The ringer on my phone went off yesterday and it sounded like celebratory trumpets to my ears. That's because it signalled an email I received telling me I got a job at an ice cream store.
Finally, paid employment!
So while last week at this time I had zero jobs, now I have two. So in honour of that, I decided to write about the very thing I'll be dealing with for hundreds of hours over the next few months: ice cream.
I love ice cream. Some of my best memories of childhood include ice cream, from getting Superkid as a treat with my mom, dad, aunt, uncle, siblings and cousins to hanging out and eating soft serve ice cream on the grass at Ribfest with my friends. Yes, ice cream is a powerful force, bringing people closer together and, if you're not careful, closer to being overweight.
But I never worried about that because ice cream was a special treat for me and it still is. It signals the end to a good day, a special summer afternoon or a family outing.
Ice cream also lets you express yourself. That may seem a little weird to think about, but as a guy who thinks about food more than is probably healthy, I think many foods do let you define yourself. But ice cream even more so. There are so many flavours that you are not limited to what someone else wants or what you always have. It allows you to be adventurous, or traditional or both. It lets you mix and match and lets the world know if you are zany or classy or whatever you want to be.
Also ice cream just tastes good. There's no two ways about that.
So I am grateful for ice cream. I am grateful for the way it can bring people together over something so delicious. I am grateful that it can be a special treat on the hot summer days or to cheer up cold and drizzly ones. And I am grateful that it is around or I may still be unemployed right now.
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
#81- Reunions
I was waiting anxiously at the bus terminal yesterday for my girlfriend to arrive from Paris. I paced up and down the gates, looking out the window every couple seconds in hope of catching a glimpse of an incoming bus.
And then finally I saw one pulling in and ran to the gate. Through the glass doors and the window of the bus I could see a girl with short, blonde hair that could only mean it was my girlfriend. I pushed through the crowd, almost in slow motion. My only thought was to get to her, to hug her for the first time in two weeks.
I got to the front, my smile growing with every step. As she came out the door she looked up and... it wasn't her. No, it was some other girl and I was standing there, a dopey smile still on my face because my face muscles still hadn't registered what my brain had; this wasn't the bus from Montreal that my girlfriend was on.
Nope, life isn't a Nicholas Sparks book, but the reunion between my girlfriend and I did come, about 20 minutes later, and it didn't matter that there was no corny soundtrack or slow motion run towards each other through the rain or gently swaying tulips in an open meadow.
What really mattered is that we were together again and that dopey smile was back on my face as we hugged and talked about her trip and laughed while we ate greasy burgers together as a welcome back to North American cuisine.
What mattered was not how it happened, but that it happened.
I'm sure everyone has had a reunion like that. Maybe not with so much hugging or the smell of diesel fumes spinning around, but one where you felt like the world was a picture hanging slightly off centre and had been straightened up again with the reunion.
It's always great to see your family again, or friends you haven't talked to in a while or a mentor that shaped your life's path and it's because when you're with those people again everything makes a little more sense, everything seems a little safer and you feel more confident. It's because you have the same memories, a shared history together, through good and bad, which makes you smile or laugh or even just makes you stronger on the inside. It's because being with those people makes you a better person and they feel the same way.
So I am grateful for reunions. I am grateful that I was reunited with my girlfriend yesterday. I am grateful for all those time in a year when I see those I love again after being away and the way my face lights up when we have a reunion. I am grateful that reunions bring people together, even after years of being apart sometimes. And I am grateful that they aren't always fairytale perfect, because that means each one is special in a way, each one is something to reminisce about at the next reunion.
Friday, April 27, 2012
#70- My New Phone
Before I explain my new phone, I must first take a minute to eulogize my old phone.
It was a good phone. It was a simple phone. It lasted me three, long years and I enjoyed that it was small and had no ability to access the internet or download apps or even turn on properly sometimes. I mean don't be fooled, it was a reliable phone and was always trusty when I needed to text someone or call a source for an interview (as long as it was a shorter than twenty minutes because that's as long as the battery could last). And despite its duct taped backside and the fact that for the last three months I had to open it gingerly and with surgeon-like precision because the two pieces were hanging together by a thin, thread-like wire, it survived a lot and went through many an adventure snug inside my pocket.
But when I saw it tumble to the floor and break in two, I sunk to my knees, put my head in my hands and did a little mental fist pump because, finally, the last chapter on my old phone had been written.
