiting, if not disheartening.

By the time Friday rolled around I was not feeling as ill as I was feeling drained.

Absolutely wiped.

My whole body was limp.

I was dragging my sorry butt everywhere.

Saturday saw a day with no work, so I decided to dig into a project to make myself feel more productive.

It's been 13 years since I moved into my house and over that time all the rooms have seen at least two changes in paint colour.

All except the kitchen.

In the mid-80s my aunt had this really - what was then cool, is now gawdy - pineapple wallpaper put up. Saturday was the day. It was coming down. Or so I thought.

This was no ordinary wallpaper. This was vinyl over a paper backing. One could not simply "iron off" the paper with steam - else said vinyl would simply melt.

Very messy.


The solution? A lot of scraping!
I contemplated going with the fringe look...








...however, once clean the wall looked much, much better!
Testing some paint colours here...







The finished wall - or 1/4 wall. A VERY time consuming project! The colour is toasted grain - a light mocha. (hard to tell with the weird lighting)

I foresee this being an ongoing project, but it's been 13 years to break ground with it, so some progress is huge progress!

Definitely the "up" for the week!

Give in

The last couple days have been a bit of a blur... took ill on Monday morning and haven't really shaken the bug. Hopefully by the weekend though.. this whole thing is very draining. The most effective strategy I've found in this situation is to give in, rest, sleep and put the rest of the world on hold.

Here's to a new day tomorrow.

Music Monday

Throughout the blogosphere I've noticed some like to write on a theme - say one day a week. There's Tracie B.'s Weekly Wino and Jeremiah takes part in Poetry Friday.

I was inspired today to consider a theme day here at the Armchair. Being the music guy I am, I thought it might be nice to write about... music!

And since "Music Thursday" doesn't have the same ring to it, "Music Monday" it is!

If you've been reading here for any length of time, you'll know I'm a huge Bryan Adams fan. I do, however have many, many other favourites, so I will steer clear of B.A. for now. We may revisit in a few weeks or so.


Colin James is a fave...


I've been a fan since his first self-titled debut was released in 1988.


Today I threw in Bad Habits - a much "bluesie"er album than the rock-based Colin James and Sudden Stop albums.

OK... trivia time.

What does Colin James have in common with Bryan Adams?

...several options I suppose... they're both Canadian, they both record out of Vancouver, but that's not what I had in mind.


OK... a hint...





Do you know who this is?





The answer...




It's Mickey Curry. Mickey has drummed for Bryan Adams since day one AND appears on Colin James' Bad Habits.

Here's a taste from Bad Habits

BETTER DAYS

What's so good about a good thing
That turns its back and walks away?
What's the point in a good love
That never has the time to stay?
Well it must have been a cruel mind
Had the time to make up this game.
I put on a brave face
But inside i'm really not the same.

So if you call to see how i'm doin',
You're rubbin' salt into my wound.
But if you really want to know the truth
I've had better days
But nobody's gonna better you.
Well i might have had a better love,
But i really don't remember who.

It's not unusual to hope for things you ain't gonna get
It's not a crime to keep on wishin' it ain't over yet.
I've been waiting for the sweet words from your lips
You know the sound of your voice is something i can't resist.

So if you call to see how i'm doin',
You're rubbin' salt into my wound.
But if you really want to know the truth
It ain't easy gettin' over you!
I've had better days
But nobody's gonna better you.
Well i might have had a better love,
But i really don't remember who.

NEXT WEEK: Local defunked Calgary band Nothin' But Trouble

Resolve

Banish uncertainty.
Affirm strength.
Hold resolve.
Expect death.

Make your stand today. On this spot. Make your actions count; do not falter in your determination to fulfill your destiny. Don't follow the destiny outlined in some mystical book: create your own.

Your resolve to tread the path of life is your best asset. Without it, you die. Death is unavoidable, but let it not be from loss of will but because your time is over. As long as your can keep going, use your imagination to cope with the travails of life. overcome your obstacles and realize what you envision.

