Filed under: General Nonsense
“Oh, Mr. Cuthbert,” she whispered, “that place we came through–that white place–what was it?”
“Well now, you must mean the Avenue,” said Matthew after a few moments’ profound reflection. “It is a kind of pretty place.”
“Pretty? Oh, PRETTY doesn’t seem the right word to use. Nor beautiful, either. They don’t go far
enough. Oh, it was wonderful–wonderful. It’s the first thing I ever saw that couldn’t be improved upon by imagination. It just satisfies me here”–she put one hand on her breast–”it made a queer funny ache and yet it was a pleasant ache. Did you ever have an ache like that, Mr. Cuthbert?”
“Well now, I just can’t recollect that I ever had.”
I’ve been thinking about doing a sermon on why we suffer. Why God doesn’t alleviate suffering the way we would if we could save someone we loved from pain. And I came across this quote from Anne of Green Gables. It made me remember “pleasant aches.” Pain that isn’t a negative thing.
A confrontation with Beauty that makes us ache, or the pain of growth and change, or the pain of love. Love hurts, not only because we’ve made ourselves vulnerable and open to hurt, but because the depth and magnitude of Love itself stirs a pleasant ache in us.
Last Friday night, Thea and I went for a drive for no reason. I drove straight up Guelph line past Lowville in Campbellville and then back. I just felt like driving, and we sat in silence for a while. Once we left suburbia into the fields and winding road, a milky thick fog clouded around us. I could only see a few meters ahead and the foggy shadows of trees and fences beside us. It seemed so beautiful and sad and silent, and sharing it with my wife gave me that pleasant funny ache.
I think pain is a result of poor decisions, bad relationships, and a crappy world. But there’s another side to the coin, a pain inspired by Love, Beauty, and Growth…. when encountering something Eternal.
I have to get the plate stickers renewed on the car. Simple. Just take the emissions test and get the new stickers.
Went for the emissions test this morning. FAIL. Apparently our car is emissioning all over the place. Not really. It failed one component by a fraction of a percent. I’m not accustomed to failing tests. Unless it’s one of Mr. Allardyce’s ridiculous tests in gym class. To pass the basketball component I had to get 7 out of 10 baskets or something. OR… if I wanted to go the academic route I could do a written test on all the rules of basketball. Likewise for all the other sports. How did I get onto high school gym? Right, failure.
So the car failed. Now it’s in getting a new O2 flabberschnipel.
Do you ever wonder what kind of parent you’ll be? Or, if you’re a parent, are you surprised at the parent you became? Given how Nazi-like Natalie was as a babysitter, I’m surprised that she’s not overly strict with Lily. And my mom much more willy-nilly-devil-may-care with the candy-giving to Lily than she was with us. I remember a lot more brussel sprouts and a lot less jujubes. I was quite strict with my Korean students while Thea was more laid back, which was the opposite of what I thought it would be.
It’s cold down here. It’s warmer outside. I have the windows open but the warm air mocks me.
How’s that for a generic title?
I just looked over my April posts from last year. Apparently I wanted to go home. There are definitely some things I miss about Korea. Namely the cheap food and excellent transit system. I miss walking to and from work with my wife. I miss my students and the money. I liked seeing mountains outside our apartment. Still, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t do another year there. Maybe if I found a job where I only worked 15 hours a week, eight months a year. Not being allowed to play games with kids for eight hours a day gets old.
So Spring has finally arrived. Thea finished her last paper last week and now only has the placement part of the term to finish. And then she’s a teacher. The bank will be cutting back my hours slightly in May, so I’m hoping we’re able to do some day trips or long weekends and Thea can feel like she’s having some sort of vacation.
I’d hoped we could go to Scotland this summer. And I’d like to make it happen. But getting the time off work is tricky considering most of my co-workers booked their vacations last summer while I was still in Korea. And it’s expensive. But last time I was in Scotland I remember so distinctly wanting Thea to be there with me.
Filed under: General Nonsense
Yesterday at work a young man came in with two Canadian dollar bills. He wanted to exchange them for more contemporary money. When I returned with two loonies, he argued that the bills must be worth more than that.
I tried to explain that we’re a bank and don’t inflate money based on rarity or whatever. I told him he could try to sell them on eBay or whatever. He took the loonies.
Filed under: FYI, Feeling Cheeky, General Nonsense | Tags: althea, kate day, kate dias, kate graham, marshmallows, paul graham
I came across an article about plant names for girls. Since my niece is Lily Rose, I thought I would give it a read. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Althea is also a plant. Actually, you don’t have to imagine it. I’ll describe my surprise. It went like this: “Hmm. Maybe I could use that tidbit if information to open a new post and then I’ll make fun of how boring the post is.” So it turns out that Althea is the Greek name for marshmallows. The real marshmallows that the Egyptians turned into fluffy white stuff for medicine. Apparently no real relation to our modern-day goodies other than a similar sticky, white appearance. Here’s a picture. Of the flower… not a marshmallow.
Here’s another picture. Of marshmallows, not a flower.
Fascinating. Anyway, on to some interesting news. As most people probably know at this point, Kate is talking. When Thea told me after work yesterday I was so excited. Of course, knowing Kate I don’t know why we’re surprised. I remember back in university she drove me home and then proceeded to talk for like 45 minutes parked on the street outside my house. And I had to pee so badly but I didn’t want to be rude so I crossed my legs and prayed to God that I wouldn’t pee my pants in Kate’s car. Anyway, that’s that. I can’t wait to talk to her.
I thought that perhaps we could designate April 9th “Kate Day.” From now on, on K’Day, children will re-enact the extubation and everyone will wear hospital gowns. Someone will dress as Kate and recite something in Elvish. Then we will all exchange delicious baked goods and be merry.
Filed under: General Nonsense | Tags: accident, england, homoeroticism, joe dias, kate dias, kate graham, rambling
I’m so grateful for the updates to Paul’s site. The interweb is a wonderful thing. I think I’m just going to keep linking to www.paulgraham.ca in every post from now on. Paul Paul Paul.
Some Spring weather is here for today, and coupled with some positive updates regarding Kate, which has lifted my mood a little. Yesterday, I found myself making lots of little careless mistakes at work. A few times I thought I saw Kate for a fraction of a second whenever a woman with long, dark, straight hair would walk into the bank.
I remember one time years ago I went over to hang out with Joe (her older brother, my good friend) in their hot tub. Already a little homo-erotic, but Kate went ahead and set up candles all around the deck and music for ambiance. Boy, I was around the Dias house a lot back then. Now Joe lives in England. I’m so lazy when it comes to keeping in touch. There’s really no excuse for it.
I’m rambling. On the internet.