So a week ago I went to buy a new phone and I discovered that these newfangled smart phones weren't all that evil after all. I tried to act the shrewd business man and seem uninterested in the sly selling points the salesperson was throwing at me, determined to get the best deal I could. I lasted all of two minutes until I folded like a kid in a toy store upon seeing that instead of hitting individual buttons on the screen to text I could simply swipe my fingers across the keyboard to spell words.
In all seriousness though, I walked out of the phone store with not only a new phone, but a reopened gateway to friends, family and the world. I could once again hear my girlfriend's voice and make plans with hometown friends I hadn't seen in weeks or months. I could call my grandmother while I was doing errands to tell her I was coming to visit. I was able to wish my brother good luck on his exams. I could receive the non-existent phone calls offering me a dream job. I was able to spell words like actinomycin and pentangle without even trying. I was connected and life was a little happier.
I know I don't need all these things to stay connected and have a meaningful relationship with people (Believe me, two and a half weeks without a phone will teach you that), but it gives me options and as far as I'm concerned options are never a bad thing when it means more interaction with the people you love.
So I am grateful for my new phone. I am grateful not just for the functions it provides, but the benefits that come with them. I am grateful not only because it adds convenience to my life, but opportunity: the opportunity to talk to people I care about, make connections and achieve goals. And I plan to see what sort of crazy journeys these new opportunities will take me on, with new phone by my side of course.
It was a good phone. It was a simple phone. It lasted me three, long years and I enjoyed that it was small and had no ability to access the internet or download apps or even turn on properly sometimes. I mean don't be fooled, it was a reliable phone and was always trusty when I needed to text someone or call a source for an interview (as long as it was a shorter than twenty minutes because that's as long as the battery could last). And despite its duct taped backside and the fact that for the last three months I had to open it gingerly and with surgeon-like precision because the two pieces were hanging together by a thin, thread-like wire, it survived a lot and went through many an adventure snug inside my pocket.
But when I saw it tumble to the floor and break in two, I sunk to my knees, put my head in my hands and did a little mental fist pump because, finally, the last chapter on my old phone had been written.
So a week ago I went to buy a new phone and I discovered that these newfangled smart phones weren't all that evil after all. I tried to act the shrewd business man and seem uninterested in the sly selling points the salesperson was throwing at me, determined to get the best deal I could. I lasted all of two minutes until I folded like a kid in a toy store upon seeing that instead of hitting individual buttons on the screen to text I could simply swipe my fingers across the keyboard to spell words.
In all seriousness though, I walked out of the phone store with not only a new phone, but a reopened gateway to friends, family and the world. I could once again hear my girlfriend's voice and make plans with hometown friends I hadn't seen in weeks or months. I could call my grandmother while I was doing errands to tell her I was coming to visit. I was able to wish my brother good luck on his exams. I could receive the non-existent phone calls offering me a dream job. I was able to spell words like actinomycin and pentangle without even trying. I was connected and life was a little happier.
I know I don't need all these things to stay connected and have a meaningful relationship with people (Believe me, two and a half weeks without a phone will teach you that), but it gives me options and as far as I'm concerned options are never a bad thing when it means more interaction with the people you love.
So I am grateful for my new phone. I am grateful not just for the functions it provides, but the benefits that come with them. I am grateful not only because it adds convenience to my life, but opportunity: the opportunity to talk to people I care about, make connections and achieve goals. And I plan to see what sort of crazy journeys these new opportunities will take me on, with new phone by my side of course.
Monday, May 9, 2011
#51- Mothers
Dealing with me, and all the bad jokes, stubborn arguments and bad folding skills that come with it, can't be easy and therefore I applaud my friends, family and girl friend for sticking with me for this long. But the real champion has to be my mom, who had to deal with me nine months longer than anyone else on the face of this earth, and that is what, yesterday, Mother's Day, is for.
I know the saying "mothers have the toughest job in the world" is a little over used, but it's true. They have to work with the most finicky machinery in the world; people. Mothers are constantly working to make their children better, making sure they get the best out of life and turn into good people along the way which is no easy task, as people don't come with instruction manuals.
And my mother is no different. She has been with me all my life, supporting me in all that I do. And even though we have our arguments, I know she'd be there in a second if I ever called her from jail at in the morning, asking her for bail money, although I would get more than an earful later.
So I am grateful for mothers. I am grateful for the tireless job they do in raising kids and being role models at work, at home and in every other aspect of their lives. I am grateful that mothers don't retire from this job, nor do they want to. And I am grateful that there is a day on which we can honour the great things that mothers do, all over the world.