You will know unexpected happiness. You will know the sorrow of seeing what is dearest to you cut down before your eyes. Accept that. That is the nature of human existence, and you have no time to buffer this fact with fairy tales and illogical explanations.

Each day, your life grows shorter by twenty-four hours. The time to make achievements becomes more precious. You must fulfill everything you want in life and then rlease your will upon the moment of death. Your life is a creation that dies when you die. Release it, give up your individuality, and in so doing, finally merge completely with Tao.

Until that moment, create the poetry of your life with toughness and determination.

meditation for May 5
365 Tao
Deng Ming-Dao
Harper Collins

burnt out

I've been running on reserve for about three weeks now - up at 5ish most every day, to bed by 11 or midnight. Takes its toll.

I'm home from work early tonight... wonderful family I worked for, low key party, done by 10:30. The drive in was peaceful (about 20 minutes west of Calgary) with the exception of some CRANKED B.A. but that was a much needed therapy. (The party was er... country and oldies... like I said, pretty low key!)

I'm ready for bed now and sleep will come very soon.

Back at 'er tomorrow...

The story of Turtle Guy... and lessons learned

A comment left at the previous post inspired this one.

Patricia said "Why did you pick the name turtle boy?
My husband is a marine biologist and he does a lot of work with sea turtles. His friends kid him some times and call him turtle boy."

Well, it's Turtle Guy, but it does have a story. Unfortunately nothing as exciting as marine biology, nor sea turtles.

It stems from... biology in a way, but different...

Dating.

Several years ago I was consistently meeting women in the dating world who – for one reason or another – seemed to have the “mating radar” on high. It seemed to me that very little time would pass and the subject of “settling down” would become the topic of discussion.

Now for all intents and purposes, I think it’s fair to say that more often men – more so than women – are less concerned with partnering up… permanently.

I had had a discussion with my dear mother years ago – long before I ever considered dating – let alone partnership or marriage. It was her belief that more marriages failed because those involved didn’t take the time to discover who it was they were marrying BEFORE committing.

This begs the question “How long do you take to discover this?”

My answer?
It will just be right.
Or it won’t.
You will know.”

So here I was… having been put against the wall for a marriage proposal – virtually ultimatum-style… twice. Once in my 20s and again most recently at 35.

GAWD, THIS SUCKS!

After a hiatus from dating, and a chance to clear my head I thought I'd try again with what seemingly was a keen strategy. I would make no bones about where I stood. SLOW AND STEADY was the theme, and with the theme came the handle.

Now…

The irony.

It’s expected that when you meet someone new, the fireworks go off and it’s all BAM, POW, SCHEZAM, MIND-BLOWING… and all that.

And it was.

In keeping with the theme, I was Turtle Guy… to a point.

Right up until the point where I discovered that yes, this girl IS amazing, and guess what?? All she wants from me is… me! Not to mention, these feelings of BAM, POW, SCHEZAM and MIND-BLOWING didn't go away.

Fabulous!

Now, what was a fellow to DO with all of this? Well, I don't know much about Turtles and their perceived wisdom, but perhaps mine was a little off that day. My judgement call was to tell her EXACTLY how I felt because WOW, isn’t this great!

The Universe had provided. I asked for an independent woman who wasn't in a rush for anything from me.

Of course, the Universe provides in abundance both what you ask for and some of what you don't always expect.

What I DIDN’T expect was this:

I had met – essentially – Turtle Girl.

Turtle Girl extraordinaire.

Turtle Girl who exclaimed, “You think YOU’RE a turtle? I’M a turtle! Turtle out of his shell is a… Jackrabbit!”

Ooops.

I scared Turtle Girl.

So… this handle has inspired MANY learning experiences including:

How to truly impress a girl as well as the age old “Be careful what you ask for – you WILL get it!”

Chit Chat

Not much to say today, but I'm curious to know what's going on. Leave me a comment, please... some words of wisdom.

(Lurkers, especially!)