Disgusted August 20, 2009

I don’t know why news like this still surprises or elicits any kind of emotional response from me, but I’m so disgusted with the way some people behave. I have two case-in-points for this one (this second, in 5 minutes I might have a few more cases).

First, those of you who know me know that I am an avid hockey fan. And as a hockey fan, more specifically an NHL fan, I have enjoyed being able to brag to my football-fan-friends about how great NHL players are. They are well-behaved, do a lot of work for charities, and are rarely, if ever found on the front page of a newspaper for doing something illegal. I used to be able to count on one hand (two fingers to be exact) the number of times I’d heard of an NHLer getting into trouble with the law. One barely even counts, as it was a buck’s night (bachelor party) and they were simply asked by hotel management to keep the noise down. Another was when a has-been goalie got into a fight in a bar and was arrested. Outside of that, I can’t off the top of my head think of another time in the last few years that I’ve heard of a hockey player in trouble.

Until this week, when rookie sensation and Chicago Blackhawks player Patrick Kane was charged with assaulting a 62-year old cabbie because he didn’t have the $0.20 change Kane and his cousin were due. They beat him up over TWENTY CENTS, THEN they took the fare money and cleared off!

Now, if you go and google Patrick Kane, one of the first links that comes up is a link to a youtube video titled “Hockey’s Finest”. What a load of rubbish that is. He may have some skill on the ice, but he clearly has a lot of growing up to do. When he issued a public apology, he apologised for putting himself in the wrong place at the wrong time! Not for giving a 62 year old bruises and broken glasses. That, in my book, can’t even be considered an apology.

Now I know that Kane is only 20 years old, but c’mon. “Only” 20 years old? That is old enough to know better if you ask me. Yet somehow the kid has still managed to find himself representing the US in the next winter Olympics. That’s great punishment. I’m just so disgusted that people can behave this way and get away with it. An article I just read said that the Kanes, if convicted, could face up to a year in jail. Gee I bet they’re making their parents proud right now. I would be so dissappointed in my son if he ever did something like that. And I’m disappointed in Kane for…well for everything about this situation. He’s an embarrassment to the NHL. I have probably typed very similar words in regards to Australia’s very own Nick D’Arcy…another athlete with an out of control temper that landed him in some big trouble.

He’s not my other “case-in-point” though. This time its a woman, who rammed a police car, fled home (police followed her) and when they tried to arrest her, she STABBED THE POLICE DOG and lunged at officers. Of course the headlines this morning were “Woman shot by police after…” blah blah blah. I’m sorry, but if you stab a police dog and lunge at officers you deserve to get shot in the shoulder. AT LEAST in the shoulder! I might have taken aim at a foot or a leg or something, too.

There’s just so many stories out there that make me sit and think, “What the fuck is wrong with people?”

The iPhone August 18, 2009

When the iPhones first came out we were still living in the States. I couldn’t believe how much money people were spending on them! Then I couldn’t believe they were so pissed off that the prices dropped so quickly. But no, they had to line up overnight and be one of the very first to get, what I considered to be, an overrated piece of junk technological gadget. How long ago was that, now? Two years? I had never been one to use my phone as anything more than just that…a phone. I didn’t care about how many pixels the camera had or what kind of calendars or other functions (or “apps”) my phone had as long as I could make and receive a call. So I stuck with my little Nokias and Samsungs and whatever elses.

Fast forward to a few months ago. Our phones were starting to deteriorate quickly (thanks to baby drool…where did that come from I wonder?) and we kept trying to get a loyalty upgrade from our service provider. My husband decided he wanted an iPhone. Well boy did I start giving him grief over that. “Why would you want an iPhone? What is so great about iPhones? They’re so overrated” yadda, yadda, yadda. I still had no idea what phone I was going to get but was looking at a Samsung Omnia, or the Blackberry storm (speaking of overrated techological gadgets). While Mike was in Sydney for work I wondered into the store to see if we were eligible for the free loyalty upgrade yet and we were. An hour later I walked out of the store with two iPhones.