I know the saying "mothers have the toughest job in the world" is a little over used, but it's true. They have to work with the most finicky machinery in the world; people. Mothers are constantly working to make their children better, making sure they get the best out of life and turn into good people along the way which is no easy task, as people don't come with instruction manuals.
And my mother is no different. She has been with me all my life, supporting me in all that I do. And even though we have our arguments, I know she'd be there in a second if I ever called her from jail at in the morning, asking her for bail money, although I would get more than an earful later.
So I am grateful for mothers. I am grateful for the tireless job they do in raising kids and being role models at work, at home and in every other aspect of their lives. I am grateful that mothers don't retire from this job, nor do they want to. And I am grateful that there is a day on which we can honour the great things that mothers do, all over the world.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
#49- Malls
Malls have been important places for me throughout my life.
When I was a kid, my family and I would meet up with my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents every Friday atSherway Gardens
When I got a bit older and wanted to go out with my friends on Friday nights we would sometimes go to the mall. Where else can you go when you have no money, but you want to hang out somewhere away from your parents? Answer: the mall. And so this is where we would hang out sometimes.
And now as I sit here unemployed and out of school for the summer, the mall has become a prime place for job hunting. Each store is like a fresh opportunity for me, a new hope that the person behind the cash will say they are hiring. The mall gives me a chance to show my potential employees a little bit of who I am, that personal touch that doesn't come with an online application, but is so important to any job.
So I am grateful for malls. I am grateful for all the times I have spent there with friends and family, for having so many different stores and cuisines from around the world under one roof and for having a string of stores that turn into strings of hope when I am looking for a job.
When I was a kid, my family and I would meet up with my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents every Friday at
When I got a bit older and wanted to go out with my friends on Friday nights we would sometimes go to the mall. Where else can you go when you have no money, but you want to hang out somewhere away from your parents? Answer: the mall. And so this is where we would hang out sometimes.
And now as I sit here unemployed and out of school for the summer, the mall has become a prime place for job hunting. Each store is like a fresh opportunity for me, a new hope that the person behind the cash will say they are hiring. The mall gives me a chance to show my potential employees a little bit of who I am, that personal touch that doesn't come with an online application, but is so important to any job.
So I am grateful for malls. I am grateful for all the times I have spent there with friends and family, for having so many different stores and cuisines from around the world under one roof and for having a string of stores that turn into strings of hope when I am looking for a job.
Monday, April 25, 2011
#44- Buffets
I gathered with my family for Easter dinner at Copper Creek Golf Course last night. That place probably still doesn't know what hit them.
My family loves food and it was available in abundance last night in the form of a buffet. Let's just say there's as much to love about buffets as there are food choices at one.
Buffets always offer a wide selection of food. From sushi to lamb to salmon and chocolate fountains there is always something to please even the most picky eater, which first of all makes everyone happy and gives you an opportunity to sample a bunch of different things.
With selection also comes adventure. The variety of food at buffets usually means there's something I haven't tried before and I love testing the limits of my taste buds. One of the most memorable meals I've ever had was inKenya
Another great thing about a buffet is that you can take as much or as little as you want. I'm a big fan of not wasting food, so buffets are really good for keeping the thrown out stuff to a minimum. You can try something you've never had, but you don't need to order a heaping plate of it if you don't want to. It's the best of both worlds!
So I am grateful for buffets. I am grateful that I am fortunate enough to be able to eat at buffets around the world and with some of my closest friends, loved ones and memorable people. I am grateful for the freedom buffets allow you with their choices and for the people who work to make buffets so great. If variety is the spice of life than buffets are never wanting for taste.
My family loves food and it was available in abundance last night in the form of a buffet. Let's just say there's as much to love about buffets as there are food choices at one.
Buffets always offer a wide selection of food. From sushi to lamb to salmon and chocolate fountains there is always something to please even the most picky eater, which first of all makes everyone happy and gives you an opportunity to sample a bunch of different things.
With selection also comes adventure. The variety of food at buffets usually means there's something I haven't tried before and I love testing the limits of my taste buds. One of the most memorable meals I've ever had was in
Another great thing about a buffet is that you can take as much or as little as you want. I'm a big fan of not wasting food, so buffets are really good for keeping the thrown out stuff to a minimum. You can try something you've never had, but you don't need to order a heaping plate of it if you don't want to. It's the best of both worlds!
So I am grateful for buffets. I am grateful that I am fortunate enough to be able to eat at buffets around the world and with some of my closest friends, loved ones and memorable people. I am grateful for the freedom buffets allow you with their choices and for the people who work to make buffets so great. If variety is the spice of life than buffets are never wanting for taste.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
#43- Easter
Easter has always made me feel like I can run a thousand miles.
