Looking Forward

This is the time of year a lot of people look back at what has passed as we complete another lap around the sun. I think I do enough of looking back and recounting great moments. I think it's time to look forward to what 2013 could be.

Now looking forward you need to seize the moment and make the difference. It doesn't get better if you don't make it better for yourself. I find the easiest way to make life better for myself is to try and make someone's day better everyday. So that's my big plan. I'm going to try to make somebody's day better each and every day. It won't be the same person all the time and it won't always be world changing but I want to brighten a day.

It's my intention to exercise more in 2013. I already exercise regularly but I want to be more consistent. I won't let the desk get in the way as much. I'll find a way to get the exercise in. Being in good shape and having a pleasant disposition will give me the ability to overcome any challenge the year will throw at me. When you can take on all challenges, life becomes an amazing journey. I feel like if I maintain the lifestyle I want to, I can do anything.

I don't know what is going to come my way in 2013. It could be a cake walk or a meat grinder but I know I will be able to face all the challenges and be successful. If you want to be successful be the person you want to be and be ready to go. Then you will be able to take anything on and win.

Where The Skies Are So Blue

I have to admit that the majority of my days in Manitoba this time it was cloudy and snowing but starting on Christmas Eve it was clear and cold, just like I remember many Christmases on the prairies. Although I may never live in Manitoba again there are a few things that made this trip great.

Rye Bread. The first time I ordered a sandwich in Ottawa on rye bread it came with some sort of bread that was made in a bread pan and no caraway seeds. In my mind that is not rye bread. It should be a free form loaf and be loaded with caraway seeds. I know they get stuck in your teeth but that's some of the fun. I ate a lot of rye bread while I was back in Manitoba.

Perogies Made By Babbas. I can get perogies in Ottawa but I can't seem to find good ones. I managed to eat some perogies made in Dauphin, Manitoba. There are none better. You wouldn't think mashed potato wrapped in dough could taste so good but it does.

Snow Crunch. There is an old Christmas song that tells us to hear the snow crunch, see the kids bunch, this is Santa's big scene. It rarely gets cold enough in Ottawa for snow to crunch but in Manitoba it is a daily occurrence. I don't want it every day of the winter, but I sure liked it when it did.

Wide Open Space. I don't feel claustrophobic in Ottawa but you can't see for miles on a clear cold winter day. As I rode from Winnipeg to Brandon and back to Winnipeg, I was reminded of how big the west really is.

The Oak. There are several bars in Winnipeg that have changed the names on their signs several times since I started university. That being said, the name everyone uses never changes. One of those places is The Oak. It's in the Transcona Inn. I think the owners may have changed the name back because I heard it called The Oak on the radio, on different stations. Some things never change.

My Friends. I never seem to be able to fit everyone in to a visit but I got to see most of them. I laughed and laughed. I had a couple of serious conversations. I drank beer with them. I told jokes. I hung out with their kids. I started stories with 'remember when...' I have great friends who welcomed me into their homes, picked me up from the airport, drove me to my parents, loaned my their car, fed me, did my laundry, made a birthday cake for me, and generally made me feel important. I am so lucky to have such great people choose to be part of my life.

My Family. I spent a lot of time with my family this time around. I think we can agree that I am a bit different than the rest of my family. Not in a good way or a bad way, just different. They are so small town. They live in a small city and approach life in a small town way. I live in the middle of a city and live that way. That being said, when I'm there I feel like I never left. It feels like it did when I was growing up. I don't have to prove myself. I don't have to justify my position, I don't have to play a part. I just have to be me. It's a great feeling.

It was a great trip back to Manitoba. The worst parts were not bad and the best parts were amazing. It's not where I want to live but I will always have important people there so I will always go back to sweet home Manitoba, where the skies are so blue.

The Cat

Back in the last century both my sister and I finished high school. Once she left home my mom thought it would be a good idea to get a cat. She figured the house would seem rather empty with no children around. So, one day this kitten named Opus moved into the house.

Opus was a rather lively kitten. He would fight with my dad and run about the house. He was always up on the counter looking for food. He would try to get out of the house but mom decided he would be an indoor cat.