I thought I would wait until Mike got home from Sydney before opening them up and setting up my phone etc. But when I found my phone in Nicklas’ mouth (again) and realised the buttons were stuck thanks to baby drool (again) I decided to set it up then and there. FOUR HOURS LATER I finally put it away and went to bed.

Ever since I have been an iPhone convert. I love it! We only got the 8g 3G phones because they weren’t sure when another shipment of 3Gs would come in and they tend to disappear pretty quickly once they come in anyway. So we don’t have video on them but that isn’t a big deal. So far I’ve downloaded a few free apps including a twitter and facebook app, as well as some games. There’s even a grocery list app that lets you create a weekly list and then add the price and a picture etc. so you know what your bill will be. That will come in very handy! My favourite so far though is the rag doll toss!

The only gripe I have is that so far I’ve pretty much had to charge my battery every day. I don’t know if the battery is supposed to die that quickly, but I do use it quite a bit so it wouldn’t surpise me.

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go search for more apps to add while the little one is sleeping!

Learning August 11, 2009

So a couple of weeks ago I started my graduate certificate program at university. This program consists of 4 classes and once they’re completed, I can do 4 more classes to complete my masters degree. I’m not going to lie, going to class again is making me feel pretty old and stupid. The teacher asks questions, and we all sit there blankly. Considering there’s only 2 of us in the class whose first language is English, its not surprising. But at least 55 of the other students have a semi-legitimate excuse.

To make matters worse, we have an exam in 2 weeks. Yesterday I bought another notebook and I’m going to transfer all my notes into that notebook. I have always used re-writing notes as a learning tool. I can read it 10 times, and it won’t sink in as well as it will if I re-write it once.

The benefit to this class is that if we keep a dedicated notebook for this class and write our thoughts, notes, ideas, etc in it and let the teacher see it, he’ll let us use it for the exam.

I’ve wondered more than once during class, “What am I doing here, and not in a photography class?” I’m hoping this class will help my general business skills which will either help my small business I’m trying to start, or be a good backup for when my business fails. Haha! Such confidence I have in myself.

It will be interesting to see how the other students in my class go with the exam. I can’t even imagine going to another country and studying in their language when I don’t know the language very well. Perhaps they can read/write it better than they can speak/respond to it? I know when I studied French and Japanese that was the case for me.

In any case I’m glad I’m only doing 1 of the 4 classes this semester. There’s no way I’d be retaining all the info for more than 1 class!

Mid-Life Crisis August 6, 2009

I may not technically be “midlife” yet, but I think its definitely a crisis. While I’m not going out dating men half my age or buying ferraris, I have a bit of a “Where has my life gone?” type of feeling. I had coffee with a friend of mine yesterday whose dr told her that most if not all women go through some kind of MLC once they are married, have kids and are in their 30s.

The most overwhelming feeling I have is “Is this it? This is my life?” When we’re little we have these huge, unlimited dreams of what we can be, what we will have, what we will do. And in your 20s you still think those things are attainable. I wasn’t at all worried about turning 30. But now that I’m “in my 30s” I can’t help but wonder, is this as good as its going to get?

I love being a mum, and I do understand and believe that it is one of, if not the most important job a woman could ever have. If its a job they choose to have at all. But is there something wrong with wanting to be more than “just a mum”? Why can’t we have kids and a career and a happy household? Does a career have to be defined as a job you do 5 days a week, 10 hours a day? At this point I’d settle for a job, anything to help contribute financially to this family. A career can come later when the kids are a bit older. But the feeling of helplessness and the thought of having to compete for jobs with 20-somethings who don’t have kids…it seems impossible. It seems like its too late to have everything I ever wanted.

The thought of having another child, and going through all this again is a bit daunting. I think I want another child, and want Nicklas to have a brother or a sister, but the thought of going through pregnancy and labour again…its something I could do without. Nicklas has just started sleeping through the night, and he’s getting into a routine. He’s at a really fun age. Having another baby puts us back at square one.

Well I’d love to sit here and dwell on all this a bit longer (like it will help) but there’s cleaning to be done and text books to be read. Definitely not what I thought would be on my “to-do” list at the age of almost-31.