In years past I've attributed this feeling to the disgust ing amounts o f chocolate I ate after carefully out maneuvering my siblings in the annual Easter egg hunt.
I haven't hunted for Easter eggs in years, but that amazing feeling still exists and I don't find myself looking far to figure out why.
First of all, this is a day I spend with my loved ones every year. It's a time when I come together with my family or friends to enjoy each their company.
Easter always comes at a time when the world is being reborn. The snow has melted, the grass is becoming green, the trees are starting to sprout leaves and rivers and creeks are beginning to rush forward with new life. Easter has allowed me to stop, look around and appreciate these things and feel invigorated because of them.
Most importantly, Easter is the day that Jesus conquered death. To me, there is nothing more awesome and life asserting than that.
So I am grateful for Easter. I am grateful for what it means to me and the time I spend with my family, friends and loved ones. I am grateful that it is a time when spring shows its true self. The Easter egg hunts may be finished for me, but I always find so many things on Easter to make me smile.
In years past I've attributed this feeling to the disgust ing amounts o f chocolate I ate after carefully out maneuvering my siblings in the annual Easter egg hunt.
I haven't hunted for Easter eggs in years, but that amazing feeling still exists and I don't find myself looking far to figure out why.
First of all, this is a day I spend with my loved ones every year. It's a time when I come together with my family or friends to enjoy each their company.
Easter always comes at a time when the world is being reborn. The snow has melted, the grass is becoming green, the trees are starting to sprout leaves and rivers and creeks are beginning to rush forward with new life. Easter has allowed me to stop, look around and appreciate these things and feel invigorated because of them.
Most importantly, Easter is the day that Jesus conquered death. To me, there is nothing more awesome and life asserting than that.
So I am grateful for Easter. I am grateful for what it means to me and the time I spend with my family, friends and loved ones. I am grateful that it is a time when spring shows its true self. The Easter egg hunts may be finished for me, but I always find so many things on Easter to make me smile.
Monday, March 28, 2011
#22- Pasta
After a long news cast day in my radio class I was very hungry, but I really didn't want to spend a lot of time and energy cooking. I knew exactly what I would make for dinner: pasta.
Pasta is the best meal to have when you're tired, but looking for a hearty meal. It's fast, takes almost no prep and is a fast clean up. And most importantly it tastes great and fills my stomach.
I have always said that if I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would probably be pasta because it comes in so many different types and can go with so many different sauces and vegetables and meats. If variety is the spice of life than pasta is the spiciest food there is as far as I'm concerned.
I will admit, my love of pasta isn't all about the stomach. Coming from Italian roots, pasta is something that brings my family together over dinners, sauce making days and impromptu cooking lessons. I've had some of the best conversations and learned some of the greatest lessons over a plate of pasta with my family.
That's not to say I haven't had these great times eating pasta with friends, because I have, and the time I made pasta from scratch with my girlfriend gave me a newfound appreciation for the food.
So I am grateful for pasta. I am grateful that it nourishes me after a long, hard day, how it can be rich and jam packed with ingredients or simple and quick and be just as delicious, elegant and fun. I am grateful that pasta has brought my loved ones together on so many occasions and given me one more thing from my heritage that I can be proud of. I am grateful that there is a food that I can think about with both my stomach and my heart.
Pasta is the best meal to have when you're tired, but looking for a hearty meal. It's fast, takes almost no prep and is a fast clean up. And most importantly it tastes great and fills my stomach.
I have always said that if I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would probably be pasta because it comes in so many different types and can go with so many different sauces and vegetables and meats. If variety is the spice of life than pasta is the spiciest food there is as far as I'm concerned.
I will admit, my love of pasta isn't all about the stomach. Coming from Italian roots, pasta is something that brings my family together over dinners, sauce making days and impromptu cooking lessons. I've had some of the best conversations and learned some of the greatest lessons over a plate of pasta with my family.
That's not to say I haven't had these great times eating pasta with friends, because I have, and the time I made pasta from scratch with my girlfriend gave me a newfound appreciation for the food.
So I am grateful for pasta. I am grateful that it nourishes me after a long, hard day, how it can be rich and jam packed with ingredients or simple and quick and be just as delicious, elegant and fun. I am grateful that pasta has brought my loved ones together on so many occasions and given me one more thing from my heritage that I can be proud of. I am grateful that there is a food that I can think about with both my stomach and my heart.
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