Opus is still with us and now he is an old cat. He slowly walks about the house. He makes strange sounds at random times. He may or may not be able to hop up onto the furniture. In the winter he takes two steps outside and realizes that Manitoba is really cold in the winter and slowly turns around and walks in. He is definitely old. I have not even seen him jog yet.

I guess this is what happens to all living creatures when they get old. At some point I think they believe they have paid their dues and are just take it easy. That's ok. Opus has lived a full life of climbing onto the counter and trying to run away when the door is open. I don't know if he ever caught a mouse or a bird. Nobody kept career stats on his exploits. Ultimately he is a good cat and still keeps my parents amused which is his whole reason for existence.

For a long time I found Opus rather annoying. He would walk across you and always be under foot. In his old age he is pretty chill, I can handle the old version of Opus, I just hope I have a few more years in me before I feel the need to slow down.

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes - Not So Much

My vacation continues in snowy Brandon, Manitoba. It's a nice little place where winter sets in for a long time. It's also where all my direct family lives. It's great to see everyone. Hanging out with the family is always nice. I don't see them very often since leaving Manitoba but when I do it's like I never left.

All this reminds me why family is important. I tend to be busy and often don't feel like I have the time to call or write but that doesn't mean they are not important. They are busy too. Often when I try to call they are out. I don't expect them to sit at home by the phone so I am never disappointed if I miss them. However, sometimes it may be a couple of months between times we talk.

That's the winning.

I was supposed to fly from Winnipeg to Brandon in a small airplane yesterday. It would have been a great way to get out to see the family. As it turned out the weather was not conducive to flying a small airplane along that route in the window we had. So I had to go by surface transport. It's not a horrible thing to travel by surface transport between Winnipeg and Brandon but it was going to be a chance to fly along the route that was the first solo cross-country flight I had ever flown so it would have been neat. The forecast before went to bed looked like we could get out of Winnipeg but not into Brandon so the backup was to fly some circuits for fun. When we woke up the weather was so we could get into Brandon but not out of Winnipeg so even the circuits were not a possibility. 

Even though I didn't get to fly, the trip did give me a chance to catch up with another friend during the drive, so there was a silver lining.

I'm having a great vacation and nearly everything has worked out better than I hoped, even if I didn't get to fly yesterday.

Holiday Stress

A lot of people find the holiday season stressful. Generally I do not. If you back up two steps its all about spending time together. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you are with people who matter to you. That being said, I have injected some new stress into my holidays this year.

Nothing has caused more stress for me over the course of my life than the weather. I have being flying aircraft in the VFR environment with some very restrictive crosswind limits since I was sixteen years old. Eventually it came to be how I make my living. There are a lot of flyable days in the year. There are also quite a few unacceptable days. Often it seems that when you have the people and resources lined up to go, the weather is not as nice as it should be. That's a fact of flying light aircraft in VFR conditions.

(For those of you who do not fly, VFR is Visual Flight Rules, which is flying with reference to the ground. If the clouds are too low or the visibility is too restricted, you can't fly.)

So, this year I have arranged to have a friend fly me in a Cessna 172 from Winnipeg to Brandon, so I can see my parents. This sounds like a good idea as long as the weather cooperates. The forecast has been good for the day since I could see a forecast for that day. However, the low cloud and snow was supposed to stop yesterday. It has not at the time of writing this. The good part is the bad flying weather has cleared out of Brandon. That is typical as most weather moves from west to east in this part of the world. The forecast is still good for the window we want. I'm confident that it will work out.

The difficult thing about weather is you have no control about it. Nothing you can do will exert any influence minute by minute or hour by hour. You just have to understand it, live with it, and adapt to it. When you are flying light aircraft, adapting is often not flying. This will but a wrench in my plans but it isn't then end of the world.

All this does create stress. I don't like stress on my holidays and I'm pretty good at avoiding it. Normally I just roll with the punches but this one is a bit tougher.

You have to admit. Renting a plane and flying to your parents for Christmas does have a high cool factor to it. It's like I'm a high roller except my destination is Brandon not Vegas or Dubai. If I don't fly, I will be disappointed but I'll survive. Just like we all survived the end of the Mayan Calendar. 

Cutest Baby Ever

I've been staying with friends in Winnipeg before I head out to see my parents in the booming metropolis of Brandon, Manitoba. My friends had a baby last summer. He will be five months old just after Christmas.

This kid is the cutest baby ever.

I have seen the kid and I can say I think he's pretty awesome. I know a lot of the same people that the parents do. This is normal. Now not all of the people that I know, that the parents know, are acquainted with each other. However, they all say this kid is really cute. That is the true test and he passes with flying colours.

The kid is attentive and strong. He tried to choke me out. Although he didn't completely block my airway he did restrict my breathing. He also got a handful of my chest hair and pulled some out. Pretty good for a kid who isn't even five months old.

I think he even likes me. He will sit on my lap. He likes to be bounced on my knee. Yesterday he puked on me three times. I have been told its one of the hazards of spending time with babies. It's not the end of the world. He is a stealth puker. No warning and boom, there it is. All over you.

So I was thinking maybe it's just that all babies are cute and it was just more exposure that made this one so cute. Then I looked at some pictures of babies that other people have and wow, not all babies are cute on the absolute scale. Forget about the relative scale. The just can't compete.

As much fun as it is to hang out with the little guy, the best part of being a friend is I get all of the fun and then I go home.

Guns vs. Mental Illness

I know I haven't been the first and I won't be the last but I feel I need to chime in about the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton Connecticut.

There are two arguments be waged in the wake of this tragedy. America needs tougher gun control laws. America has to do better at identifying and treating mental illness.

My position is they need both.

Things like this do not happen in isolation. Gun advocates say that guns don't kill people, people kill people. They are right. However, in many states, you can walk in and buy a gun and ammunition without a licence. You can use the weapon without a licence. Let's take a step back and think about a couple of things. Gun advocates always preach safe and responsible firearm usage. Although you can shoot at targets, ultimately these devices have a purpose; to wound ok kill. 

Guns can be used to wound or kill animals to harvest food or control pest populations. This is a safe and responsible use of firearms. Guns can be used to wound or kill individuals who are committing evil acts. I also believe this is a safe and responsible use of a firearm. So in my mind yes there are reasons to have access to guns.

When America amended its constitution for the second time and guaranteed the right to bear arms, I'm not saying they did a bad thing but they may have missed an important part. In my humble opinion they also should have demanded the responsibility of their citizens to learn how to properly and safely use the arms they have the right to bear. That may have changed things significantly from the past.

I do find it interesting that Americans do not have a right to own and use an automobile or an airplane. Both of these machines, like a gun, require a level of skill to operate safely and if that skill is not there, they can cause significant unintended consequences, up to and including premature death. So to drive a car and fly an airplane you must past at least two tests for each. You must pass a knowledge test and a skill test. In the case of an airplane you must also show you are retaining your knowledge and skill. This is a responsible approach to a potentially dangerous activity. Yet, Americans can just buy and use a gun. 

Now, here is where the mental illness issue comes into play. As it stands right now, someone who is not fit to drive a car or fly an airplane can still buy and use a gun. Yes, that's right someone who is not fit to use a machine designed to peacefully transport people and goods can still use a machine designed to wound and kill. To me something seems off kilter.

I'm not saying people should not have access to guns. On the contrary, if you are required to demonstrate a defined level of skill and knowledge then you should be free to have your weapon of choice. If you cannot demonstrate that you can use it safe and responsibly then you should not be permitted to use it.

Now, if you have severe enough mental illness that you would even consider walking into an elementary school and killing even one random child, there were previous signs. Friends and family should have been supportive and helped you get the assistance you clearly needed before it would ever escalate to this level. You can say that video games and movies filled with violence desensitize youth but I don't buy that. Not having the support to deal with the small problems before it rewires the brain is the problem. Allowing someone to become so self absorbed that they can walk into an institution intended for education and development and kill random people that they have never met is the problem. One of the best parts of being human is we are social. We enjoy interaction with other people. It's central to the human experience. Most people like to bring joy to others. If we are allowing some people to become the opposite of that, we are failing. 

I'm not suggesting that there should not be consequences for your actions. There should be and it is an important part of learning but not all consequences are bad and if you behave in a good manner you should be recognized appropriately. Everyone knows this will reinforce good behaviour. 

As we go forward you should only use machinery that you have the knowledge and skill to do so and try to make someone's life a little bit better and we will all benefit in the end. Frankly, the other option just isn't acceptable.